Right now I am sitting with:
AMD Athlon XP, 1917 MHz (11.5 x 167) 2600+
Asus A7N8X-X (5 PCI, 1 AGP, 3 DDR DIMM, Audio, LAN)
1024 MB (PC3200 DDR SDRAM)
NVIDIA GeForce FX 5700LE (256 MB)
I am finding running Photoshop and some other programs isn't as responsive as I would like. I am looking at a very economical upgrade.
A new game I purchased made me go get this new video card. I *JUST* bought it, so I am within my window of return policy. I was looking at adding more RAM, but I don't know if that will help out as much as other possible paths...if at all other than Photoshop.
I could get a:
NFORCE 4 ULTRA AMD SOCKET 939 Mobo
ATHLON 64 3000+
GEFORCE 6600LE 256MB DDR3
I would then be running at 400 mhz, and my RAM will work at 3200 instead of clocking down to 2700. I will get an overall increase in performance with the faster chip and the faster FSB, but will it be worth the $450 pricetag? Will this increase be marginal? I will be running Windows XP 32-bit.
What upgrade could I do that would serve me better? I am "sorta" interested in getting back into gaming (just bought Civ IV), but 1st person shooters are out of the question as I get virtual reality sickness. Would simply a better video card be a better upgrade path? I could also go to the ATHLON XP 3200+ chip for not too much money, but that is a minimal boost at best. There is a ATHLON XP 3200+ that runs at 400 mhz, but that is almost $300 by itself.
Thanks for any help.
AMD Athlon XP, 1917 MHz (11.5 x 167) 2600+
Asus A7N8X-X (5 PCI, 1 AGP, 3 DDR DIMM, Audio, LAN)
1024 MB (PC3200 DDR SDRAM)
NVIDIA GeForce FX 5700LE (256 MB)
I am finding running Photoshop and some other programs isn't as responsive as I would like. I am looking at a very economical upgrade.
A new game I purchased made me go get this new video card. I *JUST* bought it, so I am within my window of return policy. I was looking at adding more RAM, but I don't know if that will help out as much as other possible paths...if at all other than Photoshop.
I could get a:
NFORCE 4 ULTRA AMD SOCKET 939 Mobo
ATHLON 64 3000+
GEFORCE 6600LE 256MB DDR3
I would then be running at 400 mhz, and my RAM will work at 3200 instead of clocking down to 2700. I will get an overall increase in performance with the faster chip and the faster FSB, but will it be worth the $450 pricetag? Will this increase be marginal? I will be running Windows XP 32-bit.
What upgrade could I do that would serve me better? I am "sorta" interested in getting back into gaming (just bought Civ IV), but 1st person shooters are out of the question as I get virtual reality sickness. Would simply a better video card be a better upgrade path? I could also go to the ATHLON XP 3200+ chip for not too much money, but that is a minimal boost at best. There is a ATHLON XP 3200+ that runs at 400 mhz, but that is almost $300 by itself.
Thanks for any help.