new computer?

[taigrrr]

So, with the advent of my student loan, I'm looking at upgrading. My current thoughts are ASUS motherboard, with low-end core 2 duo and two gig of pimped-up RAM. Video card is either ATI or NvidiaA few thoughts before people bitch

Comments

[tomfinnie]

This build needs more geforce 8800, and less overpriced RAM. The 8800 is much faster, and way more futureproof by virtue of being DX10 capable. The GTS is the same price as that 7900 you linked, or the GTX is about £90 more.

You can get branded DDR2 800 MHz for about 25% less than that. I'd suggest that spending that money on having the best graphics card in the world might look cooler than lights. You can after all buy EL wire if you want to pimp your case.

I'm very envious though, seeing as my current machine is starting to show it's age, and I by no means have the cash for an upgrade.

[hoongwai]

What he said.

On a slightly different note, can you really be affording to spend that much? Especially if your RAM costs more than your CPU??

And I'd go for Nvidia. Their cooling systems actually do make THAT much more sense. Remember, I did aeronautics for a short while. :P

[sharpanther]

Hmm, good points. However, I've come upon critical information: The 8800 (and the cards previously considered as well, though in fewer ways) won't fit in the current case. And I'm pretty sure Tai will be loathe to part with his Tsunami.

As a result I'm at a bit of a loss as to what I should suggest.

There exists the option of buying a cheap but outdated video card (round the £100 - £120 mark) as a placeholder and then upgrading when Tai feels comfortable with paying the additional £150 to part with his current case. £630 total for a system perfectly capable of running new games for a while, another £550 and the additional hassle of switching cases to upgrade at a later date.

Alternatively: New system, 400 quid graphics card and new case/PSU to accommodate it, and end up paying a total of somewhere around £1100 now for a system not quite as powerful as option 1 would eventually be.

Thoughts?

[tomfinnie]

I'd say go for the cheap GPU and upgrade as needs be. In all honesty an 8800 won't get used to it's full potential for a few months, until the first DX10 games come out. More so if it's going to be attached to a 1280 x 1024 monitor as I presume will be the case. By then they'll be cheaper, and ATI will have released their (probably faster) first DX10 card.

[tomfinnie]

A new challenger appears!

http://www.hardforum.com/showthread.php?t=1144176