Is it time to upgrade?

A64 3200+ (939, Venice)
2x512 Geil Ultra-X
6600GT
535w Enermax
Asrock 930dual-sata2


For around Xmas, I'm thinking of getting:

8800GTS 320mb
The best 939 X2 processor I can get (probably 4200+)


How much will the X2 bottleneck the 8800GTS? Is it better off moving to C2D?

The thing is, if I change platform I will have to buy new mobo, ram and CPU.

What sort of upgrade do you guys recommend doing? Currently I've got about £300 I can allocate to this, but I guess it can be stretched to 400ish.

I'm looking to game on this PC, crysis etc. Not too bothered about DX10 right now, since I don't plan on getting vista for a bit, but I'd still like a powerful DX10 card.

I think you could get away with just upgrading the processor and video card. That should set you back around £215 + P&P. There are articles that can be found on the Internet showing various CPU scaling such as this:

http://www.legionhardware.com/document.php?id=618

With the exception of a few games, a lot are limited (performance wise) by the video card. Of course, this is only going by games that have been released in the past. Future games, such as Crysis *may* be more demanding with more advanced physics to process.

Anyway, the system should tie you over for a while. Then you'll have the option for a complete upgrade / build (after you've saved some money). By then you'll probably be getting DDR3, PCI 2.0, SATA 3, Eaglelake (or AMD equivalent) etc.

Get what you've suggested already and another 1GB of RAM. Should sort you nicely.

There is a slight problem with the RAM, since right now Ive got 2 sticks of Geil Ultra-X, and a OCZ memory voltage booster that basically takes up the other 2 slots.

Should I sell the Ultra-x and get a 2 gig set?

I would try and get some more of the same ram, but I need the voltage booster for the ram to work on my motherboard. Its BH-5 and needs around 3v to be stable for me.

2GB will be beneficial in games so I would try and get a 2GB set.

Have a look at what your kits worth on ebay.

Sell the CPU, Memory(as a pair), motherboard etc seperateley.

I sold an Athlon 3200 for £50 saturday and an old motherboard for £30. I got £33 for 2x512ddr.

This bought me a P35-DS3R and an e2180 which I overclocked by 50%.

I've made the switch from AMD to Intel!!

:)