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How do I get more power out of my system???

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  • Overclocking
  • Power
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January 25, 2008 10:25:29 AM

I currently run a P4 3.0Ghz
Gainward 7800GS + 512Mb AGP
2Gb DDR400
Raptor
Sounblaster X-fi
Akasa 550W PSU

How do I get more power? I can overclock my CPU to 3.4Ghz and vid card a little but I need more power but as i'm on AGP i need to do a big upgrade which includes motherboard, processor, RAM, Video card. However i've not got the cash. Do you think I could buy say a liquid cooler and overclock my p4 to say around 4.0Ghz or am I just talking crap?

I play Flight Sim X, Quake 4, and would like to play Crysis but my PC can only manage medium settings at a playable framerate just.

Any sensible suggestions appreciated.

More about : power system

January 25, 2008 11:07:31 AM

No graphics card can play crysis properly (I've even heard the triple 8800ultra setups start to crawl in the last couple of missions) ... However, you should be able to get a decent jump in speed by upgrading your graphics card.

It's not quite hit the shops yet, but soon there's going to be a 512mb version of the HD3850 released for AGP by sapphire and powercolor. I imagine this should give you the extra horsepower you're after.
January 25, 2008 11:21:16 AM

I would save up. You wont get much more performance than you already have. The cpu, even at 4.0 isn't going to be that great, and the GPU doesnt upgrade much past the 7800 you already have. The 3850 might be a good option once that comes out, but we'll have to see the cost. I would save for:

P35 MB-$90
E2xxx CPU-$70-90
HD 3850- $150
2GB DDR2-800-$40

$350 or so should provide you with a new platform.
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January 25, 2008 11:30:00 AM

I would not spend money on what you have.
nvalhalla has a very good suggestion, that's a nice setup for $350.
January 25, 2008 12:07:25 PM

Thanks folks. I'll take your suggestions on board.
January 25, 2008 12:08:51 PM

Agree w/ the above posts. You really can't get much more out of what you have. If you are going to buy a 3850 AGP, it really doesn't make much sense since as soon as you upgrade the motherboard, you'll have to purchase another card.
January 25, 2008 12:54:39 PM

Agree, don't waste your money on a dead end system. Would't agree on the 3850 though. By the time your are ready you could probably get a used 8800GTX. They are only $279 now, new.
January 25, 2008 1:28:23 PM

Kkkk1 said:
Do you think I could buy say a liquid cooler and overclock my p4 to say around 4.0Ghz or am I just talking crap?

I wouldn't wast your money on that. Spend it on something that will give you more performance for price. If you can't live with what you got now and can't wait to save up money, buy a new gfx card, but what's going to suck is it'll be AGP and on your next upgrade of motherboard you might not be able to use the card. Unless this is the next following step:

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E168...



I hope your P4 is LGA775. You can use the AGP gfx card, and keep your ddr ram. Then you can upgrade to DDR2 and pci express later. This will be your easiest upgrade path if you have to do it in parts.

Good luck!
January 26, 2008 4:50:30 PM

bugger, my P4 is a Prescott 478, what do you think my options are now? Will I just have to bite the bullet and do a full upgrade. i.e mobo, RAM,Processor,GFX,PSU??????

At the moment I can just about live with what i've got, but i'm beginning to have to turn settings down for it to run properly and that really pi$$e$ me off. The problem is all the boring stuff like new kitchen and house renovations are taking priority.
January 26, 2008 5:29:15 PM

I think your PSU would be ok, although it's a little aged, which always makes me nervous. I'm waiting for tax returns for a few upgrades myself...
January 27, 2008 12:58:29 AM

To get more power out of your system, buy a very good liquid cooling solutin and increase the Vcore to over 1.7

You'll really be draining the power then :>
January 27, 2008 1:24:07 AM

Best bang for your buck is to change the MB and CPU.
Fry's had a walk in sale last week on a MB/CPU combo for $124 USD that used a BOXED AMD 5600+ with dual cores w/1MB L2 each @ stock 2.8Ghz....can "officaly" use DDR2-800 ram.
(It is a cheap MB w/onboard GFX and sound but has a 16X slot and "might" OC so-so)

Your 3Ghz P4 would need to run @ 4.38Ghz to do the same work as -one core- of the AMD 5600+.

EDIT: Online prices can be beat by 20% and a Asus or GB MB can be had at the same time.
An unlocked AMD 5000+ BE is $99 USD and can do 3.2Ghz on stock volts or like a P4 @ 4.672Ghz per core.

You can have a VAST improvement for very little if you swap platforms.
This will NOT put you at the top of the pile but will bring you VERY close for the $100-125 USD price with a MB/CPU combo deal.
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January 27, 2008 1:30:16 AM

Save up and get a new system. That system is maxed out already.
January 27, 2008 1:20:49 PM

ZOldDude said:
Best bang for your buck is to change the MB and CPU.
Fry's had a walk in sale last week on a MB/CPU combo for $124 USD that used a BOXED AMD 5600+ with dual cores w/1MB L2 each @ stock 2.8Ghz....can "officaly" use DDR2-800 ram.
(It is a cheap MB w/onboard GFX and sound but has a 16X slot and "might" OC so-so)

Your 3Ghz P4 would need to run @ 4.38Ghz to do the same work as -one core- of the AMD 5600+.

EDIT: Online prices can be beat by 20% and a Asus or GB MB can be had at the same time.
An unlocked AMD 5000+ BE is $99 USD and can do 3.2Ghz on stock volts or like a P4 @ 4.672Ghz per core.

You can have a VAST improvement for very little if you swap platforms.
This will NOT put you at the top of the pile but will bring you VERY close for the $100-125 USD price with a MB/CPU combo deal.


I would normally agree but I've got an AGP GFX card.
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January 27, 2008 2:18:13 PM

nvalhalla said:
I would save up. You wont get much more performance than you already have. The cpu, even at 4.0 isn't going to be that great, and the GPU doesnt upgrade much past the 7800 you already have. The 3850 might be a good option once that comes out, but we'll have to see the cost. I would save for:

P35 MB-$90
E2xxx CPU-$70-90
HD 3850- $150
2GB DDR2-800-$40

$350 or so should provide you with a new platform.

Agreed. Get a P35-DS3L + E2160/2180 2GB + Corsair XMS2 RAM [2*1GB] ($32 @newegg) + a 3850/3870 + a good PSU (Corsair 450VX/550VX/520HX). This should set you back about $420-450.
January 27, 2008 6:02:32 PM

Shadow703793 said:
Agreed. Get a P35-DS3L + E2160/2180 2GB + Corsair XMS2 RAM [2*1GB] ($32 @newegg) + a 3850/3870 + a good PSU (Corsair 450VX/550VX/520HX). This should set you back about $420-450.


Thats great but the problem is i'd still have to buy a decent PCIe video card. My current Gainward 7800GS+ is a PCIe bridged onto AGP. Does anyone know if you can convert this back to PCIe and continue using my current card?

Many thanks for the responses!!!!!
January 27, 2008 6:24:48 PM

cardio said:
By the time your are ready you could probably get a used 8800GTX. They are only $279 now, new.


Se wha? Where is this...?
February 1, 2008 1:32:38 PM

Kkkk1 said:
bugger, my P4 is a Prescott 478, what do you think my options are now? Will I just have to bite the bullet and do a full upgrade. i.e mobo, RAM,Processor,GFX,PSU??????

At the moment I can just about live with what i've got, but i'm beginning to have to turn settings down for it to run properly and that really pi$$e$ me off. The problem is all the boring stuff like new kitchen and house renovations are taking priority.


Unless you want to do something like this:
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E168...

*(check CPU compatibility for the CPU you want)

*Note: looks like newegg just deactivated the item, see if you can find it somewhere else.

You can keep you GFX and DDR memory, buy the cheap motherboard (~$40) and then the Core 2 CPU. That'll buy some time.
February 1, 2008 4:10:57 PM

I would lay off the boards that combine the old tech with the new; buy an inexpensive P35 board like the GA-P35-DS3L and an entry level Core 2. Match it with 2 gigs of DDR2-800, and the 3850, and you'll be all set! I bet you could Ebay/Craigslist your old rig and get almost enough for the new one. Of course, once you're on the new platform, a better graphics card is a simple upgrade. The best thing would be to get some of that stuff Cardio is smokin'! You could get a $279 brand new GTX! (J/K Cardio)

February 15, 2008 6:59:39 PM

prolfe said:
The best thing would be to get some of that stuff Cardio is smokin'! You could get a $279 brand new GTX! (J/K Cardio)

Yeah, hook me up! Heck, give me two! :pt1cable:  :sleep:  <-- those aren't Z's
February 15, 2008 8:58:29 PM

Kkkk1 said:
bugger, my P4 is a Prescott 478, what do you think my options are now? Will I just have to bite the bullet and do a full upgrade. i.e mobo, RAM,Processor,GFX,PSU??????

At the moment I can just about live with what i've got, but i'm beginning to have to turn settings down for it to run properly and that really pi$$e$ me off. The problem is all the boring stuff like new kitchen and house renovations are taking priority.



If you want to wait a few weeks, the GeForce 9 series is coming out, and might be worth your while. NVIDIA is gonna put in some mid range cards that beat out ATI's offerings.

also, you want pentium dual core, and you'll be able to overclock it a lot. go with 2160. RAM is cheap now, 2 GB for $40, and you don't need a great mobo, $60-120 is what you would want to spend. The processor also doesn't use much power, so you PSU should be ok
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February 15, 2008 9:46:19 PM

BSEL Mod for the P4?
!