In need of a definite upgrade, I think I found one

[Naval Power]

My current computer just isn't up to snuff with the modern world, this paired with a horrible wireless (hate the stuff) internet connection, I have the greatest of frustration playing anything multiplayer (with frequent disconnects and the like) and many of my older games just aren't appealing to me any longer. I want to get some of the newer games: Doom 3, HL2, Quake 4, Farcry, hell Civ 4 which I just can't do on my computer, and the like. The only problem is that my 5200 FX just isn't up to the task or playing those games, or at least, not that I'm aware of. I can manage to play BF2 on the lowest settings, but I encounter graphical lag in most areas, and paired with my wireless network, well it just isn't pretty.

So, I set out to find an upgrade, and in Maximum PC's June 2006 issue, I found the $1,000 gaming rig. That was about the max I was planning to spend on a computer, and they claim that it can eat any current game on the market with ease, and will be able to handle the next gen games. Anyway, here is the basic layout of the computer for those of you that don't have the issue.

AMD Athlon 3700+
1 GB Corsair PC3200
nVidia GeForce 7600 GT
Western Digital Caviar SE 16 250gb
Asus A8N-SLI Deluxe
BenQ DW1655 w/Lightscribe
Antec TruePower 2.0 550W
Kingwin SK-523BKW

Without all the extras, the price it at around 975 dollars. Now I can afford a few more pieces, and to me the most obvious thing would be to buy another stick of 1 GB RAM. August 2006's Maximum PC states that in the $200 price range the X1800 GTO was a slightly better buy than the 7600 GT. I'll follow their advice on that, but I think I could afford a card in the $300-350 range as well, in which they say that the 7800 GTX and the X1900 GT are balanced. Which one would you kind folks reccomend? They also said that they could have gone with the AMD X2 3800+ for around 70 dollars more, which I can again probably afford. That seems to me like a large upgrade over the original processor they calle for, do you folks agree?

Also, I don't know much about PC hardware, but if I were to upgrade the RAM and Videocard, would I need a larger powersupply? Your help is much appreciated, I have to get rid of this rig I have.

 

[Genocidicbunny]

The system they have lined up for you isnt all that great. As far as being upgradeable, only the stuff besides the processor will be. While it will eat most games, I think you should take a look into spending about 2000$ on getting a Motherboard that has the AM2 socket, A fitting processor, and a higher-end video card.. You should also wait for about a week and you will notice some drops in AMD prices ( Intel's COnroe comes out in 2 days).

 

[Naval Power]

I had read about Conroe but wasn't sure when it was supposed to be released. I'll take your help into consideration, downside is its going to take me a while longer to save up $2,000.

 

[Genocidicbunny]

Well, if you see a good deal on newegg, or where ever you're buying from, then use that opportunity to buy the w/e but otherwise, wait until you save up to buy all of it..

 

[Comraddict]

wait fer mor weeks/days, Athlon 64 prices will be going down significantly.