7600GT or memory upgrade?

[carlhungis]

I am running a C2D E6700 but sadly, I am only using a Radeon 9600xt and 1gb of DDR1 400.

Right now Newegg is having a sale and you can get a 7600gt for 100.00 after rebate and you can get 2gb of DDR2 800 for 180ish.


What do you think would be the better upgrade? The card or the ram?

 

[jitpublisher]

My opinion, I'd get the memory now and wait about a month or so on the video card, then look at what's available. I'd go for something better than a 7600.

 

[rodney_ws]

My opinion, I'd get the memory now and wait about a month or so on the video card, then look at what's available. I'd go for something better than a 7600.

Agreed... if you're looking at eventually purchasing both of these upgrades, go for the memory first... video card technology changes at a more rapid pace than memory... so if you buy the memory today, you'll likely be looking at an even higher end video card tomorrow for the same price.

 

[faceless]

As an upgrade to have an noticeable effect on game performance I always look at videocard -> cpu -> memory. So I would go with a 7900 they run around $200 these days. 8)

 

[angry_ducky]

Get the 2GB RAM, then wait for the GF 8600 to come out.

 

[faceless]

Get the 2GB RAM, then wait for the GF 8600 to come out.

If 8600 is coming out soon I would wait for it too

 

[baligavinod]

Get the 2GB RAM, then wait for the GF 8600 to come out.

If 8600 is coming out soon I would wait for it too

i think it will come soon...a few weeks may be ??? just a guess

 

[monst0r]

go with the memory upgrade for sure, better all around system performance. trust me... 1gb vs. 2gb is like night and day once you've experienced both

 

[Silviastud]

Grab some good G.Skill and save up for a G80 )

G.Skill 2GB DDR2 With Micro D9 Chips

 

[carlhungis]

Thank you for the replies.

Upon further investigation, it looks like my ASRock board only supports DDR2 667. Would that still be a worthwhile upgrade?

I see there is a 2gig set on Newegg for about 110.00. So the price is right.

 

[randomizer]

So the price is right.

A good show once.

 

[4745454b]

Let me ask the stupid question first.

Your looking to replace either your 9600XT (agp card) with a 7600GT (I assume the PCIe model) or your DDR400 ram with DDR2 ram? I hope your running on of those Asrock boards that supports DDR/DDR2 and AGP/PCIe.

As for which one, I'm not sure. What do you do with your machine? What is taking to long right now? Adding memory will help with multitasking, but adding a new video card will allow for better FPS. Also, I could be wrong, but I think that Asrock board only has 4X PCIe lanes going to the 16x slot. You might be best off upgrading to DDR2 now, and then a new motherboard/video card later when you have the $$$. (or upgrade the video and use it, and then upgrade the motherboard)

 

[babybudha]

what Operating System you running? and 64bit or 32bit?

 

[randomizer]

With a 7600gt, pcie 4x isnt going to affect much. Its not like its a 8800 or anything.

 

[carlhungis]

I am running XP Pro now, 32 bit.
It is the ASRock with the 4x PCIe slot.
I use it for gaming, but not very often anymore since most games are pretty laggy with my video card these days. I also use it for day to day crap. I realize that I have more than enough computer for my daily tasks.

Nothing is taking too long at this point but I am working towards an eventual upgrade to a better mobo, PCIe video card, and 2gb of DDR2 ram. I am just looking for advice as to which would be the better upgrade path. Right now I am thinking (based on replies above) that it would be best to upgrade the ram, then the video card, then the mobo.

 

[babybudha]

then I would get neither. For 32bit, 1Gb is the sweet spot. If 64bit.....then 2Gbs would help. As for the videocard, the 7600GT would help, but i would suffer a little longer for the R600 launch. ATI will release products across the board, and you should be able to get a much more powerful mid-range card at that time.

 

[babybudha]

go with the memory upgrade for sure, better all around system performance. trust me... 1gb vs. 2gb is like night and day once you've experienced both

This guy is a dummy in a clown costume!

 

[runswindows95]

I say RAM. There is a big difference between 1GB and 2GB when gaming REGARDLESS if it's 32bit or 64bit.

 

[babybudha]

I say RAM. There is a big difference between 1GB and 2GB when gaming REGARDLESS if it's 32bit or 64bit.

Show me proof of this! (anything below 20% FPS difference is negligible. IE. 50FPS not huge compared to 60FPS)

And proof must be in Windows XP 32bit, as per what the dude said he had!

And not just a one game anomaly. At least 3 games.

PS. What resolution do you play games at carlhungis? And what games you play?

 

[randomizer]

go with the memory upgrade for sure, better all around system performance. trust me... 1gb vs. 2gb is like night and day once you've experienced both

This guy is a dummy in a clown costume!
You've got to be kidding me...

then I would get neither. For 32bit, 1Gb is the sweet spot. If 64bit.....then 2Gbs would help.

I wont believe that this guy is serious, its not possible for someone to be so stupid.

 

[turboflame]

I say RAM. There is a big difference between 1GB and 2GB when gaming REGARDLESS if it's 32bit or 64bit.

Show me proof of this! (anything below 20% FPS difference is negligible. IE. 50FPS not huge compared to 60FPS)

And proof must be in Windows XP 32bit, as per what the dude said he had!

And not just a one game anomaly. At least 3 games.

PS. What resolution do you play games at carlhungis? And what games you play?



Oblivion
Battlefield 2
Battlefield 2142

3 games off the top of my head, you happy?

 

[randomizer]

Where is that camera? What idiot company did that? :lol: :lol: :lol:

 

[randomizer]

Its not the fact that it increases your framerate as much as it smooths out the gameplay. You get much less stutters at higher resolutions and more detailed textures when you use 2gb. That 1gb is the sweet spot for 32bit is garbage. What about vista 32-bit, you gonna use 1gb for that too? Is that the sweet spot? :lol:

EDIT: Why would 64-bit prefer 2gb to 1gb anyway? Pull out some other ridiculous response.

 

[turboflame]

:lol: Wish I knew, just found it on another message board

 

[babybudha]

Oblivion
Battlefield 2
Battlefield 2142

3 games off the top of my head, you happy?

Show me proof! Naming games is not proof fool! Show me tests that prove your argument.

I don't want opinions......I want proof!