Have $200 to spend at Circuit City, what do it get?!

[3D_Mind]

Hi, I am truly stumped and have too much money, so I need your help to relieve me of my cash. I work at Circuit City and receive some gift cards for good performance on the job. I have amassed $200 of Circuit City only money and need to know what to get with it. Keep in mind that I get discounts of about 10%-15% off most items, so I can actually get something at about $230 and still not break budget.
Here is my current system setup and a small inventory of my tech gear:
Main PC:

AMD Athlon 3200+
ATI Radeon 9800np AGP
512MB PC2700 Ram + 512MB PC3200 Ram
MSI KT4V-L Motherboard VIA KT400 chipset, 333MHz FSB@400, AGP only.
Creative Soundblaster Audigy 2 Value
ATI HDTV Wonder TV tuner card with ATI Remote Wonder Plus
Seagate Barricuda IV ST380021A 80GB Hard Drive
LG GCC-4320B CDRW/DVD Combo 40x32x10x16x
Antec TruePower 330W power supply
Fan based cooling system
Altec Lansing AVS500W 4.1 Speaker system (rather low end, but moderate quality)
Dell P780 17in Flat CRT Trinitron Monitor
White Keyboard
Logitech Optical Wheel Mouse
Generic Case
On Qwest DSL @1.5Mbps

Extra Stuff:

Viewsonic V36 Pocket PC
1GB Quickiedrive jump HD
Creative Nomad IIc 64mb MP3 Player
Dell Inspiron 1000 Laptop Computer
Olympus D100 1.3 megapixel Digital Camera
Nokia 6010 Cell Phone
Analog Toothbrush :oops:

So...
What to get? Remember it must be from Circuit City and I get discounts with a budget of $200 approximately. I love to game and my computer is the focus here so an upgrade is most likely, but if there is a peripheral I MUST have that I forgot to look at then tell me why it is so essential. I just cannot decide on what to get next, as my tech life is decent as it is and I do not really NEED anything.

The one other option would be to save up some more and get something more expensive, but I have the "itch" now to buy something.

Thanks for the advice!

[pym]

Hey 3D_mind,

First of all, congrats for your bonus ;)

Well, if you love gaming, and you have about 200-230$ with nATI Radeon 9800np, I think you should go for that direction...
You can sell your 9800, and use the money for getting a nice eVGA 6600GT for a nice performance boost!

Have fun!

http://www.circuitcity.com/ssm/eVGA-e-GeForce-6600-GT-Video-Card-128A8N350DX-/sem/rpsm/oid/116756/catOid/-13043/rpem/ccd/productDetail.do

[3D_Mind]

Hey 3D_mind,

First of all, congrats for your bonus ;)

Well, if you love gaming, and you have about 200-230$ with nATI Radeon 9800np, I think you should go for that direction...
You can sell your 9800, and use the money for getting a nice eVGA 6600GT for a nice performance boost!

Have fun!

http://www.circuitcity.com/ssm/eVGA-e-GeForce-6600-GT-Video-Card-128A8N350DX-/sem/rpsm/oid/116756/catOid/-13043/rpem/ccd/productDetail.do


I have done some research on the 6600GT, and have concluded I would receive about 35-50% of an increase from my current GFX card, or about half of my current performance added on. This is just not quite enough for my tastes, as I want my next GFX upgrade to be at least a 100% improvement over my current card, or about double. If I could push it to a 6800(insert highest performance letter set here) then I might be interested. I went from a Radeon 7200 to this 9800, so you can imagine the increase I got! I like that "wow" factor that comes from a significant upgrade, so I will hold off for more money and lower prices, maybe even get a 7800 some day! Thanks for the advice, as a GFX card is something I have been eyeing. 8)

[Victor]

i think 7800GS would be a better choice for you since other gfx upgrade would require you to get a new mobo. Do keep in mind that if you do go into the newer gfx card, you should upgrade your psu as well.

Other thing that you can consider upgrade is the sound card. You can look into the audigy x-fi or audigy 2.

A dvdrw would be a nice upgrade as well.

[pym]

Well, as I said, you can sell your video card and get some money for it...
Add that to your sum and you can buy a decent card with no doubt.
Think about it.

Anyway, your upgrade should defintly be a video card.

[Fantasma]

The cards available in circuitcity are not going to be a huge increase, the best card available there, it is the 6600GT, but that card is similar to your 9800, only a lot faster in OpenGL games.
The only thing upgradeable in your pc is the graphics but I also think that the 6600GT is not enough.

[Scott]

They should have 7800GS cards. I got an e-mail showing them in stock there.

Go 7800GS and the sell old card for 100.00 to cover the difference.

[3D_Mind]

The 7800 that is the prize on this forum this month is very attractive, and the price is definitely worth it (0$). :D

My power supply is in need of an upgrade anyway, so I minus well do that when a GFX upgrade occurs. If I went for the CircuitCity 7800GS option, I could not use my discounts as they are in-store only and this card is not carried at the location where I work :evil: .

Rather then upgrade my sound card, which is already overkill for me, I could do with a new 5.1 speaker system. My current setup is the Altec Lansing AVS500W 4.1 system and it is not even real 4.1, rather quadraphonic, with no sub channel and I got it for $25 brand new from Fry's. Needless to say, a rather cheap system, but a huge upgrade from my stereo Radio Shack speakers.

A DVD-RW drive would be nice, but I foresee almost no use for a DVD burner, as I barley use my CD burner as it is. If I burnt a lot of discs, then maybe that would help.

I am currently wavering between a speaker system upgrade (any suggestions?) and a new video card, both would kick new life into this rig.

[Bio-Hazard]

If it were me, I'd go with the best video card that you could get with the money you have and your in-store discount........... 8)

[PUTALE]

you could potentially buy evga card like 6800 and such with your in store coupon and discounts. Then use evga's own unique "step up" program to upgrade to the 7800GS.

[3D_Mind]

you could potentially buy evga card like 6800 and such with your in store coupon and discounts. Then use evga's own unique "step up" program to upgrade to the 7800GS.

! :shock: !

That is very cool, is it a BIOS flash or what? Or are you talking about some sort of card exchange program?

[PUTALE]

no, evga offers you to upgrade your graphic card withini 90 days of purchase. It's a step up program. Basically they will give you the card of your choice provided that you submit your card and pay the differnece on the price.
Check mroe inof here:http://www.evga.com/stepup/default.asp

[3D_Mind]

Ok, I have reviewed the Step UP program and it seems like a good deal, but my credit toward the new card would be smaller as my discounted original purchase price is the amount of credit that I would get for an upgraded card if the 6800 was purchased from CC. As such, I would still be spending the full amount on the EVGA website for the 7800, which is more then I can afford ATM and is more then I would get at CC with discount, assuming it becomes available at the store I work at.

Thanks for the advice though and keep it coming, I still have not decided on what to get, but the Logitech Z5300 Speakers look very attractive at only $200 - discount - sale of old speakers=~$165! Are these any good and would I really hear an improvement from my current speakers, the Altec Lansing AVS500W 4.1 system?

[3D_Mind]

What do you think of the Creative Gigaworks Pro Gamer G500 5.1 set? I can get these $250 bad boys at a $100 discount for a total of $150!! :shock:

They have an 8in Sub with dual-cone sattlites and a wired remote. They are on display at the CC where I work and they sound perfect, but I want a second opinion as I have no referance point for mid to high grade speakers to know if these are just "average" or really good. Thanks!

[pym]

:shock:

That's a hell of a price for such a speakers system!
Gives you 620W of power (!) with great sound (for gamers).
I read somewhere (I'll soon look for it) that music sound pretty harsh and unpleasant to the ear in some settings.
It is said that this system has been designed for games, delivering impact and noise rather than an accurate sound.

Here:
http://www.trustedreviews.com/article.aspx?head=39&page=4300

I say, for this price, GO FOR IT!

[3D_Mind]

Hmmm...
Thanks for that, now I am conflicted, as I do listen to music and movies and these seem not well suited for that task according to that review. I will need to take a closer listen to the units at work and see if I really even care, as I am not an audiophile, but can still appreciate decent sound. I am able to get any Creative speaker system at about %40 off the regular price through an accommodation sale directly from Creative ( 8) ) , so maybe another set is the way to go. I will think about it and report back.