Help with Processor Upgrade

R

reef

New Member
I am currently running an AMD Athlon 64 X2 Dual Core Processor 4800+ 2.50 GHz and NVIDIA GeForce 8600 GT 512 MB Graphics on the Acer Manufactured F690GVM Motherboard. I want to know which of those two I should upgrade first, the processor or the graphics, to get the best out of modern games. Also if anyone have any suggestions on what to upgrade to from what I have that would be greatly appreciated as well. Thanks
 
You should probably start with upgrading the video card-depending on how much you want to spend-you'll probably also need to upgrade the power supply to handle the increased video needs-How much are you willing to spend on upgrading the PSU and video card---will help a lot to suggest things.
 
$200 bucks max for the video card since I thought things will go on sale at this time of the year and I am not sure about the PSU but I hear they are cheap? So it shouldn't be a problem buying that with the video card.
 
I just picked up a second EVGA 8800GTS 512 for about $170. Good performance in DX9 Crysis, 60fps (refresh capped) in WoW, either capped or close to it in CoD4. But seriously, I had an 8600GTS, it was truly terrible.

Check your PSU, nVidia tells us a minimum of 26 amps on the +12V rail are required. If your power supply can't handle a GTS, the GT is nearly as good and costs less, freeing up some more of the green stuff to get a decent PSU.

And lastly, cheap PSU's are cheap. An even cheaper option--and some say this is crazy--is to spring for a quality unit now instead of trusting all your hardware to the soldering work performed by a Chinese guy making 62 cents an hour. Remember, the power supply is the one component in your rig with the ability to kill everything else. Don't spend $300 on one, but don't spend $30, either.
 
My PSU max supported watt is 250 and on the +12V it supports up to 15 amps. But I am running the 8600 GT fine. So if I wanted to upgrade to the 9600 gt, how much watt would I need from my PSU in the +12V rail?
 
250W is not enough for a 9600gt. you need a new power supply for any video card more powerful than your current one, and its a good idea to get a new PSU if you get a new processor too.
 
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