Worth while upgrade for my computer?

[deadman_uk]

Apart from getting 2GB of ram (Which I plan to buy in the next 2 weeks) what other SENSIBLE upgrades do you think would benefit my computer?

I am going to have a little bit of money left over from buying the new ram so what do you suggest I do? I play lots of games, I do video editing and I use Photoshop a lot.

 

[Rocco123]

2GB RAM is a good choice, your system will be a shitload smoother with that in there.

If you edit/encode video and work with photoshop, it might be worth it to go dual core. I've heard photoshop runs a lot smoother with two cores. Plus multitask/switching will be faster. Wait till the price cuts, and you can go dual core for a lot cheaper.

 

[-=Antimatter=-]

You said you game a lot, so take a look at your peripherals. I would add an Audigy 2/4 series card or an x-Fi if your speakers are up to the challenge. Do you need a new mouse? Keyboard? Monitor?

 

[quadnad]

If you do video editing and work with photoshop a lot the best (by far) upgrade would be a dual core proc. The 2 gigs is the obvious one, something that I'm not sure how you lived without!

Moral of the story: Dual core for you is most definitely the way to go.

 

[deadman_uk]

Thanks all, of course Dual Core would be a good choice but I believe my CPU still has a lot of life left. Am I correct?

The 2 gigs is the obvious one, something that I'm not sure how you lived without!

Well I had 1GB but a stick of 512mb died so I am stuck with half a gig. I cant wait to get 2GB, my pc isnt very smooth at the moment.

I would add an Audigy 2/4 series card or an x-Fi if your speakers are up to the challenge

Yeah an x-Fi card would be a good choice. I heard the SB Live cards actually lower performance in games... is this true? I think I will be looking to get an xfi music sound card sometime soon. My speakers are a pile of crap and my headphones are average (technics RP-F200). My sound card is the oldest part of my computer so I think this is an essential upgrade.

GTA San Andreas keeps crashing and I am almost certain its sound related. There havent been new SB Live drivers since 2002...

Do you need a new mouse? Keyboard? Monitor?

I use a Logitech MX518 and a Saitek Eclipse keyboard. I also use a Hyundai ImageQuest Q995 monitor. So I am happy with this.

Thanks all for the posts

 

[quadnad]

First off: your processor DEFINITELY has a lot of life left in it, there is no question about it. The issue is that with a dual core processor you'll have an insane performance boost in apps like Photoshop and video encoding/decoding because it's able to work on two threads at once. In terms of upgrades that you'll notice the most, that'd be it (beyond the 2gigs).

You could always sell your 3500+ to help make up for the cost. Also, if you wait to do this until 7/24 you'll be able to take advantage of those prices.

About the sound card: don't bother upgrading to an X-Fi or something better unless you've got decent speakers. You won't be able to notice the difference.

 

[deadman_uk]

I will probably keep my 3500 but I thought games have issues with Dual Core?

Does my motherboard support dual core also?

I think I will buy an Audigy xfi Music and then save up for new speakers.

 

[quadnad]

I will probably keep my 3500 but I thought games have issues with Dual Core?

Does my motherboard support dual core also?

I think I will buy an Audigy xfi Music and then save up for new speakers.

All issues with dual core processors are 100% solveable, and I haven't found one that couldn't be fixed by simply setting an affinity. I've built three seperate dual core rigs, and none of the people I built them for (they're gamers) have had any problems.

Yes, your motherboard supports dual core.

 

[deadman_uk]

All issues with dual core processors are 100% solveable, and I haven't found one that couldn't be fixed by simply setting an affinity. I've built three seperate dual core rigs, and none of the people I built them for (they're gamers) have had any problems.

Yes, your motherboard supports dual core.

Thanks alot mate, maybe I will look into going dual core next year but this processor is only 3 weeks old (amd sent a new one to me because mine broke) and it has a lot of life left and is still a fast processor.