aaron2504

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right im going to get a new rig soon. what should i get for gaming?

options

3.2Ghz P4 (775)
512mb Corsair DDR2 667mhz
intel 925x chipset
X800pro PCI express
western digital raptor 2

3.2Ghz P4 (478)
1Gb Corsair DDR 400mhz
intel 875 chipset
X800pro AGP
western digital raptor 2

which should i go for?
 

Mephistopheles

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Between those two, I'd pick the second option.

Now, if I may be so bold, these are quite good configurations, but you could go for a <b>GeForce 6800 GT</b> instead of the X800 Pro. It's much faster in every aspect, and is a hardcore gamer's video card... (unless you're rich)...

The only reason to get your LGA775 configuration would be upgradeability; however, you could also go with an A64 for upgradeability... A64 is a great gamer's choice, BTW. It's up to you, of course; the 3.2Ghz P4 isn't slow at all, note that the socket 478 3.2E is a bit cheaper than the LGA775 one. And just for your knowledge, the LGA775 3.2Ghz P4 costs the same as an A64 3400+, which is at least equal if not faster than the P4.

Great choice on the hard drives, but I have to ask you one thing... why are you considering DDR2-667?.. It's not supported yet... You'd have to wait for the i925XE for that (and for 1066Mhz FSB, which is probably good tech, but it's not out yet)....

<i><font color=red>You never change the existing reality by fighting it. Instead, create a new model that makes the old one obsolete</font color=red> - Buckminster Fuller </i><P ID="edit"><FONT SIZE=-1><EM>Edited by Mephistopheles on 07/28/04 11:26 PM.</EM></FONT></P>
 

darkhorseporter

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The consensus seems to be that AMD is better for gaming, in which case an Athlon 64 would seem the way to go...if your set on Intel, then the second option looks better to me too.
 

JJKP77

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where can i read that the 2-slot, over-heating, way-too-loud 6800 kills the x800.
i'ld like to read that please. ATI owns nVidia's ass bro. The feature set in the display
properties kills nVidia and the review i read in Computer shopper this month puts ATI
squarely on top. I wanna know who says the 6800 kills the x800.

AMD Athlon XP 2100+-=-1Gb PC2700-=-40Gb WDD HDD-=-
16x DvD-=-32x12x40 Lite on CD/RW-=-Floppy, "Who needs a damned floppy!"-=-ECS K7S5A Pro-=- Geforce 4 Ti 4400 128Mb 4x-=-
 

Mephistopheles

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I said 6800 GT over x800 pro... If you want to read an article on the subject, <A HREF="http://www.xbitlabs.com/articles/video/display/pc-radx800pro-extreme.html" target="_new">be my guest</A>.

In addition to that, if you OC, then...
The GeForce 6800 GT easily overclocks to the frequencies of the GeForce 6800 Ultra and more; that is, it provides the same performance as the top-end model – I can’t say that about the RADEON X800 Pro…
Reason for that is that the GT has all 16 pipelines operational, so it's essentially an underclocked 6800 Ultra. X800 Pro only has 12 pipelines; that's a crucial disadvantage. I can point you to many more benchmarks, if you like.

I know that ATi is currently more popular, but the 6800 GT is easily the best bang for buck, undisputed.

<i><font color=red>You never change the existing reality by fighting it. Instead, create a new model that makes the old one obsolete</font color=red> - Buckminster Fuller </i><P ID="edit"><FONT SIZE=-1><EM>Edited by Mephistopheles on 07/29/04 01:45 PM.</EM></FONT></P>
 

JJKP77

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c'mon now. How many people do you know that run thier games at
1600x1200? And also how many people are even capable of that type
of an overclock? Lets come back down to reality here. If you want the AA &
AF goodies at 1280x1024 the radeon is the clear and present champion. AnyOne can
turn on the higher AA & AF settings, I know I do b/c there is no need to purchase
a water cooling system and risk my whole PC to do so.
Even if you DO know alot of folks that run 1600x1200 the majority of PC gamers
will never overclock thier GPU and run thier games @ 1280x1024. To take such an
extreme example and use that to champ up nvidia is unprofessional IMHO.


AMD Athlon XP 2100+-=-1Gb PC2700-=-40Gb WDD HDD-=-
16x DvD-=-32x12x40 Lite on CD/RW-=-Floppy, "Who needs a damned floppy!"-=-ECS K7S5A Pro-=- Geforce 4 Ti 4400 128Mb 4x-=-
 

addiarmadar

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Wait just a little bit longer if you can. The PCI option does sound good and is good for the long run but to get dual AGP PCI support would be sweet.

Mobile Barton 2500+ @ 2420mhz 11x220 1.7v
Asus A7N8X Dlx 440 FSB
1gb Geil GD pc3500 Dual Channel (2-3-3-6)
Segata 80gb SATA 8.5ms seek
ATI Radeon 9800 Pro to XT(463/795)
 

aaron2504

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hmm thanks guys, but the reson i looked at the x800pro is i heard you could re-activate 4 piplines and make it into a x800xt. The reson for 667DDR2 . is so i can overclock , without having another bad experience with breaking the ram (overclocking) . anymore advise? thanks again

<P ID="edit"><FONT SIZE=-1><EM>Edited by aaron2504 on 07/30/04 10:29 AM.</EM></FONT></P>
 

DonnieDarko

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where can i read that the 2-slot, over-heating, way-too-loud 6800 kills the x800.
i'ld like to read that please. ATI owns nVidia's ass bro. The feature set in the display
properties kills nVidia and the review i read in Computer shopper this month puts ATI
squarely on top. I wanna know who says the 6800 kills the x800.
Do i see another fanboy???????????????


AMD64 2800+
MSI Neo-Fis2r
512mb Kingmax ddr400
Sapphire 9800pro 128mb
10K WD Raptor
 

aaron2504

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another plan i have is to.. wait for the 925xe chipset. put a celeron in it. Then wait for a the 1066mhz fsb range to drop in price. or i have got the first 2 options... what you think i should do?
 

Mephistopheles

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I've seen it too. I mean, he praises a 12-pipeline video card over a 16-pipeline one because "it's from ATi"... Isn't it rather obvious that a 33% increase in pipelines for the GT will certainly be a better choice? (I didn't know you could activate the "missing" four in the X800 Pro... If you can, that would be great) Add to that that the GT is about $75-80 bucks cheaper, and you've got to really like ATi to recommend the x800.

I mean, as I said, the GT is not only a great performer, it's also a great bang for the buck.

If this is not yet a sign that this guy doesn't truly pay any attention to reality, but rather to brand names, then just pay attention to his argument: it's somewhat flawed, unfortunately. I mean, the 1024x768 resolutions, for instance, give the GT an even better performance lead. And a glimpse of <A HREF="http://www.xbitlabs.com/articles/video/display/asus-x800pro.html" target="_new">this article</A> or even <A HREF="http://www.xbitlabs.com/articles/video/display/gf6800-oc.html" target="_new">this other one</A> shows that there are very little situations in which you'd rather have a x800 pro over a GT.

<i><font color=red>You never change the existing reality by fighting it. Instead, create a new model that makes the old one obsolete</font color=red> - Buckminster Fuller </i>
 

aaron2504

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i don't look at brand names. The reason for the chioce of X800pro was i heard i could make it into a x800xt by soldering 2 pins together. plus the ATI's seem to perform better with FSAAx8 and AFx16. Which i would like to do.
 

aaron2504

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and if i can possibly get the x800pro into a x800xt then wouldnt that outperform the 6800GT?

http://www.theregister.com/2004/06/08/ati_r420_mod/
 

Mephistopheles

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i don't look at brand names.
I didn't think so... at least not about you :wink:

<i><font color=red>You never change the existing reality by fighting it. Instead, create a new model that makes the old one obsolete</font color=red> - Buckminster Fuller </i>
 

Mephistopheles

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Absolutely, then the x800 would be a better choice, even if it's slightly more expensive, because of the much added performance! Doesn't that look a bit... erm... dangerous?... I mean, it's up to you... if you succeed, you'll have one hell of a graphics card for a reasonable amount of money... and <i>that</i> is something that doesn't happen every day!

<i><font color=red>You never change the existing reality by fighting it. Instead, create a new model that makes the old one obsolete</font color=red> - Buckminster Fuller </i>
 

aaron2504

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thats the VGA sorted. Do you think i should wait for the 925xe chipset, bang a celeron in it. then when EM64T 1066mhz fsb range comes down in price get one. Then flog the celeron on ebay?
 

Mephistopheles

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Hm, that would be a good alternative... If you can live with the performance of a celeron D, anyway. It's not usual celeron crap, it's more respectable, but it's still not admirable by any means.

What you <i>could</i> do is wait for the 925XE chipset and reevaluate the market status by then. I mean, LGA775 celerons with higher clock and based on prescotts won't be too bad at all... and you might just be able to fit a lower-clock P4 with 64-bit extensions in your budget by then...

If I were you, I'd wait. I'm currently planning an upgrade later this year, but I have no idea whatsoever as to what it'll be exactly... 925XE could be good, nForce4 could be good, A64 is nice, P4 with 64-bit is also not bad at all, and has HT, which is an interesting technology from my point of view... But the hardware (and software) market is so messed up right now, that I'll just wait until the dust has settled a bit... For instance, next week we'll see the arrival of 3.2, 3.4 and 3.6Ghz P4s with 64-bit extensions enabled for the workstation market...

<i><font color=red>You never change the existing reality by fighting it. Instead, create a new model that makes the old one obsolete</font color=red> - Buckminster Fuller </i>
 

aaron2504

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yup it sure is! my comp now is a 2.4Ghz P4B , 512mb ram , fx5200. So i could probly live with a celeron D for a few month. might have a little fun with it at the end of its life. (celeron D fsb= 533mhz , mobo = 1066mhz) Overclock it to death see weather i can turn that 533 into a 1066mhz! should be interesting.
 

Mephistopheles

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Overclock it to death see weather i can turn that 533 into a 1066mhz! should be interesting.
Oh boy, that would be a crazy overclock... maybe the lowest-possible celeron?....... Even so, hellish OC.

<i><font color=red>You never change the existing reality by fighting it. Instead, create a new model that makes the old one obsolete</font color=red> - Buckminster Fuller </i>
 

aaron2504

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a 2.8Ghz(533fsb) might get up to a 4.2Ghz (800fsb). The prescot is ment for high clock speeds. lol @ 1066fsb it would be nearly 5.6Ghz
 

Mephistopheles

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You could just try to OC it over the edge by the time you know what to replace it with! It's a good excuse... Like....

"Whooopsie, my celeron has just died... I need a new one... Who would have known?" - while, in fact, it died because you OCed it over ~3.5Ghz...

<i><font color=red>You never change the existing reality by fighting it. Instead, create a new model that makes the old one obsolete</font color=red> - Buckminster Fuller </i>
 

JJKP77

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hehe. I am an atI fanboy at heart.
I like the better performance on AA and AF is why.
I'll drop a games resolution just to crank those settings
as high as they will go.
BUT. The small performance gain with AA and AF
cranked isn't worth the extra $$ in this case. I
Was under the impression that the stock x800's from Ati(not ASUS or others)
where priced competitively with the cheaper geforce.
I like that when i load windows on a fresh Ati install it automatically
goes to a higher resolution w/o the drivers. I also like that when i
change a resolution in a game on an Ati card it happens very fast.
When i do that on an Nvidia card it takes 20-30 seconds.
Ati pays attention to the little things. I like that.

AMD Athlon XP 2100+-=-1Gb PC2700-=-40Gb WDD HDD-=-
16x DvD-=-32x12x40 Lite on CD/RW-=-Floppy, "Who needs a damned floppy!"-=-ECS K7S5A Pro-=- Geforce 4 Ti 4400 128Mb 4x-=-