Upgrade now or wait?

[gbimmer]

Well these are my current specs:
P4 2.0 at 2.2Ghz
Ti4600
512MB DDR
Asus P4B

I'd like to do something that would allow fear to at least be playable on my computer and not look like it came out in 1997 because I have to have every single setting turned off.

My options:

The most expensive option:
Opteron 146 $223 and OC it
7800GT $288
2GB DDR $150
Asus A8N-E $90
Total: $751

The the middle option:
Opteron 144 $170 and OC it
ATI X1800 XL (Refurbished) $200 or X1800 GTO $170
2GB DDR $150
Asus A8N-E $90
Total: $610

The cheap option:
ATI X800 XT $275 or 7800 GS $274
2GB DDR $150

The free option:
WAIT... until intel's Conroe comes out and see how that affects everything

 

[boomheadshot45]

i would wait a little bit but if you need it right now go with like the x800 and oc it and unlock some pipelines and get the 2 gb of ram

 

[general]

Jumping video platforms will always cost you. Even with your best option you won't be playing fear at top settings. I would suggest some combination of the two. You need to pay to get away from AGP as the AGP cards are too expensive now. I'd track down some used hardware such as a used 939 board and a 3000+ and go with just 1 gig of ram as it is pretty cheap now. Then combine that with a 6800Ultra or one of the cheaper ATI cards. Then you can upgrade again when you get some more money. At least that will put you on 939 with an upgrade path and PCI-e

 

[zero002021]

The cheap option:
ATI X800 XT $275 or 7800 GS $274
2GB DDR $150

One problem I can see here: your processor will hold back the rest of your system if you choose this route.

 

[Negative Decibel]

One problem I can see here: your processor will hold back the rest of your system if you choose this route.

IMO, i'd have to dissagree. Yes, his processer would be the new bottleneck, but I wouldn't say it would be holding back much. i'm still running a athlon xp barton +2500 clocked at 1.83 ghz... i just upgraded my vid card from a gffx5700 ultra to a 6800 GS. I can play just about anything right now with reasonable resolutions(usually 1024x768) and framerate. Oblivian, FEAR, and many other great games look so awesome! I'd recomend an upgrade on the vidcard definatly. As for the ram, i got a gig, but 2 would be nice.

as far as waiting for conroe, or even possibly am2.. that could be a good route too. I, myself, am waiting to build a whole new system untill Q4.