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Will a new card help?

J

JoKeR

Weaksauce
Joined
Aug 26, 2004
Messages
77
I have a two-part question

My current system:

Dell 8200
P4 2.0 ghz, 100mhz FSB
OEM dell motherboard
768 MB PC800 RDRAM
GF4ti4200

I just got Doom 3 and my time demo results at 800X600, Medium Graphics, no AA or AF was 25.6 FPS. Although playable, I want more. My question is, If I buy a Nvidia 6600GT (when they come out in AGP next month) do you think it will drastically increase my gameplay, or will my system bottleneck the new card? I would like to play AT LEAST at 1024X768 on High with 2AA and get 30-35+ timedemo scores.

part two of question. If it is determined that slappin a new card in my Dell is a waste of timeand money, I am considering a new system alltogether. Since I will never buy a Dell again and dont really want an OEM system at all, I want to try and build my own. Can someone please provide me with some direction (link or otherwise) to a site or article giving me a step by step procedure on how to build a system from scratch? (not on what equipment to buy, but an actual procedure on putting it together once the parts are in my possession) Thanks!
 
Well, your system is getting quite old, but if you want to upgrade I suggest going to this Site and this Site, as for a system to buy, I suggest at least an

AMD XP 3200 @2.2Ghz
512MB DDR Ram
Geforce 6800GT
80GB, 7200RPG, 8MB buffer.
NForce 2 Mobo
Antec or ATX case
CD/DVD RW
Windows XP
19" Monitor
600 Watt Speakers
Floppy Drive
Keyboard and Mouse

You can buy this system for 1203$ Shiped
or build it for 1053$ Shipped. So if you build it you save a total of 150$.
 
Thanks for the reply. I kind of have an idea on what I want to get if I build a new system. Here is what I'm thinking:
P4 3.0E Ghz, 800 FSB, 1 MB cache, Prescott ($209)
ABIT IC7-G MAX ADVANCE I-875 Chipset socket 478 ($131)
Corsair XMS 1GB (1 stick) DDR3200PRO ($345)
Aspire Case w/ 350W PS ($62)
eVGA GeForce 6800GT ($424)
Windows XP Home ($90)

I already have a 120GB Seagate HD, Lite-on DVD-RW, Soundblaster Audigy, Logitech Z-560's, 19" Trinitron, MX700 mouse, and keyboard.

Total for this is $1261.

Note* I don't really want to build a new system at this time, if I can add a card to my current system and get the performance gains I desire, I'd rather do that.
 
JoKeR said:
Thanks for the reply. I kind of have an idea on what I want to get if I build a new system. Here is what I'm thinking:
P4 3.0E Ghz, 800 FSB, 1 MB cache, Prescott ($209)
ABIT IC7-G MAX ADVANCE I-875 Chipset socket 478 ($131)
Corsair XMS 1GB (1 stick) DDR3200PRO ($345)
Aspire Case w/ 350W PS ($62)
eVGA GeForce 6800GT ($424)
Windows XP Home ($90)

I already have a 120GB Seagate HD, Lite-on DVD-RW, Soundblaster Audigy, Logitech Z-560's, 19" Trinitron, MX700 mouse, and keyboard.

Total for this is $1261.

Note* I don't really want to build a new system at this time, if I can add a card to my current system and get the performance gains I desire, I'd rather do that.
Click to expand...

Your ram choice is bad. Get two sticks for dual channel and go to zipzoomfly for a cheaper price.
 
particle9 said:
Your ram choice is bad. Get two sticks for dual channel and go to zipzoomfly for a cheaper price.
Click to expand...

Thanks, this is the stuff I need to know! Why is the choice bad? (I'm not disagreeing with you, I honestly don't know the difffernce)?

Is this better?

p.s. the newegg links are there for reference, if I end up buying, I will shop newegg or ZZF for the best prices. I usually buy from ZZF.
 
As to your original question, I suggest you read the CPU battlegrounds article at Anand to get a good idea of how your CPU is treating you in Doom3. http://www.anandtech.com/cpuchipsets/showdoc.aspx?i=2149

Just looking at that first page, you can see how fast performance drops off using an older card (in this case a 9800Pro which is a good bit faster than your ti4200) as you increase resolution. On the second page, they hold resolution constant and vary the processor speed. Notice that with the 9800Pro at 800x600 medium, increasing from a 2.4Ghz P4 to a 3.2Ghz P4 only nets you about 8 FPS. This means that the video card is throttling the system. Extending that argument to your even slower ti4200 means that it is throttling your system even more.

Recommendation: Wait and buy the 6600GT and drop it in your system or buy a 6800 vanilla now and do the same. You will see a definite jump in performance and most likely it will be your CPU holding you back at that point. If you then decide to upgrade further, your new card will easily be used in the new system you plan to build.
 
JoKeR said:
Thanks, this is the stuff I need to know! Why is the choice bad? (I'm not disagreeing with you, I honestly don't know the difffernce)?

Is this better?

p.s. the newegg links are there for reference, if I end up buying, I will shop newegg or ZZF for the best prices. I usually buy from ZZF.
Click to expand...

That is a step in the right direction but not the right choice. 2-3-2 timings suck for that price. I just got Corsair XMS 3200XL twin 1024 for 300 from zipzoomfly. That is what you should get. Not the fancy stupid led's, but the 2-2-2-5 timings. Check the mem section for more opinions and details. Hope that helps.
 
particle9 said:
That is a step in the right direction but not the right choice. 2-3-2 timings suck for that price. I just got Corsair XMS 3200XL twin 1024 for 300 from zipzoomfly. That is what you should get. Not the fancy stupid led's, but the 2-2-2-5 timings. Check the mem section for more opinions and details. Hope that helps.
Click to expand...


So something like this then?
 
Rori said:
As to your original question, I suggest you read the CPU battlegrounds article at Anand to get a good idea of how your CPU is treating you in Doom3. http://www.anandtech.com/cpuchipsets/showdoc.aspx?i=2149

Just looking at that first page, you can see how fast performance drops off using an older card (in this case a 9800Pro which is a good bit faster than your ti4200) as you increase resolution. On the second page, they hold resolution constant and vary the processor speed. Notice that with the 9800Pro at 800x600 medium, increasing from a 2.4Ghz P4 to a 3.2Ghz P4 only nets you about 8 FPS. This means that the video card is throttling the system. Extending that argument to your even slower ti4200 means that it is throttling your system even more.

Recommendation: Wait and buy the 6600GT and drop it in your system or buy a 6800 vanilla now and do the same. You will see a definite jump in performance and most likely it will be your CPU holding you back at that point. If you then decide to upgrade further, your new card will easily be used in the new system you plan to build.
Click to expand...

Thanks for the link to the article. After reading it, I am encouraged to just get a new card and give it a try, but I'm still skeptical of the crappy 100FSB the Dell has.
 
JoKeR said:
So something like this then?
Click to expand...

Yes that is perfect. That is the same I got. However that price is already much lower than what I paid three weeks ago... argggh. Enjoy. (also note that if you are not overclocking that mem might be a little too Hard for your tastes... just something to think about)
 
particle9 said:
Yes that is perfect. That is the same I got. However that price is already much lower than what I paid three weeks ago... argggh. Enjoy. (also note that if you are not overclocking that mem might be a little too Hard for your tastes... just something to think about)
Click to expand...


I probally will not be overclocking. Sorry for the ignorance, but what does "too hard" in terms of memory mean?
 
tight timings do about nothing on intel anyway.....AMD is when timings really shine.....that and your cpus crappy 100mhz FSB...unless you plan on transplanting into another computer later on, i woudlnt get something that expensive...just look for 2x512 sticks of ram...it doesnt have to say "dual channel" on it dual channel depends on your motherboard not your ram....just make sure there they same brand and type and you should be fine......dont worry bout timings....just buy something cheap :) preferablly pc-3200, but pc2700 really wouldnt hurt your performance too awful bad though....
 
I would get a videocard for now and upgrade the rest later. Upgrading to 6800GT would definetly allow you to play doom 3.

I have a 2.4b (533) with pc1066 and got a 6800 Ultra. Mind you the ultra is overkill.

I get insaine performance compared to my ti4600. I can play in 1600x1200 with 2xAA/4xAF and I average 40-50fps with dips down to 30 in intense action. Never seen it dip under 30 except on one level for a few secs.
 
lol.. I remember paying $345 for my ram when it first became avail. for puchase.

It's a good buy now!
 
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