most wise upgrade for my pc?

I

iron man

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hello everybody i have about R8000.00 to spend on my pc

cpu: Q9400 2.66ghz
gpu: forsa 9600gt 512mb( tried to overlocked and failed. been acting strange but still works)
ram: 3gb 800mhz
motherboarb: asus pq5 se
hdd: 1x 80gb 1x160gb
running windows xp proffessional.

now my question is what out of these parts is the weakest area for my pc when it comes to gaming.

help apppreciated thanks
 
You have a pretty decent gaming rig there. But it's both a combination of a 9600GT and Q9400 is where ur problem lies.
 
Core i5 you looking +- R2000 for a decent chip. But then again you could get a Phenom x2 955 Black Edition for +- R2700. It's really hard to decide until u want to know what brands u prefer.
 
Although I would wait for an upgrade, until the new Ati n nVidia gets released later on this year. A HD4870 or GTX 260 would def improve your gaming experience :)
 
If you have to buy now get a 4890.

Wait 2weeks though for the 5850.
 
wow great response thanks guys. uhm i actualy only plan to upgrade before i leave for varsity in january. the reason im not so excited about a new cpu is because i bought my 9400 a year ago and if i got an i5 or i7 i'd haveto get a new MOBO and then ddr3 ram which is gonna add up.

just another side question: how long do you think new gpu's are? because i thinks my case might be too short :(
 
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iron man said:
hello everybody i have about R8000.00 to spend on my pc

cpu: Q9400 2.66ghz
gpu: forsa 9600gt 512mb( tried to overlocked and failed. been acting strange but still works)
ram: 3gb 800mhz
motherboarb: asus pq5 se
hdd: 1x 80gb 1x160gb
running windows xp proffessional.

now my question is what out of these parts is the weakest area for my pc when it comes to gaming.

help apppreciated thanks
Click to expand...

Get a few thousand more and get a Macbook or an iMac. You won't regret it.
 
PeterCH said:
Get a few thousand more and get a Macbook or an iMac. You won't regret it.
Click to expand...

Peter dude you realize you cannot game which is what he is asking for.

Please leave your trolling for the software forum dude.

Wait for the new amd cards, you cpu is 100% for gaming. If you have 8k you could look at better hdd like raptor or an SSD, having a raptor or ssd plus a 5xxx ati card as quik suggests would bring more performance than a better cpu.
 
PostmanPot said:
You only need upgrade your graphics card, the Q9400 is more than adequate for games.
Click to expand...

100% agreed. Get a nice GFX card and get one of those nice 1TB samsung F1 drives...they run very nice and FAST:) (And yes I can definitely see the difference between my old 250GB seagate and the 1TB, it flies:D)
And maybe you can add a nice aftermarket cooler to your CPU and OC it. And you can always buy a nice mouse, KB and some headphones to "enhance" your gaming experience:D





@Peter...come now...thats bad advice for him:(
 
killadoob said:
Peter dude you realize you cannot game which is what he is asking for.

Please leave your trolling for the software forum dude.

Wait for the new amd cards, you cpu is 100% for gaming. If you have 8k you could look at better hdd like raptor or an SSD, having a raptor or ssd plus a 5xxx ati card as quik suggests would bring more performance than a better cpu.
Click to expand...

What do you mean - cannot game? Nvidia Geforce cards are included in iMacs and even MacBook's.
 
If he wants performance an Intel X-25M Gen2 SSD drive would be nice - but only Intel - not OCZ or Patriot or Samsung stuff.
 
PeterCH said:
If he wants performance an Intel X-25M Gen2 SSD drive would be nice - but only Intel - not OCZ or Patriot or Samsung stuff.
Click to expand...

The OCZ drives (vertex drives) are pretty much on par with the intel ones;).
 
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U can use Hybrid-Sli to some extent. But I wouldn't recommend even such an action. It's better to buy a proper stand alone card to do the job :)
 
Gradius said:
Core i5 you looking +- R2000 for a decent chip. But then again you could get a Phenom x2 955 Black Edition for +- R2700. It's really hard to decide until u want to know what brands u prefer.
Click to expand...

R2200 for the 955BE now at some stores. Which makes for an awesome deal.

If you case is too small rather upgrade that first. CM690 = budget chassis of choice. If you only want to upgrade the end of this year for gaming purposes, wait for the ATi 58xx series.
Going AMD is an option, you could even sell your current rig if you can't afford a totally new system. Not much more you can do to upgrade a socket 775.

+1 for upgrading before going to varsity! Exactly what I intend doing in December! Well, building a new system, that is. :D
 
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