Upgrading... What to do... What to do...

M

makshim

Gawd
Joined
Jul 21, 2004
Messages
590
Currently running

ASUS P4C800E Deluxe
2.6C Can be taken to 3.4 maybe farther
1GB OCZ EB PC-3700
Maxtor 80GB 7200RPM IDE drive
ASUS 9600XT Can't O/C worth a shit
Ultra X-Connect 500W

Basically I have 790 to spend (more if I sell things after I replace them). And need some advice on what to buy. So far I have narrowed it down to the following-

Option 1-
ASUS A8N-SLI Premium ~$200?
3200+ Winnie ~$175
X800XL ~$300
XP90 ~$40
Arctic Silencer ~$40

Option 2-
X800XL or something from FS/FT ~$350
36GB Raptor ~$100
2HD ~$150
XP90 ~$40
Arctic Silencer ~$40

Option 3-
6800 and hope it softmods to GT ~$275
Water Cooling system ~$350

Feel free to suggest your own ideas, and to go over budget by a bit.
I will be playing Doom 3, HL2, all the new games. Where will I see the biggest improvement? Any other suggestions?
 
Get a new video card and you should be set for at least a little while longer. 6800 Ultra AGP's go for $400 or less if you look around. Maybe a new HD.
 
Would it make much sense getting an Ultra considering the only difference between it and the GT is a few mhz? (Unless I am mistaken). Also if I do spring for an Ultra, which brand should I get? And are there any out there with VIVO?
 
makshim said:
Would it have problems handling a 6800U? It handles what I have now with ease.
Click to expand...

Well the biggest problem being it isn't a highend PSU........so that monster load that comes from your upgraded setup will be pushing that supply hard. X-Connect's got a lot of play because of their looks and modular cables.......however when all the dust settled and people other than case mod's reviewed them with real equipment not "x,y,z...software voltage monitoring and some bling fan's" they were found to be less than reliable a lot of places. Max PC had the most infamous review, since it being a paper rag get's panned like B&M's. However, trusted had the same problems.
http://www.trustedreviews.com/article.aspx?head=64&page=2307

And the whole review:

http://www.trustedreviews.com/article.aspx?art=1014

Notice the differences here in what they did and the usual PSU reviews. Basically it is your first line of defense and you don't want a weak PSU becasue IF it goes south it can eat everything. I ma not saying it will but.......it is not a high quality PSU. It is a low to mid range pre modded one. Poke around the PSU forum a little and you can get some good ideas of wha tto look for.....start here:

http://www.hardforum.com/showthread.php?t=792566

and here:

http://www.hardforum.com/showthread.php?t=844691


Edit: They also got a bad wrap when Powmax started listing them. However, POWMAX does not make them. They are made by Young Year....which isn't really much better.
 
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