Have $700 to spend on upgrades

[saqdeez]

Athlon xp 2800
Shuttle AN35N nForce2 Ultra
1 gig pc2800 ram
6800gt AGP video card
creative audigy audio card
80gb EIDE hd
----------------------

got $700 to throw at newegg or whoever. What should i get? Im going to be playing BF2 for awhile

 

[shoRunner]

only thing i'd do is maybe buy some more ram. i definately wouldn't spend $700 on a skt A system in upgrades. if you went with nf3 you could build a new skt 939 system, and use your 6800gt.

 

[Mesix]

Sell your computer and buy a new one.

 

[Topweasel]

MSI K8N NEO2 PLATINUM Socket 939 $118.00
AMD Athlon 64 3200+ Venice Retail $190.00
OCZ Premier Value 1GB (2 x 512MB DDR 400 $93.95
Antec Performance I P160 $95.00
Ocz PowerStream 520W $120.00
Antec 75012 120mm 2 Ball Cooling Fan Retail $18.99

The Memory I expect you to Use the Same memory you have along with this (You can undclock the new memory or overclock the old either way it will work).

I drew this up so it gave you easy replacement options later while not letting that very good 6800GT go to waste.

Edit: Forgot the total 686.24 all of this from newegg so i am sure you can bring the total down. Maybe even beable to throw another 1GB intheir as well (would suggest going 2X 1GB stick then)

 

[jlbenedict]

sell that current rig..
what you get out of that, along with the additional $700 you was going to spend would make for a really nice system..

 

[saqdeez]

sell it? Never thought of that. Who would i sell it to? through what means?

And start over, clean HD?!?

 

[ValuedCustomer]

just keep what you got, there's nothin' wrong w/ that box..

besides, @ $15 per, w/ $700 you could purchase 46 cases of beer! - do it, man! I dare ya!

 

[BOLt]

Sell it to someone. Finding someone locally will be easiest in terms of bargaining because you can meet them face to face. Over the net, there are more people to market your product to, but there's a lot more competition from others and you won't have the selling effect that you can only get face to face.

Try this setup:

AMD Athlon 64 3000+ CPU $145
DFI LANParty UT nF4 Ultra-D Motherboard $115
(512MB x 2) OCZ EL Platinum Revision 2 PC3200 DDR RAM $170
BFG GeForce 6800 GT OC PCI-e GPU $350
Seagate Barracuda 80GB SATA HD (or equivalent) $60
Antec SmartPower 2.0 400W PSU (or equivalent) $60

Total: $900.

You can cut a few corners here and there if you'd like, but if you can sell your current rig plus your $700, you've got quite a bit to throw around. A 7800 GTX is always nice, and the 3800+ x2's are supposed to debut at the end of this month for about $350 (or so I've heard). I wouldn't suggest going for higher clock speeds, though. This rig is more than capable of OC'ing.

 

[shoRunner]

Originally posted by: Topweasel
MSI K8N NEO2 PLATINUM Socket 939 $118.00
AMD Athlon 64 3200+ Venice Retail $190.00
OCZ Premier Value 1GB (2 x 512MB DDR 400 $93.95
Antec Performance I P160 $95.00
Ocz PowerStream 520W $120.00
Antec 75012 120mm 2 Ball Cooling Fan Retail $18.99

The Memory I expect you to Use the Same memory you have along with this (You can undclock the new memory or overclock the old either way it will work).

I drew this up so it gave you easy replacement options later while not letting that very good 6800GT go to waste.

Edit: Forgot the total 686.24 all of this from newegg so i am sure you can bring the total down. Maybe even beable to throw another 1GB intheir as well (would suggest going 2X 1GB stick then)

i'd get a cheaper psu like the entermax 460w or xclio 450w and a cheaper case like the antec SLK3000-B

 

[SlitheryDee]

Originally posted by: Topweasel
MSI K8N NEO2 PLATINUM Socket 939 $118.00
AMD Athlon 64 3200+ Venice Retail $190.00
OCZ Premier Value 1GB (2 x 512MB DDR 400 $93.95
Antec Performance I P160 $95.00
Ocz PowerStream 520W $120.00
Antec 75012 120mm 2 Ball Cooling Fan Retail $18.99

The Memory I expect you to Use the Same memory you have along with this (You can undclock the new memory or overclock the old either way it will work).

I drew this up so it gave you easy replacement options later while not letting that very good 6800GT go to waste.

Edit: Forgot the total 686.24 all of this from newegg so i am sure you can bring the total down. Maybe even beable to throw another 1GB intheir as well (would suggest going 2X 1GB stick then)

I like this suggestion, though depending on what you already have you may not need that case.

 

[Topweasel]

He has a shuttle.

Edit: Maybe not re-read and it says he has a shuttle mobo, which may mean he has a normal case.

If that is true then don't get the case and get more memory, or Don't get the case or the power supply and get a PCIe 6800GT and a Nforce4 Board (i will look into prices later need to head home traffic should be dying).

 

[saqdeez]

my shuttle mobo is standard size. I have a good case already, lan boy 2 i think. Silver color, blue fan in the front, nice and light.

Regarding the upgrade..why:
only buy a 3200+, shouldnt i go higher and make it count?


And my problem is, I already have a nice video card, so do i get an AGP mobo so i can still use it? Go PCI and get a new video card? or wait??

I THINK I JUST FOUND THE SOLUTION
ULi M1695 PCIe/AGP Socket 939
http://www.anandtech.com/mb/showdoc.aspx?i=2471&p=1

Is this as good as advertised?!

 

[shoRunner]

its not out yet

 

[saqdeez]

Ok found out my MOBO

Shuttle AN35N nForce2 Ultra
http://www.hexus.net/content/reviews/re...JsX3Jldmlld19JRD01NjYmdXJsX3BhZ2U9Mg==

A thought...Can i ditch my ram and get 2 gigs of pc3200 high grade stuff and use it on the new MOBO when it comes out? My mobo does ddr400 now (@ 2.5v??). Would this be a good idea?

Here is what my current mobo takes:
3 x 184pin DDR DIMM slots
DDR200 / DDR266 / DDR333 / DDR400 support @ 2.5v
3GB maximum system RAM (non-ECC), 2GB for DDR400
Dual DDR architecture combines 2 independent 64-bit memory controllers
Dual DDR provides up to 6.4GB/s of buffered system bandwidth

 

[SlitheryDee]

Originally posted by: saqdeez
Ok found out my MOBO

Shuttle AN35N nForce2 Ultra
http://www.hexus.net/content/reviews/re...JsX3Jldmlld19JRD01NjYmdXJsX3BhZ2U9Mg==

A thought...Can i ditch my ram and get 2 gigs of pc3200 high grade stuff and use it on the new MOBO when it comes out? My mobo does ddr400 now (@ 2.5v??). Would this be a good idea?

Here is what my current mobo takes:
3 x 184pin DDR DIMM slots
DDR200 / DDR266 / DDR333 / DDR400 support @ 2.5v
3GB maximum system RAM (non-ECC), 2GB for DDR400
Dual DDR architecture combines 2 independent 64-bit memory controllers
Dual DDR provides up to 6.4GB/s of buffered system bandwidth

Low voltage capabilities there. It's good enough for value RAM I'm guessing, but higher performance memory usually requires at least 2.6v or more to operate at the rated speed.

Originally posted by: saqdeez

Regarding the upgrade..why:
only buy a 3200+, shouldnt i go higher and make it count?

The 90nm cores are highly overclockable. You could get a 3000+ venice and have a reasonable chance of getting it up to 2.6ghz with 2.4ghz (3800+ speed) almost a certainty.

 

[Reapsy00]

Originally posted by: BOLt
Sell it to someone. Finding someone locally will be easiest in terms of bargaining because you can meet them face to face. Over the net, there are more people to market your product to, but there's a lot more competition from others and you won't have the selling effect that you can only get face to face.

Try this setup:

AMD Athlon 64 3000+ CPU $145
DFI LANParty UT nF4 Ultra-D Motherboard $115
(512MB x 2) OCZ EL Platinum Revision 2 PC3200 DDR RAM $170
BFG GeForce 6800 GT OC PCI-e GPU $350
Seagate Barracuda 80GB SATA HD (or equivalent) $60
Antec SmartPower 2.0 400W PSU (or equivalent) $60

Total: $900.

You can cut a few corners here and there if you'd like, but if you can sell your current rig plus your $700, you've got quite a bit to throw around. A 7800 GTX is always nice, and the 3800+ x2's are supposed to debut at the end of this month for about $350 (or so I've heard). I wouldn't suggest going for higher clock speeds, though. This rig is more than capable of OC'ing.

omg you are crazy man u suggest he spend half of his budget on the same graphics card he already has! (ooh ok BFG have overclocked it by 25mhz or whatever wow)

 

[coomar]

MSI K8N NEO2 PLATINUM Socket 939 $118.00
AMD Athlon 64 3000+ CPU $145
2 GB (2 pcs 1GB) DDR (400) PC-3200 Patriot (PDC2G3200LLK)--->$232.00 (2-3-2-5)
http://www.monarchcomputer.com/Merchant...=PROD&Store_Code=M&Product_Code=140291

ENERMAX EG425P-VE SFMA 2.0 420W Power Supply - Retail $69.99 (AFR 10.00)

keep the hd, sell everything else (maybe keep the optical drive if its decent)

this is around 570, you have 130 to get the case plus whatever you get for your old computer

keep the 6800agp, a 7800gtx is fine with a 2.2ghz cpu, a 6800gt should be fine with a 1.8

most people get a 40%+ overclock on a 3000+ venice with a good mobo

 

[SlitheryDee]

I also recommend sticking with the AGP card unless you can sell it and get most of your money back. AGP's in it's final days, but the next gen cards will still probably trickle down to the interface one last time. There's too many people out there with AGP boards for them not to.

 

[Hacp]

Oc that thing and be happy with what you have. Upgrade in half a year to a year.

 

[filibusterman]

If all you want the rig for is battlefield 2 or cs:s your rig should be great... mine is with a athlon xp 2800+ and my former 9800 pro worked. Doom III or hl2 seem to be the hardest on the systems and with your 6800gt i can't imagine you have any problems with any games out to date.

Wait for the upgrade

 

[saqdeez]

is the xp2800 overclockable? I never tried im a scaredy cat

 

[cheapherk]

If you go with a Geforce 6800GT, I'd go for the Ultra. I have an EVGA 6800GT and I've been very happy with it. The Ultras are a lot cheaper than the $500 they were when they first came out.