Runnin with a socket 939, upgrade it?

[jp03hplayer]

Hello. here is my current rig
EPOX 9NPA Ultra
3700 San Diego Core
1 Gig (2x512) OCZ 3500 DDR
EVGA 6800 GT
Some hard drives =) (not pertinent)

I have overclocked card and proc some but that wont be enough for long. Is it worth my money to add more ram and a newer dual core 939 processor? They seem to be so cheap...Also to stick with this platform I would need more memory. Do I need more than two gigs to game in Vista? I was thinking of adding two more 512 sticks to have 2 gigs total, or adding two 1 gig sticks to have 3 gigs total. I would have all 4 dimms filled. Anyone know if my motherboard can deal with that in dual channel? Also, my current memory is pc3500, if the added memory was pc3200, would dual channel still work as long as each stick was the same speed as the other memory in the same channel? Thanks so much, if you dont think this platform is worth upgrading, please let me know, thanks.

 

[krazyIvan]

Just an opinion:

1. Your system will be on the edge of running out of steam within the next 1-1.5 yrs.
2. Vista will probably not be ready for gamer consumption till next summer when SP1 is released.
3. Current games run fine with 1G (exp BF2)

I just upgraded from a +3000 to an X2 +4400 939, and from 1G to 2G.
And that would seem to me a nod to sticking with your 939, but I also already had a 7800GT, so I felt I could live (save money) with my 939 MB for a few more yrs.
Looking at your system I would stay the coarse till next year and see what AMD and Intel come out with next summer.
If anything I would say an upgraded video card would be your best investment.

 

[jp03hplayer]

Thanks for the reply. I didnt mention that I would upgrade the video card as well as i didnt have in any particular questions in that area. So you are saying to not upgrade anything but the video card?....I heard about the dx10 cards and wanted to wait, u said no vista till summer though....boooo!!

 

[krazyIvan]

I would never buy a new OS (ME anyone?), 6 months gives it time to be properly de-bugged and all drivers updated. Games suffer the most from a new OS and it will take some time before patch's can be generated for the ones that don’t work.
As for upgrading to a new video card... I guess waiting for a DX10 card is not a bad idea. Put your money in the bank and wait till next summer for a whole new system.

Its hard for me to say "wait", I should have probably gone for an AM2 but 939 X2's are so cheap and my MB is a good one. If I had a +3700 SD rather then the +3000 VC I had I probably would have waited till next year.

 

[jp03hplayer]

Ok perhaps I will wait on vid card and proc, but if im gonna be waiting a lil for a whole new system i prolly want some more memory, u say wait on that to? Guess I can just keep playing Fear, BF2, and Source, they run nice...Quake Wars I would like to play though....thanks again

 

[PX7800GT]

if you cant wait,you have 2 options to upgrade :
1-add two more of your 512mb memory
2-if you want better graphic you can get a X1800GTO or 7600GT for under 200$
but i dont recommand to upgrade your video card,as krazyIvan said wait until next summer...
but adding 1more Gb of ram is a good option.

 

[fatcat]

I guess it all depends on what you plan and your budget. I feel that dual core CPU 939 socket are attractively priced right now as to buy one for an upgrade. Even though, 939 is going to be phased out in the short term. Going for a 4400 or 4600 and upgrading your GPU could probably keep you going for a while.

Another option would be just to upgrade your GPU and get 2 x 1 gig of RAM as it seems to be the best setup for gaming. I am no expert in gaming but I'd be suprised that your 3700 sandy is the bottle neck of your system as far as gaming goes. Most often then not, the GPU does the bottle necking. I guess it all depends on how demanding you are when gaming.

 

[krazyIvan]

One way to view this is do a cost/performance analysis; use games as your performance bench mark (from tom’s) and add the cost from different scenarios.
Remember though, X2's have yet to really see there potential and probably wont till next year.

 

[m25]

You'd better wait unless tou have a lot of money to spend. I gpt my 939 3000+ 4 months ago and was thinking to swap it with a X2 3800+ but with all the goodies to come out next year, I'm just waiting to see, adding $170 for my new build.

 

[jp03hplayer]

But how much memory do u have?

 

[m25]

But how much memory do u have?

Just like you; 1G.