New life for my S939

[zornundo]

I have an Asrock 939Dual-Sata2 mobo with A64 3200+ and my trusty Radeon 9800 Pro video card.

I am going to get a new video card soon. I also want to upgrade the processor. Would it make more sense to get an S939 X2 or dual-core opty or cough up more dough for a C2D system? I've budgeted $600 so far to upgrade my system.

I use my comp to game and surf. No 'megatasking'. I have a 1280x1024 19" LCD monitor. All suggestions are helpful.

 

[TechnologyCoordinator]

Go for a low-end GeForce 8800 and either a Opty 170 or 175 depending on what you can afford. That system will take you well into the future. If you're willing to OC go with a 165 and see how far you get!

I went from a single core 3200+ to an Opty 175 and my next and final upgrade for this system will be an GeForce 8800.

Good luck!

 

[ajfink]

Go for a low-end GeForce 8800 and either a Opty 170 or 175 depending on what you can afford. That system will take you well into the future. If you're willing to OC go with a 165 and see how far you get!

I went from a single core 3200+ to an Opty 175 and my next and final upgrade for this system will be an GeForce 8800.

Good luck!

Excellent advice.

Also, what PSU do you have?

 

[zornundo]

Go for a low-end GeForce 8800 and either a Opty 170 or 175 depending on what you can afford. That system will take you well into the future. If you're willing to OC go with a 165 and see how far you get!

I went from a single core 3200+ to an Opty 175 and my next and final upgrade for this system will be an GeForce 8800.

Good luck!

Excellent advice.

Also, what PSU do you have?

I think my 9800 pro may just quit on me if it thinks I'm gonna get a GeForce 8800

Hrm, nice advice. I have an Antec Smartpower 500W power supply.

Edit: The system also has 1 gig of ram. Would it help to add another gig?

 

[col-p-todd]

I would go for an better cpu like the opty 180 or 185 and get a lesser graphics card like a X1950XT. Since in the future it would be easier to upgrade to a better graphics card if you need the extra power then having to get a new cpu, mobo and ram.

But that is just me

 

[choirbass]

yeah, definetly go for a dual core, opti 165 sounds good, so you can OC by a decent amount for not much money... a G80 GTS like was suggested... ...and if you can find the G80 GTS cheap enough, even adding a second gig of ram will certainly help, if you have enough money left over (even only a 512MB dimm more would certainly help some, if another 1GB dimm costs too much)

 

[TechnologyCoordinator]

I would go for an better cpu like the opty 180 or 185 and get a lesser graphics card like a X1950XT. Since in the future it would be easier to upgrade to a better graphics card if you need the extra power then having to get a new cpu, mobo and ram.

But that is just me

I highly disagree. If you want your last upgrade to last you need a Direct X 10 video card. Right now there is only one, the GeForce 8800. You can get budget version that still kick ass (as Maximum PC says) for a little over $400 bucks.

Yes, another gig will help out if you ever want to get Vista or play next generation (or even some current) games.

 

[zornundo]

Lots of suggestions!! Opty 175 and a 8800 GTS sound interesting. Now to find some great prices.

 

[Sethanis]

go the opty 170 and wait for the g83 or g84 they r sposed to be just around the corner, mid range dx10 cards!

Realistically vista is not going to be bug free(ever) until the sp1 comes out for it, so there is no point in buying a dx10 card just now, best to wait until the r600 comes out and deflates the prices of the hi end dx9 video cards IMHO!

 

[phamily]

he has a 19 inch monitor, would he even be able to take full advantage of the 8800's capability?

and, since you used a 9800pro, dont you... hafta upgrade to a pci express mobo?

Well if anything i'm with Col-P-Todd. The x1950xt should be more than enough to suffice your contemporary gaming needs.

 

[gorak]

just what i thought .... 9800 pro = AGP !!!!!!!! :roll:

 

[col-p-todd]

Since you won't be able to get any 939 cpu's soon I would go for on of the best 939 cpu and you can always upgrade the graphics card.
The way I look at it is that the graphics card is a stand alone component since no other parts are specificly needed to use it other then a pci-e mobo. but the cpu needs the mobo and the ram which will set you back alot more. so I would say use your mobo and ram as best and as long as you can by getting the better cpu.

#1 cpu
#2 gpu

 

[col-p-todd]

just what i thought .... 9800 pro = AGP !!!!!!!! :roll:

If that's the case then It's time he got rid of the 939 socket and gets a C2D or a AM2. AGP graphics card are to expensive to stick with the current mobo.

 

[phamily]

yes, but am2 or c2d means new ram. so i think he should find a 939 mobo and stick with the opty suggested. keep in mind his budget is only $600.

 

[PartyChief]

The Mobo supports AGP and PCI-E.

 

[akahuddy]

If you can't wait, buy a Opty 165 and an 8800GTS (eVGA). The most recent shipments of 165's newegg sent out have excellent steppings from the looks of things.

OC the Opty to run like a bat out of hell and then save up some more money so that you can build a killer machine in about 1-1.5 years.

 

[RyanMicah]

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=N82E16819103526

I got mine a couple months ago OEM for $129.99

 

[TechnologyCoordinator]

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=N82E16819103526

I got mine a couple months ago OEM for $129.99

Great option. Single core, but it has an unlocked multiplier for easy overclocking.

 

[halbhh]

a lot of good advice here. i think even the lower priced upgrades and the extra 512MB (2x256) or 1gig (2x512) are a great combo if you have 4 ram slots. there's no harm in buying 2 graphix cards in an 15 month period for an avid gamer

 

[Dahak]

My next up grade will be the thermaltake tough power 850watt psu with 4 12volt rails two at 18amps and 2 at 30amps.After that will be an 8800gtx.then another to run in sli mode.I think with two 8800gtx's I shoule be in great shape for the next year or two.i do plan on building the next gen.AMD system in a few months,but I am very pleased with what i currently own.Goodluck.

Dahak

AMD X2-4400+@2.570 S-939
EVGA NF4 SLI MB
2X EVGA 7800GT IN SLI
2X1GIG DDR IN DC MODE
WD300GIG HD
EXTREME 19IN.MONITOR 1280X1024
ACE 520WATT PSU
COOLERMASTER MINI R120

 

[ShadowdogKGB]

If you can't wait, buy a Opty 165 and an 8800GTS (eVGA).

Agreed. Opty 165 will almost certainly get you 2.6ghz, prolly 2.7 or higher. I love my opty.

 

[RyanMicah]

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=N82E16819103526

I got mine a couple months ago OEM for $129.99

Great option. Single core, but it has an unlocked multiplier for easy overclocking.

It's what we call a GV. Good value. Single core is fine for gaming..in fact this one will beat out a lot of the early X2's in benchmarks. It's still pretty high on the CPU charts. $200 is still a bit costly, especially since it's single core, but I think the $130 I paid for it was a steal.