3.0C v. 3.06b cost benefit analysis- need your input!

[xerocool]

ok, time has come for me to figure out what i'm going to do with my 3.06b chip. some of you guys might have read my previous threads about overclocking 3.06b and 3.0c chips. after much deliberation and reading i've had an epiphany that i might not need that much power in the first place- all i care about is gaming, and even then most of the gaming is Warcraft 3, MMORPG (i can't wait till Lineage 2 comes out!), and FPS (CS, UT2K3, etc).

after looking extensively on tomshardware and reading various threads, i've seen numbers like 190 FPS, 180 FPS, etc. and i realize that the human eye can't tell the difference after 60 FPS. so here's my current setup:

(my rig)
CPU: AMD XP T-Bred 1700+
Mobo: FIC AN-11
RAM: 1 GB Crucial PC2100
GPU: Radeon 9700 Pro
Optical Drives: Lite-On 52x34x52 CDRW, BTC 16x DVD
HDD's: 20GB IBM Deskstar, 80GB Seagate Clone, 160GB Maxtor Diamondmax9, 200GB Western Digital Caviar (all 7200 RPM, IDE)

(just the bare parts)
CPU: 3.06b
Mobo: Soyo SY-P4I 845PE V1.0
RAM: 2GB Dual Mushkin PC2700

obviously the mobo has to go because as i found out it doesn't support 8x AGP, which is a shame cuz it has 6 pci slots and everything on the board is nicely outlined in little glowly plastic. so if the mobo goes and i get a 865 or 875 intel chipset board that supports dual drr400 i may just go with that, and i'll take my Radeon 9700 pro and splice them together. meaning my envisioned setup is:

(complete setup)
CPU: 3.06b
Mobo: Abit IC-7 Max3
RAM: 2GB Dual HyperX PC3200
GPU: Radeon 9700 Pro
Optical Drives: Lite-On 52x34x52 CDRW, BTC 16x DVD
HDD's: 20GB IBM Deskstar, 80GB Seagate Clone, 160GB Maxtor Diamondmax9, 200GB Western Digital Caviar (all 7200 RPM, IDE)

with this setup i may overclock the 3.06b to 3.2 or 3.5 but i don't know if i will need it. this is the most cost effective way IMO and i think the performance will be just fine for my gaming needs. this way i can uprgrade to a 3.0c or 3.2c (if they ever come down in the future), but yet have a nice little setup with the least amount of hassle (i figure i can get at least $200 for the 2GB dual mushkin and the 2GB dual HyperX shouldn't cost too much more), and the Abit mobo cost can be offset by me selling the SOYO mobo and the rest of my old system.

anyone have any comments? basically i just want to know whether the performance for my gaming will be good enough or whether i'll need to thrown down a bit more $$$ to make it better. i would love to hear what you guys think.

 

[Stormgiant]

Because of the diference in prices, in cpu and mobo, i would go for the 3.0C, even if OC is not relevant.

 

[xerocool]

so are you saying you'd go for the 3.0c because the price diff is very smaller versus the 3.06b?

and i don't understand your comment about the mobo, the price gap between the soyo and the abit is huge (which btw, i may not need the IC7-Max3, just cuz i don't need many of it's features)

i'm still considering waiting a bit more for the new intel chipsets to come out, because that'll push the prices of the mobo's down.... but i think it'd push the price of the 3.06b down as well..... maybe i should get rid of the cpu and wait to change everything else?

 

[Confused]

Originally posted by: xerocool
after looking extensively on tomshardware and reading various threads, i've seen numbers like 190 FPS, 180 FPS, etc. and i realize that the human eye can't tell the difference after 60 FPS.

I'm not even going to go there...


8x AGP makes almost no real world difference, hell, most graphics cards have trouble saturating 2x AGP, let alone 4x/8x


Also, you can play the "waiting game" forever with computer components, there's always something new/better being released soon or just been announced.


For now, get yourself a new 800MHz compatible motherboard, keep the 3.06b and 2gb memory, and you will be ready should you wish to swap the cpu/mem for a 3.0c and some faster DDR. Or just keep everything you have, they will all be pretty nice anyway.


Confused

 

[xerocool]

Originally posted by: Confused

Originally posted by: xerocool
after looking extensively on tomshardware and reading various threads, i've seen numbers like 190 FPS, 180 FPS, etc. and i realize that the human eye can't tell the difference after 60 FPS.

I'm not even going to go there...

why? is there something wrong with my assumption? or am i misreading the data from toms? if you don't tell me, i'll never learn and forever be a nooB

8x AGP makes almost no real world difference, hell, most graphics cards have trouble saturating 2x AGP, let alone 4x/8x

are you sure about this? do you have any numbers/charts for reference?

Also, you can play the "waiting game" forever with computer components, there's always something new/better being released soon or just been announced.

this is sooo true, i know i shouldn't wait, but i only say i can because i have my xp 1700+ rig, which is working fine for me right now cept for some os problems... but you're right, i could keep saying "just another 2 months..."

For now, get yourself a new 800MHz compatible motherboard, keep the 3.06b and 2gb memory, and you will be ready should you wish to swap the cpu/mem for a 3.0c and some faster DDR. Or just keep everything you have, they will all be pretty nice anyway.


Confused

thanks for your advice!! btw, if i have a 3.06b chip and DDR400 memory on the board, i know it'll work but there's nothing to detract from the speed of the memory right? meaning the CPU speed won't limit the the performance of the RAM right?

i'm only asking cuz even though i'm pretty sure it won't, i've just never heard of a setup that uses a 533 cpu and ddr400 memory (probably cuz ddr400 memory enabled boards handle 800 cpu's) but i just wanted to make sure...

thanks again!

 

[THUGSROOK]

...190 FPS, 180 FPS, etc. and i realize that the human eye can't tell the difference after 60 FPS

i can tell the difference, Confused can tell the difference, there's a difference.

theres alot more to FPS then what your eye sees.
its called smoothness

 

[SuctionCat]

If you don't need the features of the IC7-Max 3, then check out the IC7, or even the IS7/AI7. All are great boards. And they're a lot, lot cheaper than the Max3.

 

[xerocool]

Originally posted by: THUGSROOK

...190 FPS, 180 FPS, etc. and i realize that the human eye can't tell the difference after 60 FPS

i can tell the difference, Confused can tell the difference, there's a difference.

theres alot more to FPS then what your eye sees.
its called smoothness

ahhh, gotcha, but isn't there a cap? like shouldn't there be some assymptotic line that it approaches? if so, what's the amount?

suctioncat- thanks for your input, i'll look into those motherboards.

but does anyone know about the a "B" chip using ddr400 ram? meaning does the cpu hinder the ddr400 ram at all?