Looking To Upgrade

[toxicity1234]

Hey Guys new to the site i was jw if any had any suggestions to improve my gaming experience for very little money. System is like 2 yrs old and ive been using onboard graphics. (I know I Know this is why most of my time is spent with my 360)

System is:
Intel Pentium 4 3.0 Ghz w/ HT
intel D915GAV
1 GB Ram
200 GB Diamondmax 10
DVD Drive
Centurion 5 w/ 350w psu

Am thinking of buying xfx geforce 8800gt alpha dog for xmas if i can find it for 200 instead of 400!

Most I would be willing to spend on upgrade would be ~350-400

Im not a hcore gamer(if u cant tell ) i jus wanna b able to play last yrs games and a couple of this yrs 2 but low/med settings.

 

[panchoman]

since you aren't that hardcore and 8800gt's wont be 200 for a while, i'd say an ATI HD3850 is your best bet

 

[nflesher87]

honestly, just pick up a used 1950Pro and a lower end core 2 duo (if your board will support it) and you'll be set

 

[WhiteLotus]

^^agreed ^^

 

[toxicity1234]

since you aren't that hardcore and 8800gt's wont be 200 for a while, i'd say an ATI HD3850 is your best bet

yea i think this is the cheaper plan since my board wont support a core 2 duo

another question. if i update from 1G to 2G of ram in reality how vast of a performance improvment will there be?

thank you by the way for the help everyone

 

[nflesher87]

another question. if i update from 1G to 2G of ram in reality how vast of a performance improvment will there be?

depends on whether you're already running 2 sticks in dual channel (2x 512MB), if so you won't see a major increase, though it would still be worth it with the current price of high performance DDR2 running ~$45 after MIR for 2x1GB 800mhz kits
if you're jumping from 1x 1gb stick you'll see a huge difference going to 2gb dual channel

 

[JousteR]

Looking at your power supply maybe upgrade that too before any highish end card..? wouldnt you say chaps..?

 

[nflesher87]

Looking at your power supply maybe upgrade that too before any highish end card..? wouldnt you say chaps..?

for sho

 

[suraswami]

Defenitely upgrade that PSU before it shits itself. ATI HD series or even a 8600GTS would be fine if you don't want to spend more. Even if you put that 8800GT ur current cpu is going to be the bottleneck. Save that money for a new setup.

2GB ram is must if you are planning to turn up the game settings.

 

[toxicity1234]

Defenitely upgrade that PSU before it shits itself. ATI HD series or even a 8600GTS would be fine if you don't want to spend more. Even if you put that 8800GT ur current cpu is going to be the bottleneck. Save that money for a new setup.

2GB ram is must if you are planning to turn up the game settings.

ya each one of these options sounds great. saving up is always the best though for the long term. i guess ill jus get the ati for now nd save up for a yr or 2, work the summers. ahhhh my friend jus told me hes sellin his 6 month old top of the line rig for like 1.8k but its on ebay nd theres no way i can get that in a week. haha i need a sponsor. thx guys for all the help i guess ill jus get the ati

 

[JrRacinFan]

What monitor do you have? In other words, What resolution you think you will be gaming at most?

The RAM won't be like hardcore uber, that can wait but really recommend a new pair. The psu may be the heartbreaker of everything, if it's too weak, guess what, there goes any plans you had.

But, good choice sticking with the ATi card, IMO your best choice.

 

[toxicity1234]

i have an aopen f90gs (1280x1024)
ya i was thinkin the same thing altho ive never had an ati card. i grew up on nvidia nd stuck wit it cause ive always liked it.
wat psu would b a real good upgrade for a very low price?

 

[nflesher87]

dude just get a solid 500-600W psu from a good brand that'll be $75-$120
then get a strong 256MB vga, something like the 3850 for ~$180 or on the lower end a 1950Pro for ~$90 used
either of those will kill on most games at 1280x1024