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Upgrade advice needed

Reign

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Hey guys :) ! As the title says I have some upgrade questions. At the moment I have a GB-P35-DS3R mobo, E8200 running at 3.3Ghz (can't go higher with the box...) , 2x1 GB DDR2 800MHz, Galaxy 8800GT GPU and a 400W Fortron PSU. I want to put some RAM, like 4 GB and get a new GPU, but I can't get them in the same time so what do you guys think I should get first? And what GPU should I get for around $200?
 
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what resolution do you run games at?
 

ASRockIQ

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4850 1GB Model should do fine
 

Sir_Real

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You would be alot better off upgrading that mobo & as you already own a 8800gt i reckon this mobo would be ideal.

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813131232

The money you have left would easy get you another second hand 8800gt to go SLi with the one you already have. It would be a good idea to also get another 2x 1gb of ram. 2gb isnt really enough for a gaming rig.

Oh & one more thing your 400w psu is going to need upgrading weather you go with my idea or just upgrade your gpu. Its surprizing your getting away with such a lower output psu as it is !

ASRockIQ 4850 1GB Model should do fine

I wouldnt go for a HD4850 not even a 1gb. The 1gb over 512mb only helps frame rates if your gaming in very high res.

Also i think you'll need to go for a HD4870 of 4890 to see much improvement over a 8800gt

See my thread:http://forums.techpowerup.com/showthread.php?t=100950
 
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Mussels

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upgrade the ram first, grab something like a 4850 or 4770 later.
 

ASRockIQ

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at that Res. 1680x1050 you would need at least maybe need 1GB and i don't see why not. the difference in price isn't that much different at all. though if he DOES have the money get a new PSU say a 600W or 750W and get a 512MB 4870

upgrade the ram first, grab something like a 4850 or 4770 later.
I would agree
 
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Sir_Real

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at that Res. 1680x1050 you would need at least maybe need 1GB and i don't see why not. the difference in price isn't that much different at all. though if he DOES have the money get a new PSU say a 600W or 750W and get a 512MB 4870


Well both my rigs have a single 512mb hd4850 i always game at 1800x1440 & the frame rates are fine. Also the max res on my 21" sony trinitron crt is 2048x1536 i've played cod 4 & 5 in that res a few times & they run fine. Mind you crysis is a slide show at 2048x1536 :laugh:

Personly i dont think 1680x1050 is high enough res to see any gain with a 1024mb gpu over a 512mb.
 
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get a p5q pro or a ud3p
 

AltecV1

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upgrade the ram first, grab something like a 4850 or 4770 later.
Agree, definitely get the ram first.
The 4770/4850 isn't much of an upgrade from a 8800GT/9800GT.
 
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With $200 you can get a 4770 AND RAM upgrade. If your PSU works on a 8800 it will work on a 4770. No PSU upgrade needed until it blows. LOL. (Get a PSU upgrade soon m8).

PS. No need to upgrade the CPU. It wont increase game FPS. With a E8200 even at stock it is GPU bottlenecked, not CPU. Only synthetic CPU benchmarks will improve with OC CPU.
 
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InTeL-iNsIdE

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Get a new PSU before you upgrade the GPU, 400w is weak. And whats that board oc like ? 3.3ghz from a E8200 ? should be able to hit 4.0 easy that would give you a nice boost in games
 

JrRacinFan

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4770 is equal to the 8800gt,so that is no upgrade!!! i would suggest you get a new PSU then new ram and gfx crd (gtx 275 or 4890 should be the sweet spot,but if you can wait then the the GT300 and HD5000 should be here soon)
OH and BTW you should get a new cooler on that E8200 then you can bush it even furder if you care about that of course:)
 

Sir_Real

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I don't really see why he would be better off upgrading his motherboard as there won't be really any difference with just that change.

Yes there wouldnt by just upgrading the mobo but i also said he would have enough money left to get another second hand 8800gt. He could run it with his old one in SLi. Now 2x 8800GT on that mobo would piss on any $200 gpu on his old mobo ! That was my point ;)
 
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Yes there wouldnt by just upgrading the mobo but i also said he would have enough money left to get another second hand 8800gt. He could run it with his old one in SLi. Now 2x 8800GT on that mobo would piss on any $200 gpu on his old mobo ! That was my point ;)

But picking up a GTX260 will very closely match a sli 8800gt.

Honestly get four gigs of ram and pick up a GTX260 or a higher end 48x0 card. That's the best money to be spent at least in my opinion.

To run two of the 8800gt's in SLI he would also have to pick up a new power supply. Where as the GTX260 he could make due with what he has.
 

Zoelef

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Hey guys :) ! As the title says I have some upgrade questions. At the moment I have a GB-P35-DS3R mobo, E8200 running at 3.3Ghz (can't go higher with the box...) , 2x1 GB DDR2 800MHz, Galaxy 8800GT GPU and a 400W Fortron PSU. I want to put some RAM, like 4 GB and get a new GPU, but I can't get them in the same time so what do you guys think I should get first? And what GPU should I get for around $200?

$55 - 4GB G.Skill DDR2-1066

and that's it. Besides RAM, I don't think you can upgrade in a meaningful way on a $200 budget right now. The easiest way to upgrade would be a new PSU + new GPU and the weakest way I would do that would be:

$80 - Antec Earthwatts 650W
$160 - XFX GTX 260 Core 216

and all three together put you $100+ over budget after taxes/shipping. So for now, just get some new RAM and wait for the 40nm generation to drive prices down.
 
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I'd suggest you get an sli mobo and add a second 8800gt/9800gt. You'll really need a more juicy psu though.
 

Reign

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I guess I will get some RAM now and a better cooling for the CPU and after that a new PSU and a better GPU. Thanks for the answers guys :) .
 
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