Hi, my name is Hiram and I'm an Evercrack2 addict.

A year and a half ago I built a new machine to play EQ2.  It has served admirably in that time as it was only meant to be able to run the game in a cost effective manner until such time as I decided whether I wished to continue with the game and either pour more money into the existing machine, or invest in something better.

Well the time has come to shit or get off the pot.  Here is the situation.  The current machine is a shuttle AMD based machine running an Athlon 3200+ processor with 1gb PC 3200 RAM and a Radeon 9550 256 MB AGP card.  Due to the case size and motherboard config I'm limited in which video cards can go in there.  I have one pci and one agp slot.  The newer ATI agp based cards like the x1600 require pwer from the motherboard... problem since the shuttle only has a 200W power supply.  This likely means the card won't perform properly.  I've heard that the GeForce 6600 non-pci express cards do not require external power, so might be an option.  I can also boost the 1 gig of RAM to 2 gigs.  As I only have two RAM slots on the motherboard, this means scrapping the existing RAM.  So for around $300, I MIGHT be able to tweak a little more life out of my machine, but this will be the last possible upgrade because AGP is going the way of BetaMax.

The other option is to start anew.  I was over at www.cyberpowerpc.com and priced out the following rig which should last me a little while.  Money IS an object... so please no recommendations on dual cores and dual graphic cards.  Just not in the budget.  Shipped, this rig would run $860.

#  *BASE_PRICE: [+775] # CAS: HOT NEW! Xplorer Mid-Tower Case 420W W/ WINDOW & LCD Temperature Display [-11] (Black Case w/Black Face) # CASUPGRADE: NONE # CPU: (939-pin) AMD ATHLON™64 3200+ CPU w/ HyperTransport Technology # CD: NONE [-20] # CD2: (Special Price) LG GWA-4161 16X DVD±R/±RW + CD-R/RW DRIVE DUAL LAYER (BLACK COLOR) # CABLE: None # FLASHMEDIA: INTERNAL 12in1 Flash Media Reader/Writer [+10] (BLACK COLOR) # FLOPPY: NONE [-5] # FAN: AMD ATHLON64 CERTIFIED CPU FAN & HEATSINK + 3 EXTRA CASE FANS [+9] # HDD: 200GB SATA-II 3.0Gb/s 8M Cache 7200RPM Hard Drive -- Recommended # HDD2: NONE # IEEE_CARD: NONE # KEYBOARD: Logitech Deluxe 104 PS/2 Keyboard (Black Color) # MOUSE: Logitech Optical Wheel Mouse (BLACK COLOR) # MONITOR: NONE # MOTHERBOARD: (939-pin Socket) Gigabyte GA-K8NF-9 nForce4 Chipset MB w/ LAN, USB2.0, IEEE, & AUDIO [+3] # MEMORY: 1024 MB (512MBx2) PC3200 400MHz Dual Channel DDR MEMORY (Corsair Value Select) # MODEM: NONE # NETWORK: ONBOARD 10/100 NETWORK CARD # OS: Microsoft® Windows® XP Home Edition w/ Service Pack 2 # PRINTER: None # PRINTER_CABLE: None # PRO_WIRING: None # POWERSUPPLY: STANDARD CASE POWER SUPPLY # RAID: NONE # RUSH: NO; READY TO SHIP IN 5~10 BUSINESS DAYS # SOFT: Microsoft® Works v8.0 # SERVICE: STANDARD WARRANTY PLUS ONE-YEAR ONSITE SERVICE # SOUND: HIGH DEFINITION ON-BOARD 7.1 AUDIO # SPEAKERS: NONE [-5] # TEMP: NONE (AS SHOWN) # TVRC: None # UPS: None # USB: Build-in USB 2.0 Ports # USBHD: NONE # VIDEOCAMERA: NONE # VIDEO: NVIDIA Geforce 6600 GT 128MB 16X PCI EXPRESS VIDEO CARD [+39] # VIDEO2: NONE # WIRELESSCARD: PCI Wireless 802.11g 54Mbps Network Interface Card # WIRELESSPOINT: NONE # ZIP: NONE # _PRICE: (+795)

What is the verdict?  Worth the asking price?  I could n theory build a machine myself, did the last one.  However, the price of parts today even from Newegg puts you pretty much in the same boat as if you buy a ready made machine with a warranty that has on-site support for one year.  That, and hopefully they check to mak sure everything is operating properly before the machine leaves the factory.

Thanks, so that has now pushed us definitively into the new system versus upgrade realm.

ETA, I want to keep my old machine as a dedicated media center for backing-up DVDs, handling my Itunes, photo editing... all the things I don't want to tie up the new machine with that might slow it down.  For example, I intend to never browse the internet with the new machine to keep all spyware off it that could slow it down and slip by the scanners and flters.  The new machine will be a purely dedicated gaming machine.  The old machin will become the day to day workhorse.

ETA2, WHERE are you getting a good barebones system with power supply, motherboard, a 6600 GT and more memory for $300?????

I play maybe 10 hours a week, life doesn't allow for much more.  I took two months off before the new expansion because I was bored with it.  Its all good, I have no wife, and the dog lets me know when I've been playing too long... jealous little shit!

My current shipset is whatever came standard in the shuttle case, I honestly do not know.  The Shuttle is the SKG43 IIRC, not even made anymore.

In any event, PCI Express seems to be the way to go.

ok, I think this is more to my liking.  A few bucks more, but it combines smaller form factor with room for expansion and plenty of juice.  What say you?

# *BASE_PRICE: [+675] # CAS: X-QPack Aluminum Mini 420Watt Case with 3 See-Thru Windows (Silver Color) # CPU: (939-pin) AMD ATHLON™64 3200+ CPU w/ HyperTransport Technology # CD: (Special Price) LG GWA-4161 16X DVD±R/±RW + CD-R/RW DRIVE DUAL LAYER (BLACK COLOR) # CD2: NONE # CABLE: None # FLASHMEDIA: INTERNAL 12in1 Flash Media Reader/Writer [+10] (BLACK COLOR) # FLOPPY: NONE [-5] # FAN: AMD ATHLON64 CERTIFIED CPU FAN & HEATSINK # HDD: 160GB SATA-II 3.0Gb/s 8M Cache 7200RPM Hard Drive # HDD2: NONE # IEEE_CARD: NONE # KEYBOARD: Logitech Deluxe 104 PS/2 Keyboard [-2] (Black Color) # MOUSE: PS2 INTERNET MOUSE W/ WHEEL (BLACK COLOR) # MONITOR: NONE # MOTHERBOARD: (Sckt939) Biostar TForce 6100-939 NVIDIA Geforce 6100 Chipset SATA PCIE All-in-One w/Video,LAN,USB2.0,&5.1Audio # MEMORY: 2048 MB (1GBx2) PC3200 400MHz Dual Channel DDR MEMORY [+135] (Corsair Value Select) # MODEM: NONE # NETWORK: ONBOARD 10/100 NETWORK CARD # OS: Microsoft® Windows® XP Home Edition w/ Service Pack 2 # PRINTER: None # PRINTER_CABLE: None # PRO_WIRING: None # RUSH: NO; READY TO SHIP IN 5~10 BUSINESS DAYS # RAID: NONE # SOUND: 3D WAVE ON-BOARD 5.1 SOUND CARD # SPEAKERS: NONE [-5] # SERVICE: STANDARD WARRANTY PLUS ONE-YEAR ONSITE SERVICE # TVRC: None # TEMP: NONE (AS SHOWN) # UPS: None # USB: Build-in USB 2.0 Ports # USBHD: NONE # VIDEOCAMERA: NONE # VIDEO: NVIDIA Geforce 6600 GT 128MB 16X PCI EXPRESS VIDEO CARD [+39] # WIRELESSCARD: PCI Wireless 802.11g 54Mbps Network Interface Card [+19] # WIRELESSPOINT: NONE # ZIP: NONE # _PRICE: (+866)

That is what I understand as well, the difference is AGP is not being developed much further from what I understand.  The current batch of cards is about it.  All further developments in the near future will be PCIE, so if you want to be able to upgrade later you need a PCIE motherboard.