What to Buy Next?

[Hagnasty]

So here is what I have so far...
Asus A7v880
AMD Athlon XP 2500+ Barton 333 fsb
ATI Radeon 9550 256mb (I know, bad buy)
1 gb 2100 crucial RAM
WD Cavier 80 gb hd
Windows 2k

I'm going to oc my 2500+ to at least 200 fsb, and I use my "rig" ultimately for gaming. What I need to know is should I wait on getting the 9800pro(tight budget) and get higher speed RAM, or go for the Vid Card now? I'm not trying to upgrade anything else, just the Vid Card and the RAM, possibly the PSU I have a ATX 350watt PSU now. I just bought a Thermaltake Silent Boost HSF and some rounded IDE and floppy cables, what's next?
Any advice would be appreciated,
Hagnasty

[Darthtanion]

Re: What to Buy Next?

If you plan on overclocking the FSB then you'll need better memory. Crucial makes a decent stick, but I wouldn't be willing to make any bets that it will hang at a 200MHz FSB.

[Hagnasty]

Re: What to Buy Next?

Darth,
What would you suggest?

[Yawgm0th]

Re: What to Buy Next?

Start with the RAM like he suggested. What you get should be dependant on what you're willing to spend and how much you care about upgradability. You can get some high speed module that will allow for overclocking well past 200MHz, which will be slightly useful now and extremely useful in the future. The downside is that that kind of RAM will cost between $150 and $250 per 512MB. I'll tell you what works if you're interested in that. On the other hand, you could get some low latency PC3200 known to overclock past 200MHz. This Corsair PC3200 would be good for that. It'll overclock past 200MHz and have goo dtimings. Or, you can get some value RAM that'll run at okay timings and go to 200MHz and beyond. This Kingmax PC3500 would be good for that.

After that, you'll want to upgrade the video card (or maybe before; a stock 2500 isn't bad but a 9550 is). The GeForce 6800 (the regular non-ultra, non-GT) seems best, but a 9800 Pro wouldn't be an entirely stupid upgrade if money is an issue. Anything less that that would be wasted money, though, IMO.

When you do that, you may want to replace your PSU. Unless that's a high-quality PSU from a brand such as Antec or Thermaltake, it might not handle those cards (the RAM won't be a problem, though). It also might not handle the voltage increasments necessary for overclocking. This Thermaltake 420W PSU would do everything you need it to with no problems.

[Hagnasty]

Re: What to Buy Next?

Cool...Thanks alot for your advice I think I'm going with the Corsair RAM, not sure yet on which Vid Card 6800/9800pro yet. I appreciate your help

[Darthtanion]

Re: What to Buy Next?

The 6800 is a better performing card but the 9800 Pro is still a serviceable card if you're running tight on funds.