I dont know where to post this so, i'll do it here, I am planning on upgrading, but I don't know what yet.

my current system is a AMD 64 3400+,1GB Corsiar PC3200 Ram,40GB HDD, and a 180GB ATA/133 HDD, and a 9600XT

I am trying to decide on if I should keep the current system, and just get a AGP 6800GT.

or upgrade to a AMD 64 4000+, 1GB ram, 120GB SATA hdd, and either a X850XT or 7800GT.

so which is better? I know the second system is, but is it worth it upgrading to a completely new pc just for pci-e and the option for a more powerful video card?

I just want a pc that can haul ass in current games like F.E.A.R. and Call of duty 2, and make them look better then what my 9600XT does.

if I get this system it will be mid janurary to mid feburary, so prices will go down by then.

what do you guys think? or do you have a better idea of a great system, thats not overdoing.

I am staying away from the FX series because they are alot for my budget.

and as a side note, if I was to buy a pci-e mobo, and new system and all, which card would be better, X850XT or 7800GT?

Well this is just my opinion;

Don't waste time on the 6800GT AGP (I have it and love it, but it is just starting to show signs of age, still rocks, but showing age). And my current system is slight above your current one. So with that in mind I would go for the new system. The 7800GT and even the X850XT will drop in price as the 7800GTX Ultra is coming out and the new X1800XL are here. Also, there are a few new boards coming out and AMD is about to release their new 940 pin chip. So the CPU prices are going to dip slightly.

Just a recommendations as well. To play some of the newest games (including Quake 4) you would see marked improvement with 2GB of RAM. And when comparing your new thoughts with your current system, I see little improvement you will get with just a slight processor speed increase and the big increase to the newer card. Yes, it will be faster, and definitely noticeable, but I think the ram change will give you that extra push & longevity.


Hope this helps.

ok so the new system is better?

the ram is cheap now is PC3200 still good?

Well the new system is better, but certainly not significantly different from your current one. The place you will see the biggest bang on performance is do to the new card you are considering in the system. This processor for the new system is not significantly faster.

Note:
AMD Athlon 64 3400+ 2200Mhz

AMD Athlon 64 4000+ 2400Mhz

200 Mhz is not significant.

I would highly recommend an FX processor if you want to see some significant power, but that is probably out of the price range.

So it sounds like you are in the same position as I am. " AGP board is limiting you."

So here is my advice: Save your money, don't buy the 6800. Since you are considering an upgrade I would do one of two things:

Scenario One (this assumes you have a 939 Chip for your 3400+)
1. Buy a new botherboard (I recommend the Asus A8N-SLI Premium or the new Asus A8N32-SLI Deluxe Boards)
2. Put your current chip into this motherboard
3. Buy 2 GB of PC3200 Ram (yes this is fine for now, cause I am guessing you are not an overclocker), Don't buy an extra 1GB to add to your current ram, because 2X1024MB has a better performance boost than 4X512MB.
4. Purchase a 7800GT.... Not the GTX, you are wasting your money, as the price of the GTX will drop, and your processor won't really use its full potential.
5. When the price on the 7800GT's drop over the next 6 months, pick up another and SLI them and you will have increased the life of your system for at least another year.
6. Another option is to upgrade your Hard Drive as well.

Scernario Two (More Expensive Route)
1. Buy a New motherboard (as mentioned in Scernario One)
2. Buy a dual core Chip
3. Buy 2GB of RAM
4. Buy a 7800GTX Card
5. Buy a WD Caviar SE SATA II 16 MB Cache 250 or 400 GB Hard Drive

So it is up to you, but I think you are flushing money down the drain by upgrading the chip at all, before upgrading the motherboard & ram. Bang for Buck you just won't see enough of a boost.

IMHO

Hope that helps

wel i threw the idea of dual core out the window because nothing I use utilizes dual cores, and just like me buying amd 64 because of 64-bit, i dont use 64-bit.

and the 3400+ is socket 754.

and just for the record he 7800GT has have 4 more pipelines, 2 more opitimized pipelines, and other things that have been shut down on the 7800GT, besides the speed.

so what would be a better solution just to get socket 939? gettting a 3500+ or 3800+?
since the performance difference isnt that great. Doom 3 with a AMD 4000+,512MB x 2, 7800gt, and a SATA III HDD gets 81fps on doom at 1600x1200 which IMHO is amazing

Why dont you just upgrade you mobo, one that has pci-e and SATA. You would still be able to use your old processor, which is not a bad processor at all. I have a 3500+ with a 6600gt and i am rockin through all those games. Also when this video card starts to lose steam thanks to SLI I can buy another, even cheaper 6600gt. Then all you would need is a couple gigs of ram and a video card. later on you could get a SATA hdd because SATA isnt going to boost performance in games. You wouldnt have to buy an entiretly new system, and you could upgrade without cleaning out your wallet all at once. Hope this helps.

CAUSE MY CURRENT CPU IS SOCKET 754

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16813153035