Big enough performance boost?

[mikeaaronc]

My current specs should be listed at the bottom so i dont feel like typing them out again

I am looking to upgrade my pc but dont have too much money to work with. I am wondering if it would be a large performance boost upgrading my processor to an amd 64 3500+ 939 pin (90nm). I mosty run games on my pc doom 3, half life 2 and WOW I want to be ready for the next generation of graphically intense games. Down the road I will be upgrading my vid card, but currently I just want my games to run better. I also will be getting an nforce4 chipset mobo of some sorts for my processor. I just want some opinions on If it is really worth paying the money for that processor with my current config... Processor mobo combos are really cheap right now for that processor.

Also, will a 350W PSU be sufficient?

 

[majistic]

Yeah, sounds just fine upgrade from s754 to 939 is better. I wouldn't reccommend going with the combos, they give you a horrible motherboard. 350W should be ok for now...when you get a better video card you will need to upgrade.

 

[DoomUK]

I'm assuming you're on Socket A...

Honestly, I'd wait until you have the money to upgrade your video card to get more immediate results. Of course, a new CPU/mobo/RAM upgrade will give you an improvement of sorts in games, although you won't see it as much as with a new GPU. Running a 9600XT isn't going to do the system justice.

What is your current budget for the upgrade?

 

[timmer]

yea wait till you can build a completely new computer.or you can start piecing it together with a new video card. get a 6800gt.295$ at newegg.then u will be able to play your a games for now and you will be set for many years with pixel shader3.0. then your mobo and cpu next. then you ram.you might wanna get a new psu when you get your card to make sure your set get like a 480w decent psu.

 

[turtile]

Get a new graphics card.

 

[Elbatrop1]

Its going to be expensive to upgrade to an Nforce4 mobo now. If you go to NF4, you will have to get a new vid card anyways. NF4 mobos have PCI-E graphics slots, while your vid card is an AGP.

What I recommend doing (I did it myself, actually), is getting an Nforce3 Motherboard + skt939 CPU, and keeping your vid card for now. Then, when you can, get a 6800GT AGP, or whatever else you like.

This option will give you a nice upgrade, but will allow easy improvements in the future. AGP is going to be around for at least a little while yet, so you wont be selling yourself short

 

[mikeaaronc]

thanks for the input guys... and thanks elbatrop1 for telling me that the nforce4 mobo only has pci-e and no agp. I may have overlooked that.. I think im going with your idea about the 939 chipset and 939 athlon 64.

Actually doomuk i did some reasearch and I saw a benchmark specifically with my cpu the 2600+ running half life 2 and a 9600xt I wish I could find it again. It ran half life 2 with my vid card and the same processor I have, then it ran everything the same including the ram with an athlon 64 processor. The results were actually surprising, there was a big difference in framerates at higher resolutions with the faster processor telling me its my processor that is the bottleneck right now not the vid card. that will change very quickly with the newer games coming out i.e. fear which is a graphical powerhouse.

there are actually good mobo combo deals.. I will only go for an asus mobo or abit in a combo deal, no eltite group or as rock boards. I dont know anything about them and they probably are crap.

 

[Elbatrop1]

I'll recommend the mobo I got, again. I was in the same situation as you, I wanted to keep my AGP card, but get a skt 939 CPU. NForce3 chipsets seemed to be the way to go.

Because I am not an overclocker, I decided the a DFI board wasnt needed. After all my reading and reviewing, I decided to go with a Gigabyte GA-K8NS Ultra. It's a great mobo, with nice features, expandibility, stability, and good price. Also, there are some minor options that you can tweak to overclock a little.

 

[mikeaaronc]

Im a little surprised that you recommended a gigabyte board. Im glad though because of the price of those boards. I was a little worried about purchasing one because I havent heard too much about them. I have seen a lot of your posts and I would trust your judgement on this matter. My head is starting to ache from doing so much pricing and website searching lol. Thanks again!

 

[mikeaaronc]

Well if anyone still cares I decided on my new rig.

Gigabyte K8NSC-939 nforce3 250GB mobo combo with an AMD 3500+ 939 90nm Venice processor ($308 combo with AMD certified heatsink and fan)

http://www.monarchcomputer.com/Merc...ct=110370,120206,130122&AFFIL=pricewatch&NR=1

2 Corsair 184 pin 512 MB PC3200 DDR (Dual Channel) $90.32 with shipping

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=N82E16820145440

Total Cost $398.32 Is this a good deal?