2 questions: 1 about CPU vs Video Card, 1 about DDR vs PC133

[Pakaderm]

Hi, I have two questions...

I'm going to get a new system, currently I have the 300A@450 w/ a TNT1. I want to get a 266 1.2 tbird. I'm not sure of the video card. I could save money and get an GeForce MX 32MB for 60 or so, or spend a bit more and get a GTS or PRO with probably 64 MBs of RAM. With the MX, will the video card or the CPU be the bottleneck for gaming, FPSs? It is worth the extra money to get the GTS or PRO vs the MX? Would I notice much of a difference?

Second question: PC133 or DDR RAM. The actual RAM price is almost the same, but the mobo price differs by 20-40 bucks, with most brands. With a 1.2 athlon, is it worth the money to get the DDR or will PC133 be just as fast? I ask from a gaming perspective, all types of games.

-Pak

 

[YaKuZa]

if you're serious about gaming, i would get the pro or ultra. those will last you longer than the mx.

and i would also get the ddr memory since its almost the same price as sdr.

you'll gain a lot of performance this way and your system will need less of an upgrade later on, like if you get sdr and want to get ddr later on, you're stuck unless you get a new board.

 

[NelsonMuntz]

With an MX the video card will definitely be limiting. With a GTS or Pro you will be getting a little better matched depending on the settings you play at. I agree you might as well go after the DDR (AMD760) since it is the better memory. If saving the cash is important to you, make sure you get a KT133A chipset board if you go with SDR instead of DDR.

 

[Mark0999]

There is a huge difference in performance between a $60 MX and a $140 Pro card. There are some great deals right now... check out my buyers guide for links, prices, and recommendations. As you can see there is some money to be saved by not going with a DDR motherboard... up to $60 or more in some cases. That will almost pay the difference in buying the Pro card instead of the MX.

At McGlen you can get the following bundle...

Epox EP-8KTA3 KT133A Motherboard, AMD TBird 1200/266 OEM CPU, Cooler Master EP5-6I11 HSF, 256MB PC133 SDRam for $258.

Or at AccessMicro you can get the following...

Epox EP-8KHA VIA KT266 DDR Motherboard, AMD 1.2Ghz TBird OEM, Cooler Master EP5-6I11 HSF, 256MB PC2100 DDR Ram for $282.

There you go... DDR for $24 more.

BTW... AccessMicro has an MSI GF2 Pro 64MB for $144. It's $148 at McGlen.

Let me know if you have any questions.

 

[Gomce]

Get a nice Asus or Abit board if you intend to o/c, on this boards there are nice bios options and settings for the mem and the cpu.
Getting DDR board will improve your system ~10% over the board with same amount of sdram.

get yourself kt133a mobo with a Pro card and o/c it to match the ultra

 

[Athlon4all]

Yeah, GF2 Pro's are so cheap right now there's no reason not to at least get it. Again, if ocing Epox 8K7A+ is the way to go, and yes go DDR. At Crucial, it costs the same as SDRAM.