Christmas: a time of cheer, food, and indecision

So it's that time of year again, time to decide what to ask for for christmas. First, let me tell you what Im using now:

Athlon XP 2500+
Asus A7V8X
512 HyperX RAM
Hercules Radeon 8500le
Soundblaster Audigy 2 Platinum
Logitech Z-340 2.1 Speakers
Generic 32x cd+rw drive

The stuff in bold is the stuff Im thinking of upgrading this december 25th.

Here's what I'm thinking of asking for:
either (1) Radeon 9600pro or xt to replace the 8500le
(2)Logitech Z-5300 5.1 Speakers and a dvd-rom drive
or (3) DVD+/-RW Drive

So what's in gonna be? I think if we all try real hard, we can decide this once and for all.

if you game a lot, i'd say the graphics card would be the most useful.

well what's the budget??? maybe u could make a compromise and get new speakers and vid card??

If you do any gaming I'd update the video card first.

Speakers would be my second choice.

I'm not recommending a DVD burner at all this year unless you absolutely have to have one. The new 8X drives are significantly faster than the current 4X models, but they're getting a premium price, too. If you wait a few months you'll be able to pick up an 8X for about the price of a 4X today, and 8X media should be standard by then, too.

(And to answer the obvious question, yes 16x burners should be available by late 2004. But that bump in peak speed won't translate to a notable difference in burn speeds across the disc. After 8X the speed increases on DVD burners will move into the land of diminishing returns, just as CD burners did after hitting 32X.)




BHD

I think you should either grab a 9600xt/pro or 9700np, both are great cards and will make you very happy.

Ok I think Im going to be asking for a video card then. Maybe I could find a cheaper pair of 5.1s to ask for too. Can anyone recommend any? I dont think I could go over $75 with them, since the video card will be costing @$150.

im selling a couple Z640's in the classifieds (under video and sound) , y dont u come on over and check it out. BTW what's ur zip code so i can calculate shipping and tell u final price.

BTW, the Z640s are the best sub $70 5.1 setup.

the better 500watt and so 5.1 setups cost around $250+

yea, Z640s are great speakers, I've got them and they sound nice even with onboard sound, im upgrading that to an Audigy in the near future, so with your setup they would work out nicely and for only 65 bucks or so. Also I have a 9500np soft-modded and I get a ton more preformance that way, so if you want to cut more corners budget-wise, that might be another option.

_tiki