Have $1000 for upgrades, please help :)

[konstantine7]

Alright, I built this computer about two years ago. I had no clue what I was doing and went completely off of suggestions, and have to say I was happy. My only complaint was that it was loudas hell.

Anyways, I've been out of the PC hardware scene ever since I built the computer and I'm looking to upgrade now. I have $1000 to spend.

Note: I need to buy a copy of Vista (can get for $75 from my university *I think* and I need a new monitor!) I also want to put in this card, or another type of it: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814130082

Anyways this is what I have in my old machine, and I'm wondering if I have anything to work with or do I just need to go with all new parts?

ENERMAX CS-5688FS-B Black Aluminum ATX Mid Tower Computer Case 350W Power Supply - Retail

Thermaltake A1280 120mm Case Fan - Retail

POWERCOLOR R98SE-C3 Radeon 9800SE 128MB DDR AGP 4X/8X Video Card - Retail

Thermaltake Silent PurePower W0009R ATX12V 420W Power Supply - Retail
SAMSUNG Black 1.44MB 3.5" Internal Floppy Drive Windows 98SE/ ME/ 2000/ XP - OEM

KINGWIN F-01B 4PIN 80mm Case Fan - Retail

CHAINTECH VNF3-250 Socket 754 NVIDIA nForce3 250 ATX AMD Motherboard - Retail

GeIL Value 512MB 184-Pin DDR SDRAM DDR 400 (PC 3200) System Memory Model GE512PC3200B - OEM

Rosewill Combo Drive Black IDE Model C523216B - Retail

Western Digital Caviar SE WD800JB 80GB 7200 RPM IDE Ultra ATA100 Hard Drive - OEM

AMD Athlon 64 3000+ Newcastle 2.0GHz Socket 754 Processor Model ADA3000BOX - Retail

THANKS for all the help!

 

[GoldenRiver]

your probably going to ahve to replace almost everything if you want a large boost in performance.

i would grab a core2duo once the prices are cut on the 22nd of april. in a few days.

lol ati on nforce motherboard??

i would get a new motherboard lol probably 100-200 for an sli one or if ur not going sli go with an intel p965 chip one.

if you want more storage get a Western Digital Caviar SE16 WD2500KS 250GB 7200 RPM 16MB Cache SATA 3.0Gb/s Hard Drive - OEM
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16822144701


I would definitely go for 2gb of memory.
if your on a budget u can get 2 sets of 1gb (2x512mb) for like 100 bucks. Link-> ttp://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820145568

i would go for a new graphics card. ati: x1950XTX 512mb about 165 bucks after rebate.
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814102075

or a 8800 GTS 320mb version ONLY 249.99 after rebate
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814133193

or a 8600 GTS 256 mb version 229.99
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814150226

hope this helps.
-golden river

 

[skyguy]

You can recycle the hard drive, that's about it.

And don't bother with the 8600GTS, it's a waste for the performance. Just spend the little bit extra$$ and get the 8800GTS, it spanks the 8600.

 

[GoldenRiver]

yup thats what im thinking but some people don't like dishing out their money =]

 

[konstantine7]

OK thanks for the help guys, I was figuring I'd probably have to start from scratch anyways.

 

[RandMcnally]

With 1000 dollars I wouldn't go with that stuff though. I'd go with this...

Amd X2 3600+(can OC to 2.8-3.0Ghz range)
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16819103046
Seagate 320 GIG hard drive
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?item=N82E16822148140
ASYS M2A-VM AM2 690G Micro ATX motherboard (micro atx boards are cheaper)
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813131172
2 Gig DDR2 667
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820340028
COOLMAX CP-500T EPS12V 500W Power Supply
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817159040
2 x LITE-ON Black 20X DVD+R DVD BURNER w/ Lightscribe http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16827106055
Windows Vista Home Premium 64-bit
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16832116204
Arctic Silver 5 Thermal Compound - OEM
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?item=N82E16835100007
SAPPHIRE 100199L Radeon X1950GT
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?item=N82E16814102034

$783.40

This is just a rough estimate, I just need to know a few things to build you a truly killer system.
1- Are you going to overclock?
2- Do you want me to get as close to 1000 dollars without going over? Or do you want just a good computer under a 1000? The closer to 1000 I get the better the performance will be.
3- How important is video performance to you? I don't recommend buying any video cards right now, I put one on there anyways, but that motherboard has an integrated x700 based core that can get you through some basic gaming and HD stuff. Why not? Because on the 14th of May, just a few weeks away, AMD launches ATI's HD 2xxx lineup of cards, and the low end and high end cards are going to beat Nvidia and be a lot less expensive.