Upgrade advice again

[Pitbull30]

Hello,

What would you recommend as a upgrade to my current system? I have been debating CPU or RAM but not sure. Would 8Gb be worth it over 4gb? Time for a CPU change ? I dont do major gaming. Mainly video/pics/encoding etc..

Here is my current specs:

ASUS M3n78 Pro Motherboard

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813131320

AMD Quad Core 9500

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16819103226

LG Blu-ray player

1tb HDD

500GB HDD

4gb OCZ RAM

750 Watt Corsair PSU

XFX Nvidia GTS-250 GPU

 

[striker410]

Your system is pretty old, there isn't much you can do except a total system overhaul at this point. You have an awesome PSU, and an OK graphics card. You most likely won't need more than 4 gigs of ram, So i would save up and upgrade your processor, motherboard, and ram.
What is your budget? We might be able to help you with some options for upgrade if you tell us how much you are willing to spend.

 

[Pitbull30]

Thats what i get for asking..I dont really have the money to do a overhaul. I realize its sort of old. I was just wondering if I should or what my next upgrade should be. But if its not worth putting a newer component with the current system then it doesnt make sense right..

 

[4745454b]

Ram is a horrible idea. The difference between 4 and 8GBs for most people/apps isn't much. And because your board/CPU only handles DDR2, you'll have to throw it all away when you get a DDR3 board/CPU. Considering the low clocks on that 9500, if this is for a gaming machine I'd bet most games would run better with an Athlon x2 6000.

I agree that you need a new board/CPU/ram combo. Everything else and move over. RAM is cheap, 4GBs can be had for $50. If you spend another $150 on board + CPU you could do this for $200.

 

[geekapproved]

All you need is a new cpu, and that does not require a new motherboard OR ram. Not sure why these people are telling you need to overhaul everything.

You'll need to do a bios update before removing your old cpu so that it will support the new one.

http://www.asus.com/Motherboards/AMD_AM2Plus/M3N78_PRO/#CPUS

 

[striker410]

Good catch Geek, didn't realize it would support an AM3 processor. In that case, I would pick up a Phenom II x4 955BE http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16819103808&cm_re=955-_-19-103-808-_-Product The cheapest of the BE's and an excellent value.

 

[4745454b]

I went by the newegg CPU support list which said Phenom, and not Phenom 2. The Nvidia 8xxx chipset isn't that old, so ofcourse it should. I would pick an x3 or 4 thats in your budget and get it. Should help you stay in the game until you get more $$$ together.

 

[Pitbull30]

That Black Edition CPU rec'd above isnt out of my range..

So i guess I should change the question now to "Can you give me your CPU rec's for my combo that will give me the most bang for my buck?"

Thanks guys. Im not to savy on the tech specs obviously..

 

[striker410]

Well the question would be, how much are you willing to spend max? could you also rephrase the question? It seems you either think the CPU is to expensive, or you want it bundled with other parts?

 

[Pitbull30]

That one you recommended wasnt too much. Perfect actually. First i thought there was no point in upgrading anything based on the initial responses, but If the CPU is the way to go I am in.

I guess if the price is kept between 1-200 that would be best and preferably something decent worth moving to a new motherboard or keeping for awhile..