Here's another graphic card upgrade challenge, How high can I go?

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STLRAMS29

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Feb 26, 2015
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This is what it is:
ASUS A8N-SLI Premium 939 NVIDIA nForce4 SLI ATX AMD Motherboard
4×184pin
Memory Standard = DDR 400
Maximum Memory Supported= 4GB
Channel Supported=Dual Channel
2 x PCI-Express x16
SLI mode: x8, x8
Default (single VGA): x16, x1
Thermaltake toughpower W0117RU 750W ATX12V / EPS12V SLI Certified Power Supply

AMD Athlon 64 X2 4600+ Toledo Dual-Core 2.4GHz Socket 939 ADA4600DAA5CD Processor

BFG Tech BFGEGTX2951792E GeForce GTX 295 1792MB 896 (448 x 2)-Bit GDDR3 PCI
Express 2.0 x16 HDCP Ready SLI Support Video Card

According to MB specs, I am already topped out on memory(wow!-this is old)
Its running on Windows 7(and that's as high it can go with)(Windows 10 beta crashes with a software problem)
So the challenge, if there is any, How much higher can I go with a video card upgrade? Or has this become the end of this system? "
"Not looking for a new car just yet-just want a new paint job", "still like my car"
Thanks

STLRAMS29
 
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terry4536

terry4536

Glorious
Mar 28, 2010
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I had a Dell that was near the top of the line when built. It just kept on chugging. It still runs to this day (I've had to change the CPU cooler fan twice and the hard drive once). But at some point, it becomes rather pointless. It is too slow even to use as a NAS.

My point is your system is pretty much at that stage. Your money is better spent on a new system. If you had to depend on that system while your main system was being repaired for instance, I think the nostalgia would soon wear off.
 
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STLRAMS29

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Feb 26, 2015
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Thanks for the time and help, both tips are much appreciated. Will probably grab a 750 since my 295 is having issues with the newest drivers and will start preparing to build my next "future-proof" system...haha...one that will last as long as this computer did. Again, thanks for the time.
STLRAMS29
 
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STLRAMS29

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Feb 26, 2015
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Well, the foundation will be a:
ASUS Z97-PRO LGA 1150 Intel Z97 HDMI SATA 6Gb/s USB 3.0 ATX Intel Motherboard(32 gig memory)
or
ASUS P9X79 LE LGA 2011 Intel X79 SATA 6Gb/s USB 3.0 ATX Intel Motherboard(64 gig memory)
and
CORSAIR HX Series HX750 750W ATX12V 2.3 / EPS12V 2.91 SLI Ready CrossFire Ready 80 PLUS GOLD Certified Modular Active PFC Power Supply
and
a case, cpu+fan, memory, and OS. I am considering a SSD card for the OS( to start and eventually go all SSD)
Already have several 2 TB hard drives and a BLURAY Player\ Burner
and
XFX R9-280X-TDFD Radeon R9 280X 3GB 384-Bit GDDR5
so.....will need a case, power supply, motherboard, cpu+fan, memory, OS and SSD card

I wish to invest $1000 initially but am willing to go to $1500. Much like my current system, will do annual upgrades as needed. I have no plans to overclock anything and don't care for alot of "bells and whistles", just want a solid system to grow with.

STLRAMS29
 
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terry4536

terry4536

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Mar 28, 2010
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I would avoid the LGA 2011 then. The processors and motherboards are in general more expensive that the LGA 1150 components. Although the HX and AX PSU models are OK, other Corsair PSU models are not. I would suggest a Seasonic, XFX, Antec, or EVGA PSU.

If you want to spend more on the system, then I would recommend a GTX 970 graphics card. It is more expensive, but it is considerably more powerful.
 
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jeffredo

jeffredo

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Nov 15, 2008
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You're already bottlenecking the GTX 295. Back in 2009 I had an X2 6400+ paired with a 8800 GTX. I thought they were reasonably balanced. I decided to buy a GTX 260 and even though the GPU was considerably stronger than the old 8800 GTX I got almost no increase in FPS in my games from the CPU bottleneck (and the X2 6400+ is quite a bit stronger than your CPU). It wasn't until I built a Phenom II X4 955 BE system that year I could actually see the benefit of the GTX 260. Basically, don't waste your money on a new GPU unless you just want to save electricity or not have so much heat dumped in the room.
 
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STLRAMS29

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Feb 26, 2015
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10,510
Again, thanks for the responses and suggestions. I actually sent this computer with my son to college back in 2009. He didn't do much with it other than homework<AHEM> No gaming as near as I can tell. He finally got himself a new system last year and gave this back to me. After trouble-shooting alot of "issues" and replacing the memory. I got it running pretty solid again for the most basic of things.

In regards to motherboards, I am interested in a 64 gig cable board, any suggestions. I do plan to do some video-editing and most definetly transferring my blu-rays to my media-center pc and of course eventually 4k gaming. Or is a 32 gig board enough for this? In regards to Graphic cards, I will definatly go after a sli configuration with nvidia based card( would love to get a hold of a TITAN), its just a matter of how soon. Also will look into an ANTEC Power Supply instead.

Thanks for all the good help and suggestions, it is very much appreciated
STLRAMS29
 
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STLRAMS29

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Feb 26, 2015
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Unbelievable! "cable board".......so much for my proof reading....what I was trying to ask was "will a MOTHERboard with 32 gigs of memory be enough to video-edit and transfer bluray to mp4 for my media-center pc or should I make the jump to a 64 gig MOTHERboard?
Again all help is much appreciated.

STLRAMS29
 
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terry4536

terry4536

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Mar 28, 2010
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OK. That makes more sense. The "cable board" wasn't ringing any bells for me, and and a Google search result in anything useful either. I have included below a list of motherboards that have the capacity of 64 GB of RAM. I think 32 GB of ram is enough for most any non-commercial task. But if you want it it is available. I would wait until DDR4 is more readily available. If you are going to buy 64gb of RAM , it should be the latest RAM available.

I would suggest that you get some experience at video editing with a good motherboard at 32GB of RAM . Then see if you are satisfied with 32 GB . You can then make an informed decision to jump to 64 GB.
 
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STLRAMS29

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Feb 26, 2015
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Well I definately appreciate the help, but I didn't see a list of recommendations...???? My thoughts were to start with 32 GB on the system but have a MOTHERboard capable of 64 GB so I can "prolong the systems life", so to speak. Again thanks for the help
STLRAMS29
 
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STLRAMS29

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Feb 26, 2015
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10,510
I noticed that, Trying to keep Motherboard under 250 but that might have to change. Really am thankful for the help and suggestions. The more I read about SSD cards the more I like them. So that will definitely come into play when I choose the motherboard as well. Might have to wait a little bit longer to for those bugs to be worked out.]

STLRAMS29
 
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