Upgrade options

[Unfocused]

I already posted this in a sticky thread but I think it deserves a new topic. It's not a "will my PC run HL2?" question, it's more like "how upgrade?".

My specs:

Intel D845PESV mobo
Celeron 1.8Ghz (1.2Ghz Duron comparable as I heard)
256 DDR RAM (333mhz downgraded to 266 cause of the processor)
GeForce4MX440

My options:

1) Processor/mobo upgrade
a) leave the mobo and buy a Pentium 2.8Ghz
b) buy a GA-7VT600-RZ Via KT600 + LAN Socket A mobo + an AMD Athlon 3000 XP+ Barton OEM (the price would be only a bit higher than the price of a Pentium 2.8Ghz)

2) Graphic card upgrade
to a HIS RADEON 9600XT TURBO 256 DVI/TV BOX (my mobo has an 4xAGP slot but someone wrote its no big difference)

3) RAM upgrade
add 512MB

What should I do first? I could afford only one of these upgrades (well if I bought RAM it would leave me some money) and I would like to be able to play HL2 and CS:Source at 800x600 and medium details. I know I posted a similar post a while ago but now I give some more concrete options.

 

[Maxi]

I'd buy a graphics card first, then wait a little bit an buy the CPU + mobo. But it depends on how long it will take you to get the cash to buy the mobo and cpu.

 

[GPRT]

Yeah, graphics card first is wise, but as soon as you can mobo and cpu upgrade then 512 of ram. The graphics card will give a big boost in performance but that 1.8 celeron will also be holding you back some what. And personally i would go for the AMD option as opposed to the intel.

 

[bosox188]

GRAPHICS CARD FIRST?! The guys got a Celeron 1.8ghz! It's terrible. Here's my order of importance:

Processor
Video Card
RAM

For the processor, get the P4 2.8ghz, just make sure it's the P4C 2.8ghz with 800mhz fsb and ht technology. Don't get the Prescott one. That's your first priority, your Celeron is very bad, a 2.4ghz Celeron is beaten by a $30 AMD Duron.

 

[Unfocused]

Why Pentium? AMD is cheaper and the performance is comparable, sometimes better (at least that is what benchmarks say). What are the advantages of Pentium then? And if I bought an AMD mobo I would be able to overclock my Athlon a little, because overclocking on Intel mobo's is impossible (at least on the older ones)

 

[bosox188]

Oh whoops sorry I forgot about the Athlon, I didn't think you'd want to change the motherboard too. Yeah go with the Athlon, cheaper and better. Though if you could afford an Athlon 64 that would be awesome.

 

[blahblahblah]

I say

Processor
Ram
Video Card

I would get a 2.2 GHz Athlon XP ($69), a $50 motherboard (something different from what you choose), and 256 MB of Generic Mushkin RAM ($40). That means you can get out the door for $169 according to www.newegg.com.

Or if you motherboard supports a processor upgrade, check out the 2.26 GHz P4 for $114. It will perform approximately the same as the Athlon XP solution, except it may be a tad faster in certain areas. And then of course get the 256 MB of RAM.

Your video card is bad, but it is still able to handle Doom 3 and Half-Life 2. There is no guarantee that your processor can handle either of those games. Take a look at these processor benchmarks below.

http://anandtech.com/cpuchipsets/showdoc.aspx?i=1927&p=1

 

[bosox188]

blahblahblah's plan isn't bad, you could always get the card for xmas.

 

[Unfocused]

And the last question: is it worth buying the AMD processor and mobo? After all it will be neccessary, I think, to changge the mobo when upgrading in the future (I think 3200+ is the Socket A's last processor?)?

And Blahblahblah (I'm talking to one of the forum users now ) I won't buy the 2600+ because I'm already buying the 3000+ at a cheaper price (that's the answer to a suggestion you gave in one of my other topics, which was actually about voltage )

 

[blahblahblah]

Most processor upgrades require a new motherboard change (because of new sockets or unsupported FSB speeds).

Socket A is pretty much at the end of the road. However, they will string it along for a while with their new value processors called "Sempron." The will equivalent to the XP's in terms of performance. However, AMD wants to completely abandon the Socket A platform within the next year or so and move the Sempron's to Socket 754.

 

[Unfocused]

OK, so I bought the Athlon 3000+ on Allegro (Polish version of eBay). Now I'm waiting for it to ship and will soon be buying a new mobo. I wonder how much performance will I gain with just changing the processor? For example if in America's Army: Operations I get 15-30 fps, how much could I expect now.

What worries me also is that I won't have the money now to buy HL2 right after it comes out