300$ upgrade

[troll]

Hey

I have an extra 300$ around and was wondering what I should upgrade on my system. I'm leaning towards a new video card...http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814130365&Tpk=gtx280

My system is used for the follow: Gaming, gaming, gaming, schoolwork, autocad, programming, gaming, gaming and gaming. (I play Crysis, cod, guild wars, and occasionally some Starcraft...but my phone could run that )

Here's the current specs:

Motherboard: MSI P7N Platinum 750i
Processor: Intel Q6600@2.4ghz
CPU cooler: Arctic 7 Cooler Freezer Pro
Graphics cards: 2x XFX 9600GT's in SLI
Memory: 4GB of OCZ Platinum DDR2 1066
Hard Drive: 2X 160GB 7200RPM Seagate Barracuda
Power Supply: Antec NeoPower 550W
Case: NZXT Apollo (Silver)
Mouse/Keyboard: Logitech Wave
Monitor: Dell 2408WFP
Speakers: Bose Companion 5
OS: Vista Premium 64/Ubuntu 8.10

Thanks
-Peter

 

[Fortunex]

I'd grab something like a Radeon HD4870/4890, or a GTX260 if you want Nvidia.

You should also overclock your processor, it will give you a decent gain in performance if you got a half-decent chip. (3.2GHz is the norm, chips with the newer stepping can hit 3.6 stable with ease) You already have the aftermarket heatsink, so you shouldn't have a problem with temperatures.

 

[troll]

Would a 260 out perform 2 9600GT's?

 

[Kaldor]

Id steer clear from the 280 honestly with only a 550 watt PSU. Look at a 260 16 or maybe one of the new 275s as they use alot less power.

 

[Tech-Boy]

Yes, I agree with Fortunex if you have two 9600gt's in sli. An overclock of the q6600 should help increase your frames alot. It's extra free Speed. If you want a new graphics card under $300 then get a 4890 as you can overclock them to 1ghz and get the performance of a gtx 285. If you really want to stay nvidia because of your mobo than get a gtx 275, which has very similar performance to the 4890.

Hope this helps and good luck!

 

[Fortunex]

Would a 260 out perform 2 9600GT's?

Yes, it would. Dual 9600's are close to the 8800GTX.

 

[IzzyCraft]

Throw in a 260 or wait a week or two for 275 and keep 1 9600gt to do physx etc.