I'd appreciate some recommendations...

External Since: Oct 16, 2004 Posts: 120

I'm fed up with trying to get this system to produce good results in the
newer games and I can only assume it's going to get harder as time
progresses. I upgraded an Athalon XP 2400 CPU to an Athalon XP 2800+
(Barton) and the mobo from an MSI (something or other) to an Abit NF7-S2
with 512 Mb of DDR-SDRAM PC2100. I also replaced my trusty old Ti4200 8x
with an FX 5700LE (I know, just this once I listened to a vender without
doing my homework) and the end results seem just a little better than I had
speed-wise, although I understand the newer FX GPU utilizes the improvements
in DirectX 9.x

There's a computer show in Syracuse in a week or so and I'm trying to decide
what to get. I have four or five hundred I can sneak out of the cookie jar
but that's not enough to get the best mobo/cpu combo, more/faster system
memory and a top of the line graphics adapter. The Abit mobo I have now
doesn't support the newer PCIe solutions so unless I get one that does, it
limits what GPU I can select. I realize the possibilities are nearly endless
and of course I'll be limited by what's available at the show but I was
hoping a few of you guys/gals might take a moment to jot down what you might
go after if you were in my place.

Maybe I should stick with the CPU/mobo I have and concentrate on GPU and
memory, I just don't know what route to take. Any comments one way or the
other would be appreciated.

dvus

External Since: Aug 23, 2004 Posts: 152

If I were you I would buy the FX 6800 GT with 256 Meg RAM.
If you look hard, you can find one for as low as $350.
This card will push your current CPU to it's limits, which is good.
With this combo there should not be a game out there you can not play in
med/high settings.
Save the remaining money for your next upgrade...

So then down the road, when you can afford to do another upgrade, you swap
your motherboard, CPU, and RAM for whatever the next great thing is and your
video card will be sufficient, I'm thinking, for anything that comes out up
to at least a year from now.

"dvus" <dven1invalid.DeleteThis@adelphia.net> wrote in message
news:2udmh5F29772pU1@uni-berlin.de...
> I'm fed up with trying to get this system to produce good results in the
> newer games and I can only assume it's going to get harder as time
> progresses. I upgraded an Athalon XP 2400 CPU to an Athalon XP 2800+
> (Barton) and the mobo from an MSI (something or other) to an Abit NF7-S2
> with 512 Mb of DDR-SDRAM PC2100. I also replaced my trusty old Ti4200 8x
> with an FX 5700LE (I know, just this once I listened to a vender without
> doing my homework) and the end results seem just a little better than I
> had speed-wise, although I understand the newer FX GPU utilizes the
> improvements in DirectX 9.x
>
> There's a computer show in Syracuse in a week or so and I'm trying to
> decide what to get. I have four or five hundred I can sneak out of the
> cookie jar but that's not enough to get the best mobo/cpu combo,
> more/faster system memory and a top of the line graphics adapter. The Abit
> mobo I have now doesn't support the newer PCIe solutions so unless I get
> one that does, it limits what GPU I can select. I realize the
> possibilities are nearly endless and of course I'll be limited by what's
> available at the show but I was hoping a few of you guys/gals might take a
> moment to jot down what you might go after if you were in my place.
>
> Maybe I should stick with the CPU/mobo I have and concentrate on GPU and
> memory, I just don't know what route to take. Any comments one way or the
> other would be appreciated.
>
> dvus
>