[kennydo]

Hi all,
I feel an upgrade coming on but i'm not sure i should go all the way or just essentials bearing in mind i use it as a medium powered games machine.

Current System / possible uprgrade *Not sure
XP2500 BARTON *
RADEON 9500PRO / Geforce 6600gt
512MB(2700) / 1024mb(3200)
MSI K7N2 MOTHERBOARD *
SONIC FURY SOUND CARD / Audigy zs
80GIG MAXTOR 8MB / 160mb maxtor to run alongside

What i want to know is whether or not it is worth(Financially) upgrading the processor and board to incorporate an Athlon 64 and PCI Express, will i see much of a difference in the games and 3d marks as it will cost me twice as much.

Thanks

[Belloni]

I wouldn't go for the XP2500 ... what's your price range ?!?!

You may as well get 64bit ... may aswell be future proof ... for up and coming applications

I would get PCI express for the same factor (future proof) lol i have AGP atm ... stick with that i would say for now ... unless you have enough money that is ... you won't see THAT much difference i don't think unless you got a GFX x 2 ...

Give us some expenditure costs that might help abit lol

Things i would DEFFO upgrade to ...
RAM BIG improvement lol
Sound card - unless you really want to ?!?! Motherboard one should be fine ... unless your really into like sound quality of games etc.
HDD - yes i would say
GFX - Yes deffo if you can afford it lol

[kennydo]

Thanks, my budget is around £300 and that would upgrade everything mentioned bar motherboard & processor, it would cost nearer £600 for the others & not sure i would get much extra speed in games by doing so.

[Belloni]

kk lol That helps more

Well i would go for the RAM first ... THEN CPU lol

Get 1GB RAM first that will make a big improvement ...

Get AMD 64bit CPU socket 939 aswell

CPU - AMD Athlon 64 3200+ Winchester 90nm (Socket 939) - Retail (ADA3200BIBOX) (CP-097-AM)

Motherboard - Abit AV8 (Socket 939) Motherboard (MB-052-AB)

Ram - Crucial 512MB DDR PC3200 CAS3 (CT6464Z40B) (MY-024-CR)

(These are rough guides btw)

That should cost you around £300 lol

Then save your money for a GFX

[kennydo]

Cheers for that.

[Belloni]

That's ok

Let us know how you get on m8

[Me__2001]

im with belloni on the CPU an Athlon 64 3200 will make a big improvement, but i'd go with an Asus A8V and 2x256mb sticks of geil value that comes in at around £250

[Belloni]

Thanx Me_2001 ...

Look around for different motherboards.

That was just a rough idea for one

Crucial or Geil memory value you choose mate I have Crucial lol

[Me__2001]

the abit board is good but i'd prefer a bigger name brand plus it costs about the same, the corsair is good but a bit slower than the geil, plus you might aswell take advantage of the dual channel capability on the motherboard

[Belloni]

Yeah i spose lol

Up to you Kennydo ... Go with Me_2001 lol

Mine were just rough ideas ... you can look further more into it ... or ask us too

Please let us know how you get on