From 9600 to X800XL bottleneck with AMD 2700+?

[BigTwin]

I'm gaming with a 9600xt and doing well, however, I thought I'd try to get a little more life out of my system so I thought about upgrading my 9600 to a X800XL (AGP). Will the X800XL be bottlenecked by my XP 2700+ (2.1 Mhz)?

I'm going to build a Core 2 Duo like most everyone else once the supply problem lessens.

thanks

 

[ctrl_alt_del]

If you plan on building a Conroe rig then I would wait and just tough it out and get an even better video card when you get your new system.

 

[thatguy32]

You should see at least double the performance going from the 9600xt (4 pipelines) to the x800xl (16 pipelines). I have a Athlon 2600+ and doubled my benchmark scores (3dmark03) when I upgraded from a 9700 pro to the x800xl. As usual you can always save your money for that "next" upgrade, but why not buy now. This card will last you long enough till DX10/Vista comes out and we all have to upgrade. Or at least until supply of the Core2 catches up with the demand and prices stabilize, then upgrade. My two cents.

 

[Xazax310]

To answer your question yes your athlon 2600+ will bottle neck the X800XL's abilities. I'll give you my story on what i saw... When my computer broke(due to a bad powersupply) i decided to take out my 6600GT AGP and put in my mom's computer which had a (althon XP 3200+) now in my computer i had a 2.8 ghz intel. This is what happend and i noticed.

I couldnt play BF 2 even on the lowest settings without getting 16 FPS. I tried F.E.A.R and could find to only run it at 640x520 with pretty much everything off and only achieved 22 FPS constant. Some of the other less demanding games i can play but the CPU limits it.

The X800XL is a great card i upgraded to this later on and can play BF 2 at 1280x1024 with everything on high and 6x AA and got 40 FPS.(this is with the new intel 4 cores) though if you do ugrade your GFX card and keep that CPU you will serverly hinder your GFX.

But i say wait for a new build with all this new tech (DDR2, Core 2 Duo, and DX10 cards) coming out soon you can build a very current system. save your money.

 

[GamE34]

To answer your question yes your athlon 2600+ will bottle neck the X800XL's abilities. I'll give you my story on what i saw... When my computer broke(due to a bad powersupply) i decided to take out my 6600GT AGP and put in my mom's computer which had a (althon XP 3200+) now in my computer i had a 2.8 ghz intel. This is what happend and i noticed.

I couldnt play BF 2 even on the lowest settings without getting 16 FPS. I tried F.E.A.R and could find to only run it at 640x520 with pretty much everything off and only achieved 22 FPS constant. Some of the other less demanding games i can play but the CPU limits it.

The X800XL is a great card i upgraded to this later on and can play BF 2 at 1280x1024 with everything on high and 6x AA and got 40 FPS.(this is with the new intel 4 cores) though if you do ugrade your GFX card and keep that CPU you will serverly hinder your GFX.

But i say wait for a new build with all this new tech (DDR2, Core 2 Duo, and DX10 cards) coming out soon you can build a very current system. save your money.

Funny.. My XP 3000+ at stock settings wasn't bottlenecking my system at all, and I had a 6800GT. I was able to play F.E.A.R on very high settings at 1152x864 and get 40+ FPS. 80+ at low settings.

 

[purdueguy]

If you're planning on getting the $119 refurbed part from ATI,

http://shop.ati.com/searchresults.asp?dept_id=39

then go for it. I wouldn't spend over $200 for a retail version. I would just save my money to get a new system.

Since you have a 9600, this card will definitely add bang for the buck. I had upgraded my Athlon XP 2400+ to a 6600GT as I was told the XP CPU's would be a bottleneck. I was thinking about getting a 6800 GT at the time. Without hard benchmarks, I can't say if I did in fact save my money.

Even if your CPU does become a limiting factor, I still can say that you will definitely increase your gaming performance going from a 9600XT to an X800XL.

 

[marneus]

most modern games are more likely to be gpu limited rather than cpu limited but a basicly good processor & plenty of ram (eg BF2 with less than 1GB is daft) is still a good idea eg

XP3200+R9700pro >>> XP3200+X1600Pro boosted 3dmark01/03 scores by 20-50% & games played smoother (better minimum fps)

 

[Darkchyld]

I recently traded out my 9600 in my XP 3000 on a Gigabyte MB for the 7800GS and am most happy with it. Checking prices the 7800 my be more money than you want to spend, about $120.00 more than the x800x but I love the 7800's performance!! :lol:

 

[kaotao]

I disagree. Your system will not bottleneck an X800XL. This would be a huge upgrade for you. I made a similar upgrade last month going from a 9800pro to an X800XL, and I've got a AMD2600+.

 

[Dr_asik]

Of course running that card with a XP or 64 2600+ is not quite as fast as running it with a FX-60, but it will not cripple the card, no. You will still get a HUGE boost in performance and should be very happy with it until next upgrade.

Oh, and if you order that refurbished X800XL in Canada, prepare for long waiting times. Like at least 3-4weeks.

 

[Pu-Pu-4-Two]

socket AM2 / A64 3200 combo for $143 (aprx +10 shipping) on pricewatch.com right now. Being AM2, it would leave you open for AMDx2 cpu's in the future. OC that 3200 to last you a while.

 

[cleeve]

I saw a COLOSSAL difference between a 9700 PRO and a 6800 GT on a 2500+ (overclocked though).

But still... COLOSSAL difference. If you keep your system clean (no ad or spyware), it should be more than able to handle that X800.

 

[Hicks121]

I went from a 9600xt to a 6800gs in my xp 3000+ Barton, & it was a huge difference!! Granted i have a mild oc too

 

[ikaz]

I went from an 9800np (OC to about pro lvls) running on a AMD 1.7 XP and upgrade to a 850pro (only 12ps wouldn't unlock =( but does OC to PE levels) and saw a massive increase in games graphics. Again if you are paying less that 200us, (best to by the ATI refurb) I think you that will hold you over nicely until you build a new system. Realy if you are currently playing with a 9600, with the x800xl you probably *could* (again based on what you using now so don't flame me) hold out for at least another 6 months for a new rig.

 

[trinitron64]

I went from 9800pro to x800xl.

Kicks ass.

I refuse to play anything under 1600x1200 and css i max out all the settings and in de_prodigy for css i get a sustained 250fps in many areas.

w00t for x800 series

 

[Gary_Busey]

I went from 9800pro to x800xl.

Kicks ass.

I refuse to play anything under 1600x1200 and css i max out all the settings and in de_prodigy for css i get a sustained 250fps in many areas.

w00t for x800 series

250FPS with max settings in CSS? I think you might be exagerrating a little.

 

[trinitron64]

I kid you not.

The counter-terrorist spawn area, and some of those attached halls. 250fps is what I get on netgraph.

Average is 60-70ish id say on most maps.

But in de_prodigy i get to show off to anyone watching

( I am overclocked though. See signature)

 

[BigTwin]

thanks everyone for all the input. ATI has the AIW X800 XT for $129 if you trade in any brand of old graphics card. I have a Ti4200 just waiting to be traded in

Who knows, I might put off upgrading for a year if the X800 works out, when the Conroe II is out.

 

[Darkchyld]

I'm waiting to see if theres any "quriks" with the Conroe then maybe soon I'll take the "leap" too.. 8)

 

[pauldh]

That's one of the first times the trade up program makes for a sweet deal. A new AIW X800XT for $129 shipped. Shoot, factor in $10 for you return shipping and it's still untouchable in AGP. Wow, if I didn't have one already I would bite on that one for sure.

 

[BigTwin]

I dug up an old Matrox 681-02 circa 1996 video card from my junk box....guess it's worth $50