I was thinking about upgrading my RAM to 4GB(2x2GB) 800 and my video card to either a 9800GT/9800GTX/HD4850/HD4870.
Someone mentioned to me that because I have a slow processor/motherboard it wouldn't be worth upgrading to the videocards mentioned because they'd be bottlenecked. Also, would i get more speed from my PC by upgrading the RAM or by upgrading the processor?
1. What operating system are you currently running?
a. If it is a 32 bit OS (whether it is Win XP or Vista), then you will only see a gain of, at max, 1 GB of ram if you install 2 more GB due to the limitations of the OS.
b. If it is a 64 bit OS, then you don't have to worry about this.
2. You have a "good" processor already. It may not be the best due to its age, but it can still contend. It would take a very-high end graphics card to bottleneck your processor. (Since you will not be running in Crossfire or SLI mode.) Thus, I wouldn't think about a processor upgrade.
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And, even if the video card does bottleneck your computer, a video card upgrade at this point for your system should be seen as a "upgrade this computer now, put it in my new computer build in a year...probably in Crossfire/SLI."
Thus, I would post a similar message to this one in the graphics card section of the forum, requesting a video card recommendation for your system that can be used immediately...then Crossfired/SLI'ed in a year.
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As for video card recommendations, I would go with an ATI video card instead of Nvidia atm. ATI generally has the best performing cards right now. But, I would think about what games I play prior to the final decision. (Some games prefer Nvidia, some ATI.) Check the benchmarks here:
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