Cpu, Video, Or Ram

doubleJ

doubleJ

Limp Gawd
Joined
Aug 10, 2004
Messages
221
Hello...
I'm looking to upgrade 1 piece of my htpc and I was wondering where I would see the most benefit. I currently have a g965 mobo, celeron 2.66gh, radeon 2400pro, 1tb seagate 32mb cache, 512mb ddr2 800, and somewhere around a 450w pcie/sata psu.
I can't quite play 720p x264 downloads and Titan Quest runs at around 10fps. I'm wondering what the single best upgrade, for under $100, would be to help things out.
At first, I assumed that the cpu would be the logical choice, but a friend of mine has a new laptop with a core2duo, but x3100 video, and he only gets about 15fps with Titan Quest. Assuming that the bottleneck in the video card, and since TQ isn't multithreaded, I thought that the 2.66 celeron might be ok if I had a better video card.
Here are my main choices...
Intel e5200 cpu ($75)
Nvidia 9600gt / Ati 4830 ($85-$95)
2x1gb ddr2-800 ($25)
I'm assuming that both of those video cards will hardware accelerate the x264 video. If so, then I'm thinking the video card would be the logical choice.
JJ
 
It also could be a problem with TQ, where it slows down for a moment and after speeds up like crazy, known as "rubberbanding" plus basically any support for that game is long gone as far as I remember. Shame too, it was a really fun game.
 
lt_shiro said:
Its the ram and video card causing the problem.
Click to expand...

Ditto - I'd get the RAM - or even 2 x 2 GB cause you can find that for $25 sometimes.

Video card maybe a 9500GT - just look for a deal on video cards in your price range.
 
If you do just use it for a HTPC and light gaming, I would pick up a cheap 9600GT or even a used 8800GT. It will support 1080p DXVA decoding and run TQ at a much better fps.
 
I find it interesting that you guys are recommending lower powered cards than the, already midrange, cards that I am thinking about buying. Are there any particular reasons (known x264 problems or something)?
BTW...
My projector is 720p, so I won't be doing anything 1080p. Also, I'm running 32-bit xp so, I assume, the 4GB of ram would be wasted.
JJ
 
video card, for sure. you can get a waaaay better card for that cash. but if you sell your old card, you can get 2gb for that.
 
("pci express bus power") Doesn't need a 6 pin power connector and you can't call it native when it needs a pass thur cable to get audio.
 
At the moment, I'm not doing hdmi (dvi-hdmi adapter to projector). I'm using a 5.1 set of logitech z-640 speakers (3x3.5mm cables). Since I don't have a audio receiver, that stuff isn't of much importance to me. I don't plan to purchase a new audio system for a couple of years and by that time I'll have new hardware.
JJ
 
lt_shiro said:
("pci express bus power") Doesn't need a 6 pin power connector and you can't call it native when it needs a pass thur cable to get audio.
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Huh. Curious what ATI gaming video cards (because he wants gaming performance) have PCI-e "bus" power. Never heard of that before.
 
FWIW, I didn't say the NVidia card had native HDMI, Newegg did. Just the same as those ATI cards you posted.
 
Buy the ram, no matter what you do. And buy a single 2gb stick, unless you need the 1gb sticks for compatibility reasons.

Upgrading your video card and sticking with 512mb of ram won't do you any favours.
 
Spewn said:
Buy the ram, no matter what you do. And buy a single 2gb stick, unless you need the 1gb sticks for compatibility reasons.

Upgrading your video card and sticking with 512mb of ram won't do you any favours.
Click to expand...

Hmm. In his current position, If he upgrades just the RAM, he still won't be able to decode HD video or play TQ any better, but if he upgrades the GPU he will. :rolleyes:
 
criccio said:
Hmm. In his current position, If he upgrades just the RAM, he still won't be able to decode HD video or play TQ any better, but if he upgrades the GPU he will. :rolleyes:
Click to expand...

If you think 512mb of ram is sufficient to run a gaming system, I'm not sure where you've been the past few years. Besides, at $25 it's a must-have no matter which direction he goes in.

On the other hand, if $25 is going to break your budget, then maybe you should choose between playing games or decoding video?

Edit: It's pretty clear that I meant buy the ram "as well as" and not "instead of" whatever else you have in mind, isn't it?
 
Yeah, the ram is a no-brainer for $25. I just wanted to include it, as the current 512mb does present some bottleneck. To be honest, though, I'm not sure that xp and titan quest use more than 512mb. If that's the case, then I wouldn't think it would bottleneck anything.
JJ
 
I got a ATI 3850 and four gigs of DDR 800 for $120, so check watch newegg for combo's.
 
criccio said:
:rolleyes:

Prove it.

My 8800GT has no problems even with L5.1 1080p encodes peaking at 60Mbps while my CPU idles. :p
Click to expand...

My 8800GT SSC and 9600GT SC do a very fine job (two different HTPC's).

lt_shiro said:
7.1 audio native hdmi:eek: pci express bus power.
Click to expand...

If it can't bitstream or not downsample, who cares? I actually prefer to run audio and video separately since they're going to two different locations. Until Win7 can solve PAP and bitstreaming video card comes out, I have no reason to change out my video card.
 
512mb is listed as the minimum requirement for Titan Quest, and I'd have a very hard time believing it won't make use of at least twice that much.

Besides, just sitting here on the [H] with utorrent and msn running in the background, I'm using more memory than you have. Hard to imagine that you won't see an overall performance increase, let alone in any specific program.
 
Well of course upgrade the RAM aswell. I thought since you didn't mention anywhere to upgrade his GPU you thought the RAM alone was going to be his best bet.

As far as its HTPC duties, that is actually enough RAM, although not ideal.
 
Hehehe...
My work pc has only 512MB of ram and the only time I've noticed it not being enough is when I run photoshop. I use Xp pro, Adobe Audition, MS Access 2003, and MS Outlook 2003 all day long. Right now I'm at 512, and that's only because I'm using IE7 and it's using 51MB.
Certainly, more ram is better. I was just saying that it may not be necessary.
One caveat, though...
I upgraded the ram in my laptop (asus a8jp, c2d 2.0gh, 945 chipset) from 2x512 to 2x1gb and sacred2 actually showed a decrease in framerates by 1-2fps. Both measurements were using fraps at the main menu (which is utilizing any graphic settings). I can only assume that the original ram had a lower timing. That is exactly the opposite of a friend that went up to 2gb and he says there was a noticeable difference with titan quest.
JJ
 
doubleJ said:
Both measurements were using fraps at the main menu (which is utilizing any graphic settings).
JJ
Click to expand...
\

You measured the FPS you where getting at the main menu? :rolleyes:

Regardless, definitely grab one of the GPU's we suggested (specifically which one depends on price), and a cheap 2GB RAM kit. You should be great for HD video aswell as TQ.
 
criccio said:
You measured the FPS you where getting at the main menu? :rolleyes:
Click to expand...
As mentioned, the menu utilizes all the video settings (if I have AA and everything on, the menu runs at like 5fps). It is my character standing (while moving around a little) and an outdoor scene with birds flying around, grass swaying in the wind, and water rippling and reflecting. It can be quite intensive. On my laptop (again, c2d 2.0gh, radeon x1700), with all settings at their lowest and 1400x900, I get like 28fps at the main menu. That holds fairly true within the game, too (gameplay drops down to 22-25 at times).
I just use the menu, as it's constant (it will only vary by 1 or 2 fps over minutes, whereas gameplay can vary by 30fps at times).
I'm pretty well set on getting a card. Now I just need to decide between the 9600gt and the x4830. I've never owned a good nvidia (and always wanted to), but price always kicked me back to ati. I feel like I'm in the same boat, again, as the 9600gt is the card that I've wanted for a year, but now it seems a little last-generation, compared to the 48xx.
JJ
 
doubleJ said:
One caveat, though...
I upgraded the ram in my laptop (asus a8jp, c2d 2.0gh, 945 chipset) from 2x512 to 2x1gb and sacred2 actually showed a decrease in framerates by 1-2fps.
JJ
Click to expand...

When I went from 2x512 to my current 2x1GB OCZ, I had to do a fresh install of XP before performance increased. Windows reported 2 GB but performance behaved as if there was only 1x512 (one 512 stick died, maybe that's why). Never figured out why, but a fresh install fixed it.
 
doubleJ said:
Hehehe...
My work pc has only 512MB of ram and the only time I've noticed it not being enough is when I run photoshop. I use Xp pro, Adobe Audition, MS Access 2003, and MS Outlook 2003 all day long. Right now I'm at 512, and that's only because I'm using IE7 and it's using 51MB.
Certainly, more ram is better. I was just saying that it may not be necessary.
One caveat, though...
I upgraded the ram in my laptop (asus a8jp, c2d 2.0gh, 945 chipset) from 2x512 to 2x1gb and sacred2 actually showed a decrease in framerates by 1-2fps. Both measurements were using fraps at the main menu (which is utilizing any graphic settings). I can only assume that the original ram had a lower timing. That is exactly the opposite of a friend that went up to 2gb and he says there was a noticeable difference with titan quest.
JJ
Click to expand...

Man, I would hate to have your work PC. We are ordering our work Computers with four gigs of RAM, heck, my own PC at work as eight gigs, and I page with my pagefile every day.
 
Well, I'm getting a used 9600gt for $60 from a guy in the FS/FT forum. The 4830 may outperform, but I will finally have an nvidia. Plus, I have extra to buy ram with.
JJ
 
9600gt and 4830 are not in the same weight class. 4830 is to match the 8800GT/9800 GT.
 
Ok, well, the 9600gt fell through. I ordered a 4830 with dvi/vga/hdmi out. Supposedly, the onboard hdmi will pass audio. I have no use for it, now, but, when I get an audio receiver, it should be nice.
JJ
 
23A on the +12V rail... kinda cuttin it close. You may want to upgrade the PSU next time you get a chance, but it should work fine for now.
 
Only 276W of power on the +12V rail, and your system draws mostly from that rail, so its kinda like having a 300W PSU.
 
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