Reccomended upgrade?

A

altec_tech

Limp Gawd
Joined
Aug 17, 2004
Messages
175
Hi all! It's been awhile. I've been grounded, haha. :p But yeah, I had to hold my rig off for awhile, but now, I think I might want to build my rig soon. I want to play battlefield 2, world of warcraft, HL2, doom3, and the upcoming quake4 and unreal games.

If I were to play at highest setting, what do you reccomend getting that will run it at least 30 fps?

I don't plan on running it at "insane" resolutions though. Maybe I will try it out, but I don't like all of my interface stuff being so small.

Would a 3700+ San Diego or 3800+ venice be best? I don't want to spend over 400 for a processor. I don't really plan on OC'ing my processor right away, but I probably will eventually.

Video card... should I get a 7800? Or wait to see what ATI has to offer? And what the hell is this new Nvidia Intellisample 4.0 on the new 7800 card? I think I will end up waiting though for the prices to drop, and for the Ultra to be released, so the GT version of the card will lower in price, hopefully below $500. $500 is my max really for a video card, so I guess I will be waiting no matter what.

I'm clueless on motherboard, considering I don't know if I am going ATI or Nvidia yet. But other than that. I am pretty much decided on everything else.

So what do you guys think?
 
don't buy bleeding edge technology if you are on a budget. You can build an entire system, including video card for about $900.....
 
well the budget is pretty much $2000. I say the max for the processor and video card, because with all the other stuff I plan to purchase with it, will add up to $2000. The videocard and processor (I guess mobo too) are the variable in the equation.

I have about $1000-$1300 into the computer alone without videocard and processor. So that's why I guess I'm looking for a combined total of 900$ with the processor and videocard.

I can afford the 7800 most likely, for only $530. And San Diego 3700+ for $325.

But your reply to my post does not help me that much.
 
any number of non sli nforce4 pci express motherboards will work fine.

a +3200 venice or +3400 if you wanna spend the cash, with a bigole' thermalright heatsink and 92mm fan

a 6800 ultra or x850

go ahead and get 2 gigs tight timing of pc 3500

a 7200 rpm sata drive, whatever size floats your boat

quality 500w or so powersupply (I like antec for price vs performance, make sure it's the correct type for the mobo you buy)

whatever dvd/cd burner you like

a spiffy looking case

fancontroller

and whatever else you'd like. Easily done for less than 2 g's.
 
If you really wanna save some money, get the 3200+ Venice and OC it...It will OC to at least 2.4 no problem and then you will have the equilvalant of the 3800+ for 190.00....Also may I suggest the one of the DFI Lanparty NF4 boards....I say go with the 7800GTX just cause you can, especialy if you buy the 3200+ you will save your self like a 100.00+.....with the 3200+ and one of the DFI boards your lookin at under 400.00 bucks for both mobo and proc....Thats what I would do if I was you....BTW if you do get one of the DFI make sure you go to DFI STREET to make sure whatever ram you pick out will work on your board....Also make sure you get a nice 24pin PSU with at least 26a on the 12V rail.....
 
Lots of people seem to love the 7800....again, I never buy on the bleeding edge, I hate paying that much of a premium for something just because its brand new.
 
Aaron_ATX said:
Lots of people seem to love the 7800....again, I never buy on the bleeding edge, I hate paying that much of a premium for something just because its brand new.
Click to expand...

I'm usaully the same, but hey if you can afford it why the fuck not....
 
The single biggest purchase you should make ought to be the monitor. A good monitor will last several upgrades and probably up to about 5 years.

Next biggest purchase should be graphics card and spend just a little less than what you paid for the monitor. I'd advise against the 7800 right now - the prices are artificially high to bleed some cash from early adopters who can't stop themselves from upgrading. If you're happy with paying that, go ahead, but don't moan when the new 7800 models come out and the price takes a tumble.
 
A decent audio subsystem can provide similar longevity to a display, if not better. Set aside a decent portion of your upgrade budget for a sound system and come over to the Computer Audio forum.
 
Yeah, I wouldn't like to pay much more than what I need to pay. I was looking at some benchmarks once and wondering why I'd pay 10 times the price for a processor for only 2 times the performance. But, if you can afford it, it's obviously not a problem.

If you have the money, why not go dual core RIGHT NOW? After all, you won't need to worry about replacing your processor next year. You'll be ready for multi-threaded software already.
 
Again, I dont see the point in going dual core yet.....spend that cash on a monitor or a soundsystem
 
I'm confused on this subject of dual-cores. Multi-threaded software? I know I'm not gonna throw $800 down for a processor, but I do want this computer to last for like 2 years at least, without me upgrading it. And make sure that it is "upgradeable" For instance, I don't know why I would get a NON-SLI Mobo. If my videocard begins running slowly, I can just buy another and tag-team it up with each-other for more performance.

I think I will wait for the new ATI cards and Ultra versions of GeForce, before I make a decision.

One is for sure though, I would like to have the ability to run two video cards at the same time for when I want to upgrade (rather than replacing the whole card) So I know that ATI will have this function once they launch their cards and motherboards. That is why I am waiting for now.

Also, does anyone know about that intelli 4.0 thing in the 7800, that allows for better graphics, according to Nvidia.
 
If you want your system to last for 2 years then I have some suggestions for you. Multi-processor systems are going to become the norm, because of the multithreaded nature of the next gen consoles this will usher the pace of adoption of multithreading especially in games. So If you ask me I'd say a dual core CPU would be a better bet than a SLI motherboard. SLi is silly, because you can buy a sli board which will cost lots of money, and a sli capable card then later when you actually need to upgrade the videocard all SLI will do for you is increase your fillrate. Adding a second card (one based on todays technology) isn't going to enable directx 10 features, you would be better served by waiting and getting a whole different card then.

In my opinion, i would put the money into a dual core CPU , along with a PCIX based motherboard/Videocard (non-sli) and spend the difference on more RAM , because ram is on the cheap end of the curve now, and it doesnt't stay there indefinetly.

I'd break it down like this
4200+ x2 585$ (if you wait a month or 2 this will come down somewhat)
CHAINTECH VNF4 Socket 939 NVIDIA nForce4 78$
PNY Optima 1GB 184-Pin DDR SDRAM Unbuffered DDR 400 (x2) 163.98
videocard of your preference

etc you get the idea, this is of course assuming you don't want to overclock, and if you don't then you can save alot of money on the mb , especially if you don't buy SLI. Just my 2 cents.
 
altec_tech said:
For instance, I don't know why I would get a NON-SLI Mobo. If my videocard begins running slowly, I can just buy another and tag-team it up with each-other for more performance.
Click to expand...

By the time you are ready to purchase a new video card you'd be better off buying a single "lastest and greatest" card that supports the newest features/shaders/etc etc, instead of buying an identical card.


Think back when you bought your first geforce 4 (or whatever spiffy new card you bought last)....and think 2 years from that time how lame it would be to add another geforce 4 to your system, considering how much had changed in the video card market during that time


SLI is awesome but its for peeps with lots of cash to blow on a system.
 
If you don't know how multicores will help you, you probably don't need them.

If you do LOTS of video work or other encodig, high-end productivity apps and find your self waiting and waiting for hte processor to finish it's work on whatever, then dual cores will be your friend.


It'll be at least 2 years before we'll start seeing most A list games being multi-threaded.

A few games are multi-threaded now and the Unreal3 engine will be, I'm sure carmack's next engine will be.

But for the next 24 months I'd guess we'll see 1 or 2 major games with multithreading if that.
 
Well my last computer I bought at the time was about a mid-range product. That was almost 4 years ago. I can still run WoW too. (not awesomely, but good enough that I'm comfortable with it) But, what would be the benefit of having a "multi-threaded" processor, on non multi-threaded games, and multi-threaded games. ALSO, what is the benefit of having a videocard that is directx10 compatible as compsed to a directx9. You can still run games with you directx9 videocard, (just like how I can still run games with my geforce 3 ti 200)

PLEASE, answer those questions first!!! I NEED TO KNOW!!!! AHHH!!!

And do you reccomened windows xp pro? Especially if I want to do 64-bit?

PLEASE ANSWER THESE QUESTIONS SECOND!!! I just want to know those answers. So I can feel comfortable building a computer very soon with a SD 3700+ and with a 7800GT or the equal counterpart of ATI. I roll both ways with the video card battle, so if I make a decision, I want to make sure it is correct, but we can't tell right now though, considering ATI hasn't released their new cards yet. So, thank you in advance for helping!
 
The point I was trying to make about videocards is that by the time you want to upgrade your videocard from what your going to get you will probably want a different videocard as opposed to another of the same card. That was some run-on sentance. If your going to buy a new OS i would suggest windows xp64bit, for obvious future proofing. Make sure you buy lots of ram though, its cheap now.
 
this is the way I would do it,

Board: DFI NF4UT- It will mod to sli with a pencil trick just like the old tbirds, and supports SLI without the pencil at slower speeds, buy now, and if you ever use the feature, which may not be likely, mod later. Or if you are super into SLI, you can get the SLI version.

CPU: A64 3200+ venice- This chip will hit 2.4 everytime, and save you the cash you would have spent on a more expensive chip, no point in going san diego if it means less money for graphics. The 2.4ghz OC will be fine for any setup, and leave you with cash for SLI/better GPU. No crazy vcore, cooling, or instability required. You can also drop in a X2 later down the road if they look attractive, and games start supporting them. Currently they are just too expensive, and buying a chip that is currently being "price raped" to future proof is stupid imo. Upgrade later if they look good, and cost less, no mobo upgrade needed.

RAM: If you really "need" 2gb, then go with 2x2gb of PC-3200 with decent timings, 2-3-3 is fine, memory clockspeed/timings don't influence memory performance as much as CPU clock speed. Most benefits are "synthetic". If you can deal with only 2x512, twinmos SP is bh-5/ch-5 and will run ~$100 for two sticks, doing 1.5-2-2 on 2.9-3v, and much higher (240-270mhz) with 3.2-3.6v.

GPU: It's all you, I like the x800xl, or 6800gt, a 7800 costs too much imo. Money better spent on display/audio. They will play all the current games fine, and you can always upgrade later again, as these are in the sub $300 range. ATI won't release their new card for some time.

XP64bit still has driver issues, and not a whole lot of apps are 64bit yet, so it may not be worth the hassle factor for you.
 
I'd go with one strip of 1Gig, then if you find yourself needing more (entirely possible with all the new graphics/physics engines coming out) slap in another.

Going 2x512 may mean a speed hit when you add another 2x512. The benefit of Dual Channel ram will be less than this hit later (which is when you'll really be needing as much performance as will be available).
 
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