What components to Upgrade?

[sugi123]

Hey everyone. My current setup is as follows

-Asus A8N SLI Premium MOBO
-X1950XT Graphics Card
-2.00 GB DDR Dual Channel RAM G.SKILL
-ANTEC Lan-Boy Case
-XION 600 WATT Power Supply
-1x 120mm FAN, 1x 150mm fan (from PS)
-AMD ATHLON 64 3700+ OC to 2.50 GHz
-Dual Format DVD Burner
-USB Mouse/Keyboard

I just received $250 for an upgrade on this PC. What components do you think I should upgrade.

PS- I got the ASUS MOBO as a gift, and if it was not for my ATI card that I had already, I would have purchased an NVIDIA card for SLI.

 

[jamesgoddard]

dual core CPU http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16819103053

 

[sugi123]

Thanks. I will go with the dual core CPU. Anything else I can upgrade on? I still have $120 left.

 

[shadowmaster625]

Pull the video card, throw a dirt cheap card in there, then sell the rest of the system! Then buy a new mobo, cpu, 2 gig of DDR2, and a good case/PSU/HDD. That would be your most cost effective upgrade, even if you only got $200 for the old system, that leaves you with $450 (-the cheap video card) + your X1900XT, which is more than enough for a system with a quadcore upgrade path.

 

[geofelt]

What do you do most with your computer? Do you want to do that better? Or is there something additional? Consider the advantages of a second monitor and a tv tuner card.

 

[sugi123]

Thanks for the reply. The tv tuner was an option, but its not very beneficial on a monitor compared to a dedicated HTPC. But, I will look into the option of having a 2nd monitor, because my X1950xt should support it. But, I think, the higher priority is getting a dual core CPU!

Again, Thanks.

 

[rockyjohn]

You still have not explained how you use the computer which is the key factor in determining the best upgrade option.

For general purpose computing, I would agree with the processor upgrade. However, if you primary interest is to improve gaming I would suggest maxing out on a video card upgrade.

Some other specific uses or needs might result in other recommendations.

 

[sugi123]

yes, my primary goal is gaming. What kind of additional video card would benefit me, since I have an SLI mobo w/ ati g card?

thanks

 

[heruur]

The X1950XTX has a double-wide cooler, can you fit two in your system in that case you would need a beefer power supply. The cheapest X1950XTX from newegg is this one http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814102067, but that blows your budget. I would recommend a dua-gpu single card upgrade such as the 7950 GX2 , SAPPHIRE 100202SR Dual X1950PRO 1GB 256-bit GDDR3 (429) or dual X1650XT FROM Gemini 2 or even the dual 7900GT if you can find one to buy.

 

[geofelt]

If your goal is gaming, then you want the best vga card that you can afford. I think you can get another x1950xt to be used in sli for that $250. Otherwise sell the card you have and get an 8800gts or gtx.

 

[sugi123]

Dont you need an ATI chipset and crossfire MOBO to have dual ATI cards? I have the A8N-SLI premium.

 

[geofelt]

Sorry, I am no expert on sli or your mobo, I figured that if you have a sli mobo that you can run dual vga cards. Silly me. That said, I would favor a single, more powerful vga card instead of two anyway.