What should I do

[CSJunkie]

I have athlon 64 x2 4000 with 4 gigs ddr2 ram and a nvidia 8600 gt 512mb and windows vista, should i get a ati 5770 1gig or get new mob with phenomII x3 720? i can only do one or the other right now ? I am currently PLaying BAttlefield Bad Company 2. What would be best option to improve my fps ?

 

[fastx21]

First thing you should do is remove that repost.

You should save up more until you can do an amd x3 and 5770 together.

And ofourse some memory.

 

[coldsleep]

According to THG April Best Graphics Cards for the Money, you should see a significant jump by upgrading your graphics card. Google bencmarks for more info, but you'd basically be upgrading 3 generations, which should result in a healthy increase.

As always, your monitor resolution will have an effect on how much of an increase you see.

Upgrading your CPU wouldn't hurt, but it's not likely to provide much of an increase in fps.

 

[tecmo34]

Will your motherboard support AM3??

I would look to upgrade your CPU to the Athlon II X3 435 and get the ATI 5770, if the CPU is compatible. This should be close to the same price of the Phenom II X3 720 BE and a new motherboard. This will provide the best of both worlds.

If your MOBO won't support an AM3, your best bang for FPS increase is upgrading your GPU.

 

[CSJunkie]

my mobo does not support am2+ or am3

 

[tecmo34]

Your best bet, is to get this combo from Newegg (if you can buy from them), AMD Athlon II X3 440 Rana 3.0GHz & ASUS M4A77D AM3/AM2+/AM2 AMD 770, which gives you the ability to keep your current RAM and move up to an AM3 processor. You are very limited with a board that doesn't support AM2+ or AM3, which probably only has PCI-e x16 and not PCI-e x16 2.0.

After that, you'll want to purchase an ATI 5770 for your GPU (or what is best for your gaming resolution) when you have the additional funds.

 

[CSJunkie]

Well this is what im going to go with ,
ASUS M4A785-M AM3/AM2+/AM2 AMD 785G HDMI Micro ATX AMD Motherboard $79.99
MSI R5770 Hawk Radeon HD 5770 1GB 128-bit GDDR5 PCI Express 2.1 x16 $174.99
Arctic Silver 5 Thermal Compound - $9.99
AMD Phenom II X3 720 Black Edition Heka 2.8GHz Socket AM3 95W $81.99
COOLER MASTER RR-H101-22FK-RA 80mm Long life sleeve bearing CPU Cooler $14.99
---------
Total $361.95


Any suggestions are well appreciated

 

[tecmo34]

Decent upgrade!! You should see a nice difference.

The only thing I would recommend is spending a little extra for a Cooler Master Hyper 212 Plus, if it will fit your case. Not a major price increase but will provide better cooling.

 

[CSJunkie]

Also i do believe my enermax psu will work for this build its a 535 dual 12volt rail psu. http://www.enermaxusa.com/catalog/product_info.php?products_id=71

 

[tecmo34]

PSU will work for your build