Have the nearly-uncontrollable itch to upgrade! AAUGH!!

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Help! I'm stuck on an old Core2Duo 2.4GHz, 6GB DDR2-667, 2x 500GB drives (not running in RAID) and video card is a GeForce GT 430.
It's a Dell Dimension 9200. Not sure if it's SATA 1 or 2... that'd make a HUGE difference if I go looking for a SSD for it, etc!

It plays my favorite games just barely... Fallout3 (& New Vegas) and Diablo3... choppy animation, no AA...
It's also currently capable of running the music software I'd like... no upgrades required for that.

Should I upgrade just the video card to something notably better? ...or would my just-barely-enough CPU still be holding me back (making the video card a wasted purchase...)

I suppose I could try that and return it if I don't see a big difference... it would be MUCH cheaper than spending a extra $300-400 for an all new i3 or i5 CPU/mobo/RAM.

*sigh* if only I could find a Q6700 CPU to throw in this thing too....

Help me keep my lawyer fund instead of buying a faaaaaancy computer. Games are the only thing that I run that demand more than the system can currently do.

Thanks!

Uuuup-graaaaaaade!

That is the craziest, most nightmare-inducing computer I've ever seen. Gaaahhh! I couldn't sleep with that thing in the same partment.
That said, how much vram is in your GT 430? If it's already 1 GB, that's plenty.
The 6 GB of DDR seems adequate. There might probably be faster Core2Duo's than your 2.4 GHz, but to gain 4-5 FPS more speed with an upgrade seems futile.
I switched my OS HDD from a 1TB Western Digital to an Extreme SSD 120. My experience index increased, but it was still capped by the built-in video card, a component I can't change.
Your biggest FPS increase would be from a new video card. Since your mobo can handle an x16 IDE card, you can trick it out with a 2 GB monster that'll probably set you back around $150.

eVGA Video card

One, that's just an image from some case-modder. Just imagine your tower begging you for upgrades though....

Two, video memory does NOT NOT NOT equal speed - it's all about the graphic processors on the card itself. It may seem odd at first, but a 512MB card can run circles around a brand new 2GB card if the 512MB card has a speedy processor and the new 2GB card has some low-end POS bottom-of-the-barrel processor on it.

Applications gain NO benefit from video RAM - only the games which can then hold larger and more textures (or triple-monitor setups.)


I have my eye on a couple Radeon 7750 cards that my local shop sells just over $100... it's 2-3x faster than my current card but also totally fanless! Silence is golden! Plus, the Dimension 9200's BTX format is especially good at cooling video cards....

I think I made up my mind. I'll slug it out with this CPU (while keeping an eye open for a Q6600 or Q6700!) and just upgrade video.... if more bucks come along I might snag a big, reliable SSD. It doesn't have to be the fastest since I don't have SATA3 but anything will feel peppier than my current mechanical drives which will be relegated to pure storage.

Cheap upgrade... I like it.

...except I know that CPU is still holding me back and I'm just CRAVING something faster!

I'm stuck in my aspie loop... I want something but have such a hard time justifying the purchase! If I get the speed I crave, I deeply regret the money spent and get buyers' remorse and sell it off (usually at a small profit.)

Any thoughts before I go completely insane?

Good news for anyone who cares. The video card upgrade really did make the biggest difference. All my games now run smooth as butter (smooth enough that I don't crave a CPU upgrade anymore!)

All I need is faster HD speed. I have a 64GB SSD just lying around... it's just big enough for Windows7 and a few critical apps - that should take the edge off the day-to-day stuff without having to buy anything more.



BTW - you guys want hardware advice, I'm your man. It's my aspie obsession!

Sorry for the off topic question, but is Windows really that massive now?

Yeah, the 430 is kind of crappy. Glad to see that the replacement works well.
If you were to start playing things like Battlefield 3 ($10 sale today on Origin) you'd probably be feeling the CPU squeeze, though.



It's manageable, a 64 bit installation can easily eat 16-20 GB (my Windows folder is 23.4 GB after about 3 months of use). Windows often allocates space for swap space and hibernation, so it's easy to have 2x your quantity of RAM just eaten up as disk space for nothing.