8600GTS or HD 2600XT (M-ATX Case)

[Hyper_Shadow]

My 7600GS is'nt really cutting it for my games anymore(Hellgate, CoD4, OrangeBox, etc.) and I have a M-ATX case that suports ATX and ATX12v psu's. I have a crappy 300w right now with only 19a on the +12v rail so I wanted to get a newer psu with better stuff. I was either looking at the Seasonic 350w psu or Rosewill 500w. If you can find a better one in the same price range that would great :)

Now for the second upgrade, the GPU. I would like to get a HD 3850 or X1950PRO but my case is pretty small and wont suport a 9'' long card and I hear they run really hot... so I have narrowed it down to the 8600GTS and HD 2600XT. I have an available PCI-E slot with 2gb of DDR2-667 and a AMD X2 4200+ 90nm(no EE). I cant find any good benchmarks with updated 2600XT drivers because I know that newer drivers really pushed the 2900XT past the 88GTS so maybe it did the same for the 26XT idk...

I only play on 1024x768 15'' and REALLY dont want to spend more money on a bigger moniter any time soon and if I do I will get a 19'' Wide.

Im also only 16 and cant get a job. Im pretty sure I will get atleast 200$ from all my reletives (I usually do) and a few games from my parents for xmas

Thanks for the help :)

[randomness]

Since the 8600GTS and 2600XT are both the same price, and the 8600GTS beats the 2600XT by quite a margin, you mite as well get the 8600GTS.

Before you buy an y cards, make sure you check the size of the cards, even an extra inch or 2 may render it useless in your case.

If you do decide to buy the 8600GTS, mind the noise as it runs at 70DB under load.

read this: http://www.tweaktown.com/reviews/1147/1

[Hyper_Shadow]

Oh thanks man. I know I can fit the 8600GTS cause my friend has one and I put it in my rig to make sure it fit so. The noise wont bother me because my current 7600GS is pretty loud but I dont have a DB moniter.

[casecutter]

NOOOOOOOOOO!!!!!!!!!!!

Both of those cards are terrible for gaming. Get the ATI 3850 or eve na 3870 if you can. EVen the 3850 makes the 8600GTS look like a toy. Seriously, avoid ANY 8600 series card, they are junk. Same with the 2600 series. The HD3850 should be the same price or cheaper than the 8600GTS and thoroughly stomp it into the ground.

EDIT: I just saw you said it will not fit. You relly should wait for a better DX10 card or just look for a used 7900GT. The 8600/2600 cards are really bad, you'll hardly be upgrading if at all from your current card.

[Hyper_Shadow]

Arent the 7900GT's long too? I really hate buying from Ebay now because I ordered a 7600GT before I got my 76GS on Ebay and it came DOA and I tryed to contact the seller but he never responded.. so I really dont want to use ebay again. Again, I would love to get a HD 3850 but my friends 8600GTS barely fit in my case. I could plug the power in and play for awile but it shut off randomly a few times (guessing it was the psu). Whats the best 50$ power supply tho? Im good with everything but psu's. I know that Rosewill has good eff and +12v rails but im pretty sure its the brand that matters. Plus I dont need anything really powerfull, im just gonna be playing CoD4 and Hellgate for the most part.

EDIT: I think I will get the PC Power and Cooling 360w cause there the best brand. Silencer

[casecutter]

What case do you have?

[Hyper_Shadow]

Instead of paying 50$ for a new case I just saved a few $s and used my old HP Pavilion a1700n case. I got a ASUS Nforce 420 AM2 mobo and cheap corsair value ram.I also reused the 300w psu because it powered a 7600GS whitch is what I am using now. When the phenoms drop below 200$ I might get one and overclock it, I have my 4200+ at 2.6ghz stable right now :)

[Technogeek]

I have a XFX 8600GT, and I love it. I play Company of Heros at 1280x1024 and have no issues what so ever. I've read a bunch of reviews on this GPU and it seems for the price it's one of the best. I was looking at the 8600GTS and 8800GTX but for my applications I decided the price and reviews better fit my needs.

[Hyper_Shadow]

Nah since I got the money, might as well get a 8600GTS. I dont even think a 8600GT would run well on my current psu anyway.

[Technogeek]

I hear ya man. Yeah for the extra money, the GTS is better then the GT. I have read about people running the GTS with CPU's running around 2.4Ghz stock having bottleneck issues, one guy said he was having lots of problems until he OC his AMD chip to 2.8Ghz?