Upgrade if I get one

Ok, so 5 months ago i decided to get in on the whole PC gaming thing by upgrading my 4 year old HP. This is what I have:

Athlon XP 3200

2 GB DDR400 RAM

HD 3650 AGP

It does not look like much, but it is a start, and seeing how quake 3 lagged before the upgrade, im very happy to at least see newer games like Crysis RUN on this thing.

However, with the computer being 4 years old, and seeing how it is the longest lasting computer I ever had, it may die soon for all I know, and instead of going out to best buy and getting a really crappy computer, I want to get a good one from ecollege PC. I will not know my exact budget, but Im guessing $600-800. So I have a few questions, I already asked gamefaqs, but I want your opinion (plus I cant post on gfaqs at the moment but can post here..). So here are possible combinations for my set up:

My low end model (coming from the $349 performance model on ecollegepc, around $630):

E7400

4 GB RAM

Mobo with only 2 DDR2 slots (this concerns me for future upgrading)

9600 GT

500 GB HDD

500W Antec PSU

All in 1 card reader

Windows XP

Upper end model (around $800):

E8400

4 GB RAM

HD 4870

500 GB HDD

Windows XP

All in 1 card reader

The $21 cooling system.

So I have a few questions:

I know Windows XP has ram limitations and so does the mobo, however, considering I get both XP and the mobo with only 2 DDR2 slots, will this bottleneck my system in the future? Would windows Vista 64 bit/ a better mobo be a better investment for the future? Will XP be able to run games in the future, or are they gonna move on to DX10/11. If I get the PC after W7 comes out, assuming it is a competent operating system, i will probably opt for that, but would i be screwed for the future going xp instead of vista? I heard mostly bad about vista and I like XP.

I dont have AC in my computer room. It can get up to 90-100F in this room on a hot day in the summer. Would I be better off to get lesser parts and invest in some cooling instead?

Im running an old CRT monitor with low resolutions (1280 max, normally 1024 for gaming is perfect for me). Would lower end parts really hurt me at those reses? since most gamers seem to like insanely high resolutions?

Note: ideally, I would like this system to last me as long as possible. But at least 3 years, if not more. Im not rich and cannot afford to buy PCs all the time. That is why I upgraded my old AGP system instead of going out and getting a whole new system. Only reason im getting into PC gaming is that a good gaming PC is actually the same price as junk in stores and pc gaming is actually starting to appear cheaper than getting a PC and a console.

It might help if we knew exactly what models/brands of components you were paying for - since, that higher end PC looks very good, but not if the motherboard is something like an XFX 780i or something, that'd be no good. :( The E7400 is a decent processor, you can OC it to at least 3GHz stable for gaming. :) If you built the PC yourself/got someone else to build it, it might even cost you less than $800. Something like:
Intel Core 2 Duo E7400
4GB PC2-6400 RAM
BioStar TPower I45 motherboard
Antec Earthwatts 550w PSU
Antec Three Hundred case
Sapphire RADEON HD4850

A PC with those specs isn't breaking the bank at all; the processor can be overclocked to a decent speed for gaming, and the motherboard supports newer Core 2 processors, so you could upgrade to an E8X00 or even Core 2 Quad Q6600/Q9550 processors in the future. :)

www.ecollegepc.com.

I'd be basing this off of the $349 performance model. The only problem I can find with the mobo is I would be limited to 4 GB RAM anyway due to only 2 DDR slots. However, this would not matter since I would be going with windows XP. I woule be sticking with the default mobo for that model, as well as the default case. Im just getting high end guts for the PC itself. Again, not planning on doing this any time soon since I will be using this computer as long as it lasts, but I want a plan for when this thing dies if it dies before getting a new PC. I figure with the 4870 and e8400 and all, with default cooling, it would come out to like $775. Again, I am afraid of possible future bottlenecks in the mobo and in windows XP and all. Would vista really be a better alternative with windows 7 around the corner? I have some old games I still like to play, and I constantly hear vista related problems to a lot of games I like old and new.

If I got a better mobo and vista, i would be up to $850. I dunno what my exact budget would be at the time, for all I know, i could be stuck with $600-700. I could cut myself down to the e7400 tho and possibly a 9800GT or GTX tho. I want at least 9600, but i would prefer to get better.

I see. Funnily enough, the case and motherboard can affect performance as much (if not more in terms of the case - it's one part of your PC you will reuse again and again) as the other components. You can take their "Gamer" model, and customise it to have:
ASUS P5Q Pro motherboard
Antec EarthWatts EA500 PSU
Arctic Freezer 7 Pro
Windows Vista Home Premium 64
Intel Core 2 Duo E8400
ATI Radeon HD4870

For $889. Bargain!

That might be a bit above my price range, but thanks. If I do need a new comp, that looks very solid to me. Any suggestions if I need to cut it down?

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16811147111

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16822136069

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814102801

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16827136159

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817182160

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820231207

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16832116511

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813128356

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16819115037

that 684$ plus shipping.

u get E8400 3.01Ghz,4870 512mb,4G ddr2 800mhz ram,250gb hardrive,550watt PSU,rosewill black case with 3 120mm fans which destroys the one u listed and is significtly faster then the crysis pc.

johnny27

heres the build i recommend someone else with a 700$ budget

I dont wanna build my own. That would be too much of a pain in the neck. That is why im looking at ecollegepc. While I have managed to do stuff with installing GPUs and RAM and all, I dont wanna put one together completely. Especially snce I heard installing a CPU can be a lot more complicated than those relatively simple tasks. if this computer dies, Im gonna want something that will run out of the box. I dont wanna waste time putting it together.

Also, I just want the best bang for my buck for a prebuilt. I dont want to repeat what I did for every PC ive had in the past, get a $600 desktop that struggles with Quake 3 out of the box. With what I have now, even my cheap model with e7400 and 9600 would be a significant improvement from what I have now, since im currently running crysis on an Athlon XP and an AGP card (barely playable at points, but I manage =P ). However, Im looking to go above that so I could avoid upgrading in the next few years. You know, so I have the PC, and it runs, and it will still work with games like 3 years down the line or something.

So yeah, I would appreciate it if I could find a reputable prebuilt that is reasonable in priceto keep in mind if this thing fries on me in the near future. $900 is more expensive than you think, Im gonna be on a budget. My family is being affected by this economic crisis and I dont know if I can afford such a model.Throwing something together for $100 more MIGHT NOT be a viable option for me, since I have no clue how much money I will be able to spend. $600 is normally what I spend for a computer, and even $800 is probably pushing it.

Also, ive never heard that laptops cost more than desktops. Normally, it is the other way around. From what I see, a reputable laptop costs like twice as much as its desktop counterpart. If you go to toshiba, then yeah, youre gonna be paying a lot, since theyre not cheap. Im looking at ecollegepc because I heard theyre reputable, and they are relatively cheap. When upgrading my current rig, ive seen new PCs with the same GPU as mine cost as high as $1300. So yeah, that is why im trying to avoid places like best buy and go with ecollegepc. For the price, theyre lightyears ahead of best buy and the like.

Good computers usually cost more than $600-$800. My Toshiba laptop costed $1100, so..oh, and my laptop is pretty good, it has fast Internet, and Wireless Broadband. But computers usually cost alot more than laptops. But remember, Toshibas are great.Shadow10987