Shock Value

[Gamezy]

I'm looking for the cheapest possible way to upgrade my machine to a level that I can play Bioshock. Not at it's maximum settings with x16AA or anything crazy, just enough to get a good FPS so the game isn't jerking around like it currently does in SupCom.

Current spec is in my sig.

So far I was looking at replacing the CPU for a cheap 3800+ (obviously OC it, hopefully hit 2.6ghz if I'm lucky) (£40)

Then throwing a 512mb X1950 Pro in there too. (£100)

What are your thoughts? Will this be enough or should I just wait it out until I get a bit more cash and go the whole way (ie Core 2 Duo, new motherboard, etc)

Also, how far should I be able to push these new components?

Edit - I'll be playing on my lovely old (slowly dying) CRT @ 1360x1024

 

[semi-pro waster]

How much Ram do you have? You mention it is Geil but not the quantity, that usually offers a fairly cheap boost if you are currently on under 2gb.

 

[BlackDragon]

I'd recommend saving up and buying a new setup rather than spending money upgrading an old setup

 

[Wiggins]

The Ultra-D board you have is a corking bit of kit

Unfortunately your in a bit of a dilemma when it comes to the memory upgrades. Even though you can fit a AMD Athlon 64 X2 Dual Core Processor in there you cannot go any higher than DDR 400 on the memory.

You could go for the AMD Athlon 64 X2 Dual Core 4200+ @ £60 along with an Ocuk X1950 Pro @ £70 and maybe put another matched 1GB of Geil Value DDR 400 @ £53.

That equates to £183 plus delivery.

However, for a further £100 you can upgrade the CPU, Mobo, Memory and Graphics with this and you should get some good results when overclocking.

Now taking into consideration you have 6 HDD, I can only assume you will need a board that has at least 4 SATA and 2 IDE and with the new AM2 Boards you are limited unless you want to pay that little bit extra. Abit and Asus generally do cheaper Socket 775 Boards taking SATA & IDE both into the equation.

Hope this helps