Upgrade decision

[Rico]

Hey guys,

My birthday was yesterday and as a result I got about 200 bucks in newegg gift certificates to help me pay for a system upgrade.

At the moment this is my rig:

AMD64 3800+
2GB DDR 2100
ASUS8NX5 (off the top of my head so model might be slightly off.. its a socket 939 mobo)
300 GB Seagate SATA 3.0
Nvidia 7600GT 256MB
19" Widescreen LCD (1440x900 native res)

Now, in addition to the $200 for newegg, I have some of my own personal money I'm willing to chip in depending on what I can find. I was hoping to be able to do a full system upgrade but I didn't get enough cash, so, I am considering only doing a partial upgrade now.

With the money I have now I could buy a nice 8800GT 512MB for about $200 off newegg.

My question is, based on my system, which upgrade path would be more worthwhile for me?

A new videocard, seeing as I need to game at 1440x900 in order to not have image stretching?

A new CPU/MOBO/RAM?

Also, I'm worried that as it has happened to me a few times, I'll buy a new mobo and then new technology will start coming out and I'll have to scrap the mobo once again next time I want to upgrade.

I'd also love some suggestions as to what to get on the CPU/MOBO/RAM front with around $350 as a budget (200 bucks newegg, 150 mine)

 

[-Psy-]

Go for the 8800GT.

 

[Ravioli]

Definitly get that card. Ram should be fine, so should motherboard be i think.

You might want to get a new processor, preferably a 3ghz X2, but i dont know if u can afford that.

Make sure everything is compatible (PSU etc)

 

[Rico]

The reason I can't just get a new CPU is because if I got a new CPU I'd have to get a new motherboard, and if I got a new motherboard I'd have to get new RAM, hence if I get a new CPU I have to buy all three to be able to use them.

The other choice would be to upgrade the ram to 2 sticks of PC3200 DDR and maybe get the best socket 939 CPU for sale, but it almost seems like a waste to me to buy stuff for a mobo thats already pretty outdated.

 

[VirusType2]

spend all $350 on lottery tickets.


If you win, you can buy me an upgrade too.

!


If you lose, you should have known better than to gamble. But hey, all you need is $200 more to upgrade (or gamble again)

 

[Rico]

Any other suggestions?I have a bit more money than expected so I might have enough cash for both upgrades.

Whats a good cpu/mobo/mem deal for $300 or under? Fry's is selling Q6600 Quad Cores this weekend for $189+tax

Edit:

I'm buying this: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814130318

I'm also considering getting this RAM: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820231098

I'm gonna hold off on buying the CPU/MOBO for a month or so maybe. Do you guys think that at that price it'd be a good idea to buy the RAM before any of the other stuff?

 

[Barney Fife]

Don't buy G-Skill I heard so much bad stories.

If you could get the model of your MOBO would be nice.
My top of the head opinion: A nice set of 2x1GB memory 3200 modules.
A nice 939 chip (I don't see a lot of them around nowadays) These are what you're stuck with.
And a 8800GT.

Or; you can always wait a little longer, sell few more bags of weed, and save up for an Intel system.

Good Luck.