What to upgrade....

S

shady3210

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Apr 3, 2008
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Well I have come across some extra cash and I have passed the wife test and am able to buy something for my pc!

Now the question is what do I want to upgrade

Current specs:
Athlon 64 3500+
Geforce 7900 gs
2 gig pc 3200
320gb hd

And a 19" CRT monitor (samsung 955DF) that I have had for 7 years

My budget is $200 and I'm considering either upgrading the video card to a 9600gt or 8800gt or upgrading the monitor to a 19 or 20" LCD.

What does everyone think the better upgrade would be? I'm leaning towards the vid card just cause there is really nothing wrong with my CRT other then its big.
 
If you haven't noticed any problems with the display, I'd say graphics card too. You wouldn't be getting any increase in resolution with a LCD that small (wow, that sounds funny :D).
 
A 9600GT or 8800GT card will be the best option. Upgrading anything else wouldnt show much of a difference anyways.
 
... Though upgrading the graphics card could expose the 3500+ as the performance bottleneck in your system.
 
or for a different pov try this,

cpu: AMD Athlon 64 X2 5400+ 2.8GHz Socket AM2 65W $77.99
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16819103242

mobo: BIOSTAR NF520-A2 AM2 NVIDIA nForce 520 $49.99
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813138077

cpu cooler: ARCTIC COOLING Freezer 64 Pro 92mm CPU Cooler $24.99
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16835185125

ram: A-DATA 2GB (2 x 1GB) 240-Pin DDR2 SDRAM DDR2 800 $42.99
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820211066

Total: $195.96 + shipping.

OR

Intel setup

ram: A-DATA 2GB (2 x 1GB) 240-Pin DDR2 SDRAM DDR2 800 $42.99
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820211066

cpu: Intel Pentium E2180 Allendale 2.0GHz LGA 775 65W Dual-Core $79.99
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16819116052
- many people have this oc'd to over 3 gig!

mobo: GIGABYTE GA-P31-S3G LGA 775 Intel P31 $64.99
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813128077

cpu cooler: Rosewill RCX-Z775-SL 92mm 2 Ball CPU Cooler $14.99
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16835200024

Total $202 + shipping

This would actually max out the 7900gs you have which is still a pretty decent card if it doesnt have the system holding it back.

GL!
 
Thanks for the advice guys I'm still not completely sure what I will do. I thought about upgrading the cpu/mobo but don't know if I will see that big a performance increase. Thank you for the links though gives me something to think about.
 
Well after cleaning out the closet of some old computer parts I have moved my budget up to about 350 so it looks like I can get a new cpu/mobo/ram/vid card. My question is is the intel set up preferred over the amd at the budget level? I am a long time AMD supporter but am willing to go blue if the price/performance is right :p
 
hey shady here is some thing to consider,

cpu: Intel Core 2 Duo E4500 Allendale 2.2GHz LGA 775 65W $119.99
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16819115031

mobo: GIGABYTE GA-73VM-S2 LGA 775 NVIDIA GeForce 7050 $54.99
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813128079

ram: WINTEC AMPX 2GB (2 x 1GB) 240-Pin DDR2 SDRAM DDR2 800 $38.99
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820161229

video card: MSI NX8800GTS 320M OC GeForce 8800GTS 320MB $139.99 ($20 mir)
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814127328

Total: $353..96 - $20 mir + shipping

If you can factor the $20 into the $350 budget I would get this ram instead
G.SKILL 2GB (2 x 1GB) 240-Pin DDR2 SDRAM DDR2 800 $44.99
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820231098

Overall at the resolution you play this gpu will let you play anyuthing thats out right now.
You can overclock the cpu a little with the stock cooler but I wouldnt reccomend it, a decent aftermarket cooler can be had for under $30, then you can go nuts on the oc, can you say 3 gig here I come! :D
GL!
 
Nooo!!!! get the MSI 8800GTS instead. Hehe.. naw nah j/k the 9600GT is good plus you save some money also.
 
nice options there from hossdaddy. sell your current parts to give you a higher budget, if you can. ;) what do you do with your system?
 
might want to save up more and go to a nice core 2 duo/quad system depending on what you want. But vid card is a good step unless that mobo is AGP.
 
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