Upgrading from AIW 9800SE and AMD 2500+ to ...

Hi

I've got an AIW 9800SE softmodded to a 9800 (woo).

It's a bit slow when combined with my Athlon 2500+ @ 3200+ these days. for example, I'm having to run Quake 4 at 640x480 :(

So, time to take advantage of SCANs finance! Yeah!

I'm looking at spending maybe £400, but that'll have to cover:

CPU, Mobo, HSF and G-card.

Any suggestions on how I should spend my money?

I'm not too much into over clocking but I would like to go the SLI/Crosssfire route.

Thanks

Tim

not overclocking? its a shame then.. cs A64s and Optys overclocks like *snap*

If I had 400 quid? Here's wat I'll get.. (mind the prices, havent checked them in a while)

CPU: Opty 146 OEM (£110ish)
HSF: Zalman CNPS9500 LED (£38ish)
Mobo: ASUS A8N SLI Premium (£100ish) / Abit AN8 SLI (also £100ish)
GFX: 6800GS XXX Edition (£170ish) / X800GTO2 (£170ish)

Then clock the 146 to 2.8Ghz, and the GS to 520/1200 and u'll get somewhere like an FX-57 with a 6800Ultra.. Unlock the 16 pipes in GTO2 + clock to clock with an XTPE, then u get a mighty X800XTPE for a fraction of the price..

Can't argue with that. Well, i could, but i'd be wrong. Do what he said.

Good choice

Maybe I'd get a thermalright coler but apart from that - nout wrong :)

Pleeeeaaaaase OC the opty if you get one :)

So would you recommend going the ATI or NVIDIA route?

Both of the above cards seem to represent about the best bang for buck that each company makes, so whichever you go for you will be getting a good deal.
I'm sure you could find various charts that show one card beating the other in certain benchmarks, but not in others, so find a game that you think you will be playing the most, and go with that.

Saying that, i'd buy nVidia as i am familiar with their drivers, but it's hardly a dealbreaker.

I haven't owned a nVidia card since my Geforce 2 Ultra. That was £350 well spent!

May go back to nVidia. After all, Unreal Tournament recommends it!