What should i upgrade?

[saqdeez]

My current system is as follows:
-athlon xp 2800, not overclocked
-1 gig crucial 2700 ram
-ti4200 128mb vid card
audigy 2 oem sound
-biostar m7ncd pro nforce 2 mobo
400 watt antec

I will be upgrading everything with a "-" next to it, this year. My question is, in what order should i go? What should i upgrade now, and what brand/item should i get in its place. I use this for FPS gaming and web surfing, with a little bit of photoshop

cpu: looking at 3400 a64.
ram: 1 gig 3200. mushkin? Want to spend <$200, dont care about OC
vid: x800 pro definetely
mobo: NO IDEA!! i hear gigabyte is solid. Not going to OC so i want best default performance. I know new boards are coming out, can someone give insight into that? Nforce or via? Dont care about PCI-E, i can wait till next year for that.

 

[TheBDB]

video card

 

[AyashiKaibutsu]

I second the video card nice shiny new ones are out and it will probably bring the most improvement.

 

[Markfw]

Radeon 9800pro

 

[Gagabiji]

GO of the video card. I heard you can get a deal on the X800 Pro at CompUSA. :beer:

 

[Nick5324]

no question, video card

 

[Gonad the Barbarian]

Personally I'd just upgrade the CPU and video card and wait until next year for a new cpu/mobo/ram setup.

Edit: Actually, I'd see what that 2800 was capable of and maybe not even buy a new CPU.

 

[bigboxes]

Video card is the weakest link by far.

 

[saqdeez]

i failed to metnion that i am SET on getting the x800 pro, but what do you recommend I get in place of the other components?

I dont know how far i can go up with my current mobo. If i can only go up to 3000 or 3200 xp, i dont think that would warrant an upgrade... .

 

[saqdeez]

any thoughts on the new motherboards? I read that there are going to be amd 3500, 3600, 3800 etc!!!!

 

[Markfw]

Originally posted by: saqdeez
any thoughts on the new motherboards? I read that there are going to be amd 3500, 3600, 3800 etc!!!!

Yes, Athlon64's. Here is my current choice

 

[saqdeez]

mark, do you know when these are coming out?! Hopefully it will bring down the price of the 3400, which sounds like a good upgrade to me

 

[CraigRT]

videocard.....

 

[RussianSensation]

Originally posted by: TheBDB
video card

Get at least a Radeon 9700Pro +

 

[Todd33]

Get a video card, the best you can afford (9800 pro or X800) and wait on the rest.

 

[azkiwi]

Originally posted by: saqdeez
i am SET on getting the x800 pro, but what do you recommend I get in place of the other components?
q]

Is this the state of literacy today? Can't you guys read the posts before you respond?

What should i upgrade now, and what brand/item should i get in its place. I use this for FPS gaming and web surfing, with a little bit of photoshop

For your stated purposes I doubt a cpu/mobo will be justified. A 64-bit chip isn't going to do any of those things faster. And the clock speed won't make much difference either. Since you don't care about an OC you probably aren't big on tinkering, so why not wait until some 64-bit apps are out - by which time 64-bit prices will certainly be lower, and you will have a good reason to migrate.

 

[dudeman007]

Originally posted by: Markfw900
Radeon 9800pro

 

[Chebago]

I echo what everyone else is saying, get a new videocard and leave everything else for awhile, your system sounds plenty fast and I think you would probably be dissapointed, especially with pci-express and other new technologies on the horizon.

 

[Czar]

get a new video card, x800 or the new nvidia, and then use extra money you were going to spend on the rest to make the whole computer silent. If you have something left then try getting a good monitor.

The rest of your system is great

 

[caz67]

Definitely the Vid Card.!!