Upgrading things, need critique

E

error-in-excellence

2[H]4U
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Nov 4, 2001
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Time to upgrade and stuff. I've done a good bit of research as to what I want, but now I need to do a little fine-tuning. My main goal is to get increased performance in Battlefield 2 by upgrading my CPU, mobo, RAM, and video card. I want to stay under $700 total for the new parts.

Current PC:

Code: 
P4 1.6A @ 2.4Ghz (150Mhz FSB)
Asus P4B533-V
2X 512MB Corsair Value Ram PC3200 (not bought as a kit)
ATI Radeon 9700 Pro

From what I've read, the X800XL seems to give the best performance in BF2 for a mid-range vidcard. I also know that AMD has the best gaming performance right now, so I'm looking at the Venice line of CPUs. The NForce 4 is the only game in town as far as A64 chipsets, right? I don't need SLI. So here's what I've got so far in my Newegg cart:

Code: 
EPoX EP-9NPA+Ultra Socket 939 NVIDIA nForce4 Ultra ATX AMD Motherboard - Retail
Model #: EP-9NPA+Ultra
	$107.50 	  	$107.50

ASUS EAX800XL/2DTV/256 Radeon X800XL 256MB DDR PCI Express x16 Video Card - Retail
Model #: EAX800XL/2DTV/256
	$280.00 	  	$280.00

CORSAIR ValueSelect 1GB (2 x 512MB) 184-Pin DDR SDRAM DDR 400 (PC 3200) Unbuffered Dual Channel Kit System Memory Model VS1GBKIT400 - Retail
Model #: VS1GBKIT400
	$81.99 	  	$81.99

AMD Athlon 64 3200+ Venice 1GHz FSB Socket 939 Processor Model ADA3200BPBOX - Retail
Model #: ADA3200BPBOX
	$190.00 	  	$190.00

Total:   	 $669.81


Questions:

1. My current PSU is an Antec 400W that doesn't have the 12V P4 connector. My current mobo has a molex on the board to substitute for the 4-pin 12V connector. The new Epox board does not. I hear there are adapters to take a molex and turn it into a 12V connector. Will this be sufficient? I can't find one at newegg. Any help?

2. I will be running my current unmatched sticks of Corsair PC3200 along with this new 2X 512MB kit. Should I expect any problems running in dual channel mode?

3. I'm still uncertain as to which vidcard to get. I picked the Asus because it's the cheapest. Any other suggestions?

4. I won't be overclocking right away, but what's the success with this chip and what aftermarket HSFs should I be looking at?
 
P4 1.6A @ 2.4Ghz (150Mhz FSB)
Click to expand...

That's a serious overclock it is! I've got a P4 3.0c and was advised to just upgrade video. So I've got a 6800GT on the way. Figure in six to nine months I'll be able to get something much better for a lot less than it is now.

But a 1.6 @ 2.4 - I don't know if upgrading only the video be sufficient. Would your current CPU/bus bottleneck a better card? *shrug* Something to think about though.

I'm sure some of these guys can answer that. ;) GL
 
A new hard drive will improve the responsiveness of your computer quite a bit :) but will also strain your budget quite a bit :(
 
I would say a CPU upgrade is needed.
And of course Doug thinks you should upgrade your HDD, he's got a [H]ard drive [H]ard on! :p
 
^^Now in sig^^

Seriously, a new hard drive will significantly decrease the amount of time you spend waiting on your system, even if it's just a 80GB/8MB cache drive you can pick up for $60.
 
elation said:
That's a serious overclock it is! I've got a P4 3.0c and was advised to just upgrade video. So I've got a 6800GT on the way. Figure in six to nine months I'll be able to get something much better for a lot less than it is now.

But a 1.6 @ 2.4 - I don't know if upgrading only the video be sufficient. Would your current CPU/bus bottleneck a better card? *shrug* Something to think about though.

I'm sure some of these guys can answer that. ;) GL
Click to expand...

Yeah. I'm nostalgic about it too. It's like a newer Celeron 300A. I wish there was a new CPU that was like the 300A/1.6A. I'm heavily leaning towards getting a 6800 AGP and upgrading in 6 or 9 months like you say. Hell, socket 939 will be dead before long and ATX along with it. Oh how I miss the ATX/PII/PIII/Athlon days.
 
DougLite said:
^^Now in sig^^

Seriously, a new hard drive will significantly decrease the amount of time you spend waiting on your system, even if it's just a 80GB/8MB cache drive you can pick up for $60.
Click to expand...

I've already got a Maxtor 160GB 7200 8MB cache drive, so I'm good on that.
 
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