I want to be able to play ut3 with better framerates than I am getting, plus better framerates for all games.
I have a p4 w/ HT 3.0 ghz and a x1950 pro and am wondering if I would really get the expected performance gains by getting a better card like the 3850 or 3870, or if the cpu would bottleneck the system.
I know that getting a 8800gt would be a waste of money because my cpu would just squelch its potential, but I heard that ati cards rely less on the cpu.
The reason I am not getting a new build is because I am waiting for nehalem, and also just don't have the money for a new computer
Thanks in advance for any input
Message edited by Mayor_McCheese on 02-10-2008 at 10:29:49 AM
Yeah a 3850 512mb or a 3870 512mb will be a huge improvement over the x1950, even with the CPU bottlenecking it, especially in newer games like Call of Duty 4 and Crysis. Plus, when you get your new rig built, you already have a bad ass card to use. A OC might be in order to give you some more oomph.
You might want to check and see if your board supports a e21xx series CPU, they are a lot better than what you have and they are really cheap ~$70
Message edited by IndigoMoss on 02-10-2008 at 11:00:18 AM
My chipset is 925x express, and even though its a high end chipset its an old one and as far as I can tell from intel's website, it only supports p4 and p4 extreme edition.
Dont waste your money. That CPU is going to brick wall your graphics.
this is exactly right... I had a P4 3.2GHz w/ HT (Prescott 755socket) and an 8800GTS 640, 2GB DDR2 RAM, evga 680i SLI board, 74GB Raptor... even the DEMO with graphics turned down LOW loaded slow as heck and i couldn't get near the framerates I was hoping for...
I've since upgraded my processor to a 1.8Ghz e4300 Core2Duo, overclocked to a prime/orthos stable 2.7GHz (and climbing), and i'm MUCH happier with my framerates, using the same hardware...
I advise you consider a system overhaul, rather than a graphics card update... if your mobo is 755 and C2D compatible, life is easy... otherwise, get ready to shell out some cash...
and i LIVE for the UT series (check out my clan's site at www.1radpc.com/ut ), i'm selling my graphics card to get the 9-series (possibly) and upgrading to a Q6600 because i have a tri-monitor setup and am currently only utilizing 1 of the 3 because it's such a hungry game...
trust me, a graphics card won't get you anywhere unless upgrade the processor
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My chipset is 925x express, and even though its a high end chipset its an old one and as far as I can tell from intel's website, it only supports p4 and p4 extreme edition.
Yeah then you are better off waiting to get a new board and CPU. Anything higher is going to bottleneck like mad.
Thanks guys I really appreciate the responses. Perhaps my old p4 is even bottlenecking my current card (the x1950pro) haha.
So from all your advice the conclusion is to get a new system. If I didn't have a dell, it would be pretty cheap to just grab a new motherboard and cpu, but since I knew nothing about computer hardware 4 years ago I bought a dell. So I'd have to get a new case and new OS too.
So rather than do all that now and then replace the motherboard for nehalem in a year I may just wait. (although the case and OS I would recycle through other systems but I'm hesitant whether to get vista or xp).
An alternative choice would just be to go ahead and get a new system and not upgrade until the refresh of the new architecture (32 nm afaik)
@truromeo4j uliet: Yes I love ut also, a few of us at UnrealPlayground play ut99 ctf on friday nights http://www.phanz.com/NOP/html/ . I remember when ut99 was the popular game and you could really have a lot of fun playing.
Message edited by Mayor_McCheese on 02-10-2008 at 08:19:01 PM
Your current system probably is bottlenecking your 1950pro. I believe the fact the it is AGP and not PCI-E is also bottlenecking it. A Dell.. no no, your next one must be a McCheese special. You may as well just get Vista for any new systems. If you currently have XP i would just hold off until you have to upgrade. You can get a good system for $1000 with OS and all. If you are in the US you will be getting that Government Economic Stimulus Package Check. Throw a few hundred onto that and you got yourself a system.
Your current system probably is bottlenecking your 1950pro. I believe the fact the it is AGP and not PCI-E is also bottlenecking it. A Dell.. no no, your next one must be a McCheese special. You may as well just get Vista for any new systems. If you currently have XP i would just hold off until you have to upgrade. You can get a good system for $1000 with OS and all. If you are in the US you will be getting that Government Economic Stimulus Package Check. Throw a few hundred onto that and you got yourself a system.
My card is PCI-express, but it feels nice to know that I may get some more juice out of my current card if I do get a new system. What is this Government Economic Stimulus Package Check you speak of?
My card is PCI-express, but it feels nice to know that I may get some more juice out of my current card if I do get a new system. What is this Government Economic Stimulus Package Check you speak of?
You could still get that card and see better performance, but the cpu will still be a bad bottleneck
My main reason for getting a new card would be so ut3 is playable. Right now I get 30 fps or below, and it is not smooth at all even on the lowest of settings. Other games like cod4 and bioshock I get 50-60 fps, so I think getting a new card for ut3 will not help much because it seems cpu related. I'll most likely get a new rig and use my current card first before I get a new one.
