i've been putting it off for years, is it time to upgrade

[blakecoyote]

p4 3.4ghz ht
ati x800xt pe
2g of ddr ram
running xp pro

is getting a bit tired, i do quite a bit of multi tasking (photoshop etc...) but the main reason for update in better gaming performance.

I don't have i huge amount of money to spend so the system i'm thinking of building is a

phenom 9550
4g of ddr2 ram
512 8800gt with an sli motherboard for later upgrade.
running vist pro 64bit

my question is will this give much better performance or should i just wait untill i can save up a bit more money?

 

[atrain]

You'll definitely get a pretty good boost, I'd say(though I'm no expert on AMD processors). It helps if you define a budget too, that way we can help you get the best hardware for your money.

 

[emp]

The difference between the regular 9550 and the 9850 BE is only $30, but the Phenom 9850 BE comes with an unlocked multiplier and is most likely a higher binned chip.

BIOSTAR TFORCE TA790GX A2+ AM2+/AM2 AMD 790GX HDMI ATX AMD Motherboard - Retail

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813138128

SAPPHIRE 100245L Radeon HD 4850 512MB 256-bit GDDR3 PCI Express 2.0 x16 HDCP Ready CrossFire Supported Video Card - Retail

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814102770

AMD Phenom 9850 BLACK EDITION 2.5GHz 4 x 512KB L2 Cache 2MB L3 Cache Socket AM2+ 125W Quad-Core Processor - Retail

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16819103249

WINTEC AMPX 4GB (2 x 2GB) 240-Pin DDR2 SDRAM DDR2 1066 (PC2 8500) Dual Channel Kit Desktop Memory - Retail

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820161277

With this setup you'll be able to OC the phenom properly (790GX+SB750 board), you'll be able to drop in another for crossfire in the near future, but you will need a better CPU cooler at some point.

 

[hesskia]

An 8800GT is a bad purchase if you truly plan on goign SLI in the future--a year from now, you will be hard pressed to find another. They are already being phased out by the new 9800GT--i would recommend that card over the 8800GT to ensure you can SLI int he future.

I'm also with emp, the 4850 is a better buy IMO.

 

[Nik_I]

forget sli, its not worth it. just get a 4850. it's a better card and it's newer. (meaning it supports directx 10.1 and other cool stuff). the cost to have sli just doesnt justify the performance gain. adding a second 8800GT later on would be much less cost effective than upgrading to one of the latest cards. and depending on how long you wait, you might not even be able to find that card anymore.

 

[ahslan]

^^+1 on your build emp...

 

[blakecoyote]

thanks guys, forgot to mention though that i'm in th uk. newegg don't ship here i think?

but otherwise good help.

my buget is around £600.