Upgrade Blues!!!

[herc]

Hey ppl i hve reached a dead end in almost everything with my config... i cant play nfs carbon i cannot install vista on my config.. so im thinking of upgrading my pc in bits(mobo firstly) plz advise the best possible solution keeping in mind BUDGET and the following requirements:
mobo 4 AMD 64bit X2 supporting only DDR2 & ATi Crossfire

[shantanu]

ASUS M2R series

http://in.asus.com

[keith_j_snyder2]

First thing,there is no need for Crossfire for playing NFS carbon.See my config. in the sig.My system runs Carbon without any trouble if i use onboard graphics,just one thing is that i played game on lowest resolution & settings.

Second thing is u can own any brand (not only ASUS) because there are variety of brands that offer crossfire support depending on ur budget.

U can own a decent motherboard with a single PCI-E slot & save money for a graphics card.My personal suggestion is not to buy a SLI or CROSSFIRE because if u put 2 cards in X-fire or SLI u will need more power to run it.

[herc]

man im talking about one time upgrade which can keep me safe for at least 3-4 yrs with any game or os launched. i didnt specifically mean carbon, i meant tht my system is reallly out now.
[p4 2.4 256mb 8235gigabyte mx4000(o/c)]

[gxsaurav]

whats your current system config? do u plan to keep something from this computer for use in the other computer?

[herc]

only the hdd i think coz nothing else will be compatible.

[keith_j_snyder2]

Well in that case i think u should buy a C2d E6600+compatible motherboard+4GB RAM(fair enough to run VISTA ultimate)+8800 GTX+800Watt Psu & rest of the things.I guess this can probabely fine for another 2-3 years.I can't say about the graphics card because 8800GTX will be considered outdated in december 2007.Graphics chips comes so quickly that things get outdated within weeks.
U know one of my friend is still running P3 & 128 MB RAM & he still happy with his system.Its upto u that what satisfies u most.
Still no need of X-fire or SLI.

[herc]

no offence dude but im no go 4 intel ...plz sugest AMD only... abt the 8800..thts why iam opting 4 xfire so tht i dont have to change it again. and sum1 plz tell me wht ishud go4.. amdx2 or amd simple...and why so..

[john_the_ultimate]

Currently in terms of performance INTEL C2D hold the upper hand but if you consider price to performance ratio then go for AMD.
And if you are buying AMD then surely get an AMD X2, no point in getting single core processor. But remember all this choices depend on your budget.
So what's your budget?
And I don't think that 8800 series would be outdated by the end of 2007, so if you want and GFX card to be DX10 compatible get yourself 8800 series card. The lowest priced 8 series card is Zebronics 8800GTS 320MB for Rs.19500/- (I think).
But for playing NFS carbon a 7600GT would be sufficient.
And remember one think, whatever component you choose to buy...........please do get a good SMPS like ANTEC, CoolerMaster, Powersafe, Corsair, Zebronics, Seventeam, etc. Don't compromise on this.

[herc]

Plz suggest prices of ATi also... and wud onboard mem. with a gud board be enuf for some games.....coz 19500 is definitely out of my budget...and plz tell the prices of each item u suggest..it wud be helpful.

[john_the_ultimate]

AMD X2 3800+ -> Rs.6.5-7k
512MB DDR2 -> Rs. 2k
A decent mobo would cost around 4-5k
7600GT -> 7.5-8.5k

These are approximate prices......I haven't checked recently, best would would be to check with your local vendor.

As for ATI you can get X1600XT for around 7-8k.

But you didn't mention your budget for the upgrade, pls give some info.