What to do with my socket 939 rig.

[FLaCo]

I posted something similar on the memory forum...but not really.

I have an oldie rig which consists of the following:

MSI Nforce 3 Ultra
6800 GT 256mb/256bit
2x512mb pc3500 in dual channel
AMD64 3500+
200gb SATA blah blah blah running win xp pro.


The rest is pretty much pointless to mention.

Ok, so I am thinking of upgrading my processor to a Opteron Dual core 170 which I heard make good overclockers. I'm set up on grabbing the new CPU.

Now here where I start getting "iffy". Obviously the Nf3 only supports AGP 8x, should I get rid of my 6800GT for a ATI 1950Pro 512mb/256bit AGP format?
It's difficult to think that I am spending 229 on an older format when PCI-E is out there for just around 50 bucks more. That being said should I just upgrade the CPU and hack it out with the 6800Gt and hope that the new proc. will relieve the GPU's workloads a bit?

Now, the memory ...the more and more I think or write about it I realize that I am fine with what I have especially when running winxp. If I were to upgrade I will stay with a dual channel and grab 2x1gb; but, that will mean spending 150 bucks more on an 2.5 year old rig.

In conclusion, I am leaning towards just a CPU upgrade and waiting on the AGP 1950 Pro to drop in price.

What do you guys think?

[casecutter]

What do you use your PC for hte most? If it is gaming, then skip the CPU and get the video and ram. As for the ram, what core CPU do you have? If it is older than the Venice, it won't like 4 sticks at all and you'd want to get 2X1GB. If it was my money to spend, I'd honestly save it and get a PCI-E based system going. If you are hardcore AMD, then a nice AM2 system won't set you back too much and you can make the jump to DDR2 as well. Core 2 Duo's are sweet, but the speed is hardly needed by a gamer/casual user.

[FLaCo]

You nailed it. My system was built around gaming...it was hot stuff when the 6800 was around.

I agree with you when you talk about the AM2 system. I mean with the three upgrades it comes out to almost 600 dollars. For just 150 bucks more I can get a nice Am2 system going if I keep my other acessories like my case, HD, optical drives etc.

By the way, can I keep my thermal take 420W PSU with an AM2 system? Would my SATA150 HD be compatible with a new SATA 3gb/s system?

Thanks for the insight...you have given me a new perspective.

[PorscheGuy997@yahoo.com]

I agree with you guys; save your money and get something better.

My experience isn't too great with hard drives, so I'll let someone else answer that question.

As for your psu, yeah you could still use it. I wouldn't reccommend it, but you could use it. I like to future proof computers, so on your next build, get something bigger - 550 range.

[Yawgm0th]

You won't be able to use your Thermaltake 420W on any future system. It wouldn't even handle the upgrade you're looking at. It's not even ATX 12v 2.0 compatible, much less powerful enough to handle a modern system with a powerful video card.

Depending on what games you're playing, a 2GB RAM upgrade wouldn't be unrecommended at this time. In Battlefield 2 and 2142, the difference is night and day. If you went with a last-gen card over the 6800, you'd also get a huge improvement. However, I would still advise completely migrating to AM2 or LGA775. If you were keeping that system as a secondary computer, then upgrading to dual-core, 2GB, and possibly a current-gen GPU would make sense, but somehow I doubt you'd have a need for a secondary computer that fast as well a faster computer. I just know I do. :)

If you sell the board, processor, video card, RAM, and PSU, you'd be looking at $260-$300 to throw at a new machine. Add that to the $600-$750 you were looking at spending, and you're talking around $1000 for a whole new computer sans storage and peripherals. For that much, you can easily get a mid-range gaming computer that will handle an upgrade much better when needed (PCI-E and whatnot).