I am thinking of getting a new 1950XT graphics card, but read somewhere about some new games with high processor requirements (someone mentioned in one thread on the 1950XT about a game that had a minimum requirement of a 2.8ghz P4).
I don't want to upgrade to another AGP card just to keep my motherboard and processor if they are already (or will soon be) obsolete.
So if I upgrade my graphics card, is my processor still going to be a big bottleneck.
Is it really that bad, in my thread on the graphics card forum no one mentioned that.
A couple people said they had similiar processors and were running new games fine with the 1950.
I plan to do a full upgrade within a year, but if I could I wouldn't mind waiting on that until later in the year (after I can recover from the holidays).
I was hoping upgrading my graphics card would let me do that, but you are saying that it won't make much of a difference due to my processer being outdated?
EDIT: Ahh okay thanks for the clarification, I guess I should look up some benchmarks using a similiar processor to mine with these games before buying anything (anyone have a link to anything like that?)
Is it really that bad, in my thread on the graphics card forum no one mentioned that.
A couple people said they had similiar processors and were running new games fine with the 1950.
I plan to do a full upgrade within a year, but if I could I wouldn't mind waiting on that until later in the year (after I can recover from the holidays).
I was hoping upgrading my graphics card would let me do that, but you are saying that it won't make much of a difference due to my processer being outdated?
Upgrade your GPU and leave your CPU alone. Odds are the GPU is holding you back more than the CPU. Also ATI doesn't make 1900 XTs anymore. The new line is the HD3870s. You can still get 1950 Pros and GTs.. that's about it. 3870 is your best bet. Ride that CPU out a bit longer. I know guys who still game on P4s and do fine with a decent graphics card.
Those who say no are idiots. An FX51 is perfectly fine for gaming. You won't get the benefet of dual cores in newer games but every dollar you'd spend on upgrading your CPU would be much more valuable if spent on a graphics card. I upgraded both my CPU and GPU last Dec from dual 7900GT SLI and a AMD3700+ to a 8800GTS and FX60. You'd think that jump in CPUs(1 core @ 2.2ghz vs 2 cores @2.6) would be a lot more then the jump from 2 7900GTs in SLI to a single 8800GTS. And it is in most applications, but not gaming. The video card made the larger difference(after spending almost $1000 in upgrades I did extensive benchmarking to see what I was getting). Anyways heres a suggestion; Buy as good a PCIE card as you can afford along with a cheap 939 PCIE motherboard ($50?). This way you'll get the most bang for you buck for gaming and have the option to either upgrade to another 939 CPU later or completely rebuild and still keep your video card.
I am thinking of getting a new 1950XT graphics card, but read somewhere about some new games with high processor requirements (someone mentioned in one thread on the 1950XT about a game that had a minimum requirement of a 2.8ghz P4).
I would consider the FX-51 as fast as a 2.8 or 3ghz P4.
The FX-51 is a great gaming cpu, if you play single threaded games. However most of the new games are multi-threaded meaning they can use 2 or 4 processor cores. Your performance would be seriously lacking playing those games with just 1 core.
My OC'ed Celeron D (look at my signature) comes close to the FX-51 performance, but not the price ($25
on ebay)
^Look at what performance you can get with a volt and a pin mod^
@OP. Your CPU is fine, but looks like it is time to upgrade, imo. A new solid Intel C2D system could be built for less than $620 or cheaper.
This is a very good point. The only counter-point I can think of is that this is a "band-aid" upgrade to last him ~1 year until he is able to build another system.
In one year he'll (possibly) be able to get his hands on a Nehalem (depending on how that tapes out) or a second/third revision of Penryn. As good as these retails are.. imagine the subsequent revisions.. This was Intels FIRST try at 45nm...
I think I will stick with AGP, if I went with PCI express and a new motherboard who knows where I would stop and I think I should wait before blowing all my money on a "band aid" to hold me over until next year.
Plus my computer runs, but is not in that great of shape (live in hot weather, moved around, girlfriend's cat apparently exploded inside of my tower, etc.) So the less I invest/tinker with it probably the better.
This is a very good point. The only counter-point I can think of is that this is a "band-aid" upgrade to last him ~1 year until he is able to build another system.
In one year he'll (possibly) be able to get his hands on a Nehalem (depending on how that tapes out) or a second/third revision of Penryn. As good as these retails are.. imagine the subsequent revisions.. This was Intels FIRST try at 45nm...
Good point. But why wait with all these great prices? AMD better have a good CPU or im personely going to make them go bankrupt....... might not be a good idea on the long run.
My $100 upgrade just turned into $1000
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