Archived from groups: alt.comp.hardware.pc-homebuilt (
More info?)
"Ruel Smith" <NoWay@NoWhere.com> wrote in message
news:No5hd.8043$b%5.4543@fe37.usenetserver.com...
> BillL wrote:
>
>> My cdilemmaore system:-
>>
>> Gigabyte GA-7N400 Pro (Using on-board audio & NIC)
>> AMD 2800+ (2.08 GHz) Barton core
>> Sapphire 9700 128 MB (non-pro) video
>> 1 GB PC3200 RAM (2 x 512 Dimms OCZ & Kingston HyperX mix)
>> Antec 430 Watt PSU
>>
>> I'm quite into games and have annoying slow downs in some games (Far Cry,
>> Ground Control II, Dawn of War) although generally when there is a lot
>> of
>> action on screen. I play most games at 1024 x 768 with no AA & 2xAF.
>>
>> I have two broad choices. I can by an ATI X800 (or nvidia equivalent) or
>> I
>> can replace the mobo and CPU (I've decided I'd go down the Socket 939
>> route with one of the lower clocked 90nm 64 chips). I can't afford to
>> replace the videocard, CPU & mobo at the same time (though I've not yet
>> looked into selling any old components).
>>
>> Would the videocard upgrade be the *best* way to go performance wise (CPU
>> limited with the 2800+?) or should I be thinking of future upgrades as
>> Socket A is on its way out (well within a year)?
>>
>> Alternatively should I just sit tight?
>
> I'll give you my take, and you decide for yourself.
>
> First off, to generically answer your question, a video card upgrade will
> do
> the most for you in game performance. Your CPU is plenty fast, and you
> have
> lots of memory. I'd advocate avoiding the high-end stuff, and get an
> nVidia
> GeForce 6600GT board, when AGP models hit the shelves.
>
> Now, here's the big dilemma, and I'm in this very same dilemma with my
> system. All boards, both AMD and Intel based, are going to PCI-X based
> graphics. The AMD boards are just hitting the shelves. Your board is
> plenty
> fast for now, and a video card upgrade will do wonders, but that's $200
> spent on a graphics card you won't be taking with you on your next mobo &
> CPU upgrade. The Athlon XP is just about at the end of it's life, and the
> Semperons have less performance, so there isn't much you can do about
> upgrading the CPU alone in the near future, which would prolong getting a
> new system.
>
> Undoubtedly, within the next year or so, you'll be wanting to upgrade to
> an
> Athlon 64/FX machine and chances are, it'll be a PCI-X model, since surely
> you won't want to build a machine that's already old technology. If you
> game, you need to stay more on the bleeding edge of hardware, since newer
> games slow systems down and that's a trend that'll go on forever. Every
> new
> major release has more and more polygons to render and they obsolete
> hardware fast. My 2.6 GHz P4 machine (OC'd to 3.0) has a GeForce Ti4600
> card that cost me plenty when it was new. It's really showing its age in
> just over 2 years. The graphics card is the culprit, but I'm weary of
> upgrading because next year I'll probably build an Athlon 64 machine to
> replace it.
>
> So, armed with that knowledge, decide for yourself...
>
Thanks for the feedback. I'm not sure that PCI-X is the way to go just yet -
doesn't supply a significantly higher performance than AGP?
However, to add to my confusion (if I go with PCI-X) I've noticed that the
Nforce4 (I've had some bad experiences with VIA chipsets!) chipset does not
come with PCI-X but with PCI Express??
Anyhoo thanks for both replies to my question so far.
BillL