What to upgrade

[regamon]

I built my system close to a year and a half ago (Jun 07) and since then I admit that I haven't been keeping up with all the new components that have come out. I just started reading these forums again, but I'm still trying to gather information.

Anyway, I wanted to upgrade my system slightly as I have about ~$300 to spend. My current system is:

Processor: Intel Core 2 Duo E6600
Motherboard: GIGABYTE GA-P35C-DS3R
Video Card: EVGA 768-P2-N831-AR GeForce 8800GTX
Power Supply: PC Power & Cooling Silencer 750 Quad
Memory: G.SKILL 2GB (2 x 1GB) 240-Pin DDR2 SDRAM DDR2 800
OS Hard drive: Seagate Barracuda 7200.10 ST3160815A 160GB 7200 RPM
Storage Hard drive: Seagate Barracuda 7200.9 ST3500641A 500GB 7200 RPM
Monitor: SAMSUNG 245BW Black high glossy 24" 5ms
Case: Thermaltake Armor Series VA8000BWS
CPU Cooler: Tuniq Tower 120
DVD ROM: LITE-ON Black IDE DVD-ROM
DVD Burner: SAMSUNG 18X DVD±R DVD Burner
OS: Windows XP

I was thinking about upgrading my CPU to a quadcore (like Q9400) because I tend to multitask a lot. Another option would be to switch to Windows Vista 64 and add more memory.

Does anybody have any suggestions?

Thanks.

 

[ryanb213]

Do you have xp 32 or 64? Vista 64 is truly worth it. Do you have an o/c on your cpu?

Vista home 64bit

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16832116488

Find the exact ram you have and buy it -

http://www.newegg.com/Product/ProductList.aspx?Submit=ENE&DEPA=0&Order=BESTMATCH&Description=+G.SKILL+2GB+%282+x+1GB%29+240-Pin+DDR2+SDRAM+DDR2+800&x=15&y=28

That leaves you with $170!

You could

A. - save $50 and get a 4870 1GB and that will help with your 24'' monitor.

http://www.newegg.com/Product/ProductList.aspx?Submit=ENE&Description=4870%201gb&bop=And&Order=PRICE

B. save a few extra $$ again (or not) and get a quad.

Best bang for buck quads are- i say the first four, it all depends on what your willing to spend


http://www.newegg.com/Product/ProductList.aspx?Submit=ENE&N=2010340343%201051707842%201302825342%201050727216&name=Core%202%20Quad

what kind of fps do you get?? i say tbh save the daul get vista, 2gb ram, and a 4870 1gb....

if you havnt o/c yet to save ur cpu, nows the time to do it! o/c to 3.2Ghz!!!

 

[matm1234]

Completely agree with ryanb213. Wut id do is go get a 64 bit vista another 2 gigs or ram then save up a couple bucks and get q9400 or q6600 or somthing. Your video card is actually pretty decent so unless ur really into gaming then just keep that. If u are pretty heavy gamer id buy the 4870 tho.

 

[regamon]

Both of you, thanks for the advice! I think for right now I'll just get 64 bit vista and another 2 gigs of ram and save the processor or graphics card for a later time.

I have one more STUPID question and I'm not sure that it evens matters but do I:

a) Install Vista first and then add the new ram
b) Add the new ram and then install vista

I'm currently using XP 32-bit. Like I said, my guess is that it doesn't matter but I just want to double check first before I make a stupid mistake and screw something up.

Thanks.

 

[Noya]

Both of you, thanks for the advice! I think for right now I'll just get 64 bit vista and another 2 gigs of ram and save the processor or graphics card for a later time.

I have one more STUPID question and I'm not sure that it evens matters but do I:

a) Install Vista first and then add the new ram
b) Add the new ram and then install vista

Take out all your RAM except a single stick. Then install Vista. Then install the rest of your RAM.

On another note, if you've found your 8800gtx lacking (I would) on your 24" monitor, I would buy a 4870 1gb or gtx260 216sp, sell the 8800gtx/e6600 and buy a Q8200/8gb of DDR2-800 and ____ Vista 64.