Personal computing discussed

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Kikuta
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Upgrading - Budget Issues...

Fri Sep 30, 2005 10:40 am

I desperately need advice as to which parts i should prioritise when upgrading my PC in the coming month. First of all, allow me to show you the abysmal parts i currently have, and are to be replaced...

- AMD Athlon XP 2000+ (CPU)
- MSI K6V (Mobo)
- Radeon 9600xt AGP (GFX Card)

No wonder i want to upgrade... Not much of a gaming machine...
Righto - so, heres the parts i will be purchasing to replace the ones above.

- AMD Athlon 64 3000+ Socket 939 "Venice" Core (CPU)
- MSI K8N Neo2 Platinum Mobo (Mobo)
- Radeon X800xt Platinum Edition 256mb AGP (GFX Card).

Okay then. Now's where i need your help. Depending on how much money i have, i may not be able to afford all 3 of the parts by the time i would hope to have them. If this is the case, i will have two options...
A) Buy the Motherboard and CPU, and wait for the GFX Card.
B) Buy the GFX Card, and wait for the Motherboard and CPU.

(These are based on the fact that the GFX Card costs more than the Mobo and CPU combined.)

PLEASE, which option should i choose?
Many thanks in advance.


PS - In case you wanted to know, im upgrading for The Elder Scrolls 4: Oblivion. I think this game will push any PC to its limits.
http://www.elderscrolls.com/games/oblivion_overview.htm
 
etherelithic
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Fri Sep 30, 2005 10:54 am

I don't really think that your choices for parts are very good price and performance wise. The choices you 've currently made for parts are already starting to show their age. First off, the CPU is just a tad too slow. The 3500+ is not that much more expensive and a significantly better performer. The graphics card you chose is not the best bang for your buck either. For just a little bit more, you could pick up a 7800GT, a much better performer if you're looking to play games. I'm gonna say that you should wait a little longer, save up a little more cash, and do a better upgrade.
 
FireGryphon
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Fri Sep 30, 2005 11:07 am

If you have the self control to save money for a while longer, I'd wait. etherelithic points out some good alternatives to your choices. Besides, the system you have now isn't that outdated yet, especially if you can live without turning up the detail and resolution. Have you considered overclocking your current rig?

Also, what are your other specs, especially RAM wise? Adding more RAM to your current system could significantly boost performance.

My advice is to save your money and wait a bit, but if you insist on upgrading now with the parts you mentioned, I'd get the CPU and mobo now and get the graphics card later. My reasoning is that the graphics card is more likely to come down in price significantly over the short term.

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JustAnEngineer
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Fri Sep 30, 2005 4:40 pm

I would not purchase a new AGP video card and motherboard. Now is the time to go with PCI-Express if you are upgrading both components. The longer that you wait while you save up your money, the better that your upgrade options will be. ES4: Oblivion isn't due until Thanksgiving. There is still plenty of speculation about what the hardware requirements may be.

If you do want to do a two-step upgrade, how about a socket-939 motherboard with integrated graphics until you can get a great new video card for the PCI-Express X16 slot?

Failing that, you could be the guinea pig for one of these hybrid boards that has both AGP and PCI-Express. I'm still skeptical of this chipset until Damage puts one through the torture test at the underground benchmarking sweatshop.
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Kikuta
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Fri Sep 30, 2005 9:26 pm

JustAnEngineer, im a regular member of the ES forums, unfortunately the advice given in those forums as to upgrading your PC is... poor.

My overall decision as to which parts i will buy may likely change depending on the ACTUAL requirements of the game.

I should probably clarify that I myself am not paying for the upgrade. Its going to be a christmas gift, and i have to limit my spending to $800 max (Australian). The video card costs $800 alone, while the motherboard and CPU cost $420 (If i chose the 3500+, it would be boosted to around $600).

In light of the comments about going for a PCI-Express card (7800GT - most likely choice) i will do a bit of hunting around to see if it is worth completely changing my mind...
 
Flying Fox
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Fri Sep 30, 2005 10:09 pm

If the overall budget is $800 Australian, then even the 7800GT would be too much if combined with CPU and MB. By Thanksgiving, if ATi is doing its thing right, their midrange X1600 should force nVidia's hand to either get a more affordable 7-series card or lower the 6800 to midrange levels. That would be your chance at that point. However, this is my pure speculation. :P
 
tsoulier
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Fri Sep 30, 2005 11:08 pm

a 6600 gt would be a good improvement compared to what you have now with that 3000 + processor , just overclock the card or go with the 6800
either one of those cards will save you money and play any game you want at high settings
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lex-ington
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Fri Sep 30, 2005 11:37 pm

Don't choose any unless it's a life or death situation that you HAVE TO be the first one to play the game. ELderscrolls may hit the store shelves in the states by their thanksgiving but that dosn't mean it will be in Australia by then. Wait until the game comes out or at least until the hardware requirements ar hammered out until you make your well thought-out purchasing decisions - then get in on the holiday season discounts.
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tsoulier
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Fri Sep 30, 2005 11:49 pm

he has a point if you want to base it on one game
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Kikuta
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Sat Oct 01, 2005 12:43 am

lex-ington wrote:
Don't choose any unless it's a life or death situation that you HAVE TO be the first one to play the game. ELderscrolls may hit the store shelves in the states by their thanksgiving but that dosn't mean it will be in Australia by then. Wait until the game comes out or at least until the hardware requirements ar hammered out until you make your well thought-out purchasing decisions - then get in on the holiday season discounts.

Definately, i completely agree. Until i see the OFFICIAL system requirements, and an OFFICAL and DEFENITE release date for Australia, i am not going to purchase a single part.
 
Flying Fox
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Sat Oct 01, 2005 1:11 am

Then there's really no point to speculate at this stage. Just relax and enjoy the show that is nVidia vs ATi. And you can hang out here in TR with us, while joining us to fold too. :)

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