Upgrading Opinions

[SalmonMan]

Sorry about making another one of these threads, but I'm in need of opinions on how I should go about upgrading my comp.

Specs:
AMD Athlon XP 1600+ (1.4ghz)
Epox 8KHA+ (266FSB, 4X agp)
768mb 2100 ddr ram (and maybe a gig if I manage to get this stick of 256 ram replaced by corsair)
Geforce4 ti4200 64mb

I have about 700 dollars for upgrades, and the only time I'd forsee having much more money would be around christmas time, maybe another 200 dollars (my birthday is right around the same time, so that money is from both birthday and christmas)

I'm worried that if I upgrade now, I will have no upgradability with the parts i would have just bought in the future, as I would have to buy an all new mobo and graphics card for pci express, as well as the rumored new BTX form factor that is said to be coming out around christmas time. However, I kind of want to be able to play HalfLife 2 and CS: source in all their splendor.

My brother suggested just waiting until christmas so that I can make a more major upgrade, as well as go with the newer technologies. I was wondering if I could get some other opinions on maybe what hardware to upgrade and how long you'd estimate it to last me, or if I should wait to upgrade and that I'm fine with what I've got for the moment.

Thanks in advance!

 

[Roland Deschain]

I know little about these matters, but the first thing to get is a good graphics card and then over time get new processor so it isn't bottlenecket too much.

 

[TheRook]

with a new gfx card your cpu will be a major bottleneck... you can get a good gcard e.g. x800 style and amd64 cpu for that price *although im not too up on US prices*

 

[blahblahblah]

Lol, I thought the title was "Upgrading Onions."

What you have right now, will play HL2 and Doom 3. It is nothing spectacular but will get the job done. I personally say wait until you get that extra $200. You will be able to build a whole new computer (with a highend graphics card and processor) for $900. Right now, you can do an upgrade now, but I would wait if you are content with your current system.

Don't worry about BTX, PCI Express, or even DDR 2. BTX is receiving harsh criticism from everyone. PCI Express has no performance advantage right now. And DDR 2 sucks at its current timings. You don't have to worry too much about them right now. PCI Express is something to consider for in the future, but not for a while. Even in 6 months it will still be very difficult to find PCI express motherboard and graphics card.

 

[bosox188]

I would upgrade the processor first, and maybe you motherboard since it may not support a good processor. If you can afford it right now, get an Athlon 64 and a new Socket 754 motherboard, your card for now is fine, the ti4200 is still decent at the very least. So I'd say upgrade the processor/motherboard now, if you can't afford an Athlon 64 get an XP 2500+ or higher, and a Socket A motherboard. Upgrade the video card at xmas.

 

[The Terminator]

I have some specs posted in a thread somewhere and you could pretty much get a really good computer for less then 700. Ill see if I can find it for you.

EDIT - Heres the link to a nice setup (http://www.halflife2.net/forums/showpost.php?p=633753&postcount=4)

 

[blahblahblah]

The thing is, that he can upgrade his computer fairly nice for $700. For $900 he can make it awesome. It really is up to him to decide what he wants to do.

As for piece mealing an upgrade, I'm against it. If he would sit on his money for the 6 months, he can buy a faster processor. It depends what he really wants. If he wants to be HL2-ified, he can get his upgrades right now, or he can wait and get some future proofing. His choice.

 

[JimmehH]

You'll be able to play HL2 on low-medium settings.

I'd wait for until Christmas and use the extra money to get an A64 motherboard with PCI-E and a nice graphics card and the usual other stuff.

 

[bosox188]

No don't get PCI-E, you don't need it and there's not too many good PCI-E cards. You won't need PCI-E for a couple of years. And that setup Terminator gave you was awesome. The only thing missing was the case and power supply, but that wouldn't cost too much for a decent one.

 

[JimmehH]

I'd get PCI-E so I could upgrade later but after thinking about it you'd probably have to upgrade the motherboard at the same time anyway so go with AGP.

Use Terminator's list :thumbs:

 

[SalmonMan]

I will probably wait until christmas to upgrade, or at least wait until HalfLife2 comes to see whether I notice the low settings or not.

However, if I did upgrade now, I would have to go with a 9800 pro to stay within my price range, but I was worried that it wouldnt last that long seeing as how the newer ati and nvidia cards are already twice as powerful under antialiasing and AF settings. However, I would probably normally just try to play with 2X antialiasing and low AF settings to make the jagged edges a little less noticable and the textures just a little nicer because I normally wont notice them otherwise if I'm into the game.

My main concern with PCI-E is that ATI is already making alot of their newer cards PCI-E only, and if they continue to do that with nvidia following suit, I'd have no upgradability in the way of video cards in the future.

 

[bosox188]

Yes but PCI-E won't really be needed until around when Longhorn comes out, and by then we'll all be getting new computers. So stick with AGP, and upgrade the processor/mobo and video card. If you wait until xmas to get a 6800 or x800 you'll be set until Longhorn, and if you can afford the processor/mobo upgrade I'd recommend it.

Here's a nice bundle, AGP 8x mobo, XP 2500+ cpu.

http://www.tigerdirect.com/applications/SearchTools/item-details.asp?EdpNo=39058&CatId=1230

 

[coleslawjoe]

It would probably be better to wait until christmas before making a major upgrade, because the next gen graphics cards will be out by then and you could probably snag a descent this-gen gfx card cheap. However, half life 2 will be out by then (god i hope so), so if you want to see it in all its glory before then, you could drop 200 bucks to Improve Performance until then.