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Performance rig, Bottlenecked?

S

Shogo

Limp Gawd
Joined
Jun 1, 2004
Messages
389
Hi, i am building a computer for a friend, it will be used mostly for gaming (dod source, and other fps shooters), internet browsing, music,

I was aiming for an AMD X2 3800+ with 2gb of ocz "performance" ram PC3200 (3-4-4-8) *not really performance to me but good deal*. for the GPU we were thinking of an 7800GT-CO because its really cheap and really good bang for the buck, but we realised that his budget was a bit bigger then what we tought, so we were considering another video card. the x1800XT 512mb. the reason why we are considering this card is that the 7800GTX is selling only 40$ difference here, and i think the 1800XT will provide a better FPS at max detail. games wont be played over 1280x1024 BUT framerate is really crucal, he wants 70-100fps stable in games max detail.

My question is, will a 2.0ghz cpu will bottleneck that beast, are the new ati drivers are taking advantage of dual core (like nvidia does now),.

i cannot justify a 200$ gap between the 7800GT-co selling at 399$ (CND) and a 7800GTX selling at 600$, BUT could it be for a x1800XT at 630$

the case we are choosing is an antec performance 1050 with an integrated smartpower 500w atx2.0 , amperage on 12v rail is 19A, a bit scary for a x1800XT or not that power hungry?

thx
 
I highly doubt the CPU will be the bottleneck. The worst slowdown on any computer is the HDD. 2.0 AMD should be more than enough.
 
If game play is the real target, and famerates are his end goal, forget the lowend dualcore 3800+. Go for the 3700/4000+ San Deigo, it will be a much better performer in this case. Also, is a mild overclock an option from the get-go? You can do something safe and pretty well eliminate the cpu bottleneck.

I am not sure I understand your argument on the video card. What cards (brands and part numbers) are you comparing?
 
well i was explaining my friend that he could get a single core 3700 for cheaper and OC it to good speeds, but because he doesnt want to upgrade in the next 2-3year, we tought dual core would be the way to go. I have read several articles about dual core or single core, and i think the crowd is splitted in 2. Some thinks dual core is the smartest choice because its the future, some will think single core is better because dual core is not taking advantage with games.

the brand of video cards i am comparing is the sapphire x1800XT 512mb, at 629$ canadian currency on mocc.ca ,

in comparison, an evga 7800GTX (the cheapest price i saw in canada was 585$ on ncix (surprisingly the cheapest 7800GTX in canada is the one with acs3, cool eh)

link of 7800gtx



link of x1800xt

*it is strange, it says x1800XT512mb , but if you click on the box picture, its written 256mb on the box. do you think its a typo error, or the picture is the error?
 
Shogo said:
well i was explaining my friend that he could get a single core 3700 for cheaper and OC it to good speeds, but because he doesnt want to upgrade in the next 2-3year, we tought dual core would be the way to go. I have read several articles about dual core or single core, and i think the crowd is splitted in 2. Some thinks dual core is the smartest choice because its the future, some will think single core is better because dual core is not taking advantage with games.

the brand of video cards i am comparing is the sapphire x1800XT 512mb, at 629$ canadian currency on mocc.ca ,

in comparison, an evga 7800GTX (the cheapest price i saw in canada was 585$ on ncix (surprisingly the cheapest 7800GTX in canada is the one with acs3, cool eh)

link of 7800gtx



link of x1800xt

*it is strange, it says x1800XT512mb , but if you click on the box picture, its written 256mb on the box. do you think its a typo error, or the picture is the error?
Click to expand...

Well, by the time many games are taking advantage of dualcores, the lowest level of dualcore released in 2005 is hardly going to be the future :) Yes, dualcore and multicore CPU's are the future, and if you can take advantage of them now using some of the things they are great for it's a good buy, but this guy clearly wants gaming power. You are going to blow that 3800+ away in gaming (now/today) with a much less expensive CPU.

That would also give him a little extra on the budget else where, say, for a Raptor... like the poster above mentioned.

I am not sure about that video card, I don't like how they list it as "Hot Features: 512mb / 256mb GDDR3". I also wasn't able to find a part number and indeed the box says 256mb. However, images are often just used for display and might not reflect the exact product you get. It will be a good card eitherway, and the 7800GTX is obvioulsy a great card, so you will be fine here with what ever your choice is.
 
i agree with you, thank you for your reply.

I will try to make my friend understand that an X2 is not what he really needs.

I think the reason why we were thinking about a 3800+ would be for the future, but because we cannot really plan if dual core will really be a standart into programation in less then 2-3 year.

i think the 3700+ is a really good bang for the buck chip, and it can be OC pretty well, or even a 4000+
 
Get it. It's an excellent setup. If you overclock the X2 to 2.4-2.6GHz, you'll effectively eliminate any noticeable bottleneck. He seems to have a bit of money, so buy a decent air cooler (SI-120, Ninja, CNPS9500) and overclock. Also, if you get the X1800XT (also highly recommended), make sure to pick up the BIOS flash that automatically overclocks the card to 700/800. I did it on mine and it worked beautifully. No problems at all.
 
Have you considered a dual-core Opteron? Roughly the same price, double the cache, and much better overclocks. I would get the 2GHz Opteron, it should hit 2.5GHz no sweat (most hit 2.8-2.9GHz). I agree with whoever said a good HSF, may I suggest the Zalman 9500?

On the video card, really there is no real-world performance difference between those cards. Sure, one might get marginally higher scores in a (synthetic) benchmark, but in the real world you will see zero performance difference. Myself, I can never justify spending the extra money for the top-end stuff since the performance/price is much worse than the lower end stuff. I would personally get a 7800GT or X1800XL and overclock it to the high-end speeds. Much more value there.

On the RAM, don't worry about 1337 overclockerz RAM. AMD 64 processors offer very generous CPU/RAM dividers, so just get some value RAM and use a divider.

If you haven't bought the case yet, may I make another suggestion? The Antec P180 and Scyth Ninja heatsink were made for each other, I'm convinced of it. I wouldn't trust that Smartpower anyway. I suggest a Scythe Ninja HSF, Antec P180 case, and a better PSU of your choice.

Looking good :)
 
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