Recently changed the graphics card on my PC from a faulty 7800GT to an ATI X1950XTX... while the new card is bloody fantastic it's made me wonder if the rest of the hardware could be holding it back a bit. The rest of my specs are:

AMD 64 3200 cpu running at 2.4 ghz (4000 speed)
MSi K8N Neo4-F Motherboard
1GB (2 x 512) OCZ PC3200 RAM
Audigy 2
Seasonic 500w PSU

+ various keyboard, mouse bits and stuff...

'If' I had about £200 or so to spend on new bits, what would be the next / best thing to upgrade?

I'm aware of the whole DX10 / Vista issue but realistically I'm probably not going to switch to Vista till it's been out at least 6 months (end of next year probably) so I'm not concerned about that at the moment...

Any suggestions...?

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i'd say, an extra 1gb stick of ram be your priority

then processor in about a year time

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definate memory, get another gig that should do for the moment

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yeah stick another 1gb in there, maybe another 2gb if you found a nice deal on ebay

The processor is fine for gaming as dual core doesnt really come into the equation just yet, an extra gig will certainly help.

To get any benefit from a real processor upgrade you need to fork out for almost a whole new system(Motherboard, CPU, Memory) but that means probably going from 80fps to 120fps in the case of the faster core2duo which is really meaningless. This is assuming your running 1280x1024 2xAA 4xAF. If you have a monitor running above this and want the eyecandy then it might be worth it.

If you are going to be pumping out lots of sweet videos the an upgrade to dual core will help. (hint hint nudge nudge)

Go for a Gig

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As you are overclocking i'd consider a 2GB dual channel kit rated at a least 4000 i.e.

Corsair 2GB DDR XMS4000PT TwinX (2x1GB) CAS3 (MY-094-CS).

£211 @ overclockers.co.uk (cheaper elsewhere).

If you were to simply add two extra sticks (4 total) you would probably have to run a 2T command rate which would negate any OCing possibilities of the ram. My 3200 Corsair sticks run up to 230MHz so you would eaasily beat that with the 4000 kit.

Just bear this in mind.

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Don't worry Sony, I'll just cancel my date of birth and get a new one.

I could give you the Sticks ive got, no use for them...

No need to spend money now, save and get a really nice upgrade.

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The Road!