$220 To spend....help me decide

G

GaNGrENe

Limp Gawd
Joined
Aug 29, 2003
Messages
166
As the subject says I've got $220 to spend at newegg. Right now my system specs are:

Soltek SL-75FRN2-L mobo
AMD 2000+ OC'd to 2600+
512mb PC2700 RAM (Corsair, but really cheap stuff)
PNY FX5200 (non ultra)
Tt Volcano 7+ HSF
40gb WD Hard Drive (7,200 RPM 2mb cache)
Rounded cables, etc etc

I've determined that my biggest bottlenecks are my RAM and Video Card. I do a lot of gaming on this system, mostly Call of Duty. I realize that my video card is definatley not DX9 proof and is not worthy of having Call of Duty played on it.

I've also determined that my cooling system is not where I'd like it to be. I've only got an intake and an exhaust 80mm fan and then the one in the PSU. I've got a dremel and some other misc tools needed to mod.

So I've narrowed it down to this:

ATi 9700 Pro $200
512mb PC 3200 RAM - $90
New Sound card - $50 - $70

If I get the RAM I can get a soundcard and some more fans, etc to mod into my case.

So if you've got any input, suggestions, flames :D

Feel free to post
 
Video Card
Ram
Sound Card

thats it order of importance as far as i can see looking at your specs. I picked sound card last cause if you dont have nice speakers for them its pretty much pointless. Plus your ram shouldnt be hurting your system to much. If you wanna see a nice pick up in games then go with the VC.
 
Logitech Z-640's on the AC'97.

The AC'97 seems to be limiting my speakers because the center sounds nicer when I put it on matrix rather than when I run it off the center channel on the AC'97.

The performance in games isn't actually that bad. I can't run any AA or AF but I can set the quality settings in the game fairly high and still run anywhere in the range of 40 - 90 FPS depending on where I am and what I'm doing.

I'm trying to hold onto the 5200 until the next generation of video cards comes out...forgot to mention that. Do you think it'd be worth it to switch out now even though I can still play at acceptable FPS levels and decent quality?
 
Yes, go with a new Vid card first... That will boost the system the most and you will see COD in a whole new light...:D
 
I'd go with the 9700 Pro also for the price. I'm still using mine, and honestly, I really don't see a need for more power (while there is certainly nothing wrong with having more). I'm playing all the latest games in high res with medium quality settings and it plays like a dream! Great card, and a hell of alot cheaper than I paid for it a year ago :)
 
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