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P4 2.4 (400fsb)

C

CoPilotJim

Weaksauce
Joined
Sep 29, 2004
Messages
120
Hey guys,

I have a p4 2.4A/512mb ram/gf3. I am gonna buy another stick of 512 and am thinking that a 6600 gt is the best bet as far as a video card. I was thinking about building a new pc, but it's not really necessary currently. I would like to be able to play newer games (BF2, HL2, etc) and don't need uber high res/details/aa etc. I am thinking about this one:

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?item=N82E16814150089



Any thoughts? Is this overkill or just enough for what my system can handle? I'm not really interested in getting an ATI card as I like Nvidias digital vibrance setting.

Thanks!
 
That card should be a definite improvement. I have a 2.4C (800fsb) running at a whopping 2.8 (I got a "dud" one that doesn't overclock much), and I am very happy with my 6800GT. So, 6600GT is certainly reasonable IMHO.
 
I have a P4A 2.4Ghz with 512MB RDRAM(PC800) with a 6800GT.
Went from a Ti4600 to a 9800Pro to a 6800GT on this rig, and all upgrades showed a neat preformance increase.

And just order the last upgrade to this rig, 512 MB RDRAM to eliminate swapping on newer games.
Today the GPU is more important than the CPU in games.

Terra - A 6600 or a 6800 will both show big preformance increase in your case.
 
terra - It's awesome to see someone running an 2.4A and to hear your results, it's totally helpful, THANKS!!

Another question...

Would I be better off with the above 6600 gt (it has faster ram)

or this 6800 nu which will have 12 pipes and the 256 bit memory interface vs 8 pipes and 128 bit of the gt?

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=N82E16814150106

Also would it be a bad idea to order a refurbished card, I've never ordered any refurb parts, but I'm not against it. Are they gauranteed to work or are they just sold as is and you're screwed if it's busteD?

thanks!
 
Shmuckety said:
If you have the cash get a 6800GT. It will keep your system going longer. ;)
Click to expand...

Agreed. I almost skimped on my card, but I decided to save just a little more and grab one from another forum member. I got my 6800GT for $210 shipped. There are a couple on the FS/FT board right now for about $225ish. I'm so glad I opted for the 6800 instead. I couldn't be happier! Of course everyone wants a 7800, but this card is quite satisfying for me.
 
CoPilotJim said:
terra - It's awesome to see someone running an 2.4A and to hear your results, it's totally helpful, THANKS!!

Another question...

Would I be better off with the above 6600 gt (it has faster ram)

or this 6800 nu which will have 12 pipes and the 256 bit memory interface vs 8 pipes and 128 bit of the gt?

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=N82E16814150106

Also would it be a bad idea to order a refurbished card, I've never ordered any refurb parts, but I'm not against it. Are they gauranteed to work or are they just sold as is and you're screwed if it's busteD?

thanks!
Click to expand...

I would try and get a second hand 6800GT if I was you, or the 6800NU.
I think that will give you more than the 6600GT :)

Terra...
 
I've got a P4 2.4C@3.1GHz (800fbs) with a 6800GT @ 425/1100 and it runs like a champ. No water cooling, just two Zalmans. My 6800GT was second hand. Got it from the [H] Trade/Sale.
 
This thread is an inspiration!

I have a 2.53 P4 and a 6800 Vanilla, i was going to scrap my rig, but i am going to see what I can squeeze out of it first.

Thanks
 
The easiest way to tell if a new video card is what you want is the following: Lower the resolution of the game / graphics details to a minimum. If the game is smooth, then you are being held back by the video card at the higher settings. By getting a faster card, you can get the smooth play at high res/detail.

If dropping the res/detail does not improve the game speed, then you are already limited by the CPU, and upgrading the graphics won't help.
 
The resolution thing is good to know. Thanks.

Pill: are you having trouble playing games? Your system sounds OK to me. Either way crank it up a bit and see what it will give you. Probably 2.7-2.8 at least (stock voltage).
 
That 2.4a on the 400mhzFSB and ram (most likely PC2100) are going to hold you back alot. You're still going to see all the same low fps numbers in heavy CPU situations that you did be4. This new card will allow you to run more details at a slightly higher resolution yes. But those nasty FPS lows are still going to getcha.
 
I just put in 512 MB RDRAM mor in my rig so it now is like this:
P4A 2.4Ghz
Asus PT4-E
1024 MB RDRAM(PC800 wich is like DDR PC3200)
AGP 6800GT.

I then ran the F.E.A.R. Demo with these settings:
NVIDIA CP set to Quality
1280x960
4xAA(ingame setting)
Trilinear(ingame setting)
Machine: High
All GFX: medium
Softshadows: Off
While I was running other programs in the background(ICQ; MSN, eMule, Firewall, Antivirus ect to the total consumption of ~300MB RAM and CPU going bewteen 5-10% load, wich means not the best gaming mode) and it ran sweet :)
No disk swapping, and the gameplay was smooth.
Everthing at Stock settings

I will test later, when I have all none essential apps closed down, just how far I can squeeze the F.E.A.R demo, and let you know :)

And don let anyone tell you that a CPU is more important than the CPU in modern games.
Anandtech: How does CPU Speed Impact Graphics Performance?

3412.png


Terra - And my AGP Aperture was at 64 MB :p
 
Got to playing around with my system last night, I need a bit of advice since I haven't OCed since the Celermine 300s.

I have a 2.53 Northwood with 512mb Corsair PC3200 on a Stock Intel HS/F.

Last night I was able clock it up to 2.729 GHz on stock cooling, 143mhz FSB with a memmory ratio of 1:1. I stuck with the Stock Voltage level.

Going above this I ran in to some problems, the FSB at 146 caused a lockup after about 2 hours of use. 150FSB locked up after a few minutes and the system wouldnt boot much higher after that.

Is there any cheap (Sub $30) ways to boost this up a bit? Gameplay in DM3 and UT2K4 was noticably better and the system feels a bit faster. What about bios settings, I have an MSI Mobo (cant remember the model).

Is 2.729 a good OC on a stock Cooler?
 
So you don't have a fsb 400 processor, you have a 533fsb. If you were overclocking to 143 on fsb 400 you would be at 3.5ghz.

1. Try turning up the voltage.
2. Ram may be holding you back (try looser timings)
3. Try getting a better cooler (probably won't help much unless you get water cooling)
 
Shmuckety said:
So you don't have a fsb 400 processor, you have a 533fsb. If you were overclocking to 143 on fsb 400 you would be at 3.5ghz.

1. Try turning up the voltage.
2. Ram may be holding you back (try looser timings)
3. Try getting a better cooler (probably won't help much unless you get water cooling)
Click to expand...

What is a safe margin for upping the voltage? i dont have the system in front of me, but I think the Voltage is 1.7v?

As for the ram, I will play around with it a bit.

I am tempted to get that A64 3700+ Combo at new egg.. How much more performance will I see over what I have?
 
I think the stock voltage for that cpu is 1.4V

You can go up to like 1.6V without having to worry about killing it. :)

The 3700+ would be a pretty big improvement. It's almost 1GHZ faster than what you have right now.

 
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