What is my CHEAPEST upgrade route

[Whoop]

Hey all,

Currently have the following base unit and don't get me wrong it performs fine but I would just like a little more graphical oomph and it has really really bad cooling (I'm not a fan of running with the case off). It will accept a single slot AGP card but due to the heat issues I'm not too sure of a 9800 pro due to having to keep the standard cooler.

The specs: -

Aopen X -Cube ex18 black nv18
XP2800+
1Gb Samsung PC3200
Tyan Tachyon 9600 Pro - overclocked a lot of the time and I LOVE this card

I won't bother with the rest but I'd rather avoid going back to a full size case.

So.. challenge set, I need either a single slot AGP or a replacement cheap SSF at a guess.


Whoop

 

[GAMEfreak]

SSF?, anyway i'd say your best bet would be to get yourself the ASRock dual motherboard, and a semperon 64 3000+ to overclock the hell out of. they can keep up with the athlon 64's when overclocked and overclock nicely/ run cool. you can then either keep your agp card you have now or get yourself a 850xt and overclock it to XT PE speeds. this might cost more than you like but , to be honest, if yuo want to game for a while and have a nice upgrade path, thats your best bet. you can upgrade your ram later, and have a PCI-E slot to play with, aswell as a socket 939 cpu slot , so you should be able to get the dualies if you felt like it even lol. anyway i hope it helps.



if you really dont want to spend, get a GTO ( 1 not 2) and OC it. thats an idea methinks. make sure to overclock that cpu. if its running worm re-seat it and add some AS 5 or get a nice aftermark HSF. anyway thats all my ideas, and considering the time i'm posting this at, id say its decent

 

[Dace]

I'd look towards a AGP 6600GT.

Everything should be quite nice then