Upgrade HELP!!!

[JE78]

A few weeks ago I was set to order a MSI "K8N Neo2 Platinum" NVIDIA nForce3 ULTRA with a AMD 3200+ Socket 939 Winnie but now I'm not too sure. I intern at a Musueum and Science Center and today I got talknig with one of the IT guys I work with and told him what I was thinking of upgrading too. He said he's had the itch to upgrade as well but is holding off till the dual cores come out this fall. The guys a pretty big gamer and he said its going to be the next generation in for gaming. I mostly use my computer for gaming but have never had the "best thing right now" and I don't mind turning down detail and don't mind FPS a little lower than normal. Here is my setup now:

P4 2.53
Gigabyte GA-8SG667
ATI 9800 Pro APG
512 PC2700 Generic, 512 PC3200 Crucial. 1GB total running at 2700
2 200gb Westren Digital HDD
Sound Blaster Live 5.1
Enermax 460 watt PSU

I just upgraded to my 9800 Pro last Nov so replacing that isn't an option right now. I'd like to keep my upgraded around $300-$350. I've never been an over clocker but only because I really haven't had the time to tinker with it. When the dual cores come out does anyone know what the price ranges are going to be? Just trying to figure out what the best decision would be. Any help would be appreciated. Thanks.

 

[xsilver]

Most if not all s939 boards are stated to be compatible with dual cores when they come out
however dual cores has shown that it will not really improve pure gaming performance.....
since you're not upgrading you're video card, now is not a bad time to upgrade
however.... as the old saying goes... if you wait .... it'll be cheaper tomorrow

also AMD dual cores are not stated to be cheap eg. NOT in the $200 range just yet

 

[Byers]

Dual core might indeed be where it'll be at in a few years but, as i understand things, you're not going to see a huge increase in gaming performence right now. As games exist now, they're mostly single threaded applications and thus aren't really going to use the advantages that come with a dual core/ multi-pricessor setup. It might be wise to save up more money, wait a little longer, and see what is offered in the dual core arena after the first releases.

 

[JE78]

Ok, lets say I wait for the dual core, chances are i'm going to have to drop another $250+ on a new video card and another 100+ on some better ram correct?

 

[Byers]

Originally posted by: JE78
Ok, lets say I wait for the dual core, chances are i'm going to have to drop another $250+ on a new video card and another 100+ on some better ram correct?

Yeah, you'll probobly want to if you're looking to keep pace with newer and newer games. You'll find yourself in the same spot if you went ahead with the 3200+ upgrade - down the line you'll have to upgrade video and ram and say to yourself "now it's my proc holding me back and those dual cores look nice". I'd be inclined to say keep what you've got and use the extra time to save up more money for a future overhaul, unless of course you can suppliment upgrades by selling off your old components.

On another topic, these enthusiast computers (including mine) are so wasteful. Things are obsolete for gaming so quickly.

 

[sniperruff]

the P4 is fine.

 

[JE78]

Well selling my old components isn't something I really wanted to do since I was planning on using them. On the other hand lets say I went with the MSI and the AMD setup now. Don't ATI and Nvidia still make most of there newer video cards to support APG? And if the rumors hold true and the 939 boards support the dual cores then I could just upgrade to a newer APG card and if wanted to the dual cores. Man, what to do, what to do???

 

[JE78]

anyone?