Upgrade Question - CPU or GPU?

[TPSFan]

I recently came into some pre-tax return cash and now have two options:

-Upgrade CPU

-Upgrade GPU

Here are my current system specs:

AMD AM2 64 X2 4400+ (2.3 GHz)
3 Gigabytes of DDR 2 800 RAM
ATI X1950 Pro 256 MB DDR3
KDS 22" LCD widscreen monitor (@1680x1050 native res)


The rig does not perform bad, obviously. I can play modern games (barring "Crysis") like UT3 at max settings at the native resolution of my LCD. Having said that...

Should I upgrade the CPU to a 6000+, or 64000+? Or maybe the new 9550 Phenom Quad cores (the new version that fixes the minor virtualization error)?

Or should I upgrade the GPU to a 8800 GT(S)? Or maybe 3850/3870 with 512 MBs of RAM?

Which one would increase performance RIGHT NOW?

I will eventually upgrade both, but if you were in my shoes, which one would you go for right now? And which is more future proof given the short lifespan of PC hardware?

[Harmatia]

Definitely GPU; no contest. The 4400+ definitely isn't bottlenecking you now, and probably won't even bottleneck the 8800 GT.

In the future, though, 6400+ is a good option. What motherboard do you have? In the future when they stop sucking, you might want to upgrade to a phenom (that's what I'm waiting for).

[AlienMind]

throw a party

[13th_Disciple]

Definitely GPU; no contest. The 4400+ definitely isn't bottlenecking you now, and probably won't even bottleneck the 8800 GT.

In the future, though, 6400+ is a good option. What motherboard do you have? In the future when they stop sucking, you might want to upgrade to a phenom (that's what I'm waiting for).

when you say the phenom sux, can you elaborate? i was thinking of going in that direction, and any info would be good info.

[Sincreator]

Go with a gpu and OC your current processor a little, like up to 2.7/2.8 range. The phenoms that are out right now are full of glitches, mainly because the bios's for them just isnt working right as of now. Maybe in a few updates they will be alot better, but not yet. FYI not many am2 boards support the phenom either, just the ones with an AMD chipset. Eg. 480x, 580x...etc. I am also waiting on a phenom, but I want atleast 3.0ghz first. My 6400+ is already on par with the 9700 phenom in most benchmarks. The next step for me is the M3A-790fx AM2+ Deluxe Asus board. Then hopefully a 3ghz phenom a little later.

[Sincreator]

BTW has anyone checked out the benches/reviews on the ATi 3870 X2 cards yet? The card is 7% faster than the 8800 ultra, and its almost 300$ cheaper. WOW!

http://www.tomshardware.com/2008/01/...x_2/page6.html

http://www.anandtech.com/video/showdoc.aspx?i=3209

http://www.guru3d.com/article/Videocards/490/1

[TPSFan]

Thanks for the responses, everyone.

I am leaning towards a GPU -- Don't know which one yet; I like ATI's visuals, but know Nvidia currently leads right now.

I can also OC my processor -- It is a Brisbane core which I specifically bought for that reason, so it should be able to keep up with demanding games for at least another year, or so.

If anybody else has anything to add, keep it coming

[Sincreator]

Look at the benches I posted. Nvidia is NOT in the lead right now. Maybe in 3 months, but not at the moment.

[PyroFiRE]

Oc'ing is good, just TAKE YOUR TIME with it especially if you havent done it before.Id personally stay with that kit since its better than mine and im not upgrading at all in the future (opteron 146 oced to 2.8ghz, gforce 6800gt, 2gig ram) should do me fine for a while

[Harmatia]

Thanks for the responses, everyone.

I am leaning towards a GPU -- Don't know which one yet; I like ATI's visuals, but know Nvidia currently leads right now.

I can also OC my processor -- It is a Brisbane core which I specifically bought for that reason, so it should be able to keep up with demanding games for at least another year, or so.

If anybody else has anything to add, keep it coming

Unless you're planning on buying the absolute highest end ($450) card available, YES, NVIDIA IS IN THE LEAD. The 8800 GT is the best performance/value card available. By far.

As for the phenoms... they're a big improvement over the Athlon series, but the clock speeds they're selling are too low, and there was a problem that they had to fix with a bios update that reduced performance by 10% or so. With a hardware revision that will be fixed, along with hopefully improved performance on Am2 motherboards.

Personally, I don't think quad-core will be necessary for a VERY long time. I'm gonna wait and see how the phenom triple-core processors are. Two cores for the game running (which most will be best optimized for) and one for windows and other backround applications. They should also OC better and be a better value overall.

[cel4145]

Or should I upgrade the GPU to a 8800 GT(S)? Or maybe 3850/3870 with 512 MBs of RAM?

Definitely upgrade the GPU. I've run my 8800GT 256MB on my son's computer which has an X2 4200+. Significant difference in FPS between it and the 8600GTS on his( which is pretty close in performance to your X1950 PRO in UT3). You wouldn't get near the gain in upgrading the CPU instead. Having tried both cards with both his 4200+ and my 5600+, I think you'd be disappointed in the performance gains for UT3 you would get from upgrading the CPU.

[[FfFC]_-(MAD)-_]

I recently came into some pre-tax return cash and now have two options:

-Upgrade CPU

-Upgrade GPU

Here are my current system specs:

AMD AM2 64 X2 4400+ (2.3 GHz)
3 Gigabytes of DDR 2 800 RAM
ATI X1950 Pro 256 MB DDR3
KDS 22" LCD widscreen monitor (@1680x1050 native res)


The rig does not perform bad, obviously. I can play modern games (barring "Crysis") like UT3 at max settings at the native resolution of my LCD. Having said that...

Should I upgrade the CPU to a 6000+, or 64000+? Or maybe the new 9550 Phenom Quad cores (the new version that fixes the minor virtualization error)?

Or should I upgrade the GPU to a 8800 GT(S)? Or maybe 3850/3870 with 512 MBs of RAM?

Which one would increase performance RIGHT NOW?

I will eventually upgrade both, but if you were in my shoes, which one would you go for right now? And which is more future proof given the short lifespan of PC hardware?

You should upgrade both

A faster CPU like a core 2 Duo 6750/6850 will give you nearly double the speed, and a 7950GT or 8800GT will be a better choice than the ATI 1950pro.

[bclagge]

But upgrading to C2D would require a new motherboard. That's a whole new bag of potatoe chips.

[Vidiot]

Upgrade your GPU for SURE!!!

[CyB3rThuG]

Or u can just wait a little bit and get the 9xxxx gt/gts or whateva, the 9600gt`s are all ready faster than the 8800 gt`s, I`m not sure but I think they are getting launched end of this mont or so, NVIDIA will just own ATI after all