Intel P4 2.8ghz, 1gb ddr400, ATi 9800pro bottleneck

[gurufast]

Greetings,

Here's my situation: I'm debating wether or not to buy a new hardware and I'm reading about all this new stuff that's supposedly coming out by the end of the year. (Yes I know it's generally retarded to wait) So I'm wondering if there's any point at all in trying to upgrade my current PC, (specs here: Intel P4 Northwood 2.8GHz, ATi Radeon 9800Pro, 2x512mt DDR400.) To the point I could get the best possible optimal juice out of it? I figured so much that the processor is one hell of a bottleneck? But just how much could I push this thing?
What graphics card would you suggest what are your general opinions if there's any sense in what I'm thinking about.

Thank you so much in advance!

 

[4745454b]

What are you trying to use it for? How much do you have to spend? And what level of performance do you want to achieve? You probably do want to swap out the motherboard, as P4 northwood and 9800pro screams to me "S478 and AGP".

 

[g-paw]

It's probably no worth putting more money into it given what ever you get, e.g., more RAM, video card, cpu, won't work in a new system. That was a pretty good system in it's day. Also as 4745454b asked, budget and use?

 

[Scougs]

I'm almost in the same boat you are with my desktop computer.
I've got a P4 2.8C (Northwood and 800fsb) with 2x512 DDR400 and X800GTO (unlocked to 16 pipelines).

Unfortunately, unless you have a pretty low budget and don't expect to build new for quite a while you would be better off saving your money till you can build new.

You could get a free performance boost for the short term by overclocking. My 2.8 will run 3.5Ghz without increasing it's voltage and can probably hit 3.7Ghz with some work. Unfortunately, the best performance uses matched memory speed. I actually get better performance at 3.15GHz and DDR450 (cas2!) than at 3.5Ghz and DDR400.

Let us know if you want some help overclocking. If you do, also let us know what motherboard you have.

 

[FatFunkey]

in the same boat...doing a system rehall when i get back from vacation around the 1st of Auguest for Bioshock

ABIT IN9 32X-MAX LGA 775 NVIDIA nForce 680i SLI ATX Intel Motherboard - Retail
EVGA 768-P2-N831-AR GeForce 8800GTX 768MB GDDR3 PCI Express x16 HDCP Video Card - Retail x2
ENERMAX Galaxy EGX850EWL ATX12V/ EPS12V/ BTX 850W Power Supply - Retail
Q6600 Keintsfeild
G.SKILL 2GB (2 x 1GB) 240-Pin DDR2 SDRAM DDR2 800 (PC2 6400) Dual Channel Kit Desktop Memory Model F2-6400PHU2-2GBHZ - Retail Model #: F2-6400PHU2-2GBHZ x2
Seagate Barracuda ES ST3320620NS 320GB 7200 RPM SATA 3.0Gb/s Hard Drive - OEM
Logitech G11 Silver & Black USB Standard Gaming Keyboard - Retail
Logitech MX518 2-Tone 8 Buttons 1 x Wheel USB + PS/2 Wired Optical Gaming-Grade Mouse - Retail
ZALMAN 9700 LED 110mm 2 Ball CPU Cooler - Retail
SAMSUNG 216BW Black-Silver 21.6" 5ms DVI Widescreen LCD Monitor - Retail
Microsoft Windows Vista 64-Bit Ultimate for System Builders Single Pack DVD - OEM

type deal..want it to last me 3-4 years ... 2500 for my full build after rebates and all that jazz (max amount i wanted to spend) (using my same case Thermaltake Xsaser III Super Tower)


*also im not going to wait for the 8900 or the refresh of ATI...the HD2900 i was disapointed since i waited since Christmas last year..and the 8800GTX is already CPU Bottlenecked in most Resolutions and Crysis E3 07 was run on 8800GTX (i think 1 but i may be wrong) so im not 2 worried at all...oh yea..and the 8900GTX if thats what they call them will cost like 650 dollars just like the 8800GTX when they came out :\

 

[mbs49]

Interesting...I have almost the exact same system that I built 4.5 years ago. I have a P4 2.8, 2GB of DDR400 RAM, and I started with an ATI9800 Pro. I upgraded the video card to an XT1600 Pro about a year ago as it was about the best AGP card I could find.

I would have to say it is probably not worth sinking any money into your current rig. I looked at my options too and came to that conclusion. Therefore, I am planning a completely new build as my rig is starting to choke on the newer games and won't even run some of them.

I would recommend that you save your cash for a new build as AGP and Socket 478 is "as old as the hills" now.

Good luck.

 

[gurufast]

Wow, didn't expect so many replies.. Thanks!
I forgot to mention my mobo which is the original Asus P4P800. The primary use for the pc is chatting and gaming once in a while. I've been playing older games up until now. I wonder if I could upgrade this computer to have any chance of playing Oblivion or the likes at minimum settings? with the x1300Pro and 1gb extra ram for example.

 

[mbs49]

Amazing...I have the Asus P4P800 board too. We built almost the exact same rig.

It all really depends on your budget. If you can't afford a new build now, then for the short term upgrading your VGA and adding RAM certainly won't hurt. I would go with the best AGP VGA card I could afford to make the upgrade worthwhile.

Cheers.

 

[Martell77]

For Oblivion you can go to the following link and run a test to see where you system might be lacking:

http://www.gamespot.com/pc/rpg/theelderscrollsivoblivion/index.html? tag=result;img;0

Run the link called, "Can You Run It" is in the Oblivion header on the right side.


I run it on a P4 3.2 w/HT (S775 tho), 1 gb ram and an X1650Pro 512mb at default settings without any issues. I ran the tool on that site and thats why I ended up getting the video card, I had a 9200Pro 128mb and it wasn't powerful enough, all my other hardware passed or exceeded this reqs.

Not sure if you'd be able to run it at defaults but that tool should give you an idea.

With a socket 478 you're really close to the end of the upgrade path on that machine (performance vs. cost), I went with the X1650 because I figured I didn't want to spend the money and bottleneck an X1950 on AGP since my next build will not be able to use it.


Good Luck

 

[4745454b]

Wow, didn't expect so many replies.. Thanks!
I forgot to mention my mobo which is the original Asus P4P800. The primary use for the pc is chatting and gaming once in a while. I've been playing older games up until now. I wonder if I could upgrade this computer to have any chance of playing Oblivion or the likes at minimum settings? with the x1300Pro and 1gb extra ram for example.

No, you don't want to get the 1300pro, its slower then the 9800pro you have now. The 1600pro has been called the 9800pro with better features. (SM3, etc.) If you have a good PSU and enough money, get the x1950pro/xt. If your psu is weaker or you don't have that much to spend, grab a 7600GT. Don't game with a 1300pro, its a joke.

 

[gurufast]

Alright, sounds pretty good. I have an antec psu that came with the case, Truepower 430w but it's about 4 years old, think that'll be enough?
One thing that bothers me though is that isn't the x1950pro pretty high-end? and wouldn't my 2.8Ghz be bottlenecking it? would be cool to know what would be the best option for optimal performance and also how my frames would be with a card like that in a modern game, like oblivion.

Perhaps I could oc my processor a little? the problem with hardware as old as this is it's getting hard to find help online, comparing to the c2d chips for example.

 

[grieve]

Gurufast as appealing as an upgrade sounds... your really throwing your money away for the little extra performance you’ll gain.

Save up and get a new Rig, even if it isn’t top of the line. Any C2D and decent pci-E vid card would really be an amassing upgrade for you....

Why spend $300 on RAM and an AGP card?... when you could spend 500 and get an entry level rig that is 2 times as fast as what your upgrade would be.

I myself was in a similar situation a few months back and went with the upgrade, spent like 400 bucks only to realize I should have just spent that cash on a new rig… so now I have an expensive, upgraded ashtray and a Sweet new machine…. $3400 later… don’t make the same mistake.

Buy something new bro, you deserve it … and if your married, tell her you deserve it too

 

[4745454b]

I think a TruPower should be enough, but I haven't looked at that model in awhile, so I'm not 100%. The age is a problem.

The pro isn't highend, more like the top end of the midrange. The XT is the bottom of the high end. Yes, its overkill for light gaming, but you did mention Oblivion. You will get more FPS if you had it running with a C2D/Athlon, but the 2.8GHz Northwood shouldn't be to bad.

Its easy to overclock, I'm sure there are many guides out there that mention how to overclock netburst CPUs. If your CPU is a S775, look into getting Asrocks upgrade board. It supports DDR1 and 2, and AGP and PCIe. Its around $75 (I think.) and will allow you to upgrade as you have the $$$.