Best upgrade from 9800gt?

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theeyeclops

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I've been running a medium/budget gaming system for a while now, but I think it's about time for an upgrade.
The specs are:

Athlon 64 x2 6000+ (Socket AM2)
Nvidia 9800 gt
3Gb DDR2 RAM
500W X-power PSU

I'm getting mediocre performance on medium/low settings in Modern warfare 2 and would like to fix that. My question is: Which needs an upgrade more: my GPU or CPU? I don't want to break the bank, but I've got in the ballpark of $200 to spend on graphics and $100 on a processor, give or take.

Thanks for your help :D
 

sabot00

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The 9800GX2 is 2 x 9800 GTX's (about), it's pretty power-hungry, probably around a GTX 285.
 

theeyeclops

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That's what I'd figured initially, but according to ol' wikipedia It takes 197w (or is that each?) which would fit my current 500w PSU after my cpu and peripherals.
 

sabot00

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500W from the PSU could mean 500W peak or 500W sustained.
500W is combined rails, the 9800GX2 only draws from the 12V rail.
500W could be measured at 25C or 100C.

You're really stepping on ice.
 

theeyeclops

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Well, then... maybe a new PSU is in order after all.
My friend has a "600w" that he's willing to part with on the cheap. Will this be a sufficient upgrade?
 

theeyeclops

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Hmm... I checked here:

http://www.gigabyte.com.tw/Products/Motherboard/Products_Overview.aspx?ProductID=2381

A bit down the page it lists phenom support. Maybe I'll just have to settle for phenom I. Though I doubt it'd be at full speed due to its only being an AM2 board.

Edit: Well, it seems that there are Phenom II's in AM2+. I'm pretty sure that my board will run those, though with limited HyperTransport ability.
 

anonymousdude

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Your 9800gt should be more than enough to handle at your resolution because I had an 8800gt with an amd 5600+ and it handled all games on high settings very well at 1680x1050. Then later I added another 8800gt that I got when circuit city went out of business for $50. The PC is about 2-3 years old with the graphics card being the newest part and I've yet to meet game that I can't max with it with with of course the exception of crysis.
 

You will definitely need a new PSU for that card but for slightly under $200 I wouldn't recommend it. The HD4890 can be had for the same price and it's slightly more powerful, uses less power and is a single card so there will be no SLI scaling/compatibility issues. Also either of these cards should only be considered if you plan to upgrade your monitor to at least 1920x1080 imo.
An HD5770 is likely to work with your current PSU. It's only 15-20% weaker than an HD4890, DX11 compatible, runs much cooler and can be found for $150ish. However for 1024x768 you really shouldn't need to upgrade your card at all. Just get the new processor and see how it goes unless you are upgrading your monitor.
 

I don't think that word means what you think it means. Reliable means something will last a while without dieing or needing to be repaired. CPUs in general are all very reliable unless you are jacking up the voltage too high.