what to upgrade for $500?

[MicroAMD]

i was planning on upgrading my rig to play CS:S, what should i upgrade? rig on my sig..
-should i change my case? im using cheiftec dragon. i wanted a good airflow. does TT armor good enough?

-how come i cant prime95 while i can do 3dmark01 with 100loops and run memtest 15x without problem?

[charlie]

Add another stick of ram... $100

Add 6800NU GPU $190

And if you like the TT Armor, get it!
That fits in your budget!!

Or another option,

Get a DFI nF4 $100
Get a pci-e X800XL $250 (or one of the GREAT X800/850XT PE deals out there)
A second stick of ram...

And keep your case :D
You could sell the old gear and put it towards a new case!

C

[a5h]

if he were to change mobo ...he'd also need a new CPU. i would just get a new videocard and save the rest of the money :D

[Turok]

I think its better to update to s939 or wait for a s754 PCI-E mobo
If this is your main PC, its not a good idea to stay at s754 and AGP since all the newer stuff are s939 and PCI-E compatible.

A64 3000+ Venice (http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=N82E16819103537) = $146.00
DFI nF4 Ultra-D (http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=N82E16813136152) = $135.50
Leadtek 6600 GT (http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=N82E16814122201) = $156.99

Total = $438.49

You can use the same ram for now, they look good for gaming. The difference will be greater with the new GPU
I would recommend selling your old stuff so you can update to a better GPU , or you could add $100 and buy a 6800 GT or a x800 XL

[Mr. Manka]

x850xt pe 349.99
another stick of ram= depends

[5-Clicks]

is the $500 including what you'd make if you sold off the parts after you upgrade? cuz you can make prolly $150 off of the CPU and mobo themselves...~$175 including the GPU.

[turtle]

3000+ venice ($137)
DFI NF4 DAGF ($89)
X800XL ($249)
2x512 ocz rev 2 plat ($170)
_______________________
$645

and you prolly get somewhere around $300 if you sell the 3000+ 754, the 250ut, the 4200, and the 512mb stick, considering the stick seems to clock decent, and you'd be clearly under budget. That's the route i'd go. Keep your case and such. I'm sure they're fine. I had my cheiftec clone forever before getting my Stacker, and it held up ok.

If reselling is already included, i'd go:

3000+ venice ($135)
DFI ultra-d ($129)
512 stick that does equally as well bh/ch-5/6 (~$100)
x800gt/6600gt (~$150-$160)
_____________________________________
$525 max