I need your advice (Thanks)

Ok so I have two options when upgrading my computer. The two choices are follows. I chose to go with the AsRock because I want to hold on to my x800xl videocard.

Option 1:
1) RAIDMAX SMILODON ATX-612WBP Black SECC STEEL ATX Mid Tower Computer Case 500W Power Supply - Retail
2) 2 gig DDR 667 memory
3) C2D 6600
4) x800xl
5)ASRock 4CoreDual-VSTA LGA 775 VIA PT880 Ultra ATX Intel Motherboard - Retail

Option 2:
1) RAIDMAX SMILODON ATX-612WBP Black SECC STEEL ATX Mid Tower Computer Case 500W Power Supply - Retail\
2) 1 gig DDR 400 memory
3) C2D 6700
4) x800xl
5)ASRock 4CoreDual-VSTA LGA 775 VIA PT880 Ultra ATX Intel Motherboard - Retail

So basically should I get the 6600 and get an "upgrade in memory", or the 6700 and use my old ddr memory (Ill probably upgrade it eventually). And yes the board supports both ddr and dd2 memory but not at the same time. I use my computer for playing games like Guild Wars, and RTS games like Company of Heroes, Command and Conquer 3 etc. Also Im a programmer so I have extensive programs that require some CPU juice.

Also, I WILL NEVER OVERCLOCK, so dont mention it. I dont care how fast , cheap, and easy it is, I WONT DO IT.

Option 1.

You would see a bigger difference with the extra memory.

It sounds like he has an x800xl in agp.
And its not that big of a bottleneck.
An x800xl isnt that bad of a card, it just lacks sm3.0 support.

It sounds like he has an x800xl in agp.
And its not that big of a bottleneck.
An x800xl isnt that bad of a card, it just lacks sm3.0 support.


I also thought that it is an AGP card but there is also an AGP X1950. I reckon that a more powerful GPU would make more of a difference than a better CPU given that either CPU is quite powerful actually.

1.

Could ditch the DDR2 and find a gig of DDR somewhere and hang onto DDR a bit longer. I wouldn't invest a lot of money into old hardware though.

My pathetic current specs are as follows.

1.25 gigs of ddr400
x800xl
Amd Xp 2500+
2x40gig 7200 Maxtor Harddrives

1. I would suggest getting a better psu though, Raidmax makes horrible power supplies. This one is pretty cheap.

Why dont you want to oc? If it's because of possible system damage the Raidmax psu is more likely to fry something then oc'ing is... Not trying to convice you to oc, just wondering.

Cause no Athlon can compete with an E6600 or an E6700. And if you can afford a better CPU you should not think about dividing 3DMarks with dollars, rather which is the fastest you can afford.

Right. Very similar to what i had when i upgraded.

I was running...

1.5gig (1024 + 512)
Barton XP 2800
6600 GT
80 GIG maxtor + 300 GIG maxtor

You can do the same thing, except i'm guessing you have (512+512+256) for your memory so you'll be sitting on a gig (eek).

I don't have any experience with most the games you play.
I can tell you this though i can play Supreme Commander on my rig with ease. That eats quite a fair share of memory and cpu but no real problems with 8 players.
I have C&C3 and that's a piece of cake to play compared to supcom.

I have no idea what that ATI card is like though. I'd also recommend 1.5gig ram. A gig is pushing it these days