Whats next?

[FuzzySquirrel]

With all the recent upgrades I've made, I'm still not 100% happy with performance. What would give me the most bang for my buck right now? Right now I have;

AM2 Anthlon 64 X2 5400+ 2.8GHZ - Processor
2048MB DDR2 667MHZ - Ram
Gigabyte GA-M68M - Motherboard
HIS HD 4870 1024MB - GFX Card
Cosair TX650W - PowerSupply
Western Digital 160GB Sata - Harddrive
Windows XP 32-Bit SP3 - OS

What under ~$180 would give me the biggest Bang?

[Gore]

Looks pretty solid to me. But I'd go with 2 more gigs of ram and set them in dual channel if possible. Or if your HDD is 7400 rpm, get a 10.000.

[corp_calqluslethal]

With that price i'd go with the athlon ii x 3 425 triple core and an extra gig of ram. The good thing about that triple core is you can unlock the 4th core and have a quad core. I think it only runs about 80 bucks usd on newegg.



This link might help you to see how much more of a boost you might get by getting a better processor, and help you choose one for your price range.

http://www.behardware.com/articles/778- ... ssors.html

But that link doesn't include how much more you will gain by unlocking the 4th core.

[boom50cal]

With that price i'd go with the athlon ii x 3 425 triple core and an extra gig of ram.

If I were you, I'd go with the Athlon II x4 620 or 630. Both about $100 usd on newegg. Great quads, running the 630 myself. It'd be good to get a 2gb kit of ram now if your planning on getting Win7 in the future. Sure, XP will only recognize 3gb but will save you money in the future.

[FuzzySquirrel]

I have Win7 Ultimate 64-bit, just waiting to get more ram so its useful. And If I was gonna get a Quad Core I think I'd just get a Phenom II. Also, This mobo only has 2 DIMMs, So I think I'll save up ~$200 and get a Phenom and a 4GB Kit.

[VoXiNaTiOn]

I'd avoid the Athlon II quad if I were you, they seem to only get around Q6600 performance. You're a lot better off saving extra cash and going for a Phenom II imo.

[FuzzySquirrel]

Well I read on Gigabyte.us that my mobo will support the Phenom X6 sooo I know what I'm waiting for.

[corp_calqluslethal]

Yep that bad boy is only gonna be 199 usd. I'm gonna get one if my phenom II quad ever starts bottlenecking on very high. Which i doubt for next few years.



http://alienbabeltech.com/main/?p=16214

They come out next month i believe. Congrats. You will have the best computer out of any of us.

[FuzzySquirrel]

Amd has really good Price-To-Preformance Ratio Imo. I think I'll just save $300 and get an X6 and 4GB, I dont really need 6 or 8 GB yet anyway.