upgrade time!

[Kris]

Hi,

With Doom 3 coming next and other games like HL2 and S.T.A.L.K.E.R., I'm
almost sure that my current system isn't going to be sufficient. I
currently have an Athlon 1800+ with a Geforce Ti 4200 and 512mb RAM.

Sure, the RAM is easily upgraded, but what about the CPU and the video?
I'm wondering whether upgrading the videocard (f.e. to a Radeon 9800 Pro
128 MB), will increase the fps and also the quality of the graphics? I
don't want to be able to "just play" the game at decent frame rate, I also
want to enjoy the new (DX9) effects!

Or will the cpu be such a bottleneck I'll hardly notice any improvement?...

Thanks to anyone who can advice me!
Kris

 

[Cole Turner]

Or will the cpu be such a bottleneck I'll hardly notice any improvement?...

definitely ... !

and for a noticeably faster one, you need a new board, so I suggest
getting yourself an entirely new rig

*** Cole ***

 

[Dodgy]

Hi,

With Doom 3 coming next and other games like HL2 and S.T.A.L.K.E.R., I'm
almost sure that my current system isn't going to be sufficient. I
currently have an Athlon 1800+ with a Geforce Ti 4200 and 512mb RAM.

Sure, the RAM is easily upgraded, but what about the CPU and the video?
I'm wondering whether upgrading the videocard (f.e. to a Radeon 9800 Pro
128 MB), will increase the fps and also the quality of the graphics? I
don't want to be able to "just play" the game at decent frame rate, I also
want to enjoy the new (DX9) effects!

Or will the cpu be such a bottleneck I'll hardly notice any improvement?...

Thanks to anyone who can advice me!
Kris

That CPU is going to hold back a 9800, although I would still expect
to see an improvement on the Ti4200, just nowhere near what it is
capable of.

D0d6y.

 

[Sham B]

I was in the same general situation a few months ago.... XP2000, 512Mb, R9500 pro.

My advice? Change everything.

trailing edge stuff is really cheap at the moment, and for most gear seems to be not that far away
from the bleeding end kit. Changing everything will give you a massive boost with no bottlenecks,
and all your components are proven classics...

for example a full system, such as

an nforce 2 board (5.1 sound will be built in, as will some sort of networking, but shop around),
XP3000,
Radeon 9800 pro
and 1Gb memory
Use existing case and HDs

seems to be more than capable, plus its not that pricy. 64 bit just isnt that much faster with
currently available software (and when the software to make use of 64 bit comes out, the current
stuff will be obsolete), and PC Express mk 1 is a damp marketing squib at the moment. Oh. Also
note that I found that fast memory has little benefit for a lot of money. 2700 memory seemed to be
almost as good as most other pricier offerings when looking at benchmarks. this is probably because
CPU design already assumes slow performance from memory (that is what the on chip cache is for).
1GB of standard memory seems preferable to 512Mb of faster memory wrt fast benchmarks

FWIW, my setup is the same as above, except that I have a XP2800. You might also consider mobile
XPs, which seem to be very overclockable at the moment.

Best initial advice is to benchmark your system with 3DMark2003, then compare your result with other
online results, because this will tell you the performance gains you will see in changing kit out,
as compared with your current setup. Use this to identify your bottlenecks and/or decide on the full
system you need to change to.

Note that there are some mad overclockers out there that totally OC their system, for the 3DMark
(bragging rights), but actually use them at much lower rates, so I would drop all suprisingly high
results you see online by 10%. Also, ignore all water cooling solutions (not really cost effective
yet, IMO).

HTH

S

 

[dookie]

tigerdirect has *$40* socket A barebones systems (after rebate, and if you
don't mind blue). chieftec dragon case, soyo dragon plus (kt600) mb, 400w
ultra power supply. add a barton 3200+ and 512mb pc3200 ram and you're well
on your way for ~$275. add a 9800pro for ~$200 and it sounds like a hell of
a gaming system deal to me.

$0.02,

dookie