What should I upgrade next?

[Proletariat]

Hello, everybody.

I bought my computer last November but I'm getting bored and have some cash to burn. For about 250 USD, any opinions on what I should upgrade next? I'm thinking graphics card here, but my pc knowledge is very amateur, at best.

AMD ATHLON(TM)64 3000+
160GB Hard Drive SATA150
Sckt939 MSI K8N NEO4-F nForce4
1024 MB (512MBx2) PC3200 DDR
NVIDIA Geforce 6600 GT 128MB

Thanks for any advice.

[TosaInu]

Hello Proletariat,

I'm far from an expert, but it doesn't look like you can buy any new part to replace an old component and really gain. It's simply too good.

So, I'ld expand. Ask yourself what you like: a digital camera, a webcam, printer/scanner/copier, more ram? Personally I'ld buy an extra harddisk: more space, but also the option to put more heavy programs on the first cluster (some speedgain), have OS and Swap on different disks, build a raid. Maybe an extra WD 10,000RPM Raptor.
Or buy another pair of DDR.

[CBR]

Hm yeah vid card seems to be the next thing for you to get then. A 7800GT is a very good card for its price. Dont know how much it costs in USA but should be around $300 I guess.


CBR

[Sjakihata]

definately a videocard. a 256 or 512 radeon card pci express

edit: another 1gig of ram wont do you any harm either

[Beirut]

If you have an AGP MB and don't want to change it, Nvidia just put out an AGP version of their 7800 series card with 256 megs. That would be a great step up from your present card.

[Proletariat]

I'm far from an expert, but it doesn't look like you can buy any new part to replace an old component and really gain. It's simply too good.

When I first decided I wanted a good gaming computer, I made the mistake of getting all of my hardware information from the gamespot forums. I was under the impression I was settling for a somewhat decent rig.



Thanks alot for all the input. I think I'll end up looking at the vid cards you guys mentioned.

Great forum!

[TosaInu]

When I first decided I wanted a good gaming computer, I made the mistake of getting all of my hardware information from the gamespot forums. I was under the impression I was settling for a somewhat decent rig.

Are you talking about your current PC or an older one?

[Proletariat]

Are you talking about your current PC or an older one?

The one detailed above. I posted that info over there and they sqawked on and on about what else could be added to it to make it better. I ended up thinking, "Well, I'll just use this piece of crap until March or so, and then trash it and get something nicer."

[lars573]

My advice would be to add a creative sound blaster sound card. It pwns the on board audio that comes with most mother boards. And maybe a creative 5.1 set of speakers to go with them.

Myself I just bouth myself a new system, see.
Athlon 64 3200+
ASUS A8V-E mainboard
2x kingston 512 MB ram
sound blaster audigy sound card
ATI Radeon X1300 256 MB GFX card
WD 160 GB SATA HDD
Maxtor 60 GB IDE HDD (from my old system now a secondary back up drive)
Pioneer DVD-R drive
Aopen ES50D case

All that for $848.70 CND, the joy of working for a PC wholesaler.

[TosaInu]

The one detailed above. I posted that info over there and they sqawked on and on about what else could be added to it to make it better. I ended up thinking, "Well, I'll just use this piece of crap until March or so, and then trash it and get something nicer."

:) buy the latest and the hottest, go to some forums and you'll be 'advised' to upgrade.

I can't see much wrong with it. Your PC, apart from the amount of RAM, beats my PC everywhere, and I play about any game.

Only upgrade when you need to, when you listen to people you'll just bankrupt yourself.

Is your Harddisk more than 50% full? Buy a second one. Get a fancy mouse or something like that if you want to treat yourself (nothing wrong with that).

[drone]

Looks like a decent system, the only "flaw" I see is the low memory video card.

What's your monitor setup? Maybe a new LCD screen, or a two-headed setup might be a good addition. Or you can get one of the nice Logitech cordless/optical/rechargeable mice.

[Xiahou]

If you're thinking of upgrading your video, do what I always do.... Find some thorough benchmarks from Tomshardware or similar site and compare the listings for the card you have with newer ones that are in your price range. It'll help you get an idea of whether or not you'll get enough performance to make it worthwhile, and if so, which card can give the best bang for the buck.

[Phatose]

The graphics card seems like the weakest link, but it's a matter of tastes - and your display. If you're running a 17" LCD that maxes at 1024x768, might not be such a big deal.

[TosaInu]

The graphics card seems like the weakest link, but it's a matter of tastes - and your display. If you're running a 17" LCD that maxes at 1024x768, might not be such a big deal.

Good point. And that applies to almost everything: it's your computer and you have to work with it. There are always 'better' parts, but will you really notice for the things you do?

I have an extravagant 2 gig Ram. I need that to open huge database files. Otherwise only 0.5 or 1 would be fine.

[Lemur]

I have an extravagant 2 gig Ram. I need that to open huge database files. Otherwise only 0.5 or 1 would be fine.

Actually, I'm not so sure that 0.5 gigs of ram is minimum wage anymore. A lot of the newer games are dogs with less than a gig, and Battlefield 2 doesn't really sing until you've got 2 gigs (or so I've been told -- I have a paltry gig or ram in my machine).

[lars573]

lemur this

Athlon 64 3200+
ASUS A8V-E mainboard
2x kingston 512 MB ram
sound blaster audigy sound card
ATI Radeon X1300 256 MB GFX card

is my current system and I maxed out all the settings (save AA) on BF2 and there are no frame rate drops during gameplay. It loads a might slow.

[TosaInu]

Actually, I'm not so sure that 0.5 gigs of ram is minimum wage anymore. A lot of the newer games are dogs with less than a gig, and Battlefield 2 doesn't really sing until you've got 2 gigs (or so I've been told -- I have a paltry gig or ram in my machine).

True, 1 is recommended when you play modern games.

0.5 would however work fine/acceptable for me, apart from those huge database files.

Point is: hardware should please the user. It's costly to just upgrade because there's 'better'.

[Geezer57]

I bought my computer last November but I'm getting bored and have some cash to burn. For about 250 USD, any opinions on what I should upgrade next? I'm thinking graphics card here, but my pc knowledge is very amateur, at best.

AMD ATHLON(TM)64 3000+
160GB Hard Drive SATA150
Sckt939 MSI K8N NEO4-F nForce4
1024 MB (512MBx2) PC3200 DDR
NVIDIA Geforce 6600 GT 128MB

Your "weakest" component would be the graphics card, and it's not really all that weak. Next would the amount of RAM, but only for BF2 and a few other brand-new games.

It should really all depend on what you're playing, and if the gameplay is satisfactory. If no real problems, save your money for a later larger upgrade.