Asus A8N-SLI Deluxe GPU Upgrade Help

[Raymond Philip]

I have:

Asus A8N-SLI Deluxe
AMD Athlon 64 3700+ 2.2ghz
eVGA 7800 GT DDR3 256mb
2 GB Corsair RAM
600w Power Supply
Windows XP SP3

I can afford a low end to mid range GPU upgrade and maybe I can squeeze in money for RAM or a CPU if the grand total is affordable.

Basically looking to handle Dragon Age Origins next week. I was told my PC should be fine but I have to wonder how fine. Any upgrade suggestions would be appreciated. Thank you.

PS If you need any other system info, I can provide it.

 

[shadow187]

What is your budget? You have a horrible CPU, the RAM is alright.

It seems you're limited to Athlon 64 x2's. Even the highest A64 will be bottlenecked..

My advice to you is to just get an HD4670. I think any card higher will be of no use, due to the bottlenecking.

 

[Raymond Philip]

Thanks.

So a 64 x2 is the best CPU that will fit in my MOBO? OK. I'll get one.
And a HD4670 with a new CPU will the best combo I can get into my MOBO?

 

[shadow187]

Well, you are, like I said, limited to an athlon 64 x2 CPU. With that line of processor as your only option, a higher end card like that HD4850, or 4870, will be bottlenecked by your CPU. Your best option is to settle for a mid-er range card.

Alternatively, you can buy a new MOBO+CPU+GPU for $200 (some mobo for $60, Athlon II, HD4670) that might make you happy. It's up to you on how much money you can spend.

 

[EXT64]

Unfortunately, upgrading that CPU will be very difficult as the Socket 939 Athlon X2 & FXes are just eBay items now. I got an FX-60 for my A8N-SLI Deluxe right as the 939 was being completely put out to pasture. So, I'd suggest either getting a mid/low end GPU (4670 caliber, still a very nice card) or doing a full upgrade. With either choice, we'd be grad to help. The old 939 line is good, but it is really starting to show its age. I still use the FX-60 along with a 4850 as a secondary gaming comp, but the slow (and only 2GB ram) is really starting to take a hit, so over break/holidays I think I'll finally replace it for good.

 

[megamanx00]

It will be pretty hard to find a dual core socket 939 CPU. The price of the 4400 X2 939 is so insane it's cheaper to by a new AM2 board, RAM, and a cheap Athlon II CPU. Anyway I say get a Radeon 4850 as it's great for the price and you can use it when you get a new board and CPU. I guess you could also just go with a Radeon 4670 if you're not planning to upgrade the rest of your system anytime soon. Overclocking your CPU will certainly help.

 

[Raymond Philip]

Thanks Ext64. Yes I saw what you mean as Newegg and Tigerdirect no longer stock 939 CPUs and on ebay they are $70+ used. The FX-60 and some other X2 on Amazon were like $300..I don't get it.

Anyway, would a HD4670 be bottlenecked by my current CPU?

EDIT: I posted before you megaman. Yes the prices are insane and I can't afford to scrap the whole set up yet. How should I go about OC my current CPU? Is that a viable option?

 

[Raymond Philip]

I bought an AMD Athlon 64 X2 3800+ on eBay for $50. Is that a decent price? Looking at the HD 4670 on Newegg for 65 ish. Thanks again for the advice.

 

[EXT64]

Well, it was $350 back when it was released, so that is probably the best you can do on a non-production processor. It should be about the same in single threaded apps as you current processor, but much faster in multithreaded apps. Hopefully the 4670 should be a bit easier to get a hold of.