Old Game Rig Value question.

HowdyDoody

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Howdy,

I would really appreciate some help from all those that are up-to date on the latest gaming rigs. I have been out of it for a while and now find myself having to get another puter. My wife needs a box for her photoshop and is currently using my old game rig. (2+ years old.. ati 9800 pro athlon chipset).

So I need a new game rig. But realstically I am only playing CS source and some World of warcraft (1600x1200). But a local store has a used game rig that has me interested:
for $650 bucks:
Athlon FX 55 2.6
Lan Party UT SLI MB
2x GeForce 6800 GT 256mg vids SLI
1 gig ram Mushkin
250 gig hard drive SATA
SB Audigy 2 sound card
DVD writer
DVD Rom drive
600W power supply
Antec Case
windows xp home w free upgrade to vista
30 day warranty.
and a ton of cooling fans.

My question is I'm having trouble really seeing how this puter will match up to todays in performace and value (Not to much on the web where I can compare). Toms doesn't seem to show the SLI combo in their charts. And even thou I really don't forsee playing anything else out right now, I also know this puter probably won't be able to do much of anything in the future and wonder if I should just suck it up and get an DX10 system since I'm sure DX10 will have no effect on this old a hardware.

So those with knowledge please share your opinions.

I truly appreciate all your time.

Doody
 

mesarectifier

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There two main problems with that system - you can't upgrade it, and that SLi setup really sucks.

You'll be able to get a better new rig, that price is something of a ripoff.
 

HowdyDoody

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Thanks for the help.

Yea i agree its a tapped out box, but what I'm trying to find out is how much DOES the SLi setup suck. Meaning if all I am playing is CS source, and WoW, (and Team Fort Source next year) so this box should suit my needs for a bit. In the past I have always built my next game rig for the game I wanted to play. And this si the first case where there really isn't a new game that I want to build for. So I'd rather hold off on the big cash until some game comes out I really want to play.

but I do agree that 650 seems a little steep. I do think from what I have read here I can build an upgradable system for a little bit more then that.

So if I did try and talk the price down, what would be a fair price for this old a box? Hmmm.
 

Anoobis

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Depending on which DFI it has, it might not be a bad setup. Find out which DFI board is in it.

I was also under the impression that the FX-57 is the 2800. The FX-55 is the 2600.

Tell them to knock off $50 and eBay one of the 6800GTs and it might be worth it. You could also have a decent OC board in there too.
 

chief5286

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What Howdy said.

You can probably get close to $100 for each 6800gt. Sell them and pop in a better video card and that'd be a fine rig.

Or if you really don't want to play anything but WoW & CS:S, or if you don't care about playing at high res, the pair of 6800gts will be fine for a while.

If you don't have any parts to start with, I'd say $600 or so is a fair price for a complete system with those parts
 

niz

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it sucks. Why blow $650 on something already outdated and terminally slow?

Much better option:

Upgrade your existing system with an e6600 and an Asrock dual775-vsta mobo total cost about $400. That mobo takes your old ddr ram and agp vid cards and also has ddr2 and pci-e slots. it will be a good system right there.

As you can, later on buy a decent vid card/ram/mobo and upgrade further step by step.
 

niz

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it sucks. Why blow $650 on something already outdated and terminally slow?

Much better option:

Upgrade your existing system with an e6600 and an Asrock dual775-vsta mobo total cost about $360. That mobo takes your old ddr ram and agp vid cards and also has ddr2 and pci-e slots. it will be a good system right there.

As you can, later on buy a decent vid card/ram/mobo and upgrade further step by step.
 

prozac26

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it sucks. Why blow $650 on something already outdated and terminally slow?
Yes, it has little older technology, but still respectable. The FX still blazes through basically everything, and those cards will still run CS:S and WoW very well.

Much better option:

Upgrade your existing system with an e6600 and an Asrock dual775-vsta mobo total cost about $360. That mobo takes your old ddr ram and agp vid cards and also has ddr2 and pci-e slots. it will be a good system right there.
That's actually a lot worse. He gets a low end mobo, with a small upgrade path. I would rather have the $650 PC over a E6600 with a 9800Pro.

@ OP
It is a decent deal, for $650, you can't really build anything much better. It will run CS:S and WoW fine. If you feel you need an upgrade, go for it. Maybe you'll be able to sell one of the 6800GTs, and make it a better deal.
 
@ OP
It is a decent deal, for $650, you can't really build anything much better. It will run CS:S and WoW fine. If you feel you need an upgrade, go for it. Maybe you'll be able to sell one of the 6800GTs, and make it a better deal.

Yeah, I would agree. You can attempt to build your own PC with respectible components like the E6300 with 1GB of DDR2 800 RAM, GeForce 7600GT, Windows Homes, etc. But that would probably cost around $850 - $900.
 

HowdyDoody

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Thanks again for all the good info/opinions.

MesaRectifier: I just kinda assumed that the 6800's would be the top that could be used before the Processor/MB become the bottle neck. Could another vid card actually help this system? Again boils down to lack info on allowing me to compare this sli config to todays cards. I have found charts that show 1 6800 gt smoke my ati 9800 pro, and that the sli shows a 80% increase (in CS:source without HD) But all the reviews of todays cards show CS:S with HD on. So I can't compare. And toms doesn't show the SLI config with the HD on.

Anoobis: Wow, I didn't realize there were so many variatons of the lan pary MB. Thanks for showing me that. I will find out. Also your right, typo, its an FX-55 2.6.

chief5286: Same as MesaRectifier, wouldn't the processor be the bottleneck upgrading to a new vid card? And I do care about the res. I am currenlty using 1600 x 1400 getting about 60 fps in WoW (low detail) and 1280 res in CS with medium detail getting good fps. So 1600x1400 is what I'm shooting for if possible. I was under the assumption from the research I have done that this used rig can do that.

Niz: Normally I would, but I need another entire system so my wife may take mine. I looked at building her own box, but by the time I get a ho hum system that needs what she needs its only a little less then this solution.

prozac26: You being the 3rd person metioning that makes me think that I can upgrad the vid card and get some more performace with the same proc/MB.

Thank you all again for your info. This has been a pain to try and compare systems that are 2+ years apart. And understandably for good reason.
 

cleeve

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Based on the fact that a 7600 GT is about the same speed as a 6800 GT, maybe a bit faster but not that much - I figure two 6800 GTs would equal a 7900 GS or X1950 PRO at higher resolutions.
 

fatcat

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I am also of the opinion that it isn't such a bad deal. Like was mentionned earlier, this rig is not state of the art latest technologies but it's still a pretty decent rig for 650.00 $.
 

goldfish

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I agree, i play cs with a e6300, and 6800ultra, and it is plenty fast enough (1280x1024 with everything maxed). But be aware that the sli setup wont increase your performance in cs that much. You would be better off buying a dx10 card when vista comes out and ditching the sli then.
 

gm0n3y

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With an FX-55, the bottleneck will definately NOT be your processor. That processor could out run the (currently top of the line) 6800gtx for most games.
 

HowdyDoody

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Thanks again yall.

So do these numbers in this review not make sense? Again 1600x1200 is what im shooting for.
http://www.hexus.net/content/item.php?item=922&page=6

Published: Wednesday 24th November, 2004

Half-Life 2
Advertisement
As we discovered in the first article, despite AFR being the default SLI mode for Half-Life 2 in current drivers, SFR actually offers up more performance. I benchmark in both modes.


AFR

hl2_afr.png



6800 GTs in AFR mode are faster than a single Ultra by 20% at the upper resolution and SLI'd Ultra's continue to offer up the best possible Half-Life 2 performance by quite some margin.


SFR

hl2_sfr.png


In SFR mode, SLI GTs perform excellently, pushing up on the CPU limitation even at 1600x1200 with 8AF, 4AA. They're not too far off the performance of SLI Ultras, both setups able to bring the FX-55 back into play as the limiting performance factor.

If Source-engine games are your love (and who can fail to be enamoured by Half-Life 2!), a pair of GTs will serve you very well.
 

Anoobis

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SLI does hold some weight when dealing with the higher resolutions. Honestly if you can talk em down to $600 (shouldn't be a problem if you have cash), it's not a bad system. If it has an DFI "Expert" in it then it the best S939 overclocking motherboard ever made however most of the DFI Lanparty UTs were excellent overclockers too. In addition to that, you've got one of the FX processors which have unlocked multipliers and with some decent cooling (hence knocking off 50 bucks :wink: ) you might get an added bonus of an overclock.
 

HowdyDoody

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One last question and I'll shut up!

I read that vista will only help geforce 7 series and higher. How much can I really expect vista to help me on this rig? I say this as possibly a good bargining chip would be to not take the Vista update, but seems like I should snag if I can.

Again Thank you, Thank you, Thank you all for all your input. I can't tell you how much I appreciate it. This has been by far the most helpful forum I have ever been to.

Doody
 

HowdyDoody

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Thanks one more time for all your help...and I swear this is my last concern. I think I'm about ready to do this but I am confused by a chart on Toms. Is it possible that the chart is incorrect.

CS:S w HD-- Shows no difference in agp and the sli (both shown in blue). Is the chart wrong...or does HD mode somehow make it different from the above graphs i posted which show a huge improvement in CS:S but with NO HD.

537-545-199.png


The reason I think the chart may be wrong is the 3d Mark 2006 and Oblivian do show a big increase.

537-545-231.png


537-545-211.png


Again I think the chart is wrong, but I just wanted ONE more opinion before I sink down the cash. And since CS:S is one of THE games I'll be playing I need to know, ahahhaha.

Thanks again!!!
 

Konut

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IMO, its a good deal for $650. If I were you, I'd buy the new system and use it straight up until some midrange dx10 cards come out. When that happens, I'd sell the 2 6800gts, and buy the midrange dx10 card.

Its a very strong system except for the 6800gts. Worth the $650 imo.
 

Konut

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I'm not sure, but the chart is probably right. There are just some games out there that don't benefit from SLI at all.
 

HowdyDoody

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Just wanted to take a quick moment and thank all of you that helped me make this decision. I got the box for $550 and it has been everything I needed. So again thank you all for taking the time to post here.
 

sweetpants

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IMO, its a good deal for $650. If I were you, I'd buy the new system and use it straight up until some midrange dx10 cards come out. When that happens, I'd sell the 2 6800gts, and buy the midrange dx10 card.

Its a very strong system except for the 6800gts. Worth the $650 imo.

Honestly, I agree. I think it's a strong system for 650. 6800's aren't that superb anymore, but 2 of them in SLI + an FX line CPU for 650 I think is a deal.

Some bads:
No DDR2, but that's okay because last I checked AMD doesn't benefit much (1-3%) from increased bandwidth provided by DDR2 as the memory controller is on die.

6800's, it's only bad because they aren't bleeding edge :).


Some goods:
FX line processor
Good price

In all honesty, if I had the money I would grab it. I'm willing to bet you can't really throw one together like this on newegg and have it come out less than 700. I'm thinking the money you save on this system, you might be able to pump into a better card down the road, overall I think it's a strong system for the money