upgrade dilemma - please advise

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bowen2005

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Mar 16, 2004
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Hello there,

I would really appreciate some help here. My current system is an Athlon 1900XP with 512 meg RAM and a Radeon 9800PRO. I recently upgraded from a Radeon 8500 so I could play more recent games. My 3D mark 2001SE score (on default settings) is now around 11,500 and 3d mark 2003 is 5,190. Since the upgrade, it breezes call of duty (and other Q3 based games). UT 2003 runs nicely generally but does seem to strain a bit at times. UT 2004 seems to strain a bit on larger maps as well. However, far cry really does stretch it - its playable but not as smooth as I am used to. Also unreal 2 seems to struggle somewhat. Is this normal for a system of my specifcation also do my benchmark scores sound right?

I really don't want to have to upgrade the processor and motherboard at this point, but am seriously considering investing in a Radeon X800. Would this be a worthwhile upgrade and would I notice an appreciable improvement in performance with my current setup?

Thanks for reading,

Bowen
 
TheGreatGrapeApe

TheGreatGrapeApe

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Feb 18, 2003
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Upgrade your CPU & RAM first, the thing killing your gameplay is NOT the graphics card, it's your anemic system. Especially in UT2k4 with lots of players/big maps.

Boost your CPU to at least 2800 (depending on your FSB) and your ram to 1gb. That should have more impact than adding another card that's more powerful than the rest of your rig.

If you played small maps and like to crank up the RES and AA/AF then putting an X800Pro/GF6800GT (the plain jane GF6800 and LE would likely be a step backwards) with an XP1900+ makes sense, otherwise you're never going to see improvements because your system's holding you back, and your 3Dmk01 results show that. I get about the same with my Xp2000+ and my R9600PRo, and if I overclock my card alone I beat you by about 1,000 marks.

Go buy some ram and a better CPU, and save the rest of your money for when the X800s/GF6800s come down in price.


- You need a licence to buy a gun, but they'll sell anyone a stamp <i>(or internet account)</i> ! - <font color=green>RED </font color=green> <font color=red> GREEN</font color=red> GA to SK :evil:
 
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bowen2005

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Oh man - I had a nasty feeling someone was going to say that. My motherboard will only support about another 400 Mhz - so it looks like I will need to upgrade that too. I am working to a pretty tight budget. In real gaming terms, how much difference is there between a standard athlon 3200XP and one of these fancy Hyper threaded extreme edition pentiums or the 64-bit athlon fx?

Thanks for the feedback by the way...
 
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bowen2005

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I can't remember of the top of my head - I will find out.

In the meantime - what motherboard would you guys recommend to go with an Athlon XP3200?
 
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bowen2005

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Right - I have just ordered an Athlon XP 3200, 1 gig of ram and an Epox 8rda3+ motherboard. In conjunction with my existing Radeon 9800 Pro, how well will this cover me for far cry, UT, half life 2 and doom 3. And how long would you estimate it will be before it starts to struggle?

Thanks folks.
 
pauldh

pauldh

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Jan 1, 2004
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Ouch, I wouldn't have ordered an XP3200+, they are way overpriced. Also a XP2500+ and easily XP2500+ mobile can overclock that far or beyond, while saving you good money. I also like the ABit NF7-S mobo best for AXP's. But that's all just my opinion.


What did you pay for that upgrade? You probably could have had an A64 3000+ or P4 2.8C for the same price or less.

Edit: Also, through zipzoomfly you can get FarCry for free buying an A64 and mobo at the same time.




ABIT IS7, P4 2.6C, 1GB Corsair XMS 4000 Pro Series, Radeon 9800 Pro, Santa Cruz, TruePower 430watt<P ID="edit"><FONT SIZE=-1><EM>Edited by Pauldh on 07/26/04 05:55 PM.</EM></FONT></P>
 
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bowen2005

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The 3200 was £118. How much difference is there between the XPs and the 64s. Also are the pentiums quicker than the equivalent XPs.

Finally would I be able to overclock my 3200 if I wanted?

Cheers.
 
pauldh

pauldh

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I don't know your prices. Online prices here in the USA, an XP3200+ retail costs $187, an A64 3000+ retail cost $173, and a retail P4 2.8C costs $180.

The A64 3000+ would have the gaming advantage for sure over the other two. Your XP3200+ should perform almost as well as the P4 2.8C in games, but slower in some other aps. Here is a review comparing the P4-C chips to the AXP's. <A HREF="http://www.anandtech.com/cpuchipsets/showdoc.aspx?i=1834&p=7" target="_new">http://www.anandtech.com/cpuchipsets/showdoc.aspx?i=1834&p=7</A>. Take a look at all the charts to see what is important to you.

The P4 2.8C would OC better than the XP3200+ Most 2.8C's can hit 3.2GHz with the right ram/mobo. I have never tried to OC the XP3200+, but I don't think it is considered a good OC chip. I could be wrong. For one thing, it is expensive and most people OC the cheaper AXP's. But the thing with the AXP's, the mobile versions OC like crazy. I have one Mobile XP2500+ that hits 2.6GHz on air(400 MHz over the stock XP3200+). And OEM, without a fan, they cost only $88 now. And the $80 regular XP2500+ can usually hit 3200+ speeds (2.2GHz) pretty easy even with the retail heatsink.

Anyway, Your system isn't bad at all, it's just over here anyway, you could have got more performance for the money, or the same performance for less money. Especially if you consider overclocking. But maybe where you live, you got a bargain. I don't know.





ABIT IS7, P4 2.6C, 1GB Corsair XMS 4000 Pro Series, Radeon 9800 Pro, Santa Cruz, TruePower 430watt
 
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bowen2005

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To be honest, I have never tried overclocking - I just wanted everything to be right, out of the box.

The place where I need to get it from (it's one of my suppliers I use at work) does not have any Athlon 64's in.

This is what I have done (I had to make a split-second decision as they were about to start building it). For an extra £80 I have upgraded to a Pentium 4 - 3.2 Ghz with an Epox 4PDA2 Motherboard.

Does this sound like a good call?
 
pauldh

pauldh

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Well, I don't like to make split-second decisions about hardware unless I am fully aware of how it all performs. But in your case, with them building it, I understand.

Not sure if they are giving you a P43.2C Northwood or P43.2E Prescott, but yes the P4 will be faster in gaming and in almost every instance against the XP3200+. In some areas it will blow the AXP away. So as long as you coudn't get an A64, your options were limited, and you have the extra $150 (80 pounds), then I'd say it is worth it. I do not know much about that Epox motherboard, but it looks to be a nice i865pe mobo that is quite feature loaded.

A P4 3.2GHz in an i865pe mobo with 1GB ram and a Radeon 9800 Pro will make a nice system. It won't be as fast in games as an A64 3200+, but definately performing much better than the AXP3200+ that you had originally gone with. And your system is quick enough to justify a video card upgrade to a X800 or GF6800GT down the road if you want higher resolution gaming and more eye candy.

You basically have the system specs that almost all review sites have been using to test video cards over the past year. So you know it isn't too shabby at all. :smile: Recently they have switched to A64 also to limit the video cards even less.


ABIT IS7, P4 2.6C, 1GB Corsair XMS 4000 Pro Series, Radeon 9800 Pro, Santa Cruz, TruePower 430watt
 
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