Time to upgrade video card

deak

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Dec 27, 2004
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Hey,

I would like to play MOH Airbourne but I guess my Ati x700 won't cut it anymore. So its time to upgrade. I have a p4 3.4mhz proccessor and 1gb of memory. I was looking at the Radeon x1950 xt in the 512mb version. Is that overkill? Whats more important a higher model number with less mb? Also would going to 2gb of ram make any difference? I have good 400w power supply will this be adequate for the new card? I was thinking of buliding another machine in 2 or so years would that last long enough or will the processor be way outdated by then?

TIA

Deak
 

rockyjohn

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x1950XT or Pro are both good choices. So is a 7900GS. It is almost as fast as the x1950Pro but I mention it primarily because frys.com has one on sale for only $100AR. Please identify MB and confirm you have the PCIe slot.

http://shop2.outpost.com/product/4970851

2MB of RAM is good.

Regarding PSU, you might be on the cusp.
What is make and model? How many amps on each rail? It should be listed on the PSU. You will need about 30amps on the 12v rail(s). Also you need to confirm that you have the power connectors for the video card.
I also suggest you go to the PSU calculator and check out what you need considering total system. See link below.

http://www.extreme.outervision.com/psucalculatorlite.jsp

Also it would be helpful if you listed the rest of your system to help get an idea of power requirements.

Will processor be outdated in 2 years? Not if does what you want it to do with reasonable efficiency and effectiveness. But it is slower than all the new ones sold today, except for maybe a few entry level machines.
 

deak

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Dec 27, 2004
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Lets see homebulit on an abit motherboard (asus board went kaputt and manufacturer sad one of the cpu pins(socket 775) was bent so they couldn't tell what was wrong and wanted 50 bucks to fix it i told em to crush it). P/s is Ultra ULT31558 X-Connect 500 w. So i think i will be ok on the power side. going to 2gb on memory is cheap and I can always move it to the next machine. I have an asus ice cooler which i don't think i really need 3 12v fans, dvd drive one 80 gb ide hard drive. PCi express for the x700 video. I would hate to spend the money on that 1950 only to be replacing it in two years. So would buying a more expensive card say 200-300 dollar range be better or am i just wasting money? I know the cpu is dated but if i can the memory/vid card upgrade and get almost 2 years out of it as in being able to play new games to me its worth it. If i am only buyng a year to year and a half. I should just bulid a new one and turn this one into a dvr....

Deak
 

spuddyt

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Jul 21, 2007
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actually memory can't always be moved to the next machine... unless your next machine is also going to be ddr but the g card can be carried forward even if your next computer is pci 2.0
 

impreza

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Aug 1, 2006
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the difference between 1 and 2gb ram is huge in some games so get more if you want a cheap performance increass. If your worries about having to upgrade the gpu again soon get the 8800gts 320. Its really cheap and can max out anything today. 320mb is pleanty unless you run mega resolutions. 320mb should be fine up top 1600 x1200
 

rockyjohn

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My crystal ball is a little hazy. Moreover you have not fully described your price/performance preferences nor game preferences other than the one. Upgrading to a middle to high end graphics card should give you some good game play for the next two years - but not high end play. I would expect that over the next year more games will be revised to make better use of dual core cpu's - making your system more dated, but not completely outdated. What level of play you want determines whether it is based to get an inexpensive upgrade now to last a year or so, a more expensive upgrade to last two years, or get a new system now. I still think getting the 7900GS while on sale and another 1GB of RAM then using it as long as it meets your needs is a reasonable choice.

:bounce: :bounce: :bounce: