RAM or CPU

ok, I'm wanting to update my comp.

basic specs:
A-bit NF7-S mobo
AMD 2100 XP
768 RAM pc2100 ddr
GeForce 5900XT

Obviously, the proc aint to hot and the ram could be better. The vid card I can deal with. Now here's the deal, I want to get either 1 gig of pc3200 ram or a 2500 xp-m and OC that buster to 3200xp speeds.

I just got a second job and money is slowly trickling in and I'm itching to upgrade. I'll only have enough for one item right now though. I'd like to hear suggestions on what I should upgrade first.

Thanks a bunch! :D

xp-m?

get a s939 board and an a64, so you'll be futureproofed

I'm on somewhat of a limited budget. I considered going A64, but then I figured I'd end up just straight building a new computer, cpu, gpu and all :\

I'm stickin with amd xp's for now.

I would just upgrade the RAM. The CPU isnt horrible, yet at least, and you can only go so far without switching to a 939 motherboard.

If you plan on overclocking that XP-M you'll need DDR400 RAM anyways.

those upgrades are minescule, save the money and get an A64 later

I would go with the RAM, because it will give you a more noticeable performance boost, it will have a much longer useful life than the CPU, and it should also be cheaper.
If you plan on overclocking the XP-M, then you'll need to invest in some better cooling, afterall.

If you're on a tight budget, maybe you should try and find a potential buyer for the parts you want to upgrade before making your decision.

Whats your budget, and what type of apps are you running?

My budget will be around $200(have 100 to spend atm). As for the apps I use... mostly games: WoW mostly, UT2k4, Battlefield 2, a lil photoshop and hopefully HL2 in the not too distant future.

I'm considering the ram for now. As mentioned, it would be useful for a longer period than a cpu. Plus, the ram i have would limit the power of a new cpu. :nod:

Just checked pricewatch and found this little combo for 38 bucks more than your budget, and well worth waiting to get the extra cash for.

Product Detail
Processor Supports AMD Socket-939 Athlon 64 /Athlon 64 FX CPU
Processor interface via 2000MT/s HyperTransport bus
Chipset ULi M1689
Main Memory Four 184-pin DDR DIMMs up to 4GB
Supports Dual Channel DDR266/333/400 memory
Expansion Slots AGP slot for 8X/4X AGP
Five 32bit PCI slots (v2.2 compliant)
Audio Subsystem With external high quality 5.1-Channel AC'97 Codec
Complete software driver supports for Windows OS
SATA Supports 2 Serial ATA devices for the highest data transfer rates (1.5Gbps burst) with RAID 0 & RAID 1 solution
UltraDMA IDE Ports Supports 2 UltraDMA-66/100/133 IDE ports
FDD One FDD connector supports up to 2.88MB
USB2.0 Supports total 8 USB2.0 ports with High-Speed Device @480 Mb/s Transfer Rates
System monitoring 2 temperatures sensing for CPU and system
2 Fan speed monitoring for CPU and System
LAN Supports 10/100Mb Fast Ethernet with external Realtek PHY
Boot-Block Flash ROM Award system BIOS supports PnP, APM, DMI, ACPI, & Multi-device booting features
Rear panel I/O ports PS/2 Mouse and Keyboard port
25-pin D-Sub female Parallel port
Two 9-pin D-Sub male Serial ports
Four USB ports and one RJ45 connector
Audio I/O jacks (Line-in, Line-out and Mic-in)
Internal I/O connectors Two 3x1 pin fan connectors
Two 5x2 pin USB connectors for additional 4 USB ports
3x1 pin wake on LAN connector with housing
2x1 pin wake on Modem connector with housing
Two 4x1 pin CD-in connectors
5x2 pin Front Audio connector
9x2 pin Front Panel connector
10x2 pin Front Panel connector
8x2 pin Game/Midi Port connector
20 pin ATX Power connector
4 pin ATX 12V Power connector
Form Factor ATX (305mm x 200mm)

For 32 bucks over your budget, you get a great deal on this combo, and those AMD64 3200's can be OC'd like crazy. I would get this before you do a mem upgrade personally, but both ways will def help your gaming experience.

Heres the link for this combo:
http://www.bzboyz.com/store/product122.html

Edit: The only thing about this mobo is that I don't really recognize that chipset at all, and although my Asus K8V Deluxe has a VIA chipset (which are good) I have heard that the Nforce 3 chipsets are teh way to go. Happy hunting!