Smart decision? (My new computer)

[Chubz]

Hey guys, I'm curious about something and I hope that some of you can answer this honestly. (Especially since many of you know a heck of a lot more than I do!)

The day before yesterday, I was searching for a new PC to get so that I could replace my older one and prepare for DirectX 10 and higher-end gaming.

My old PC had the following specs:
AMD Athlon XP 2800+
1 GB DDR RAM
ATI Radeon X800 XL (AGP)
180 GB Hard-Drive

The new PC I bought yesterday is an HP a6030n.

The price & specs are the following:
PRICE: $700 (somewhere around there with rebates)
AMD Athlon X2 4800+
2 GB DDR RAM
Nvidia 6150SE Integrated graphics*
320 GB Hard-Drive


As you can see, it beats my old PC in every category except for the video card. I plan on purchasing a new video card in a month or so (8800 GTS?) so that my PC will be 100% ready for gaming. Being able to go PCI-Express this route instead of AGP is a big sigh of relief. Of course, a power-supply is also going to be with that purchase so that my PC can actually use the video card.


I'm worried that my Athlon X2 4800+ processor may be outdated fairly soon (since there seem to be so many more powerful ones out now, especially with quad-cores incoming), and I'm also kind of in a hole in terms of the video card purchase, considering I'll be lucky to afford an 8800 GTS with a power-supply (about $400-500 in all probably), and there's almost no way I can get a 8800 GTX because those things are SO expensive.

I'm worried that if I go the 8800 GTS route, my PC will end up being outdated fairly soon (due to video card and maybe processor), but I'm not sure.



So here are my main questions (feel free to comment on anything above, as well):
Did I make a smart purchase?

Will my hardware be outdated soon or am I just being paranoid here?

Will my PC be good for gaming? (I think that with an Athlon dual-core processor and 2 gigs of RAM, I'll be fine once I get a good video card, but I'm not totally sure.)



Thanks in advance for any replies!

 

[RoBo]

Perhaps a Core 2 Duo would have been a better purchase.

 

[an51r]

Go for an AM2 build get a brisbane 3600 to hold you over and then you will be ready for the quad core optys. Also ddr2 ram is a really noice speed boost over ddr.

 

[RoBo]

Go for an AM2 build get a brisbane 3600 to hold you over and then you will be ready for the quad core optys.

The new PC I bought yesterday is an HP a6030n.

He apperars to have already purchased a PC.

 

[Chubz]

He apperars to have already purchased a PC.

Yeah that's the only bad part.. I've already purchased the computer.

So the processor isn't all that great after all? So far it seems to have been working pretty well.. applications load up and install pretty quickly, and I've tried a few games and despite low frame rates, I've not had any stuttering or anything.

It's hard telling how it'll work when I get a better video card and start pushing my PC to the max, though.

 

[RoBo]

Add in the fact you might need some good cooling for a new video card.

Post some benchmarks.

 

[engiNURD]

What size monitor do you have? A GTS is fine for a 22" or lower, but a GTX would be even better. You don't need a super expensive PSU for a single GTX or GTS. A decent 500W PSU will suffice, like the XClio Goodpower 500W from the egg for $50. The Enhance 5150GH 500W from eWiz.com for $70 would be even better, though, hehe. I wouldn't bother buying a DX10 card until some DX10 games actually come out that you want to play.

BTW, did you want to sell that x800xl agp card? Please PM me, if so.

 

[Chubz]

What size monitor do you have? A GTS is fine for a 22" or lower, but a GTX would be even better.

I mostly use a 17" LCD monitor at 1280x1024 resolution (can't go any higher), so that's one of the reasons I've been thinking of getting a GTS instead of a GTX. The GTX is too expensive as it is, but at lower resolutions I don't think the GTX would even be necessary.. I think the GTS will more than easily do the job.

You don't need a super expensive PSU for a single GTX or GTS. A decent 500W PSU will suffice, like the XClio Goodpower 500W from the egg for $50. The Enhance 5150GH 500W from eWiz.com for $70 would be even better, though, hehe.

Thank you for the suggestions on those PSUs. I checked mine and it's a 300w so I'll definitely need to upgrade in order to power a better video card. I don't think the cost will be too much, though. $100 at the most, and maybe not even that much. I'll probably aim for a 500-550w PSU.

I wouldn't bother buying a DX10 card until some DX10 games actually come out that you want to play.

Yeah, that's why I'm saving up my money to get the 8800 GTS so that I can play DX10 games such as Crysis and Unreal Tournament 3. I can't wait to play those games, and hopefully the GTS will run those games well at 1280x1024 with most of the bells & whistles.

BTW, did you want to sell that x800xl agp card? Please PM me, if so.

lol, as of now my old PC (with the x800xl you're asking for) is down because of a blown-out PSU. In fact, I was going for a better PSU to get that PC up-and-running again when I ran into the HP a6030n and just got it instead.

So if I ever get that PC back up and running, if I don't need the X800XL and the integrated graphics card will do the job (perhaps the PC may end up in an office environment for someone who doesn't need it for gaming), I'll gladly sell the X800XL. Right now things are kind of crazy, though, so I can't sell it just yet.