What to Upgrade?

[fods]

I want to play stalker and some of the newer games at 1280 x 720 on my projector.

It is stuttery and laggy on this computer at low graphics:

Processor: 3.00 gigahertz AMD Athlon 64 X2 Dual Core
Board: ASUSTeK Computer INC. M2N-MX SE Plus Rev x.xx
Memory: 2G
GFX Card: NVIDIA GeForce 8500 GT

---------

If you were to spend $100 - $150, what would you upgrade?

I'm too long out of the loop.

--------

 

[dirtmountain]

Your graphic card is the best choice for an update. This chart shows the relative power of graphic cards. You can see where your low powered 8500GT is.
http://www.tomshardware.com/reviews/radeon-geforce-graphics,2296-6.html

Your options may be limited by what power supply your system has. Take a look and let us know what it is (how many watts and how many amps on the 12v)

*edit* btw your 8500GT uses about 30watts of power at load.

 

[jdigital1983]

upgrade your graphics card and you will be happy

 

[fods]

eXtreme Power Plus 460W
(RS-460-PCAR-A3)

thanks for the quick help. you guys got a link to a similar graph for cpus?

I also have a tv card in there.

 

[dirtmountain]

That PSU gets decent reviews.
http://www.hardwaresecrets.com/article/550

and will easily run some very good cards in your price range.
The HD4770 would be my first choice, but availability of those right now is chancy at best. Out of stock at www.newegg.com , but they should have some coming in soon. Other good choices are the HD4850, HD4830, GTS250

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814121317
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814161259
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814102822
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814150357

For comparisons of CPUs
http://www.anandtech.com/bench/default.aspx?b=2

*edit* no mention of Phenom2 CPU support at Asus, but there is support for the older Phenom x4 and x3 with a BIOS upgrade. If it's something you may want to do i'd check into it with asus support first.

 

[ahslan]

well you definitely have a powerful enough CPU to game with...and pairing it with an HD 4850 will do wonders...you will certainly be able to play practically any game at that resolution (1280x720)...

 

[fods]

thx guys you've been awesome help ...

so i'm pretty sure i am going with the radeon hd4850

which one should i get?? are there major differences? this link has them from the store i go to ... its in Australian dollars.

Which one is best bang for buck. could i get the cheaper one and still be happy?

http://www.austin.net.au/ProductList/tabid/103/Search/1/Keyword/4850/Default.aspx

 

[mi1ez]

There's normally no difference unless it says it's overclocked or includes a game or something.

 

[dirtmountain]

Sorry i didn't know you were shopping in Aus, prices are higher there. It's overbudget, but i'd still try to get the HD4770. Perhaps you can shop around for an online e-tailer that has better prices.

 

[fods]

Hey dirtmountain, thx for your help man. Are you recommending the HD4770 because it's a better card? Because it's fairly much the same price as the HD4850 in that shop. I'll end up paying more in shipping than I'd save buying anywhere else. My budget was US150 tops, so were all good, unless there's some reason for purchasing the hd4770 over the hd4850.

 

[dirtmountain]

The lower priced versions of the HD4850 in the link you provided are the single slot reference card, which runs hot and a bit loud.
http://www.austin.net.au/ProductList/ProductDetail/tabid/104/ProductCode/GC4850512SA11/Default.aspx
http://www.austin.net.au/ProductList/ProductDetail/tabid/104/ProductCode/GC4850512GAZL/Default.aspx

a better choice is the 4850 with a better cooling system, but those run more $$

The 4770 has almost.... that's almost, but not quite as good of performance as the 4850, but the reference cooler works better and is quieter. It also uses less power. Neither is a bad choice and both will give you good performance, i'd just edge to the 4770.