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I read a lot of the HardOCP forums, and the other day I came across an i856G chipset that supports AGP8x and DDR1, along with Conroe support. The thing is, Newegg sells this board for $55, and I could pick up a Core2 Duo E6400 for $217 (or an E6600 for $309). Total upgrade cost using my existing parts would be ~$280.
The thing is, I can't afford an all out system upgrade at the moment, and it'll probably be another year or two before I can (after I finish massage therapy school). Buying 2gb of DDR2800 will set me back about $250. A decent PCIx video card will set me back another $250. A good motherboard will set me back another $120. Then, there's the power supply. I currently run a nice 20pin 400w PS that puts out 16A to the 12v, which seems to power my super hot running 6800GT and dual 36gb 10krpm WD Raptor drives just fine, but I doubt it would hold up well with a slew of whole new parts, so I'd have to buy a new one of those too.
And here's what I mainly use my computer for. I play a lot of Source engine games, which are primarily CPU limited. Despite the age of my graphics card, it seems to have no problem running DoD:S at 1280x1024 with max settings at 4x FSAA and 8x AF enabled. I also play a lot of Red Orchestra these days, which is another game that isn't terribly GPU demanding either (also CPU limited). I also use my computer a lot for work. I do a lot of printing, which as we all know, puts your CPU usage at 100%, hehe.
Now, I've looked at the benchmarks, and according to Tom's thing, an E6400 @ 2.13ghz would slaughter my old s754 A64 3200+ (2200mhz). Yes, I run the very first generation A64 cores. As for overclocking, I'm not too terribly concerned, as it's going to be a lot faster as a whole. Once I start making more money (after I finish school), I can use the E6400 to fill in a brand new system with better parts.
So, think it's a good idea? Most of my gaming and computer uses are mainly CPU limited. Just seems like an awfully nice upgrade for the cost. I wish I could afford a full system respec, but there's no way I can drop $1100 on a couple of computer parts right now. I still have to worry about putting food on the table.
The thing is, I can't afford an all out system upgrade at the moment, and it'll probably be another year or two before I can (after I finish massage therapy school). Buying 2gb of DDR2800 will set me back about $250. A decent PCIx video card will set me back another $250. A good motherboard will set me back another $120. Then, there's the power supply. I currently run a nice 20pin 400w PS that puts out 16A to the 12v, which seems to power my super hot running 6800GT and dual 36gb 10krpm WD Raptor drives just fine, but I doubt it would hold up well with a slew of whole new parts, so I'd have to buy a new one of those too.
And here's what I mainly use my computer for. I play a lot of Source engine games, which are primarily CPU limited. Despite the age of my graphics card, it seems to have no problem running DoD:S at 1280x1024 with max settings at 4x FSAA and 8x AF enabled. I also play a lot of Red Orchestra these days, which is another game that isn't terribly GPU demanding either (also CPU limited). I also use my computer a lot for work. I do a lot of printing, which as we all know, puts your CPU usage at 100%, hehe.
Now, I've looked at the benchmarks, and according to Tom's thing, an E6400 @ 2.13ghz would slaughter my old s754 A64 3200+ (2200mhz). Yes, I run the very first generation A64 cores. As for overclocking, I'm not too terribly concerned, as it's going to be a lot faster as a whole. Once I start making more money (after I finish school), I can use the E6400 to fill in a brand new system with better parts.
So, think it's a good idea? Most of my gaming and computer uses are mainly CPU limited. Just seems like an awfully nice upgrade for the cost. I wish I could afford a full system respec, but there's no way I can drop $1100 on a couple of computer parts right now. I still have to worry about putting food on the table.