Just upgraded - plz review and advice !

[cryptonx]

Thanks to the excellent helpfull people at this thread:
http://www.tomshardware.co.uk/forum/245596-13-budget-gaming-system-advice-needed

And thanks to my budget being $300 for now .. I needed a fast good upgrade .
This is what happened :

From this old system :

Athlon 3000+ 2.0ghz
MSi K8Neo3-F ( Nfroce4 )
1GB Kingston DDR400MHZ Ram
OCd 7300GT 256 GDDR3 Zalman ( 700 / 1600 )
Hds/optical drives


to :

AMD Athlon 64 X2 5600+ ( Socket AM2 - 2.79GHZ - 2MB Cache )
MSI K9AGM2 ( AMD chipset )
1GB CHAINTECH Apogee DDR2 667MHZ
OCd 7300GT 256 GDDR3 Zalman ( 700 / 1600 )
New Chasis
Hds/optical drives

this upgrade costed me $280 exactly .
but I am bit worried about the motherboard ,I saw alot of reviews , its close if not equal to almost all other boards in gaming performance , but its the first non-Nforce motherboard I got ,so I am bit worried .

>> This Mobo has a 15-days money back thing , Should I keep it ?
( If I would replace it , what other CHEAP alternative do i have ? ) ?

I didn't touch the GFX card yet , which is another Problem
I can't afford a 8800 ( GTS or GTX )

so its either these for me :
8600GT 256
8600GTS 256
ATi X1950XT 512 GDDR3

I know the fastest is the ATi but it has no DX10 , then again 8600xx perform miserably in DX10 titles ( so far ) .
So I am kinda lost ...

so brings me to the poll question ...

Which would you PICK ?

 

[cryptonx]

sorry forgot to mention that :

I have 2 17" , one CRT and one LCD
And I play all my games at 1024x768 ( I am happy Thank you )

Just wanted to clear things .
Thanks alot guys ! u really do help !

 

[Maziar]

X1950XT wihout a doubt

 

[cryptonx]

Ok I just checked the shop that still has the X1950XT

its a PowerColor X1950XT 512 GDDR3
it costs $275 exactly

Chaintech 8600GTS 256GDDR3 $270
Chaintech 8600GT 256GDDR3 $145

question for the the GPU people , I never owned a HIGHEND card like the X1950XT .. What kind of PSU is needed ??

I only have a standard 350Wts which was fine with my low-end cards

 

[Maziar]

upgrade your PSU

 

[cryptonx]

??
you mean my PSU ?

 

[aevm]

For $275 you could get an 8800 GTS 320 MB, if you shop around or wait a couple of weeks, and it would be better than the x1950xt. If you can't wait then definitely the x1950xt. Don't worry about DirectX 10. DirectX 9 will be supported by most games for several years to come.

Either the 8800 GTS or the x1950xt will need a more powerful PSU than 350W. Yeah, I think he meant upgrade your PSU. Your CPU and RAM are fine, for example. You need at least 30a on the 12V rails for the x1950xt, 26 amps fo rthe 8800 GTS 320.

Does your shop have a website? Are you in the US and have a credit card (or a parent willing to order stuff for you from newegg or zipzoomfly)? I can take a look at what they have in stock and help you pick a PSU if you want.

 

[cryptonx]

Thanks for the reply Aevm !

I live in Cairo , EGYPT

all items are subject to 30-40% Increase in price thanks to taxes/customs .

The shop does not have a website , and most online ones ( NewEGG )etcetc don't ship worldwide ... if you happen to know a website that does , I will be very gratefull .

I found 2 500W PSUs today , something called MEDIATECH 500W and a more expensive ANTEC 500W one .

I think I will get the X1950XT

 

[cryptonx]

corrections the X1950XT card is for $245 not $275 ...

 

[cryptonx]

Buying from an Online retailer from the US is useless .. the car will eventauly cost more than here ...

I found a good Forwarder site ( iShopUSA ) and browsed newegg for the cheapest one , I found a GEXCUBE one .. for $200

according to iShopUSA , after shipping and taxes :

GECUBE HV195XTG3-E3 Radeon X1950XT 512MB 256-bit GDDR3
PCI Express x16 HDCP Ready CrossFire Supported Video
Card - Retail

PRICE : $200

Shipping Country :EGYPT
Shipping & Handling : $65.45
Include Duties and Taxes : $73.00
Grand Total: $338.45
EGP 1,875.05

The Card is for $245 ( almost $100 cheaper ) here ... so Its no good to buy online .

 

[Zorg]

Your PSU is a little tight. Corsair VX450 or VX550 will do you.

 

[tlmck]

Get a Sapphire x1950pro 256mb and the Corsair 450vx for now. Worry about DX10 later when it is something to actually worry about. The new games look great in DX9 mode. With you current monitors, this will be plenty of card.

 

[Maziar]

??
you mean my PSU ?

Yeah sorry, as Zorg said , get a Corsair VS450 or 550

 

[cryptonx]

Thanks Zorg , tlmck and Maziar .

I Found the Corsair 450 one , but something you guys missed in my first post .

Will that HEFTY LARGE card ( the X1950xt/pro ) FIT in my MOBO ?
The K9AGM2 is a 690V AMD chipset / socket AM2 and its a MICRO-ATX

Should I keep that mobo or change it too ?? so far its performance is really good comapred to my old Nforce .

 

[Maziar]

http://www.tbreak.com/reviews/article.php?id=509

Secondly and more importantly, the onboard SATA connectors are placed right below the PCI-E x16 slot and even if you’re planning on using a single slot but a lengthy card such as the x1950 Pro, you will block space above all SATA ports and will have to bend the SATA cables considerably or use a right angle SATA cable to get your drives connected.

 

[cryptonx]

Thanks for the link Maziar !

Wow ! it has the same performance of the DFI nForce590-SLI !! for half of its money ! Great!

Well If its just about bending and stuff , I am okay , but I was worried about performance , I dont want to have another bottleneck in the system .. but now thats cleared !

currently this is the card hooked in :

man i loved that card will have to dump it...

Thanks alot maziar .
btw are you really from Iran ?

 

[Maziar]

No problem , glad i could help .
yes i live in Iran and in a city called Tehran (capital of Iran)