Upgrade My X2 System

[Gedoe_]

Hi guys

my system is running into its 3th year soon now. It has been having chokes ever since a linux install failed, so im ordering a second hard disk drive to make a clean vista install on. I dont want to risk my files by partitioning the current drive, who knows what could go wrong this time.

Anyhow, since im ordering the HDD it might be a nice time to upgrade. Im asking you guys because i want some suggestions on what to upgrade.

Sapphire Radeon X1950 Pro, 256 MB, GDDR3, PCI Express x16
AOpen ES45B
AMD Athlon 64 X2, 4400+ (65w), Socket AM2, Boxed
Asus M2N-MX
Kingston KVR667D2N5K2/2G, 2048 MB, DDR2, PC5300, 667 MHz, 2 x <-- actually upgraded this already with 2 more GB. 4 GB in total.

My uses are office and games like left4dead, CSS. Both games run just fine btw. Case is abit structual unstable, PSU has served me well. In general, the system is abit too noise in my taste, but then again it was pretty cheap (€500).

Issue is upgrade vs no upgrade. If i do not upgrade, ill probly replace the system at 3-4 y o. If i upgrade, should i upgrade GPU, CPU or CPU+mobo? Im looking for something balanced. Thanks for your input!

 

[rolli59]

If you are only planning a minor upgrade I will suggest GPU if your psu is up to it. You should be able to overclock your CPU a little to eliminate bottlenecks.

 

[MykC]

I had a system of like that just a bit ago

AMD 64X2 4200+ OC'd to 5000+
2GB DDR
ATI x1950Pro 256 MB

What resolution do you play at?

I tried a ATI 4850 512MB. I didn't really get a better frame rate in most games (like TF2 and CSS) but was able to increase the resolution and enable to AA and AF.

 

[Gedoe_]

gaming @ 1440x900. CSS i get 30-40 during the critical scenes which is only just acceptable, 50-80 on less demanding stuff. Changing resolution also doenst really matter. X2 4400+ overclocked from 2.2 to 2.6.

I was afraid already that changing the GPU wouldnt matter, so blowing €100 on a HD4830 to turn on AA, not really worth it i guess. I should look into CPU or even mobo/CPU. Or even better, just replace the system in due time since x1950 will probly be the next bottleneck to the new CPU.

 

[chin311]

if you're looking for something cheap that will play any game on the market at 1440x900, I'd go with a 4830 and maybe an amd x2 6000+ overclock it.. that should be a decent upgrade for just under 200$, if you have an AM2+ board go with an athlon x2 7750.

 

[MykC]

Or even better, just replace the system in due time since x1950 will probly be the next bottleneck to the new CPU

It doesn't look like your motherboard will take a Phenom II. I'd agree, when you can't enjoy your games replace the mobo, ram, gpu, cpu. You Case/PSU and storage is probably still good.