rchapman said:
I built a PC about 7yrs ago and have never upgraded it cause I only use it
for the net,
music and Nascar Racing 2003(simulation game). It has always run smooth and
carried the game well. It's still the same game but now with mods, etc. and
my FPS has taken a hit. What, if any, would be a proper upgrade to get more
FPS? I was thinking video card, but wasn't sure.
Here are my specs:
Win XP
AMD Athlon XP 2400+
ASUS A7N8X M/B
512mb memory 400mhz
Nvidia Geforce 4 ti4600
I know it's an older pc/parts, but it runs so good and I like to try and get
some extra FPS if possible. I was also thinking of adding another stick of
512mb memory.
Thanks for any and all help.
First of all, consider what upgrade strategies are available today.
There are precious few new AGP motherboards. (I have one, but I wouldn't
recommend it to someone.) If you sink good money into another AGP video card,
you may not be able to move that video card to a new computer.
The newest standard for video is PCI Express. At some point, you'll be
moving to PCI Express.
You're going to run into a game that needs more processor. Your S462 socket
doesn't allow much more increase in performance.
If you're determined to do it this way, you can still get AGP cards. What
you should watch for, in the reviews, is any comments about driver quality.
Nvidia has stopped making AGP cards, so you're looking at an ATI card.
ATI tends not to put the work into the drivers for their AGP cards.
So you want to check whether the purchasers are happy with the
driver situation.
Some reviews here for a 3850 AGP. Look for any comments about drivers.
http://www.newegg.com/Product/ProductReview.aspx?Item=N82E16814161226
A 3850 uses 63.1 watts from the power supply.
http://www.xbitlabs.com/articles/video/display/gigabyte-radeonhd3870-3850_5.html#sect0
In terms of memory, you should be able to use Task Manager, and check the
Commit Charge Total while the game is running. (I use alt-tab to leave
a game, and look at the Task Manager display in the desktop.)
If you currently have 2x256MB sticks, you can purchase a 512MB DDR
stick to double the memory. You can still do a dual channel configuration
with 256+256+512. The two 256MB sticks go in the pair of slots that
are "close" to one another. The 512MB goes in the "separate" slot.
For dual channel, only the total memory in each channel has to match,
on Nforce2.
You could also move to 2x1GB memory. Leave the third slot blank. There
have been issues with Nforce2 with >2GB total memory, and it is
unclear to me whether the problem is consistent across all manufacturers
of those boards or not. But if I was buying, I would stop at
2x1GB sticks, rather than trying to fit 3x1GB for example.
For 1GB sticks, if you want to buy some, don't buy those from Ebay.
If you want to buy a 512MB DDR, that should be "safer". The problem
with Ebay and 1GB DDR, is there is a lot of "high density" memory
for sale. And you don't want that stuff, as it doesn't work with all
chipsets. Nforce2 should be off the list for those.
For example, this 2x1GB kit is $60 after rebate. I have one of
these kits on another system, and they're fine. They are low
latency, 2-3-2-5. It took 8-9 weeks for the rebate check to
show up. I wanted to buy more, but the rebate is one per
household.
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820227210
Your processor is the part that cannot really be improved on
very well. Sure, you can overclock it a bit, but that just
isn't going to be enough to make a gaming machine of it for
another 5 years. So sooner or later, you're going to have
to start all over again. Tossing out your new memory and
new AGP video card in the process.
Spend $100 after rebate for one of these, plus $60 for a good memory kit,
and you're done.
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814131141
Paul
