Looking for opinions and advice on these upgrades please.

[iseethemtoo]

So basically Ive been trying to decide what I wanted to do; build a new PC, or upgrade my current PC.

Im kind of hesitant to build a whole new PC at this time because Id like to wait and see what comes out when Vista and DX10 have been around.

So i've decided to start by respeccing my current PC a little without making it a whole new machine ( I do plan to buy a new PC or Laptop probably in 2007) to see if the performance gains are worth it. Really the only upgrades here is the Vid card and RAM, with a HDD tossed in cause I need the room...

I am a gamer but I have no need to spend the most amount of money if I dont truly need to. Part of my desire to upgrade comes from my recent venture into EQ2 and my desire to make it run better.

Thats what brought me here to you guys who helped me oh so much when I made this first build but anyway, here goes...

You can see my current system specs in my sig, here is what I was thinking:

Geforce 6800 Ultra 256MB AGP ----> BFG GeForce 7600 GS 420MHZ AGP8X 512MB DDR2 VGA DVI-I HDTV Out $192.68
-Im limited a bit here as I must choose an AGP card since changing my motherboard is something Ive decided not to do (my thinking is if I change MoBo Ill want to change CPU and that starts a whole ball rolling that I dont want until I build a whole new machine)
-Does anyone foresee a better AGP card coming out anytime soon?

CorsairTwinX 1G PC3200 ----> Corsair XMS TWINX2048-3200C2PT PC3200 2GB 2X1GB DDR400 CL2-3-3-6 184PIN Dual Channel Memory Kit $360.51
-Basically Ive chosen this memory because I was happy with my first set of sticks and this was the least expensive out of the available TwinX's.
-I could also save myself about $100 by going with OCZ Value Series PC3200 2GB 2X1GB DDR400 CL3-4-4-8 184PIN DIMM Dual Channel $267.08 instead < Not sure what to do here.

This is where I could use the most help > deciding on RAM. I have a hard time telling if pair X is really worth the extra $50 over pair Y, hopefully you can help me here. I am looking for price/performance here is the list I have to choose from:

OCZ Value Series PC3200 2GB 2X1GB DDR400 CL3-4-4-8 184PIN DIMM Dual Channel $267.08

Corsair Value Select PC3200 2GB 2X1GB DDR400 CL3 184PIN DIMM Dual Channel Memory Kit $298.68

Corsair XMS 3200 TWINXP2048-3200C2 2GB 2X1GB PC3200 DDR-400 CL2-3-3-6 184PIN Dual Channel Memory $388.16

Corsair XMS TWINX2048-3200C2PT PC3200 2GB 2X1GB DDR400 CL2-3-3-6 184PIN Dual Channel Memory Kit $360.51

Corsair XMS TWINX2048-3500LLPRO PC3500 2GB 2X1GB DDR433 CL2-3-2-6 184PIN Dual Channel Memory Kit $424.32

Kingston HyperX PC3200 2GB 2X1GB DDR400 CL2-3-2-6 184PIN DIMM Dual Channel Memory Kit $294.00

Mushkin EM PC3200 2GB 2X1GB DDR400 CL3-3-3-8 184PIN DIMM Memory Kit $267.32

Mushkin HP PC3200 2GB 2X1GB DDR400 CL2-3-2 184PIN DIMM Dual Channel Memory Kit $318.06

Crucial 2GB 2x1GB CT2KIT12864Z40B DDR PC3200 CL=3 Unbuffered NON-ECC DDR400 2.6V 128Meg x 64 US$246.99

Crucial 2GB 2x1GB BL2KIT12864L503 DDR PC4000 3-4-4-8 Unbuffered NON-ECC DDR500 2.8V 128Meg x 64 US$347.99

Crucial 2GB 2x1GB CT2KIT12864Z335 DDR PC2700 CL=2.5 Unbuffered NON-ECC DDR333 2.5V 128Meg x 64 US$252.99

Crucial 2GB 2x1GB CT2KIT12872Z40B DDR PC3200 CL=3 Unbuffered ECC DDR400 2.6V 128Meg x 72 US$288.99

Crucial 2GB 2x1GB BL2KIT12864Z503 DDR PC4000 3-4-4-8 Unbuffered NON-ECC DDR500 2.8V 128Meg x 64 US$337.99

The Crucial prices Ive shown are US while the others ar CAN. Ive stayed away from Crucial just because the site Im going to be ordering from doesnt have them, but they have everything else, though if some amazing case was made for Crucial I certainly would consider them.

The last upgrade and one I dont really need advice on is more of an addition. Ill be adding Western Digital Raptor 150GB SATA 10KRPM 16MB $294.12 to my system so I can leave my 36gig just for OS and Apps and use the 150gig to put my games on...

So other than specific advice on my choices, Id like an overall opinion on whether or not you think this upgrade is worth it (this is why I included prices which I hope is OK) and if Id notice significant performance increase (specific opinions on how it would effect EQ2 for me would be great). Even whether or not my "timing" to upgrade is good...

So yea, without rambling, any advice greatly appreciated!

 

[George Powell]

The best graphics cards for AGP are based on either the GeForce 7800GS or the ATI X1950 Pro chips.
The 7600GS won't offer that much of an upgrade over your 6800.

As for ram 2GB is useful for many applications these days, however you do have a choice here.
You could add 2 more 512 sticks to give you the 2GB, this would involve using a 2T command rate but in my view thats not too awful and it will save you a bunch of money.

Getting 2 x1GB sticks will be the best for performance, however do bere in mind that standard DDR is on its way out now and won't be transferrable to a new system down the line.

 

[iseethemtoo]

Thanks for the input!

You really think that going from a 256 to 512MB video card won't offer much of a difference?

Thanks for the suggestion of 2 additional 512 sticks, Ill definitely look into that.

Basically Im looking at about 800 for the upgrades (hdd included), you think my performance gains would be worth it?

 

[Atheus]

Originally posted by: iseethemtoo
Thanks for the input!

You really think that going from a 256 to 512MB video card won't offer much of a difference?

Thanks for the suggestion of 2 additional 512 sticks, Ill definitely look into that.

Basically Im looking at about 800 for the upgrades (hdd included), you think my performance gains would be worth it?

For memory, both system RAM and video RAM, you only need as much as you use. So if you only use 800MB system and 200MB video while gaming, going to 2GB and 512MB respectively will give you absolutely zero performance increase. If anything it would degrade performance.

Now apparently games can use 2GB these days, even though all mine run extremely well on 1GB, so this might be a worthwhile upgrade for you. If you're sure you can run dual channel with 4 sticks (and I'm not sure you can) I'd just get another 2*512. The only reasons to completely replace them would be if you can't run dual channel with 4, or if you want to go for some overclocking stuff.

The amount of video memory used has a lot to do with the resolution you're playing at, and I assume it's not that high if you're still on AGP, so try to find some numbers on your favourite games and their VRAM usage at that res and make your decision based on those. I would assume the speed and number of rendering pipes in the card will make much more of a difference than the memory in your case.

You might also want to consider a new PCI-e based system - buying AGP at this point is not the best decision for the future IMO...

 

[iseethemtoo]

Im runnin a 22" widescreen at 1680x1050

I do plan on building a pci-e based system in 2007, I just kind of wanted to max this one out a little more with the MoBo and CPU I have. THis PC will move two my secondary PC slot...

I have been trying to decide if maybe I should go a bit further with the upgrades to this one (ie pcie/new cpu/vidcard) to make it my primary and by a laptop to use as my secondary (I have no real NEED for two deskops, but Id like two systems...)

Also, how can I find out if I can run dual channel with 4 sticks? And they'd have to be the same exact stick that I currently have correct?