What would you upgrade on my rig for $250-300?

[Jeffrock]

Hey guys, thanks for the replies. I think I am going to get a couple 74gb raptors. Man, those things arent cheap. I wonder why the x800 pro is getting such crappy reviews? My bud has an built by ATI x800 pro and the thing is screaming fast. I have played D3 on it for hours at the highest settings w/out any problem whatsoever. Unfortunately I have not had the chance to test out a 6800gt or ultra yet, so I cant compare it to the x800 pro. I am def. not an ATI fanboy, but the x800 seems pretty powerful. Then again, what the hell do I know? LOL, this was my first build, so I am still learning.

 

[beedubaya]

i doubt anyone knew... u must be so pissed off now Beedubaya.

Yes, I am. Thats why I flame ATI and the X800 so much on these forums. If I pay $400 for a card, I expect to get high end performance that lasts me some time. Like I've said before, my GeForce4 MX card served me better than this card has. I was able to max out the settings with it on all games up to UT2004, which then it started to choke. The X800 has given me problems from day 1 when I tried to play Far Cry.

Hey guys, thanks for the replies. I think I am going to get a couple 74gb raptors. Man, those things arent cheap. I wonder why the x800 pro is getting such crappy reviews? My bud has an built by ATI x800 pro and the thing is screaming fast. I have played D3 on it for hours at the highest settings w/out any problem whatsoever. Unfortunately I have not had the chance to test out a 6800gt or ultra yet, so I cant compare it to the x800 pro. I am def. not an ATI fanboy, but the x800 seems pretty powerful. Then again, what the hell do I know? LOL, this was my first build, so I am still learning.

The 6800GT is TONS better than an X800 pro. With an X800 pro, you have to overclock just to get above the 10000 mark on 3Dmark. The 6800GT should get between 11,000-12,000 stock, maybe even higher. You'll see the difference, for with the 6800GT you can actually use AA on newer games (Far Cry, Doom 3), which you can't with the X800 Pro.

 

[Kaniver]

6600GT is PCI-express only presently

 

[csw3190]

CREATIVE SOUND CARD ALL THE WAY! (no, caps lock wasn't on)

 

[AZNRockThis]

I would invest in a graphics card or you could get dual 74 GB Western Digital Raptor Drives

 

[Joeisalsocool]

You might want to change the Zalman cooler, its really only ment for processors up to 2.8 - 3.0 GHz. It's a semi passive HS. You might want to find something that blows right over the core. That should drop your temps, and give you a cheap increase in power.
-Joe

P.S. What are your temps btw.

 

[ag3]

Plus, the X800 cards are supposed to be the best for HL2.

That is true. Half-life 2 has been completely optimized to use the full extent of ATi's components. The high-end 9800 series even perform better than the 6800 series. Not to mention that the Source engine does not support AA when using nVidia.

 

[csw3190]

I would get like two 160's (like i have :-D) for video, and w/the extra $100 get an internal sound card (creative...whatever). MHO