x1950pro AGP CPU Bottleneck

A

anonuser

[H]ard|Gawd
Joined
Dec 28, 2006
Messages
1,084
AthlonXP 2100+ @ 2.1ghz so that is pretty much an AthlonXP 2400+ with 1gb of ram.

I currently have a 6600GT. How large of an increase would I see with a x1950pro AGP? I have a friend who bought one but his GF bought him a core2duo/mb/ram for his birthday. He'll sell me the brand new Sapphire x1950pro w/512ram for $225 (he paid $250 + shipping).

Would this tide me over for a few months before the c2d price cuts and r600 release? While it's never a good time to upgrade, the next few months seem to be the most eventful in computing in many years. Vista, DX10, c2d price cuts and clock increase, CES around the corner, etc

I'm sure that I could sell the x1950pro for at least half the price of the card (at least) in 3 or 4 months.

I know that I will be CPU limited, but by how much? Is anyone running one of the high end AGP video cards on an older CPU?

Any advice would be great... I tried finding a review using an older system but obviously I have had no luck. Checked Tom's Hardware VGA charts etc.

Thanks
 
Your CPU is not *that* slow.

There are others on the board with p4 northwoods and prescotts that have bought the card with great results... you would see results like theirs.

The "bottleneck" isn't a hard limit. You might not be able to have the highest MAX fps, but you will be able to turn up the resolution and effects many times higher then you are able to now, without seeing a slowdown related to your CPU.

The best reason to upgrade would be to move to multicore... you don't *have* to get a core2 or am2 system. If you have ddr400 you can move to s939 very easily and on the cheap and still get dual core and PCIe and a system that would last a good while longer.
 
Thanks, that reply helps a lot more than the first one.

The reason I was looking at the gpu upgrade is because AGP cards seem to hold their value pretty well and if it improved my system enough I could hold off on upgrading for another 4-6 months for the dx10/vista wars and the dust to settle.

I'm really looking for people with an older processor like mine who have upgraded to x1950pro gpus. I know that's probably a long shot though.
 
Check the long threads about the card... there are two looong threads. In them there are some people with old p4 systems... you might get similar performance.
 
That card will hold it's value, it might even increase over time. You could get it now and then sell it after you get a new AM2/Core2 system but I don't think it's worth the hassle. This is one of those situations where I think AM2 is better than Core2. It's more expensive, but it's also a new computer instead of just a graphics card. After selling your current parts, it shouldn't be too much more (maybe $170)

You can get a 3200 for $80
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=N82E16819103031

or a 3800X2 for $135
http://www.zipzoomfly.com/jsp/ProductDetail.jsp?ProductCode=80721-8

and a cheap nForce550 for $65
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=N82E16813130063

1GB of Geil value ram for $90
http://www.zipzoomfly.com/jsp/ProductDetail.jsp?ProductCode=85002-52&prodlist=shopping

and any, cheaper, pci-e graphics card you want.
 
I was reading through them, in fact I posted in them but it got bogged down and was never replied to.

If you have any idea what page I could find some of these on please let me know. I think the slowest I saw was a p4 near 3ghz? I could have missed it though.

Thanks
 
firewolf said:
That card will hold it's value, it might even increase over time. You could get it now and then sell it after you get a new AM2/Core2 system but I don't think it's worth the hassle. This is one of those situations where I think AM2 is better than Core2. It's more expensive, but it's also a new computer instead of just a graphics card. After selling your current parts, it shouldn't be too much more (maybe $170)

You can get a 3200 for $80
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=N82E16819103031

or a 3800X2 for $135
http://www.zipzoomfly.com/jsp/ProductDetail.jsp?ProductCode=80721-8

and a cheap nForce550 for $65
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=N82E16813130063

1GB of Geil value ram for $902
http://www.zipzoomfly.com/jsp/ProductDetail.jsp?ProductCode=85002-52&prodlist=shopping

and any, cheaper, pci-e graphics card you want.
Click to expand...

Money really isn't a big issue. The main thing is that I don't want to build a system now with all this crazyness coming in the next few months (even more than usual). And I just don't see AM2 being better than Core2, but then again I haven't had a system with either. This is just from reading reviews/etc.

The next full system upgrade I do will be to a dx10 card, 2gb of ram, and probably a core2 unless something drastic changes in the next 6 months.

Mostly my question was if I would be really limited by my CPU with such a powerful graphics card. If my frames would go up a huge amount with the upgrade from 6600gt 128mb to x1950pro 512mb that it would be worth it.

This system is still MIGHTY fast for regular activities and "decently" playable in games at lower resolutions. If this card would put the gaming well into "great" category I could deal with having it for another 4-6 months.
 
Save your money. I can tell you it will be a bottleneck for sure. I have a AMD +1800 clocked at 1.8ghz with a 9800 pro and my CPU bottlenecks my card a lot. I remember that it took about a stock +2100 for the 9800 pros to not be CPU bottleneck and since the X1950 Pro is a lot powerful I can promise you it will bottleneck.
 
pArTy said:
Save your money. I can tell you it will be a bottleneck for sure. I have a AMD +1800 clocked at 1.8ghz with a 9800 pro and my CPU bottlenecks my card a lot. I remember that it took about a stock +2100 for the 9800 pros to not be CPU bottleneck and since the X1950 Pro is a lot powerful I can promise you it will bottleneck.
Click to expand...

Are you sure? Not that I don't believe you I'm just looking for some kind of review or someone who actually tested it. Thanks for the reply though.
 
pArTy said:
I can promise you it will bottleneck.
Click to expand...

Yup, it will, but the difference you would see is huge.

I agree with the op, now is not the time for a complete upgrade. Wait it out for six months or so and see what happens.

For $225, I'd bite on that deal.... but that's just me...
 
digital_exhaust said:
Yup, it will, but the difference you would see is huge.

I agree with the op, now is not the time for a complete upgrade. Wait it out for six months or so and see what happens.

For $225, I'd bite on that deal.... but that's just me...
Click to expand...

That's what I was thinking... just trying to find someone who knows FOR SURE before I drop the cash.

I know that my CPU will definitely be a bottleneck, that wasn't my question. My question was HOW bad will it be? Just for arguments sake, what kind of % increase do you think I'll see on the 2.1ghz clocked athlon 2100+ going from the 6600gt 128mb to the x1950pro 512mb?

HUGE sounds good to me :)
 
well I had an A64 3000+ stock for a while with a 6800gt and then I put a 7900gtx into it (very close if not more powerful than x1950pro) and I was told that I would see HUGE bottlenecks but the difference in graphics and what I could do in game setting was unbelivable, but then whenb I upgraded to this processor I had a huge minimum frame raise
 
ITSTHINKING said:
well I had an A64 3000+ stock for a while with a 6800gt and then I put a 7900gtx into it (very close if not more powerful than x1950pro) and I was told that I would see HUGE bottlenecks but the difference in graphics and what I could do in game setting was unbelivable, but then whenb I upgraded to this processor I had a huge minimum frame raise
Click to expand...

I may just be tired but I don't really understand what you are saying here.
 
anonuser said:
I may just be tired but I don't really understand what you are saying here.
Click to expand...

basicly, you will see a difference, as did I when I was bottlenecked, but then when you upgrade your proc later on you'll get another boost, a win win situation!!! Sort of:)
 
There have been a few posts already, but to add my 2pence... ;)

I agree completely that your current CPU is far too slow to push the x1950 to anywhere near what its capable of doing, although as mentioned above you'll be able to run higher res/more detail as the same fps you have today. It all depends at what resolution you currently use, and whether the game itself is CPU or GPU limited.

Ultimately most of the new next gen games Crysis/Alan Wake etc will be GPU limited anway so if you're looking ahead. I'd be tempted to go for an x2-3800 (+oc'n luvvin) and put the savings towards a 8800gts rather than any of the current ATI cards.

Unless ya feeling flush, then an E6600 (even E6300) would be the way to go. It's all about the $$ and whether your gaming justifies the price...
 
It will bottleneck.

I went from an x800xt paired to an athlon xp 3200+ to an e6300 with the exact same setup sans mobo and processor ( I'm using the 775dual vsta so I can use my old components) and f.e.a.r went up a resolution level. before it was 800x600, now it's 1024x768. It may not seem like much but I'm very conservative when it comes to gameplay, I don't want ANY choppiness at any time. Sure, I could go to 1280x960 but then I give up some playability. It used to be playable but sometimes choppy at 800x600 but now it's smooth at 1024x768.
 
i wonder if i can get a response to my situation here ?

i run a 170 opty @ 2.52 with 2GB ram and a 7800GS now, i play games mostly @ 1280 x 960, and the max my monitor goes is 1600 x 1200, would it be worth it for me to get a x1950pro.

i dont really see me upgradeing the whole system for awhile untill quad cores become more mainstream and wonder if this is worth doing, i wonder how much i could sell my 7800GS for if i did ?
 
ok

i have a Pentium4 3.06 ghz prescott w/hyperthreading socket 478 (computer recognizes it at 4.0ghz??!!)

at the moment i only have 512 mb ram ddr400 pc3200

sapphire x1950 pro 512 mb AGP8X

500 watt ULTRA-V PSU

32"hdtv Plasma

19" lcd monitor

my first 3dmark 05 scores were around 7,100

aquamark3 59,000

i have on order a high performance 1gb ram kit

after new ram i should see about at least 8-9,000 on 3dmark05 and 65-70k on aquamark3

right now i only have about 200 mb out of the 512 available for usage on games, thats why it will be such a big improvement

and right now on fear my lowest fps is 26 my average is 60 and my highest is 160 -- thats with graphics card and computer on high settings

MY CATALYST IS STILL LOCKED :)
 
the snake said:
i wonder if i can get a response to my situation here ?

i run a 170 opty @ 2.52 with 2GB ram and a 7800GS now, i play games mostly @ 1280 x 960, and the max my monitor goes is 1600 x 1200, would it be worth it for me to get a x1950pro.

i dont really see me upgradeing the whole system for awhile untill quad cores become more mainstream and wonder if this is worth doing, i wonder how much i could sell my 7800GS for if i did ?
Click to expand...

You're almost in the same boat as I was, except I have a 6800gt. You might want to check out FiringSquad's 7600GT AGP review as they benched the following cards..

PowerColor Radeon X1950 Pro 256MB AGP
PowerColor Radeon X850 XT PE AGP
GeForce 6800 Ultra
EVGA e-GeForce 7800 GS AGP KO SuperClock
XFX GeForce 7600 GT AGP 580M
NVIDIA GeForce 7600 GT PCI Express
NVIDIA GeForce 6600 GT AGP

As you might expect, the X1950 trounces everything and there's a sizable delta between it and the 7800GS.

If I were you, I would wait until the prices drop a bit before you buy, but it's still a very worthy upgrade.
 
Not much of a bench mark, but I ran the Counter Strike Source Video Stress Test right before and right after I swapped my cards yesterday. These results are with my x2 3800+ and FSB still set at 200 MHz.

Before (w/ PNY 6800GT 256) 89.4 FPS
After (w/ PowerColor X1950 256) 143.8 FPS

Oh yeah. Company of Heroes runs AWSOME at 1280x1024 with everything cranked up.
 
anonuser said:
That's what I was thinking... just trying to find someone who knows FOR SURE before I drop the cash.

I know that my CPU will definitely be a bottleneck, that wasn't my question. My question was HOW bad will it be? Just for arguments sake, what kind of % increase do you think I'll see on the 2.1ghz clocked athlon 2100+ going from the 6600gt 128mb to the x1950pro 512mb?

HUGE sounds good to me :)
Click to expand...

I know for SURE your going to be bottle neck if you go to a X1950 just from runing different cards on my system. I don't have the same CPU as you but its close and the fact that its bottlenecking 2 generations behind the one you want to get that are 2X as fast as my 9800 pro. Just wait for a full new upgrade. Having a bottlenecked CPU sucks because it hinders your system pretty badly. I have to run every game on the lowest setting just so it can take the physics of todays game. On my P4 2.4ghz it runs games perfectly fine. I constantly have problems with artifacting because of it as well. If you want to find out yourself just buy the card try it and then send it back if it is capping your system.
 
Thanks for all the responses all...

I have seen some people saying how it trounces the other cards... I know this. I was looking mostly at how much of a bottleneck my cpu would be on it.
 
what if i dont care about the newest of the new games? im still playing dungeon siege and need for speed most wanted hell i jus beat fable and need for speed underground 2
i went from a 9250 running 20 to 30 fps in them to a 6600gt running 60 to 70 fps in em 1024x768 almost maxed settings? Is my socket 754 3k+ and 1 gig of ram really gonna hurt me that much how bout my sata drive with 16 megs of cache ?

besdies how do you know its the cpu bottlenecking and not the ram or the htt or northbridge what programs are you running to determine this?
 
Why not just keep your 6600GT until your upgrade and save the $225,its not like the 6600 is a gear grindingly slow card and the $225you save will buy your ram or cpu or go towards something else.
 
Ciggarilo Himself said:
Why not just keep your 6600GT until your upgrade and save the $225,its not like the 6600 is a gear grindingly slow card and the $225you save will buy your ram or cpu or go towards something else.
Click to expand...

I will be able to sell the $225 card for at least half of the value in 5 months. Chances are there won't be many better AGP cards released.

And the 6600GT IS a grindingly slow card. Also, I will have a westinghouse 37" and I'll be able to play at the native 1920x1080 until I buy my new system.
 
ravenc said:
what if i dont care about the newest of the new games? im still playing dungeon siege and need for speed most wanted hell i jus beat fable and need for speed underground 2
i went from a 9250 running 20 to 30 fps in them to a 6600gt running 60 to 70 fps in em 1024x768 almost maxed settings? Is my socket 754 3k+ and 1 gig of ram really gonna hurt me that much how bout my sata drive with 16 megs of cache ?

besdies how do you know its the cpu bottlenecking and not the ram or the htt or northbridge what programs are you running to determine this?
Click to expand...

An A64 3000+ is no slouch IMO.
 
Tom's Hardware is running a series on AGP platforms and cards. If you're looking for info, it's a good place to start.
 
If money is not an issue as you said before just buy it.

Another option could be a superb 7600GT but if money still not an issue....get the 1950pro or better upgrade your full pc ;)
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top