Want to upgrade

[mrpete]

Hi
My specs are:
- 512 crucial value select
- 512 another make (not generic, something like ballistix, i forgot the name though)
- both pc3200 ddr
- Athlon 64 3200+ Newcastle (socket754)
- Abit KV8 Pro
- Asus 9600XT (runs two monitors - one vga one dvi)

I mainly use computer for internet stuff, programming, web design etc. But want a faster computer for games.

What shall I upgrade? I often crash when playing games, think its b.cause of graphcis card.
What GFX card shall i get?

also want to go 939, for dual channel memory, but not sure if its worth it.

how much longer will 939 even be in production (if they havnt already stopped it?)
I know skt 754 is crap now.

Budget: 100 quid ish. Can go upto 200 if needed. I will probably try and buy second hand so its cheaper
Cheers

[dave87]

Probably the best way to upgrade your performance in games is to replace the graphics card and overclock the 3200+, run using dividers and you should be fine. Otherwise flog that lot and get an opty & a 939 mobo, depending on how much you get for your old stuff maybe get a 6800 pci-e?

Hope this helps

Dave

[mrpete]

How muc hdo you think I could get for mobo/cpu/gfx? I would prefer to upgrade, then sell bits on as soon as i've upgraded, so i am not without a computer for a week or so.

[sawyen]

not much tbh.. 3200+ 754 would go for £60 tops, th KV8 would go for about £20.. 9600XT, £30. That adds up to about £100.. realistically.. unless you find someone who isnt as proficient in PC stuff and sucker him into paying £200 for it.

939 will cease production early next year.. sad, but true.. You might be able to get more life out of that 3200+, newcastle cores aint that easy to clock, but you should be able to push it abit, say 2200ish on a good air cooler.

Pay up for a PCI-E board for 754, which should go for pretty cheap.. under £40, and say a 7600GT £140 to finish it off. Should cost u around £170-£200 depending where u buy them.

[amjedm]

I bought a Athlon 64 S754 3400 + Gigabyte Mobo + 512MB Twinmoss Ram for just over £90. Obviously the graphics card will make the bundle a bit more expensive.

[DanceswithUnix]

Probably the best way to upgrade your performance in games is to replace the graphics card and overclock the 3200+, run using dividers and you should be fine. Otherwise flog that lot and get an opty & a 939 mobo, depending on how much you get for your old stuff maybe get a 6800 pci-e?

Hope this helps

Dave

I totally second this, the graphics card is your bottleneck for any modern games. My 3000 S939 only feels faster than my wife's S754 2800+ because I overclock mine and hers is stock.

I hate to recommend spending money on AGP but the rest of your system seems OK for anyone but the most hardened gamer, and 100 to 200 quid would get a stonking graphics card! Might even be able to manage a 7800 for that much (or whatever the ATI equivalent is).

You don't mention what games you like to play or what resolutions you are hoping for.