Which path to take?

[imported_RingMasTeR]

Another advice thread for the boards. The short of it is I have about 350 bucks to spend and I can either get a uber nice AGP card such as a X800pro or 6800GT or even a low end 7800. OR I can upgrade my cpu, mobo, and video, to a Athlon 64 3000+, Chaintech VNF4 Ultra mobo, and a x800GT.
MY current specs are as follows:

AXP (T-bred core)2400+ @ 2.166Ghz
Asus A7N8X-E Deluxe mobo
1 Gb DDR 512 x 2( 1 is corsiar xms 1 is kinston value but work in DC mode)
2 PATA IBM deskstars
SB audigy
crucial 9700 pro

Do you think I would gain more from a beefy AGP card and stick with the Socket A setup for another couple of years? Or go with the 64 bit /PCI-E path now and take the mid range video card, and upgrade it some time later?
Thanks in advance for your time.

[Sniper_13]

Re: Which path to take?

if you get PCI you get better preformance. and its a good invesment for future use. cause new cards are usualy PCI now and less AGP. so go with that

[DrunkenPirate]

Re: Which path to take?

Definately go PCIe, you will have a foundation for the future then and you can build upon it later.

[D3TON8R]

Re: Which path to take?

PCIe bro, like Nike say.....Just Do It

[djstubbs]

Re: Which path to take?

PCIe, also the 7800 gt \ gtx is not made for AGP.

[neo265]

Re: Which path to take?

Defo go for the CPU/Mobo route. I recently upgraded from a Athlon XP2700 to Athlon64 3500 and saw a significant improvement with the same gfx card (though I had no choice to go for an AGP mobo).

Go for the Venice core 64, runs very cool and can easily be overclocked to ridiculous speeds.

2GB Ram is also a must.

[lcplsickoll]

Re: Which path to take?

No contest, PCI-e. You'll end up upgrading later on anyways.

[Talus]

Re: Which path to take?

I recently purchased a ton of 'upgrades' for an AGP based system. Video card, motherboard, CPU, RAM.

The price was so much cheaper and I'm super happy with my performance.

By the time I'm ready to upgrade to PCI-e, I'll need to upgrade everything anyway!!

If I had purchased a PCI-e system, it would ALSO be completely obsolete soon and would need everything replaced

There is NO such thing as a future proof system these days. Buy what you can afford. If you can afford the latest and greatest...go for it. If you cannot...buy what you can afford. If you are REALLY strapped for cash and you can only afford a new part every 1-2 years, then you really cannot afford to go for a new PCI-e because you'd have to buy almost EVERYTHING new all at once to have a good, working system.

I'm just waiting for the price of 939 pin Athlon FX CPUs to come down...then I'll be in heaven

[djstubbs]

Re: Which path to take?

I recently purchased a ton of 'upgrades' for an AGP based system. Video card, motherboard, CPU, RAM.

The price was so much cheaper and I'm super happy with my performance.

By the time I'm ready to upgrade to PCI-e, I'll need to upgrade everything anyway!!

If I had purchased a PCI-e system, it would ALSO be completely obsolete soon and would need everything replaced

There is NO such thing as a future proof system these days. Buy what you can afford. If you can afford the latest and greatest...go for it. If you cannot...buy what you can afford. If you are REALLY strapped for cash and you can only afford a new part every 1-2 years, then you really cannot afford to go for a new PCI-e because you'd have to buy almost EVERYTHING new all at once to have a good, working system.

I'm just waiting for the price of 939 pin Athlon FX CPUs to come down...then I'll be in heaven

The 4000+ aka FX-53, and 3500+ aka FX-51 are pretty cheap these days.

The 4000+ has gone down $50 since i bought it a few weeks ago.

[Wynterheart]

Re: Which path to take?

I recently purchased a ton of 'upgrades' for an AGP based system. Video card, motherboard, CPU, RAM.

The price was so much cheaper and I'm super happy with my performance.

By the time I'm ready to upgrade to PCI-e, I'll need to upgrade everything anyway!!

If I had purchased a PCI-e system, it would ALSO be completely obsolete soon and would need everything replaced

There is NO such thing as a future proof system these days. Buy what you can afford. If you can afford the latest and greatest...go for it. If you cannot...buy what you can afford. If you are REALLY strapped for cash and you can only afford a new part every 1-2 years, then you really cannot afford to go for a new PCI-e because you'd have to buy almost EVERYTHING new all at once to have a good, working system.

I'm just waiting for the price of 939 pin Athlon FX CPUs to come down...then I'll be in heaven

what else would you need to change other than mobo, possibly cpu, and video card? everything else is the same.

[Talus]

Re: Which path to take?

I've had to upgrade RAM before because of a mobo upgrade.

I've had to ugprade a case before because of a mobo upgrade.

I've had to upgrade PSU before because of a video card upgrade.