First time poster - got a few questions I hope I can get some help with. My system is pretty much for games and checking email.. that's all.
P4 2.26 533fsb
Intel d845EBG2L ddr 533fsb
768 pc2100 ddr
Geforce 4 4400ti AGP (8x?)
60 gig 7200 maxtor hdd
1. Is it of any benefit to add an IDE HDD to this system and install only games to that drive to improve speed and performance? Games I play are Halflife 2, Doom 3, World of Warcraft.
I have 2 IDE connectors on my MB. The primary IDE connector has only my primary HDD on it, but it has an empty connection on that cable so an IDE device could be added. The secondary IDE connector has only my CDrom on it and also has an empty connection on that cable so another IDE device could be added there as well.
If I get a 40 gig hdd for games only, how should I setup my IDE devices to benefit the faster data access? Do both HDDs need to be on one IDE cable, or seperate? Is there even a benefit? What about buffer size on the HDD? My current buffer is like 512k or something... Are the 2 mb buffer drives going to make that better of a difference?
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2. I have been using the onboard sound on my MB since I built this PC and was wondering if getting a PCI soundcard would help game performance. A few people have said that it should free up the CPU a little bit. Any opinions on this? Might pickup a $30 SB card if that will help.
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3. Also, I have 200-300 bucks to spend on as new video card. I am currently running a GeForce 4 4400ti on a P4 2.26 533fsb and 768mb 2100 ram. Are there any worthwhile cards in that price range that will give a noticable improvement to WoW and other 3d games as well... HL2? IF there are, can you recommend any manufacturers of cards? I do prefer the nvidia cards though.
I currently like the 6600GT AGP card. Around $225 and seems decent. Any thoughts?
Thanks in advance for your help.
P4 2.26 533fsb
Intel d845EBG2L ddr 533fsb
768 pc2100 ddr
Geforce 4 4400ti AGP (8x?)
60 gig 7200 maxtor hdd
1. Is it of any benefit to add an IDE HDD to this system and install only games to that drive to improve speed and performance? Games I play are Halflife 2, Doom 3, World of Warcraft.
I have 2 IDE connectors on my MB. The primary IDE connector has only my primary HDD on it, but it has an empty connection on that cable so an IDE device could be added. The secondary IDE connector has only my CDrom on it and also has an empty connection on that cable so another IDE device could be added there as well.
If I get a 40 gig hdd for games only, how should I setup my IDE devices to benefit the faster data access? Do both HDDs need to be on one IDE cable, or seperate? Is there even a benefit? What about buffer size on the HDD? My current buffer is like 512k or something... Are the 2 mb buffer drives going to make that better of a difference?
-
2. I have been using the onboard sound on my MB since I built this PC and was wondering if getting a PCI soundcard would help game performance. A few people have said that it should free up the CPU a little bit. Any opinions on this? Might pickup a $30 SB card if that will help.
-
3. Also, I have 200-300 bucks to spend on as new video card. I am currently running a GeForce 4 4400ti on a P4 2.26 533fsb and 768mb 2100 ram. Are there any worthwhile cards in that price range that will give a noticable improvement to WoW and other 3d games as well... HL2? IF there are, can you recommend any manufacturers of cards? I do prefer the nvidia cards though.
I currently like the 6600GT AGP card. Around $225 and seems decent. Any thoughts?
Thanks in advance for your help.