[Solved] Upgrade from 7900 GS

To ignore all my BS just skip to sections in bold - Much thanks!

Hi there, did a lot of Googlin' on this topic - well not really a predicament but it sure has helped with my procrastination from studying - and found all the useful literature to have all come from here. I have been out of the computer-tech-loop since I built my current rig so a lot of the new tech has quickly overwhelmed my brain.

So I decided to just trouble all of you experts

Anyways, I was thinking of upgrading my 2 year old rig - I normally just build a new rig entirely - and decided that the only thing I really wanted/needed an upgrade on was my GPU. I just don't need a new rig every year anymore.

Current Rig:
Gigabyte GA-965P-S3
Core 2 Duo E6300 1.8ghz (OC'd to 2.8ghz)
BFG GeForce 7900 GS OC 256mb
2x1gb OCZ PC2-6400 Platinum Dual Channel 800mhz (OCZ2P8002GK)
Ultra X2 550w - Link
24" Samsung T240

Usage:
- Light gaming, enough to handle most current games at higher settings (L4D, CS:S, TF2, Mass Effect... hopefully CRYSIS ) - not necessarily at 1920x1200. 1680x1050 is good enough for me
- 1080p movies
- spreadsheets, PDFs, word docs, the usual office stuff.

Currently I can run L4D,Mass Effect and CS:S on max settings, windowed mode @ 1280x800 without any issues.

Question:
I don't really plan on building a new rig as I don't have a need for it anymore but I would like to optimize whatever potential my rig has. Budget is around $100.

Would tracking down another 7900GS be worth it? Or should I just spend the money on a single/two higher-end OLDER card(s)?

Not really sure but these seem like good deals:
9400 GT 512mb
9500 GT 512mb
8800 GT 512mb

Thank you for taking the time to read my plead!

- Jason

I was hoping to stick with nVidia cards but I looked around and the 4850 seems like the best bang for the buck.

I live in Canada so I was wondering if this was the same as the one you linked? - This

Ram should be a pretty easy task. Only around $30 for another pair of the exact same set I already have.

Thanks!

I did it's running at 2.8ghz on stock cooling as well haha, idles around 50 C - I've been pushing off picking up a better one for a long time now.

I was actually of thinking of just waiting until the new stuff comes out so that I will have more options and the 4850 will be cheaper. Was just itching for an upgrade

That's the same thing. Go with that and be happy. Or go with a gts250 if you want to follow the dark side of the force.