It's that time of year again :)

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Opalescent

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#1 Opalescent
Member since 2006 • 247 Posts

So much I wish I could get, so little cash ... ah the trials of the not-so-wealthy. As a gamer I have a fairly decent rig, I suppose. My processor isn't the fastest (in fact it's the slowest quad core, at only 2.4Ghz), I certainly don't have the fastest RAM (only 667, wish I could upgrade to 800), and even my graphics card is starting to feel the pinch (8800GT. but isn't that new 9800GX2 or whatever it's called supposedly way better now?).

Anyway! My point being, it's that time of year again. A year of decision making, and I could really use your input. I want to start upgrading this rig, but I want to use my money effectively, so I'll put down the current specs of this old jalopy and maybe you could help me figure out what's the best place to upgrade?

Mobo: NVidia nForce 680i SLI (although I'm not actually using its SLI features)
Processor: Intel Core 2 Quad Q6600 2.40Gh
Graphix: Nvidia GeForce 8800GT 512mb OC
RAM: 4GB DDR2 667 :(
HDD: 1TB (2 500GB. one Seagate the other Western Digital)
PSU: Thermaltake Toughpower 750W
Inputs: Bluetooth wireless Logitech standard MX5000 Keyboard & Mouse
Sound: Creative X-fi Xtreme Gamer
Speakers: Logitech 2.1 System (just some older junker set worth about $20)
Monitor: 22" Gateway (it's an OK LCD. Not THE best, but it's widescreen and has nice color saturation)

So, there's the system, all laid out. Probably the first thing I was thinking about was the memory, but frankly I never actually had much problems with it to be honest. Just they were the only thing that really stuck out as something I could probably upgrade at minimum cost. Other things I considered were:

Should I get a gaming keyboard & mouse? Any suggestions to some good ones that aren't like $100 each?

Improve the processor to the 2.66 Core 2 Quad? I'm DEFINATELY not going the Core 2 Extreme route, I don't think I'll EVER have THAT much cash to just drop on something.

Better monitor? Mine's pretty good as it is, but it certaintly can't compare to anything I could get for $500-$650 (which is the absolute MAX I'm dropping on this little project)

Better graphix? I guess I COULD but is that new 9800GTX or whatever really THAT much better than an 8800GT? For that matter it'd probably be cheaper to just get another 8800GT and SLI it with the one I already have, and I'd probably get better performance out of it too.

So can you guys give a fella any suggestions as to what direction I should take?

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maartyr

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#2 maartyr
Member since 2004 • 323 Posts

To be honest your PC isnt THAT bad, of course it could be faster, almost everyones could. How does it go running newer games? Cod4 etc? I'd wait a little while, I jumped the gun on my pc, probably should have waited 6 months.

The new 9900 series gfx cards are out soon, the 9800 series will come down, maybe jump in then?

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tequilasunriser

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#3 tequilasunriser
Member since 2004 • 6379 Posts
...go home. Your rig is fine.
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xisytenin

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#4 xisytenin
Member since 2008 • 407 Posts
Your right get a new rig, I'll take your old one. jk, you'll be fine
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lostantix

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#5 lostantix
Member since 2007 • 710 Posts
You have a good rig. There's no real reason to upgrade it right now. Wait a little.
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JCblueside

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#6 JCblueside
Member since 2005 • 14529 Posts
We almost have the same rig and the only game available that we cant max out is Crysis, even so, we can still put Crysis at high settings. In other words, you can max out every single game that is available and coming soon smoothly until most PC games start looking and demanding like Crysis. Right now there is definitely no need for an upgrade buddy.
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Daytona_178

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#7 Daytona_178
Member since 2005 • 14962 Posts

...go home. Your rig is fine.tequilasunriser

Agreed!

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214221214430478478309092948740

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#8 214221214430478478309092948740
Member since 2006 • 808 Posts

one word...OverClock !!!

just overclock your CPU to 3.20 if you need a cheap cooler get the Freezer pro cooler...its going to be sooooo stable