Will my upgrade be worth it?

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twoshoes

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Hi All!

To get a bit more juice out of my games (basically Far Cry and hopefully for future games such as doom 3). I am looking to uopgrade some components of my computer. At the moment my spec is:

60 Gb hard disk
Athlon XP 2000+ processor (1.67 gh)
Abit KD-7 motherboard
512 DDR Ram
Nvidia Geforce 4 Ti 4800SE GPU with AGP 8X 128mb
onboard soundcard

I am looking at another 512mb of memory an upgrading my processor to Athlon XP 3000+ (barton) (basically the highest spec processor the motherboard can take)

It'll cost me about £150 (272 USD) Am I doing a wise thing or being too ambitious?

Comments gratefully received!

twoshoes
 
It is my opinion that you should think about upgrading your video card. I think you have enough RAM and your processor is ok. :)

What kind of RAM are you running?
 
yes if ur runnng ur ram in ddr mode, you are fine. Also the processor is fine. I have a friend Who oc'd their 2000+ to 2.3 ghz. WIld eh? So its not worth ocing. Depending on ur storage needs, upgrading ur hard drive is totally up to u. Just get a good heatsink and oc that sucker. Video card should be upgraded. Suggestions: 9600xt,9800pro. Depending what sur budget :p
 
Video card it is then!

Cheers guys. I do't know how to overclock but I'm sure there's some guidance on the web - and its about time I learn't!

My ram is ddr. I thought it would run in ddr mode atomatically. Is this not true?

It's funny how striving for gaming performance inspires you to learn about pc's!
 
I think if you OC that 2000+ you should be ok, but i really do like that 3000+. As far as RAM goes I don't think more than 512mb is really necessary but 1GB is definitly nice to have.

I would have to agree with everyone in saying that your graphics card is the part you should consider upgrading first. I personally like anything from ATI. (9800 pro) Or if you are in a pinch for money the 9600 XT is always good like cell said.

Those upgrades definitly won't hurt you though. So if you've got the money why not.
 
Yeah dudguy but when will 64 bit windows come out. But thats on a personal choice if he would want to upgrade to a 64 bit system.
 
interesting view deadguy, howerver I would have to agree with the others on this one... The most performance increase will come by getting a Direct X 9 graphics card such as the 9800pro or my personal favourite the FX 5900.
Upgrading your proccy will obviously improve your performance but if you go the prescott route it isnt going to be cheap.
 
donwells, this is my view. First its a personal choice wether the guy will want to upgrade now AND when 64 bit windows comes out or just once. He can oc that...2000+ to atleast 2ghz with some decent coolin and that will be good! Any applications thrown at a 2ghz will run at top speed. And for the video card 9600xt if ur a pinch for the money...will run all games AWESOME but if u want something more advanced 9800 pro. :D
 
hey angrysamoanes, i would have to disagree with you very much! I actually found myself using 800MB (more or less) of ram the other night, when i was playing Ravenshield and downloaded a 22MB map, it was huge! my 9800xt couldn't even keep the frame rate at 60... i checked resources to see where i was on the ram mark, and sure enough, i was over 800... 1G is the lowest! you should go if you're going to be doing real gaming... this year and the next year will prove that without a doubt
 
Ahhh! decisions decisions!

debate in full swing then!

Guess the way to go is a top graphics card first & possibly another stick of Memory. That will fleece me. Then I'll overclock the pro until I can afford a new one.

Can you damage the motherboard if you overheat/damage the processor this way?
 
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