A 500$ upgrade

[rdukeman]

Current System :

Athlon Mobile 2600+
ABIT NF7 2.0 series
1g DDR ram (Corsair)
Antec Sonata case
6800bfgtechOC Vid Card
Sound Card - 5$ sb live! =(
Speakers - none
headset - yes
monitor - very old samtron, very huge and ugly



I am getting a nice 500$ bonus for some work I am doing and I would like to invest it in my computer. I am looking to upgrade my monitor to a nice lcd, im thinking a 19" is in my price range and will allow me to upgrade my sound card as well other things. Any deals on either of these would be appricated.

However after doing some research, the idea crossed my mind of upgrading my processor and motherboard. I am reading about how agp will be obsolete and I was thinking would it be wise to get what I can for my machine now and go PCI, what do you guys think?

If I can upgrade to a SLI mb now, I would settle for a 6600gt, and get another one down the road when I can afford it. That should give me enough extra cash to get a 3.0+ or higher processor as well.

Also what would be the best way to go about selling my current processor and motherboard?

With my current prducts at neweggs are 85$ average each, and the card is worth 225$. That would give me 800$-850$(with the 500$ bonus) dollars to spend on a new MB and processor and a 6600gt SLI, smart move? If I were to sell, I would also include the heatsink which cost me 35$. I am not too experience in selling hardware, I noticed there is a forum section here for that which I will check out after I post this.


or...

I can just keep my current system, buy a 19" lcd, a nice sound card, and an extra large pizza and save the money. This is my first time upgrading my home built system( which I just made last year) so I am pretty overwhelmed at the possabilities...

 

[SVT Cobra]

Originally posted by: rdukeman
Current System :

Athlon Mobile 2600+
ABIT NF7 2.0 series
1g DDR ram (Corsair)
Antec Sonata case
6800bfgtechOC Vid Card
Sound Card - 5$ sb live! =(
Speakers - none
headset - yes
monitor - very old samtron, very huge and ugly



I am getting a nice 500$ bonus for some work I am doing and I would like to invest it in my computer. I am looking to upgrade my monitor to a nice lcd, im thinking a 19" is in my price range and will allow me to upgrade my sound card as well other things. Any deals on either of these would be appricated.

However after doing some research, the idea crossed my mind of upgrading my processor and motherboard. I am reading about how agp will be obsolete and I was thinking would it be wise to get what I can for my machine now and go PCI, what do you guys think?

If I can upgrade to a SLI mb now, I would settle for a 6600gt, and get another one down the road when I can afford it. That should give me enough extra cash to get a 3.0+ or higher processor as well.

Also what would be the best way to go about selling my current processor and motherboard?

With my current prducts at neweggs are 85$ average each, and the card is worth 225$. That would give me 800$-850$(with the 500$ bonus) dollars to spend on a new MB and processor and a 6600gt SLI, smart move? If I were to sell, I would also include the heatsink which cost me 35$. I am not too experience in selling hardware, I noticed there is a forum section here for that which I will check out after I post this.


or...

I can just keep my current system, buy a 19" lcd, a nice sound card, and an extra large pizza and save the money. This is my first time upgrading my home built system( which I just made last year) so I am pretty overwhelmed at the possabilities...

APG, while it is on its way from becoming absolete, is still not...your computer is still good to do office work, web surf, and some light gaming...

Go with a nice LCD (one that you can use on your next build/upgrade)...you will probably be happier with that then having to downgrade to a 6600 gt...

Also especially since you use headphones, you really do not need a sound blaster live card...I have one in my backup rig and i really do not notice the diff between my audigy 2 and sound blaster live value card...with speakers i do, but not that much...

It really depends...what do you use your computer for? I would ot upgrade my CPU now and wait for your next time you want to upgrade becuase byt ehn cheap AMD dual core's will be out, or the prices will have dropped and you can get one of those instead of being stuck with a 3000+ or such that you just bought

its rumored that AMD will soon release a 350$ DC..

 

[Bicen]

well for moniter i just got

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=N82E16824179014

and i really love it, great for gaming and such, fast refresh, and great color...

and for sound card I just got

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=N82E16829102163

and I love that because of the front bay but if its too much for you go with

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=N82E16829120103

great cheap sound card

 

[rdukeman]

My computer now is for purely gaming. It is used for some CAD programs for school but 90% of the time its for gaming. Thanks for the suggestions, it looks like I will go with the LCD, nothing really wrong with my computer right now. I was just thinking of trying to get the most of what my mb and processor is worth right now, but I suppose it isn't neccessary.

 

[magomago]

Originally posted by: Son of a N00b

APG, while it is on its way from becoming absolete, is still not...your computer is still good to do office work, web surf, and some light gaming...

Go with a nice LCD (one that you can use on your next build/upgrade)...you will probably be happier with that then having to downgrade to a 6600 gt...

Also especially since you use headphones, you really do not need a sound blaster live card...I have one in my backup rig and i really do not notice the diff between my audigy 2 and sound blaster live value card...with speakers i do, but not that much...

It really depends...what do you use your computer for? I would ot upgrade my CPU now and wait for your next time you want to upgrade becuase byt ehn cheap AMD dual core's will be out, or the prices will have dropped and you can get one of those instead of being stuck with a 3000+ or such that you just bought

its rumored that AMD will soon release a 350$ DC..

LIGHT GAMING? He has a freaking gig of ram and a 6800! On top of that he still has a processor that can pack a punch! If anything I see no reason to upgrade the computer. You probably play most of your games at full detail anyways.

I'd say invest it in a NICE lcd...

 

[Mark2582]

Originally posted by: magomago

Originally posted by: Son of a N00b

APG, while it is on its way from becoming absolete, is still not...your computer is still good to do office work, web surf, and some light gaming...

Go with a nice LCD (one that you can use on your next build/upgrade)...you will probably be happier with that then having to downgrade to a 6600 gt...

Also especially since you use headphones, you really do not need a sound blaster live card...I have one in my backup rig and i really do not notice the diff between my audigy 2 and sound blaster live value card...with speakers i do, but not that much...

It really depends...what do you use your computer for? I would ot upgrade my CPU now and wait for your next time you want to upgrade becuase byt ehn cheap AMD dual core's will be out, or the prices will have dropped and you can get one of those instead of being stuck with a 3000+ or such that you just bought

its rumored that AMD will soon release a 350$ DC..

LIGHT GAMING? He has a freaking gig of ram and a 6800! On top of that he still has a processor that can pack a punch! If anything I see no reason to upgrade the computer. You probably play most of your games at full detail anyways.

I'd say invest it in a NICE lcd...

QFT

 

[suicidalpigeon]

2005fpw with some stacked coupons would go for around $400

 

[rdukeman]

2005fpw?

 

[Gloryfieldzi]

I'm having fun with BF2 / guild wars still on my old system lol. Although BF 2 is @800x600 low w/ texture medium.
Athlon Thunderbird (just like the firefox email thingie hehe) 1.333 ghz
AsusA7A266
768 megs ram running at pc2100
Radeon 9500 pro.

I get decent frame rates, ~30, more than playable