Partial upgrade

[griffinol]

I've upgrade my primary gaming machine thanks to everyone here.

But now I'm looking to partially upgrade the old system so that I can use it for some basic LAN games at other places.

The old system is an Athlon 3200, with no GPU (It died)

My options are to:

1) Continue the AGP route, and go with an ATI HD 2600 pro (Was a Nvidia 6800GT) ($80)

2) Go cheap with a PCI-e solution and get that cheap Fry's Intell e2200/ECS mobo combo, and get a decent GPU like the 7800GT or something around the range of $80-$120. total (~$250)

Should I stay the AGP route, or go PCI and keep it somewhat updated?

I do have a 430W PSU that should be able to handle the mid-range PCI-e cards.

Again this is a LAN gaming rig that's just for playing WoW, TF2, and Starcraft 2. Nothing heavy like Crysis. Just some basic fun LAN games.

Thanks
-Griff

 

[s44]

Was your old system 939 or AM2? Because if you were using DDR, you need to factor in the cost of getting new RAM too.

 

[griffinol]

s44,

For got to mention it, yes. RAM is dirt cheap, so forgot to include. But I'm planning to pick up 2Gigs for $29.

Was just wondering if its ok to still go for an AGP card, or rather, try to upgrade cheaply to PCI-e, and get something that I can use later on in future builds.

I plan to stick with XP.

My new gaming rig for comparison is e8400, 8800 GT OC. This rig is just for travelling purposes, and so I dont care as much, but would like some decent performance.