Advice on upgrading a shuttle (almost 2yrs old)

[015734]

I want to either upgrade to processor (currently an amd clawhammer/newcastle .13um 3500+) or my graphics card, a pci-e nvidia 6800gt. What do you think will bottleneck first, as I have 2gb ddr RAM(3200) and replacing the motherboard (plus ram, etc...) is not an option due to cost. I want to be able to play newer games at higher settings, however, I am also limited by the 240watt PSU. I know that the 6800gt is a powerhog, especially when clocked at 420 1100 Interesting to note is that I have run the card at these settings with no problems power-related, so power for say a 7950gt (the one I was looking at) should not pose a concern. I will be happy to post more info about anything including motherboard info, etc if you ask. My question really comes down to....


*what is the best processor that will run (compatible with MB) and not kill the PSU

*what is the best single-slot pci-e GPU that will not kill PSU?

I do know a bit about comps, so feel free to ask away

**Oh, almost forgot, under CPU-Z, my motherboard is listed as a shuttle (Duh) with model # RS480-M1573

 

[DJ-CHRIS1]

A 7950 should eat up even more power if i'm correct.

processor would be your best upgrade as it will let you down in newer games, but you would need to upgrade your processor and graphics card to be able to play on high settings.

 

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Update: I checked the official stats and a 6800gt at 425/1155 will consume as much under load as a 7950gt, which is exactly 8 watts more than the card at normal clock speeds. I would hope that this card would improve performance quite a bit, however, if my processor is a bigger bottleneck...