200/250 to spend....upgrade worth it?

[jpph]

right, i have 200 maybe 250 at a big stretch to spend, is an upgrade worth it?
i got a cpu cooler like an idiot, it cost 70 euro, it turns out i cant oc my cpu (i think), no mention of it in my BIOS, but i kept the receipt so i can easily return it.
so i'm thinking maybe of an upgrade to amd 6000?
intel seem to perform so much better, should i get a new mobo (with an intel socket), a cheap intel cpu and use my cooler to oc it like mad?
bearing in mind the 70yoyos of the cooler come out of the 250...so that would only leave me 180 to get a cpu and mobo. and would probably cancel out a gpu upgrade in the near future.
so..... opinions?

anyway, is it even worth upgrading atm?
theres no game i cant play!!:D :D

also, i buy all my upgrades off dabs.ie, so please dont recommend newegg or sites outside the uk and ireland.:)

current specs are:
amd 3800+ 2.0ghz x2
8600gt
xp sp2
2gb ram

all opinions welcome!

[Punkster]

why not try selling your 8600GT and upgrade to 8800GT. have you got an xbox 360 or PS3. i'd invest your money on a console, unless you really hate console gaming for some reason.

[halo-fan-4ever]

i wouldnt recomend selling ur 8600gt to buy a 8800 since the benefit would only be +5-7 fps anyway, but if u say that theres no game u cant play then why upgrade? just hang on to ur money for when u really need it

[Heavy_Boab]

Yeah just get a console PC gaming is dead for now lol

[Punkster]

i wouldnt recomend selling ur 8600gt to buy a 8800 since the benefit would only be +5-7 fps anyway, but if u say that theres no game u cant play then why upgrade? just hang on to ur money for when u really need it

no i reckon it would make a lot of a difference. the graphics cards test scores i've looked at generally suggest that 8800GT is twice as powerful as 8600GT coz there's quite often double the frames per sec.

[jpph]

no i reckon it would make a lot of a difference. the graphics cards test scores i've looked at generally suggest that 8800GT is twice as powerful as 8600GT coz there's quite often double the frames per sec.

would my cpu not bottleneck it?
and maybe my mobo? its only pci e 16, not 2.0

[Punkster]

dunno which is why i would invest in console gaming. coz you know what you're paying for at least.

[jpph]

dunno which is why i would invest in console gaming. coz you know what you're paying for at least.
fair enough, but im not allowed a console!
i prefer pc anyway

[halo-fan-4ever]

im gona get another 8600gt sometime this month and run them in sli, so that might be an option for u (if ur chipset has sli support), coz i know that 2x8600gt is similar to 8800, and dont say im wrong coz i know im right

[flameboy118]

i say get another 8600 and run it in sli... then upgrade to faster RAM if your ram isnt 800mhz. dont get a console if you dont want to, i much prefer pc gaming too. your processor should be ok, i say get a couple gig ddr2 800 ram to go with your 2gb, then get another 8600. mobo might be a problem too

[jpph]

my mobo doesnt support sli
hmmmmmm.................
i dont really want to sli stuff

decisions, decisions,
any more thoughts?
what performance boost am i looking at if i upgraded to 6000+?

[Punkster]

in that case, again i say sell your 8600GT and get an 8800GT. you can keep the 8800GT for future use when you upgrade the rest of your PC and you can get another 8800GT later and put them in SLI mode.

the graphics card is the most important part of a gaming PC so i'd put your money on the card first, then upgrade the rest accordingly.

aparently it's a better performance boost to get more RAM rather than faster RAM. so i'd get more RAM first. if it's already 800Mhz then yeah get more RAM.

[jpph]

in that case, again i say sell your 8600GT and get an 8800GT. you can keep the 8800GT for future use when you upgrade the rest of your PC and you can get another 8800GT later and put them in SLI mode.

the graphics card is the most important part of a gaming PC so i'd put your money on the card first, then upgrade the rest accordingly.

aparently it's a better performance boost to get more RAM rather than faster RAM. so i'd get more RAM first. if it's already 800Mhz then yeah get more RAM.

well, id kinda like to save for a 4850, and work on cpu now, not sure why though!
my ram is rubbish 566 mhz stuff, and apparently 2gb is ample for xp anyway:o

[halo-fan-4ever]

get an sli compatible one so that ur futureproof

[jpph]

get an sli compatible one so that ur futureproof
nah, i dont think il ever go sli. and theyd be a lot more expensive wouldnt they?

[Punkster]

nah, i dont think il ever go sli. and theyd be a lot more expensive wouldnt they?

2 8600GT ' s i've heard are almost as powerful as an 8800GT and about the same price, i believe. i think you might as well go straight for the 8800GT and sell your 8600GT later if you can.

[flameboy118]

8800gt sli ftw!! yay, hooray for money!

[jpph]

right guys, i think im just gonna go for a 4850, hopefully it will do me for a long time to come.
i will consider upgrading to amd 6000 but i will forget about mobos because you have to reinstall windows and back everything up, i dont have a copy of xp or a spare hdd.

i hope my mobo or cpu dont bottleneck it, but i still should get a huge performance increase right?

[halo-fan-4ever]

with a 4850 it wont bottleneck, the 4850 is pretty sweet, my dad has that

[jpph]

with a 4850 it wont bottleneck, the 4850 is pretty sweet, my dad has that

cool!
how does the 6000 treat you?

[halo-fan-4ever]

treats me very nice indeed

[jpph]

difficult to install?

[Punkster]

installing a grpahics card is the easiest thing after installing RAM. just search it on youtube for a quick demo of installation. remember to ground yourself and whatever safety procedures, just common sense really.

[halo-fan-4ever]

difficult to install?

no idea, i got my pc built for me, its best to let a pc store do the work otherwise something could go wrong and completly **** the whole thing up

[Punkster]

no, seriously installing a graphics card is so easy. if you tried it yourself, you'd realize what a rip off it would be to go to a PC store to get someone to put it in for you. i fitted my own graphics card in and it was really easy. just follow the usual safety procedures and you should be fine.

[halo-fan-4ever]

no, seriously installing a graphics card is so easy. if you tried it yourself, you'd realize what a rip off it would be to go to a PC store to get someone to put it in for you. i fitted my own graphics card in and it was really easy. just follow the usual safety procedures and you should be fine.

he´s not installing a graphic card, he´s buying a new motherboard

[Punkster]

he´s not installing a graphic card, he´s buying a new motherboard

but jpph said he's getting a 4850 card. and was going on about hoping that the mobo wouldn't bottleneck it. i think you should read a few posts back.

[flameboy118]

right guys, i think im just gonna go for a 4850, hopefully it will do me for a long time to come.
i will consider upgrading to amd 6000 but i will forget about mobos because you have to reinstall windows and back everything up, i dont have a copy of xp or a spare hdd.


nope halofan, i think youll find he said hes getting a 4850 (graphics card) and leaving the mobo.... owned! punkster was right. and yeah its SO easy. just slot it in, configure and find drivers

[dotXtreme]

Nah... I suggest you to just wait a bit...

[Love_Spinja]

I can even put in a graphics card! Its way to easy! Just connect it and slide that bad boy in! :p

[halo-fan-4ever]

i´d say get a new mobo just to make sure it doesnt bottleneck a new card

[commander_lindop]

i would put that money towards a new, better one

[halo-fan-4ever]

i would put that money towards a new, better one

a new better what?

[jpph]

Nah... I suggest you to just wait a bit...

yeah maybe, seeing as im catching up on a tonne of older games anyway, and there doesnt seem to be any exciting new titles coming out soon.....i could well be wrong about that though.

i saw an asustek 8800gt for 110, maybe that would be a better buy than a 4850......
are asustek any good?

and what should i wait for??

[jpph]

nope halofan, i think youll find he said hes getting a 4850 (graphics card) and leaving the mobo.... owned! punkster was right. and yeah its SO easy. just slot it in, configure and find drivers

nope nope guys, i was talking about the amd 6000, i asked did it treat him well, he said yes and i said easy to install???

i know installing a graphics card is easy, only ram is simpler!

[halo-fan-4ever]

nope nope guys, i was talking about the amd 6000, i asked did it treat him well, he said yes and i said easy to install???

i know installing a graphics card is easy, only ram is simpler!

ha!!! whos the OwNeD one now flameboy?!?!

[halo-fan-4ever]

yeah maybe, seeing as im catching up on a tonne of older games anyway, and there doesnt seem to be any exciting new titles coming out soon.....i could well be wrong about that though.

i saw an asustek 8800gt for 110, maybe that would be a better buy than a 4850......
are asustek any good?

and what should i wait for??

i´ve never heard of asutek, but as long as it comes with a warrenty it should be fine

[jpph]

sod it i just cant decide, i think il leave the upgrade for the moment cos atm im playing only older games apart from bioshock and crysis, and i can max out all the others.

[Webster Returns]

yeah maybe, seeing as im catching up on a tonne of older games anyway, and there doesnt seem to be any exciting new titles coming out soon.....i could well be wrong about that though.

i saw an asustek 8800gt for 110, maybe that would be a better buy than a 4850......
are asustek any good?

and what should i wait for??

Here is what I recommend. Play all of your older games while you start to save money. I wouldn't bother trying to upgrade your PC simply because it is so far behind already. Down the road you can buy a new mobo, a new INTEL Proc., Graphics card, and maybe RAM.

Also the company you are referring to with the 8800GT is better know as Asus. They are a great manufacturer of PC parts, good graphics cards, and great mother boards. However you should know that the 4850 beats the snot out of the 8800GT.

[canveyboy]

Here is what I recommend. Play all of your older games while you start to save money. I wouldn't bother trying to upgrade your PC simply because it is so far behind already. Down the road you can buy a new mobo, a new INTEL Proc., Graphics card, and maybe RAM.

Also the company you are referring to with the 8800GT is better know as Asus. They are a great manufacturer of PC parts, good graphics cards, and great mother boards. However you should know that the 4850 beats the snot out of the 8800GT.


or even save a few pennies more and get a HD4870, it beats the snot out of virtually everything :D or if you wanna be a hardware freek like me, get 2 of them, truely awsommmmmmmmmmmmmmme :eek:

[Webster Returns]

or even save a few pennies more and get a HD4870, it beats the snot out of virtually everything :D or if you wanna be a hardware freek like me, get 2 of them, truely awsommmmmmmmmmmmmmme :eek:

Wow! I didn't think there were any other hardware nerds on this forum. I also have 2 4870s atm. Thinking of getting a black PCB 4870 X2 or two after a while, if I get a little bit lucky. What do you use to cool your PC out of curiousity?

[canveyboy]

im on air cooled, my case is an antec 900 (big and airy, loads of room inside, well it was before i put these cards in) lol

3 x 120 mm front fans
1 x 120 mm side fan
1 x 120 mm rear exhaust fan
1 x 200 mm (big boy) top exhaust fan
cool master all copper sphere cooler on the cpu
1 little fan on the north bridge
and even though my ram has heatspreaders on i have a 80 mm fan sitting across them pulling air into them to cool them.

it sounds like an aeroplane taking off, but thats a small price to pay for a high end rig i suppose.

im thinking of upgrading to the antec 1200 case though.

i will probably upgrade yet again in 4-6 months time and go DDR3
and put 3 graphic cards in on crossfire/ a mobo i spotted the other day held 3 graphic cards all x16 and could hold 2 CPU's also, mmmmmmmmmmmm sooooooo tempting.
there was a case i spotted that held two PSU units buts i cant seem to find it now, so if you come across it anyone, give me a shout, i wouldnt mind checking it out again.

so im thinking my next pc will be something like 2 quad core cpu's
4 x Samsung SpinPoint F1 1TB SATA-II 32MB Cache (raided)
3 x HD4870 graphic cards
DDR3 1,800MHz, 8 GIG of these
antec 1200 case with 1000 watt power supply (or duel power)
maybe a physics card
i would keep my existing montor and soundcard (fatality)
and i would probably venture into some serious watercooling also.
and i want one of these network cards also, a 400MHz gaming network card.
http://img254.imageshack.us/img254/7228/killergc9.jpg

[Webster Returns]

I'm currently going through a mod right now I'll be sure to post it here so you can have a look.

A few comments on your projected build. RAID doesn't offer much of a performance gain for gaming computers, its just overly expensive and has a higher chance of failure. 8 GB of DDR3 would be extremely expensive and usually wouldn't offer any performance gains over good DDR2. Those network cards and Physix cards are pretty pointless and typically offer no performance gains. I have a dual socket motherboard to play with but I didn't buy it for gaming only. Since most games of today can only utilize 2 cores maximum, 8 cores are pretty useless and also very expensive.