System upgrade maundering

[robotech_master]

Lately, I've been looking at computer parts for the purpose of building myself most of a new computer (perhaps keeping the hard drive and DVDROM from my current system, or perhaps not). I'm thinking that toward the end of November, when I get paid a considerable amount from my medical study, it'll be time to think about blowing $500 or so on a replacement for my three year old Athlon 2600+/GeForce 5600XP/1 gig RAM gaming box.

So many questions to think about. Which processor? (Though I've about decided to go with Intel for reasons of performance, I'm not sure which Intel yet, and the way that they have four or five different chip lines with confusing names doesn't help.) Which motherboard? Which graphics card? Should I blow big money on a $250 8800GT, which reportedly performs almost as well as cards twice as expensive and is fully DX10 ready? Or should I go with the much cheaper 8600GT, which will do DX9 all right, and only worry about a good DX10 card when and if I should ever need it? Should I be concerned about making sure the motherboard has integrated graphics with an HDMI connector just in case I should find myself getting an HDTV sometime within the next three years?

The truly maddening thing is that I'm probably just spinning my wheels trying to decide now; by the end of the month prices will probably have fallen and my money will stretch farther. But I can't help thinking about how nice it will be to have a computer that will absolutely fly through City of Heroes and Half-Life 2.

I remember when the computer I'm on now seemed insanely fast compared to the Celeron 300A (450 MHz overclocked) system I'd upgraded from. I'm pretty sure that its performance has remained about the same, so why does it seem so slow now? :P

Comments

[robotech-master.livejournal.com]

Interesting. This article (http://www.pcmag.com/article2/0,1759,2194478,00.asp) calls the 8600 GT, "Slow and weak in 3D apps and gaming. Insufficient for DirectX 10 3D apps or games. Compares poorly with last year's high-end cards, which now sell for a similar price."

[ninjarat.livejournal.com]

http://www.anandtech.com/video/showdoc.aspx?i=2970&p=9
"For users who own 7600 GT, 7900 GS, or X1950 Pro hardware, we can't recommend an upgrade to one of these new parts. Even though new features and higher performance in a few applications is better, there's not enough of a difference to justify the upgrade. On the other hand, those who are searching for new hardware to buy in the $150 - $200 range will certainly not be disappointed with 8600 based graphics. These cards aren't quite the silver bullet NVIDIA had with the 6600 series, but DX10 and great video processing are nothing to sneeze at. The features the 8600 series supports do add quite a bit of value where pure framerate may be lacking.

[foomf.livejournal.com]

Note - you do NOT want the DRM. You'll be stuck with it, but it basically rapes your ability to use your fair-use rights.

Yes, I do mean rape, and I am not engaging in hyperbole.