Which Upgrades are Worth It?

[RainofTerra]

Hey everyone,
I haven't done a major upgrade ot my system since October of 2003. I have never had a system that was so stable, and so it makes me hesitant to do any really major upgrades. That said, I am sure I could do some things to enhance the things I do. Current system config is:

P4 2.4C
Intel D875PBZ
4 x 256mb Crucial PC3200 RAM (1GB Total)
Radeon 9800 Pro with a Zalman ZM80C and the optional cooler.
Soundblaster Audigy 2 ZS
Zalman CNPS7000-AlCu cooler running at ~1400RPM
2 motherboard controlled 120mm Papst fans that run somewhere between 300 and 1000RPM depending on case temp.
Antec Sonata case with some bezel mods to improve airflow.
Lite-On HD166S 16x DVD-ROM (Black)
BenQ DW1620 DVD burner (Black)
C: Maxtor 80GB SATA w/ 8MB Cache
D: Maxtor 200GB PATA w/ 8MB Cache
E: Maxtor 160GB SATA w/ 8MB Cache

As for what I do, I do a lot of multitasking. Some of it is disk intensive, other CPU/GPU. I've got plenty of RAM. A typical day for me is playing WoW while downloading a few files (bandwidth limited as to not hurt the bandwidth WoW needs) all the while streaming video to my modded XBOX and having Firefox open with 8-10 tabs.

I really think my weak point is my CPU but my concern is whether I am going to get a significant increase going from 2.4ghz to 3.2ghz compared to how much extra heat I'll be generating. I'm thinking a 3.2c but they seem a lot more expensive than the hotter 3.2E.

Any suggestions?

Thanks,
-Jeff

 

[EnderW]

I'd suggest a 3.2GHz chip and a Raptor hard drive, I think those 2 things would yield you the biggest all around performance increase

 

[GeForceX]

^^^ I agree. The 3.2 GHz chip can help you out here with multi-tasking as long as HT is on. But the thing is-- do you *NEED* it? You're better off saving your money and perhaps try overclocking your 2.4 GHz to 3.0 GHz and try to see if it's worth it to go to 3.2 Otherwise, be smart-- don't waste money on little insignificant things. The Raptor to run everything should be noticeable to WoW and especially loading programs. There's little room for any REAL upgrades, honestly. Try O/C'ing first.

-J.

 

[royjr]

I'm in your very position right now

My rig is:
P4 2.4b @ 2.7Ghz
Abit AT-7 Max II (Rev.2.0)
512mb Corsair XMS pc3000 DDR
ATI 9800 Pro 128Mb w/ Zalman heatpipe cooler
SB Audigy
WD 80Gb + 80Gb + 250Gb

I'm looking to spend about $500 max. on upgrades, and I do ALOT of "tabbed" browsing via Firefox, multitasking, as well as lotsa Photoshop work. Unfortunately, I find my 'bottleneck' to be the CPU, Mobo, and RAM

I've decided to go AMD, since it's a cheaper solution to my problem, and will yield the best performance increase, for the buck. I WANTED to go Intel (w/HTT) and 240-pin DDR2, but it proved to be too costly vs. $$$

I finally decided to go with

- Gigabyte's K8NS Ultra 939 = $116.00
- AMD Athlon 64 3200+ (OEM) = $219.00
- 1Gb Corsair ValueSelect pc3200 (2x512) Dual-Channel DDR RAM = $140.00

With shipping, that puts me right around $500. I might go for the Retail CPU, and use the stock HSF for the time being, until I find a good HSF solution.

Good luck in your decision