first off--I am NOT moving to socket AM2 or LGA775. for several reasons, the most important reason is that it can't be done within my budget since the performance gain will be absolutely ZERO over my current system. future upgradeability isn't a concern I have right now.

I want to move to dual core. ZZF has the Opteron 165 for 156 bucks and free shipping. ewiz has the X2 3800 for about the same price+shipping, all things being equal, the additional cache on the Opteron is the better of the two and I know it will work on my Neo4-F.

video card: I really like my little 7600GS, but I also like how things look with 8xAA and HDR @ 1280x1024. Newegg has an X1900GT for $149, ZZF can't really touch that price, but I also don't have to pay sales tax at ZZF. I have no particular brand loyalty to ATI or nvidia.

memory: I like the idea of 2gb (2x1gb) DDR500. My Venice has been sitting at 260mhz FSB for over a year now, but my corsair memory is stuck on a 166 divider, albeit at 2-2-2-6 1T. the extra capacity plus bandwidth of 2gb of DDR500 should produce a nice boost.

power supply: don't need one.

case: maybe. I love coolermaster products, especially the Cavalier 3, wavemaster and ammo 533 cases.

hard drive: I'm running out of space on my single 80gb hitachi, but I do have a 160gb external. I hate the thought of reinstalling XP, but it might have to happen. Vista is not an option right now, so don't even suggest it. neither is XP 64bit.

I don't need a monitor, don't have room for 5.1 speakers although my Z340s are getting old, my sound card is an ancient Live 5.1 digital.

My mouse is an MX510 so there's room for upgrade there but I don't want to pay the stupidly high price for the new evolution. keyboard is a very cool Saitek eclipse.

I don't want to go over $300 because then I start digging into my kids' Christmas.

I'd appreciate any suggestions you may have. I do need to ask that if you give me any links to specific items, make sure they're from the United States. I love my British, Canadian and Aussie fellow nerds but I can't shop in your neighborhoods without incurring penalties (taxes and fees).



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Rig 1: AM2 X2 4850e--MSI K9N Neo V3--2x1gb Mushkin DDR2 800--Sapphire HD4830--Corsair VX450--Acer H213H-Win XP
Rig 2:Athlon X2 7850 Kuma--Biostar 780L--2x1gb Corsair XMS2 DDR2 800--Asus Formula HD4770--Corsair VX450--LG Flatron W2252TQ-Win 7 32-bit Premium
Capitalism rocks!

It really depends on what you plan to use your computer for. For gaming I'd say get a better graphics card and that 2gb of DDR500 your looking at. I'm a nvidia fan, so i dont like to say it, but your probably better off going ATI for value for money in top end cards ATM. Cant really help you with specifics, but i hope that helps.

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Whoever has the most DVDs when they die, wins.
Anders Friden

quote:

---

Originally posted by: MrWicked1968
first off--I am NOT moving to socket AM2 or LGA775. for several reasons, the most important reason is that it can't be done within my budget since the performance gain will be absolutely ZERO over my current system. future upgradeability isn't a concern I have right now.

I want to move to dual core. ZZF has the Opteron 165 for 156 bucks and free shipping. ewiz has the X2 3800 for about the same price+shipping, all things being equal, the additional cache on the Opteron is the better of the two and I know it will work on my Neo4-F.

video card: I really like my little 7600GS, but I also like how things look with 8xAA and HDR @ 1280x1024. Newegg has an X1900GT for $149, ZZF can't really touch that price, but I also don't have to pay sales tax at ZZF. I have no particular brand loyalty to ATI or nvidia.

memory: I like the idea of 2gb (2x1gb) DDR500. My Venice has been sitting at 260mhz FSB for over a year now, but my corsair memory is stuck on a 166 divider, albeit at 2-2-2-6 1T. the extra capacity plus bandwidth of 2gb of DDR500 should produce a nice boost.

power supply: don't need one.

case: maybe. I love coolermaster products, especially the Cavalier 3, wavemaster and ammo 533 cases.

hard drive: I'm running out of space on my single 80gb hitachi, but I do have a 160gb external. I hate the thought of reinstalling XP, but it might have to happen. Vista is not an option right now, so don't even suggest it. neither is XP 64bit.

I don't need a monitor, don't have room for 5.1 speakers although my Z340s are getting old, my sound card is an ancient Live 5.1 digital.

My mouse is an MX510 so there's room for upgrade there but I don't want to pay the stupidly high price for the new evolution. keyboard is a very cool Saitek eclipse.

I don't want to go over $300 because then I start digging into my kids' Christmas.

I'd appreciate any suggestions you may have. I do need to ask that if you give me any links to specific items, make sure they're from the United States. I love my British, Canadian and Aussie fellow nerds but I can't shop in your neighborhoods without incurring penalties (taxes and fees).

---

1_i say get a new 1GB DDR 500 and a new GFX

2x512 DDR400 CRUCIAL

OEM 7900GS

2_how much will u sell your 1GB ram and GFX ?

if u sell them 100 or more , u can get 2gb , i think

I say you go for the GFX card (x1900GT) as it will increase your preformance the most.

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Alienware m17x R4
17.3" 1920x1080 -- Intel Core i7-3820QM -- 16GB DDR3 1600MHz -- Intel 520 180GB SSD -- 750GB 7200RPM Data HDD -- Slot BD-ROM -- 2GB AMD 7970m -- Intel Centrino 6250+WiMax -- Mediacom 20 Mbps Internet Connection

if you game a lot get a better graphic card if you a mild gamer i think you can live without af but thats up to of course

i would go with the ram as thats can be used with anything gaming mutitasking rendering etc.

newegg: X1900GT/Opteron 165 $333.20 shipped (includes sales tax and free shipping if paying by paypal)

ZZF: open box X1950Pro/Opteron 165 $332.79 with included free FedEx shipping (which I prefer over UPS)

I'm wary of purchasing open box items.

smogsy may be on to something though. an X1650Pro would be an upgrade from the 7600GS, and perhaps 2x512 crucial ballistix DDR500....

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Rig 1: AM2 X2 4850e--MSI K9N Neo V3--2x1gb Mushkin DDR2 800--Sapphire HD4830--Corsair VX450--Acer H213H-Win XP
Rig 2:Athlon X2 7850 Kuma--Biostar 780L--2x1gb Corsair XMS2 DDR2 800--Asus Formula HD4770--Corsair VX450--LG Flatron W2252TQ-Win 7 32-bit Premium
Capitalism rocks!

quote:

---

Originally posted by: MrWicked1968
newegg: X1900GT/Opteron 165 $333.20 shipped (includes sales tax and free shipping if paying by paypal)

ZZF: open box X1950Pro/Opteron 165 $332.79 with included free FedEx shipping (which I prefer over UPS)

I'm wary of purchasing open box items.

smogsy may be on to something though. an X1650Pro would be an upgrade from the 7600GS, and perhaps 2x512 crucial ballistix DDR500....

---

or a 7900GS ?

im always on the ball

quote:

---

Originally posted by: AM2_GAINWARD
or a 7900GS ?

---

the 7900GS doesn't offer enough performance to justify the price differential over the X1900GT, and the X1950Pro really spanks it.

thinking about the sapphire X1900GT and a coolermaster Ammo 533 case from newegg... $234.87 so far...

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Rig 1: AM2 X2 4850e--MSI K9N Neo V3--2x1gb Mushkin DDR2 800--Sapphire HD4830--Corsair VX450--Acer H213H-Win XP
Rig 2:Athlon X2 7850 Kuma--Biostar 780L--2x1gb Corsair XMS2 DDR2 800--Asus Formula HD4770--Corsair VX450--LG Flatron W2252TQ-Win 7 32-bit Premium
Capitalism rocks!

nice ideas wicked btw wicked you get my msg?

here is a review :
X1950PRO VS 7900GS

ATI Radeon X1950 Pro

Highs:
Best performance in the $199 category
Beats its market opponent in most of the gaming tests
36 pixel processors provide some reserve for future applications
Supports FSAA and FP16 HDR simultaneously
Supports VIVO
Supports hardware decoding of H.264 and other HD video formats
Effective and compact cooler
Quiet operation
Hardware CrossFire thanks to the integrated Compositing Engine

Lows:
Rather high power consumption
Long PCB may prevent installation into small system cases
Inconvenient position of the additional power connector
Nvidia GeForce 7900 GS

Highs:
High performance in OpenGL applications
Supports hardware decoding of H.264 and other HD video formats
Quiet operation
Low power consumption
Superb overclockability
Compact size (in comparison with Radeon X1950 XT/X1900 GT)

Lows:
Slower than the market opponent in a majority of benchmarks
Lower texture filtering quality than with the competing product
Does not support FSAA and HDR (FP16) simultaneously

that's all well and good, AM2, but the X1900GT @ $149 is a better bang for the buck purchase than the 7900GS. I should have also mentioned that I don't like rebates and don't factor after rebate pricing.

I think I've settled on the $149 sapphire X1900GT and a logitech MX518 mouse. I don't really need a case even if I do really like the Ammo. I'm thinking about getting an SATA DVD burner, but the retail LiteON at Newegg is sold out.

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Rig 1: AM2 X2 4850e--MSI K9N Neo V3--2x1gb Mushkin DDR2 800--Sapphire HD4830--Corsair VX450--Acer H213H-Win XP
Rig 2:Athlon X2 7850 Kuma--Biostar 780L--2x1gb Corsair XMS2 DDR2 800--Asus Formula HD4770--Corsair VX450--LG Flatron W2252TQ-Win 7 32-bit Premium
Capitalism rocks!