Upgrading processor on 939 socket mobo

[elcold]

I currently have around 200$ to spend on upgrading my current computer, it currently has a 3500+ althon 64 and a X1300 graphics card. I am wondering what will give me the most bang for the buck in terms of performance, splitting the money between a VGA and processor, or doing a big upgrade on one or the other? Thanks in advance!

 

[Joe_The_Dragon]

you can get a 165 and OC it to FX-60 speeds.

 

[Chil]

Depends on what you want to do with your PC. What are your other specs?

 

[Stevemeister]

It depends what you want to do.

If its playing games then your existing CPU will probably be okay and you'll get better performance spending all your $ on a better graphics card. I run a 939 San Diego 4000+ and using 3dMark05 with 7800GT and you get a much greater score increase by overclocking the graphics card 10% than you do by increasing CPU speed 10% in fact the latter really does not make much difference to the score.

If you are doing multimedia encoding then a better CPU will give better results

 

[elcold]

I mostly use it for gaming, the reason for the upgrade is that my computer simply cannot handle the Gundam MMORPG I play. I have 1 Gig of ram and a 400 watt power supply if that helps.

 

[choirbass]

of the 3 components for gaming, a cpu is last in line for upgrade concerns... 1GB ram is merely sufficient, but having more never hurts (having at least 2GB is ideal usually, also depending on the game)... your X1300 is probably killing your gaming performance though, TBH... ...since you do have $200 to spend, most of it should go to the gpu, no sense in skimping there for performance... IF you have enough left over after a decent gpu upgrade, consider another GB of ram too

 

[runswindows95]

Personally, I say upgrade the GPU.

 

[fred_likes_fish]

Definitely go for a new GPU.

 

[elcold]

Ok so should I spend all 200 on a graphics card or spend 150 on the card and 50 on Ram?

 

[choirbass]

its doubtful that you can get another GB of ram for only $50, i would just spend all $200 on the gpu, itll definetly pay off more for gaming

 

[fred_likes_fish]

If gaming performance is really all you are after then $200 on a new GPU will give you a huge increase. X1300's aren't much chop.

 

[elcold]

Ok I was looking at the graphics card buying guide and it said that I would have to move up to 220ish, on newegg I found a X1950Xt and a 7950GT at that price. Which one is the better on minimal overclocking?

 

[choirbass]

IMO i would go for the X1950XT:

http://www23.tomshardware.com/graphics.html?modelx=33&model1=581&model2=586&chart=207

THG only had the XTX version listed, but if you OC the XT some, you should achieve about the same performance

 

[elcold]

Another question, is 400W power supply enough for those cards or would that be pushing it too far? And also I can also upgrade the ram as I found 2 256 mb sticks around that are the same speed as the ram in the system.

 

[choirbass]

400w in itself may be enough, but the amperages on the 12v rails might not be... generally you want around ~25amps (or more) on the +12v rails (definetly more if you have the option to) (also look for name brand psus if you can, the psu forum is a good place to ask to find out which to look for)

as far as memory, as long as the brand is reliable, then by all means (brands such as corsair, patriot, OCZ, mushkin come to mind)... 2*265MB is more of in inbetween upgrade TBH... but itll definetly offer some improvement above your current 1GB

avoid off brands if you can, because you have no way of knowing if it has been really stress tested for problems, which can end up causing all sorts of weird issues then

 

[elcold]

Ok looks like I need a better power supply, don't want to push it too far and burn out the card.

 

[fred_likes_fish]

Just something to think about...
Direct X 10 cards will be flooding the market soon, with some possibly becoming available in your price range not long after that. If you are interested in playing next gen games then maybe you should wait a little on purchasing a high(er) end gpu and just get something that will get you by for a while. I haven't heard of the game you mentioned but i will assume it isn't a demanding game, and based on that assumtption, i would recommend a lower performance gpu such as a 7600GS (eVGA, 65.99, after rebate - Newegg) or a 7600GT (eVGA, 99.99, after rebate - Newegg) That is also assuming you are in the US and can buy from Newegg, and also that you have PCI Express slot and not AGP.

 

[fred_likes_fish]

Also, the 7600's are much better than an x1300, and you wont need a new psu with either of those.

 

[Stevemeister]

I agree entirely with choirbass - do what he suggests in the order he suggests