Upgrading 3+ year old system

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Falconsbane

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I was wondering what people would think about the following upgrade.

Current PC built 3 or 4 years ago
A64 3500+
Nvidia GeForce 6800 Ultra
DFI nforce4 mobo w/PCIe
520w ocz pws

I just played the Warhammer preview weekend and my video card was not up to the task in big RvR battles. I was thinking about upgrading just the video card right now to be able to play Warhammer smoothly and wait on upgrading the cpu/mobo/ram a bit later down the road.

I was thinking about getting the ASUS ATI 4850. I know with my CPU it's going to limit this card but I can get another card when I finish upgrading my system down the line for cheaper and have 4850x2. Also, will the PCIe 2.0 card work in my board?

Does this sound like a reasonable plan? Advice?

Thanks in advance!
 
Your CPU will severly limit a cross fire set up. If anything use that money for the second card on a new mother board and CPU. While getting an 8800GS with the left over money, if you can't afford a 4850 after your hardware upgrade.

Try and get the AMD X2 5000+ its only 66$ and its 2.6ghz dual core. While AM2/AM2+ motherboards shouldn't cost over 80$ for single PCI-Express slots.
 
I meant getting the second 4850 down the line when I get my cpu/mobo/ram.

I don't have the cash to upgrade the cpu/mobo/ram and gpu right now and i'm 99.9% sure just upgrading to the 4850 w/my current setup will be fine for what i'll be using it for. Then when I finish upgrading later i'll have the option of adding a second 4850 when I upgrade my cpu/mobo/ram or just rolling with the 4850.

I guess the question is should I buy a cheaper gpu for now and live with it when I finish upgrading? Or go for the 4850 and be decently set up when I upgrade?
 
If you can find a decent Athlon 64 X2, grab it. Or a s939 Opteron (165, 175, 185). While s939 is gone, it is still a good CPU. I'm still running a 4200 X2.

The 4850 is a great card. Buy what you want, because you may not have the money on down the road (experience talking there). Even if your CPU limits you, it will still be a lot better than what you have now.

Your 520 should run it fine, by the way.

One upgrade to consider is to step up to 2GB of RAM (if you don't already have it). DDR isn't as cheap as it used be, but RAM is still a cheap upgrade. Moving from 512MB or a gig can make a big difference in gaming.
 
Your CPU will severly limit a cross fire set up. If anything use that money for the second card on a new mother board and CPU. While getting an 8800GS with the left over money, if you can't afford a 4850 after your hardware upgrade.

Try and get the AMD X2 5000+ its only 66$ and its 2.6ghz dual core. While AM2/AM2+ motherboards shouldn't cost over 80$ for single PCI-Express slots.

Make that a 5400+ instead :)

the 5000+ BE is discontinued..

Now there are Intel's which have the performance king currently, you can consider them
 
You're missing it, guys... "3+ years", "DFI nforce4", "6800 Ultra"... any of that say "AM2" to you? I didn't think so.

Hirn.gif


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I thought Hussein mentioned getting like a cheap 740/780 board, wouldn't cost that much though..
 
I thought Hussein mentioned getting like a cheap 740/780 board, wouldn't cost that much though..

Exactly. he could squeeze a nice X2 system into his budget along with a decent video card. That way he won't only notice an improvement in gaming, but every day task as well.

Cheapest 4850 is 175$. 175 + 175 = 350. Think he can squeeze in a nice mother board and X2 CPU for about that much? Along with like 2 Gigs of G.Skill ram.

By the way what size motherboards can your case handle?
 
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