Hardware upgrade.

[threelions00]

hi all. I am thinking of upgrading my pc. My motherboard is a http://www.amptron.com/html/MB-PM800-M2.html (click on link for specs!).

I want to get more memory, I have 512mb now and also a graphics card (I currently have a Geforce FX 550).

Can anyone give me some recommendations please! I am on a budget for the graphics card (about £80, $162). I would like something that can handle like Cal of Duty 4 etc and will last a while.

As for the memory...help! So many differents types etc! Where can I get some for a reasonable price? I am aiming for about £40/$80 ish.

And all needs to be compatible with my motherboard i guess...?

Hope you can work out this waffle I have gone on about here :)

3lions.

[clocker]

I'd rethink your plan.
Your motherboard has two major strikes against it- DDR memory and AGP, neither of which can carry over to another build.
If it were just one or the other (which is the situation I'm faced with), then maybe it'd be something to consider but IMO, to sink money into TWO obsolete technologies makes no sense.

[threelions00]

well that sorts that one out then...will leave it as it is!

[clocker]

Just take the "upgrade" money and save for a new PC.

[Broken]

If you can find one a Radeon X1950PRO (yes, they come in AGP) it could easily run CD4 - I know, I have one. The problem is that unless you have a newer processor (Core 2 Duo) the card is so powerful that it's gonna get bottle-necked.

On top of that, if you decide to upgrade later AGP isn't on very many motherboards and your probably gonna have to eat the price of the card and buy a new PCI one. I got around not having to buy a new card right away by getting an ASRock 4CoreDual-SATA2.
Many people don't like the ASRock brand but I have to say the board has been rock solid. Down side is that even though it has PCI-E and AGP, the PCI-E is limited to 4x (about the equivalent of AGP 8x). Not an issue with current generation cards that don't even exceed the bandwidth potential of AGP, but a big concern for the future.


Anyways,
The moral of the story is anything that you do with your current setup your painting yourself into a corner when it comes to future upgrades. But depending on what you have on hand you might be able to get some more gaming life out of your rig. Maybe....

Currently I have a C2D E6600 OC to 3Ghz (stock is 2.4)
ASRock 4CoreDual-SATA2
2 gigs of DDR2 800
Radeon X1950PRO (AGP)

I can run almost any game with full graphic settings,
I score a 5375 on 3DMark06.


BTW.
on Ebay right now, located in the UK
New - Sapphire ATI Radeon X1950 Pro X1950Pro AGP 512MB GDDR3 selling for GBP 81.95 (http://cgi.ebay.com/Sapphire-ATI-Radeon-X1950-Pro-X1950Pro-AGP-512MB-GDDR3_W0QQitemZ300178668177QQihZ020QQcategoryZ3762QQrdZ1QQssPageNameZWD2VQQcmdZViewItem)

[Shiranai_Baka]

you could get an evga 7900GS and if you can come up with some money for a new mobo and etc in 3 months then you can use the evga's step-up program to upgrade to a newer card and pay the difference.

[Catherine Sea]

i am sorry that i have to say ,if you change your mainboard up to date,you have to upgrade your cpu,ddr memory,graphics card & even hard disc at the same time...

[clocker]

Why the hard drive?

[memnom]

Cuz SataII will run better than, IDE, and yes X1950Pro is a great option, but if u can save a lil and go for this config,

Intel E2180 (10X Multiplier) ~60$
Biostar P35 ~ 105$ OR Palit N73V (~70$) if on very tight budget.
Crucial Ballistix Tracer ~129$
8800GT ~ 250$
Corsair VX450 ~100$

Get any SATAII HDD, will provide u enough juice in tight budget. Going for AGP now is not a very nice idea. think about it.

[clocker]

Cuz SataII will run better than, IDE,
And a flash drive will run better than a SATAII disk but it's not "necessary".