Upgrade help please.

[Neurot]

system specs are
7900 gt ko evga
amd athalon dual core x2 3300
2 gigs of ram
Tyan motherboard Tomkat k8e
Antec 380w power

I use this pc for games. I was thinking new video card but I dont know if cpu would bottleneck, and if my power supply would be enough for a bigger card. I would like to keep budget close to 300 but that can always go up.

 

[fullmetall]

Your looking at a really low end computer you have running, anything i see you upgrade, something else would need upgrading. You get a newer gpu, you'll need a beefier psu, depending on the pci connections that board has, mabye need a new board which would include a newer cpu.

the card you got, is about as good as it gets for the components im looking at.

 

[kubes]

Ya, your setup doesn't have much room for an upgrade path. Maybe go with another set of ram?

 

[Axeon]

If you were doing a full scale upgrade lets say CPU, RAM, Video Card which leads to new PSU as FullMetal said, it woudn't be worth it.

 

[jjbtexas]

ur a lot better off just saving and building a new pc

 

[marco324]

http://www.newegg.com/Product/ComboDealDetails.aspx?ItemList=Combo.178904
1. AMD ADO5600DOBOX: $72.99 2. BIOSTAR TFORCE TA790GX 128M: $104.99 Combo Discount: -$25.00
Combo Price: $152.98 $10.00 Mail-In Rebate = 143.00

1. OCZ Technology, Inc. OCZ2G10664GK: $50.99 2. Sapphire Technology Limited 100265HDMI: $89.99
Combo Discount: -$10.00 Combo Price: $130.98 $15.00 Mail-In Rebate = 116.00

259.00 total
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817702010
BFG Tech GS-550 550W $54.99 Free Shipping
314.00 not a bad system

or you might be able to get a video card upgrade Free Shipping Your Price:$114.99
Mail-In Rebate : $10.00 = 105.00 for a good video card depending on your power supplys
12v output ?

 

[fullmetall]

which would be basically waiting till you get money for a new rig because ^ isn't worth getting old parts + 1066 memory wouldn't be worth it on low end parts, would probably run at it's lowest - 667. 800mhz would be the way to go in your budget.

 

[marco324]

thats good enough for gaming and can throw in a phenom 2 later with that setup
future proof a little
all im saying is for 300.00 bucks its possible to get a decent system or could wait save more?

 

[rewindlabs]

I actually just surfed newegg and there are quite a few good deals on a 920 build at this point if you want to play the upgrade game i suggest you start upgrading slowly

Start with buying this combo your going to a little more but you save 40$ and you can go for a 920 Quad vs 720 Tri

http://www.newegg.com/Product/ComboDealDetails.aspx?ItemList=Combo.182255

Now move your PSU and GFX card and ram to this build....now start upgrading from there....

After this you should go for 4GB of ram which is perfect for gaming...then a psu and graphics card

You will be able to play GTA IV with this system after you buy a new graphics card and you will have a rather future proof system for the months to come


This will get you some serious performance if your willing to take the little time to wait and buy more ram/gfx/psu

 

[fullmetall]

One thing i did do is use my computer i had and upgrade part by part on a fully new rig as said before.

Helped me out, took 3 months but, was well worth it.

Something you could do instead of getting mid/low end parts now and still being behind in fps.

Get a Combo now for that price, then later on get another component and on and on, by the time its finished, you'll have a fully new phenom II build.

 

[rewindlabs]

Its definitely the best way to go if you want to have a system with greater longevity and with that cpu you will be somewhat future proofing for games yet to come that will start to take advantage of the quads....so the intel dualcore oc'ing users youv got longevity over them
Make sure to check for combo deals and M$ live cash back etc there is definitely money to be saved when buying your gfx/ram/psu

 

[marco324]

1. AMD ADO5400DSWOF: $57.99
2. GIGABYTE GA-MA770-UD3: $74.99
Combo Discount: -$5.00 Combo Price: $127.98 $10.00 Mail-In Rebate
some ddr2 ram or keep your video card for now get a phenom2 power supply
upgrade video card later

 

[Neurot]

My video card is showing signs of needing replaced now. Every time I start a game the screen has crazy lines goin across it untill I alt tab out of game. I am also locking up on some games now. So I realy need advice now on what video card to get.

 

[kubes]

I still stand by my stance of you should consider upgrading most of this pc. But here is a start. Your motherboard and processor will heavly bottleneck what these graphics card can do. This is doing my best to try and stick within your 300 dollar budget and target your needs/wants.

xfx GTX 260 (216 core edition) $179.99
or
Saphire 4870 1gb $190

PC Power & Cooling - Red $110/$90 after rebate - Sorry for the color choice, but the red one is on sale.

 

[jay2tall]

My video card is showing signs of needing replaced now. Every time I start a game the screen has crazy lines goin across it untill I alt tab out of game. I am also locking up on some games now. So I realy need advice now on what video card to get.

What I would do first is replace your Power Supply and Graphics card.

PSU: OCZ ModXStream Pro OCZ600MXSP 600W $90 (- $20 MIR)

Video: XFX GTX 260 Black Edition $220 (- $30 MIR)

That is $310 but you have $50 in Mail in Rebate. PLUS you get 2 free games, FarCry2 and COD WaW.


I will be honest though, this will bottleneck a bit on your system, but is a GOOD solid video upgrade. The powersupply will also position you for a mobo,cpu,mem upgrade in the near future. I would then start to save money for that upgrade. This way you aren't hammered with a big cost at one and still get to enjoy a new graphics card.

 

[Kill@dor]

Mike Rowe OWNZ U!!!

+1 Jay

 

[jay2tall]

My video card is showing signs of needing replaced now. Every time I start a game the screen has crazy lines goin across it untill I alt tab out of game. I am also locking up on some games now. So I realy need advice now on what video card to get.

Just a side comment. Some of those older GPUs ran REALLY hot and the paste dried out or got squeezed out the sides. I have seen this several times and you can take off the stock cooler, clean off the cooler plate, and the gpu with a cotton swap and rubbing alcohol really well. Then apply new paste, a VERY thin layer on the GPU. And you are all set. The old 7xxx nvidia's and 19xx ATI's were known for this after being used for several years. They get hot and start to artifact.

 

[Neurot]

Thanks Jay I will check the video card. If I can fix this maybe I can keep holding out untill SC2 hits.

 

[Neurot]

I used artic silver on it. Video card still displays crap when a game is first launched. The pc has not locked up yet though.

 

[jay2tall]

^ So call up evga, do they not have a lifetime warranty? They probably will not send you a replacement, but an equivalent model. I've heard people who fried their 7600gt have gotten a 8600gt in return. Check it out.

 

[Neurot]

This card was given to me and evga will not warranty it unless I have proof of purchase. I am waiting on parts for a new build yet I still want to replace the card in this machine. Can someone give me a suggestion on the best card that will work with this machine? Will a 8800gt run on a 380 watt supply?

 

[jay2tall]

^ I thought you just had to register it on their site? And they keep a record of who has the active registration for that card.