Need advice about upgrading Socket 939 system

Without switching out my MOBO, I’m looking to get the most out of the upgrade potential for my current Socket 939 system. By the middle of next year, I will build a new system around an AMD AM2 board or Intel Core Duo CPU, but I don’t want to jump into that until then. In the meantime, again, I’m looking to figure out the best upgrade options for my current system.

My main priority is to get the most gaming potential from my current system as possible: I play BF2, COD/COD2, Oblivion, Red Orchestra, Day of Defeat… mostly FPS games. For my job I also multi-task quite a bit with internet browsers and the Office suite (I don’t really do any DVD/CD burning or anything like that).

With the fall of the AMD 64 X2 prices, my immediate reaction was to grab a 3800+ X2 (or higher) and another gig of ram. However, I’m unsure about the performance gain I’ll get from the new CPU and I’ve heard that if I fill up all four of my memory slots that my system will only run my RAM at 333 rather than 400 (is this true).

So, I’m wondering if I can get a significant performance gain by

1. only upgrading my CPU with an AMD X2

2. or simply buying a pair of Nvidia 7600 GTs to run in SLI and just forget about upgrading the CPU and Ram.

These are the two options that, to me, are more budget friendly (trying to stay at around $400 for upgrades).

Would either of these options be worth it in terms of performance gain, or do I just need to bite the bullet and shell out the dough for both a new AMD X2 and a 2 gig DDR400 dual channel RAM kit (that kills me, though, cause then my current ram just goes to waste).

My system specs are as follows:

ASUS A8N-SLI Premium Socket 939 NVIDIA nForce4 SLI ATX AMD Motherboard - Retail

2 eVGA 128-P2-N368-TX Geforce 6600GT 128MB GDDR3 PCI Express x16 Video Card - Retail running in SLI Mode

AMD Athlon 64 3000+ Venice 2000MHz HT Socket 939 Not Overclocked

CORSAIR XMS 1GB (2 x 512MB) 184-Pin DDR SDRAM DDR 400 (PC 3200) Unbuffered Dual Channel Kit System Memory Model TWINX1024-3200C2PT - Retail

HITACHI Deskstar 7K80 HDS728080PLA380 (0A30356) 80GB 7200 RPM SATA 3.0Gb/s Hard Drive - OEM

ENERMAX Whisper II EG565P-VE FMA(24P) ATX12V 535W Power Supply - Retail
:O

I'm not so sure anymore on the post I had about the 939 X2's only going up to 333Mhz's, (after a while, I tried it on 400Mhz again... Have zero problems now). On the technical spec sheet, it says it only supports RAM speeds up to 200Mhz, and that the AM2 supports up to 400Mhz, which I also believe is a bit inaccurate.

Spec Sheet: http://www.amd.com/us-en/assets/content_type/white_papers_and_tech_docs/33425.pdf

Also. TigerDirect has sliced AMD prices by a lot. The X2 4200+ goes for about $200 now. So... You can get that and a 7600. Though I'd try and muscle in a 7900 GT... >_>

AMD Athlon 64 X2 4200+ 1MB Cache 2000MHz FSB Socket 939 Dual-Core Processor with Fan ADA4200BVBOX at TigerDirect.com
EVGA GeForce 7600 GT KO 256MB GDDR3 SLI PCI Express Dual DVI HDTV Video Card 256-P2-N554-AX at TigerDirect.com
BFG GeForce 7900 GT 256MB GDDR3 SLI PCI Express Dual DVI HDTV Video Card BFGR79256GTOCE at TigerDirect.com

well yes AM2 i think does only support up to 400mhz (DDR2 800mhz) as its DDR, so its 400 x 2. Skt 939 only supports DDR 400 and below i think (200mhz x 2) but you can overclock it.

I wouldent bother pairing 2 7600GT's i think 2 7600GT's would cost more than one 7900GT as there preety cheap now, so go with 7900GT.

If you want get the X2 4200+, there better at multitasking as they have dual cores, there about equal to the single core AMD 64's in games though unless the game is optimized for Dual Core i belive, i could be wrong, someone will correct me if i am wrong tho :)

if youre looking to just hold out then i suggest upgrading your gfx cards to a a single 7900gt.

This'll give you more buks for next year when those SWEET conroe's and
nf590's

I understand the need that burns to upgrade now though:)

heh, i hate it when i am need in an upgrade, i need a graphics upgrade, it means a new mobo too, now core 2 duo comes out i want one, so i gotta wait, and if i buy a graphics card now, like x1900xt, sure its going to be a good card, but in about 5 weeks i would start to regret the decision to buy it as direct x 10 cards will be coming out very soon, i keep forgetting its nearly seeptember, direct x 10 times!

Don't upgrade your CPU you won't beable to use it on your am2

was that directed at my post? if so, i dont need AM2 if i want a new CPU, there is plenty of SKT 939 cpu's out there, Skt 939 wont be dead for some time yet, but i am going to upgrade to Core Duo 2, AMD are doing crap at the moment and the best cpu's to go with are Core 2 Dua, the cheapest Core 2 Duo, is better than any cpu's on the market exept for higher Core 2 Duo's