ram or video card upgrade.....

I was wondering if you guys could help me decide on my next upgrade so i can start saving from now on.
If i choose to upgrade my ram, i would most likely buy this http://www.excaliberpc.com/product_info.php?cPath=163_520_789&products_id=4242 and try to oc my cpu to 2.5 - 2.7ghz.(1:1)

If i choose to upgrade my video card, i would get a LEADTEK A400 GT TDH GEFORCE 6800 GT, keep my cpu at stock and maybe later try to buy another 512mb of kingston value ram series to run dual channel.

What do you guys think would be a better chooise?(having in mind that i'm a hardcore gamer )

Thanks.

That's a no-brainer, you'd be better off with the Vid Card upgrade. You answered it yourself anyhow:
" I'm a hardcore gamer "
Even a 6600GT blows a 9800XT away, sooooo

ps: yes I'm a hardcore gamer too ! Rock on !

I would've said the complete opposite, as the ATI Radeon 9800 Pro 128MB is fine for gaming now. Not to mention, the RAM will help your whole computer as a whole, while your video card will just show an upgrade while your gaming. I'm also a gamer, but I would choose the RAM over video card.

Kommercial said:

I would've said the complete opposite, as the ATI Radeon 9800 Pro 128MB is fine for gaming now. Not to mention, the RAM will help your whole computer as a whole, while your video card will just show an upgrade while your gaming. I'm also a gamer, but I would choose the RAM over video card.

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That's a good point, but the 512MB RAM he already has should be fine for the system at this point. I think the VC upgrade should come before the RAM upgrade.

If i get the ram and oc my cpu to 2.5 or 2.7ghz(1:1), would i see a big difference from stock speeds?....worth the price of the ram.
Right now i'm leaning towards the video card and maybe i can get the other 512mb of memory along with the card.

Thanks.

That last bit sounds the best. How about selling your 9800pro, and buying a 6800nu or x800pro(if you can find a cheap one) and an aditional 512mb of ram.

Adding another stick of RAM and overclocking it will help the overall system, including gaming. Benchmark with 3Dmark now and then after you add RAM and overclock (you'll see an increase in performance). More RAM up to 1 gig is about the best bang for the buck when you are upgrading. Obviously, for intensive 3D gaming, the vid card is very critical too, but there is nothing wrong with a 9800 Pro. I have two of these cards and they will play any game currently available. I vote for RAM first and then vid card when you can afford it.

Gabber, please show me some links where a 6600 GT "blows away" a 9800 Pro. The GF trick is to show benchies with no AA/AF which makes their scores look better. I like playing games with the eye candy turned on. I agree, the 6600 GT is a good card for the price... but "blows away" a 9800 Pro? Guess that's a matter of opinion.

Personaly, I would take more ram over faster ram. From what I have seen(though I am not an expert on the subject), Athlon64's do not benefit much from having more memory bandwidth. I would take 1gb of value pc3200 over 512mb of fast ram any day. Another option is to grab 512-1.5gb more ram for your system.

ok i think i'll buy another stick of kingston ram, sell my 9800pro 128mb and try to find a cheap 6800gt ......do you guys think a can get $250 CAD or maybe more for my 9800 pro?......i bought it about 5 months ago and is in excellent conditions with everything that came with the card.

Thanks.

I've gone with both paths: bought a gig of ram and bought a new vidcard. At first I just had the ram and it was nice but the boost in performance was negligible to what happened when I got a new vid card. A gig helps in games like Half Life 2 and Doom III but in anything else it probably doesn't matter too much. A new vidcard will allow you to get some awesome frame rates at sick resolutions though. Just think about Far Cry at 1600*1200 full settings .

hahaha....you are making me more enduro.

Before we drag out the drool buckets though...... what is the max resolution on your monitor? That might be a deciding factor in your purchase.

9800 Pros sell for about 200-250 so you might be able to get that price.

You'll make more money if you sell it to a fellow canuck, since the USD exchange is so extremely pitiful now (bwahaha!)

Try redflagdeals.com to try and sell it in the GWN.

enduro said:

Just think about Far Cry at 1600*1200 full settings .

Click to expand...

Actual, the FarCry was a bad example to use since it's a well known memory hog that prefers 1 gig of RAM. But, I know what you are saying, if you live for frame rates, then a better vid card will be what makes you happy.

enduro said:

Before we drag out the drool buckets though...... what is the max resolution on your monitor? That might be a deciding factor in your purchase.

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my max resolution is 1280x1024




where is the "GWN" in redflagdeals.com canadianpsycho?

Thanks.

You might want to consider a monitor upgrade...1280x1024? Is that on an lcd or crt? Either way, this is the monitor I have, and it is the best purchase I ever made: http://www.azatek.com/details.asp?iid=510

Buy a dvi cable with it. 2048x1536@75hz = . 1600x1200@100hz = .

Yeah, I agree. Running any game at a higher res will definitely help. The only problem is you usually need a high performance vidcard to run any new game at 1600*1200. Sooo, you could buy a card now and have better framerates but lower resolution OR you could buy a monitor and run higher resolutions at low AA AF etc and save up for a new vidcard. Personally I'd go for a vidcard first since buying a monitor when you can only use the new resolution on older games almost seems like a downgrade. It's a toughie though because any of these three are great upgrades. In order of gaming performance or just sheer need I'd say:

1: Vidcard
2: Monitor ( with at least 1600*1200 support with a good refresh rate)
3: 1 Gig of memory ( low gaming performance boost for most games..... helps with loading most levels in Doom, Half Life 2, and Far Cry, etc though. And helps in graphics intensive areas).

* WARNING* These are my opinions and are might to be taken as such. Any flame or lashing is a direct violation of my anti flame/lashing rights.... thank you