Which System to Upgrade?

[Avenger902]

I currently have 2 systems.

AMD System (Main Rig)

AMD Athlon X2 5600+ CPU (2.8GHz stock)
ASUS M2N-SLI Deluxe Mobo
eVGA 7900GS Video Card
4GB RAM

Media Center Rig

Intel Conroe E2200 CPU (2.2GHz stock)
eVGA 650i Mobo
eVGA 8400GS Video Card
2GB RAM

Both Systems run Vista, and are doing ok. However, now I am starting to look at possibly doing some Future proofing for up to 2+ years...

First Question I have is Video Cards. If I stick with Nvidia, since I have Nvidia mobo's. I'll most likely get either a 9800GTX (if the price keeps dropping lower and lower) or a GTX260. However, I've seen ATI starting to kick some butt again and was wondering if there are any setbacks in running an ATI card in my Nvidia Mobos...

Next Question is CPUs. I obviously bought the Intel CPU for just doing basic media center duties... but since my Mobo is entry level, I am not sure if I can even OC the CPU properly or not (I think I think can get it to 2.4 at least... but I haven't tried..)

So with that, do I get a new Vid Card and put it in either the AMD or Intel System? (The memory can be switched around since both are DDR2.) And if the Intel, will the E2200 be alright or so should I switch to something faster as the prices keep dropping with the introduction of Nehalem?

Thanks for reading!

 

[Avenger902]

Oh and I forgot to mention, the only games I play at the moment are Guitar Hero 3 and Mass Effect. I am however looking forward to playing Diablo 3 and Project Origin. I currently game on a 1280x960 CRT 19" monitor.

 

[TaylorTech]

General question, which do you use more?

It sounds like you game a bit more.

Your video card above all could use an upgrade. It's mixed right now. The GTX260 and HD4780 are very solid, though it's back and forth about which is better.

 

[iBPJohn]

Well the 8400GS is perfectly suited for the media center unless you were looking to play games on that?

 

[DSF]

Future proofing isn't worth the money. When a game comes along that your gaming rig can't play, then upgrade. No sense paying for technology you don't necessarily need yet when it will be less expensive (or something better will be out) by the time you actually have a use for it.

 

[DCGMoo]

This probably isn't the best time to worry about "future proofing".

Nehalem (Intel) and Deneb (AMD) are both coming (supposedly in a few months). Once they hit, most everything will be deemed obsolete anyway. Especially on the Intel side of things... Nehalem = death of LGA775 socket. "Future-proofing" a media center with a E2200 running on 650i is probably a waste of money.

That said... if I was going to focus on one of those two, I think I'd focus on the AMD. You have an SLI-capable board, and the 5600+ is a capable gaming chip for the moment. Upgrade the video card dramatically... and I don't see any reason the AMD system shouldn't be able to run Guitar Hero 3 and Diablo 3 just fine at 1280x960.

Agreed with iBPJohn... the 8400GS should be just fine on a media center type system, as should the rest of the setup. Upgrade the AMD's video card and keep that as your gamer.

Moo.