PC Upgrade time! Maybe! Need Advice!

[kumquatq3]

I'm trying to upgrade a slightly older computer, but I'm trying to see if it's worth it. My goal is to get it to play Star Craft 2 (I am assuming Q4 of '08) decently, and my given budget is about $300, thoughts?

 

Specs right now:

AMD 64 3800+ XP

MS-7184 Motherboard (939 socket) (1 PCIe slot)

2x512MB Ram (four slots)

Internal 256 ATI Radeon 200 Express

300w single 12V@19amps

 

Additional info: 2 HD's, one is sata. 2 optical drives.

 

What I'm thinking of doing:

AMD Athlon 64 X2 4200+

^ Upgradeable to X2 4800+, but hard to find anything new other than the 4200's and don't know how long those will last (due to 939 MB)

 

2x WINTEC AMPO 512MB

^brings total to 2 gigs, but cheapo ram

 

VGA GeForce 8600GT 256MB

^Draws power from the MB, no PCIe connector

 

Rosewill 500W, Dual +12V@ 15A, 16A

 

Total: $320ish (+arctic silver), with $35 in mail in rebates

 

My main concern is the power supply, however, I'm having trouble finding one that will fit my budget. My second concern is where the 8600gt will be a year from now.

Edited August 30, 2007 by kumquatq3

[kumquatq3]

Option 2:

 

Ditch the 8600gt and the Rosewill

 

Add A 7600gt

 

and a 600w Rosewill with 21A,22A

 

 

Puts me at $285 and I get a $15 rebate, then worry about a better card when Starcraft 2 gets closer? A GeForce 8800 GTS 320MB should fall in price and do nicely by then. Or a 9600gt comes out.

Edited August 30, 2007 by kumquatq3

[Cantousent]

How set in stone is your budget, Kumquat? I mean, you don't want to invest 300 bucks on a decent video card only to fall short on power. Of course, you can just make sure you meet the specs to run the card. Don't feel like you need extra power if all you're going to do is upgrade an old system anyhow. Save larger purchases for when you build a new system. That way, you don't end up throwing good money after bad.

 

So, it all depends on how much juice the 8600 demands.

[kumquatq3]

I think I'm taking option 2, pretty much maxing out the upgrades on the computer to 2 gigs of ram, a 4200+ X2 AMD, and a a 600 watt power supply with two 12v lines (21a, 22a) and get a serviceable video card (7600gt). Minus the video card, I suspect those numbers would hold up for Starcraft 2 (assuming a year from now). When SC2 does come out I can get a DX10 card that will work for me then to replace the 7600gt and upgrade to vista then. And then I have a power supply and a new video card that I could use to help build a new rig if I want, sli or such, eventually.

 

Thoughts? THanks for the previous input.

 

As for the budget, I get itchy spending more than $300 on a system that clearly has a limited shelf life left.

Edited August 31, 2007 by kumquatq3