700Mhz or Radeon 32MB DDR..which is the bottleneck?

[Haervii]

Now I know all you bleeding-edge types are going to tell me to just buy a new computer,
but the fact is, I can only upgrade my 700Mhz Duron processor to 1200Mhz or my Radeon 32MB DDR to something around $150,
say a GF3. I play games, and things are now beginning to slow up. Which is more important to upgrade, or is it going to suck no matter what?
Any help in this matter is appreciated.

 

[BFG10K]

Both are the bottleneck although upgrading your CPU will help you more provided you don't use very high levels of eye candy in your games. If you do, getting a faster video card will help you more.

 

[BD231]

Save up man, you need both for sure. The extra MHZ would help ALOT if you dont mind playing in low resolutions. A Radeon 8500 should cost you around $100 soon, and the T-Birds are pretty cheap now. If anything I'd say your just wasting your money on the processor though, it's already outdated itself.

 

[CubicZirconia]

If you really want to buy now, I'd go with the cpu upgrade. As BFG10K said, as long as you don't use much detail in your games you should be able to play almost anything. As far as upgrading your video card, I think it would be a complete waste of money paired with a 700 mhz cpu.

 

[Cygni]

I think the Duron is probably the bottle neck, although its hard to say. Going with a 1.2 Duron would deffinitly bring a marked improvement in scores, but if you get a 1.2 Duron, you may need to consider adding more RAM or springing for DDR. With a 1.2 Duron, the Radeon will then deffinitly be your bottleneck.

On the other hand, you can spend $100 and pick up a GF3 Ti 200, or a Radeon 8500LE and your scores will increase... but at that speed, your going to be deffinitly CPU limited.

Essentially, either way you go, your going to be limited by the other. BUT if there is an upside, its that you can get BOTH a Duron 1.2 Socket A AND a GF3 Ti200/8500 LE for $150 TOTAL at newegg.com... something to think about.

 

[Haervii]

Cygni: wow, that's pretty frickin' cheap! Are you sure?

hmm.. I suppose a KT133 board with a max 12.5 multiplier isn't exactly going to run the new Athlons, is it?

 

[Cygni]

Ya, im sure.... Duron 1.2 = $50 and Radeon 8500LE = $100

On the KT133 board, you may have a point... you may want to plunk down the extra $54 and get an ECS K7S5A as it will deffinitly take the Duron 1.2 and it will also allow you to use your old SDR ram.

 

[CrazySaint]

"wow, that's pretty frickin' cheap! Are you sure?"

VGA CHAINTECH Geforce3 TI200 64MB TV Retail Box - $98 at newegg

-or-

ATI RADEON 8500 LE 64MB DDR - OEM/White Box - $99 at newegg (personally, I'd probably go with the 8500LE, myself)

AMD DURON 1.2GHZ OEM - $50 at newegg

Total: $148/149

You can add $20 to the 8500LE to get a 128MB version, or $25 to the CPU to get an XP1600+ (the current batch at newegg are reported to be good overclockers)

"hmm.. I suppose a KT133 board with a max 12.5 multiplier isn't exactly going to run the new Athlons, is it?"

That should run an XP 2000+.

 

[RanDum72]

I would go with a new CPU first since its the cheapest upgrade. You also need to have at least 256mb of memory. Look around at the for sale/trade forum, I just got a Gainward GF3 (original, which is faster than a GF3 ti 200) for $75 shipped.

 

[ScrapSilicon]

Originally posted by: Haervii
Cygni: wow, that's pretty frickin' cheap! Are you sure?

hmm.. I suppose a KT133 board with a max 12.5 multiplier isn't exactly going to run the new Athlons, is it?

kt133..quite a few have BIOS limitations and/or voltage handicaps..go with the ECS K7S5A/Duron 1. or better and at least the GF3(for around $180 a GF4 ti4200 would be better..) ..

 

[Haervii]

Wow, you can use an XP2000+ on a KT133? How?
Remember, I am not talking about a KT133a, I'm talking about the ones that were invented exactly two years ago.

 

[jaydee]

There is probably a way to run an AthlonXP, but it won't have 133FSB, nor DDR memory, so would it be worth it? Doubtful.

If I were you, I'd probably scope a 1200 T-Bird on FS/FT, shouldn't cost you more than 60 bucks, plus you can sell the Duron for mabey $20-25 so you increase 500 mhz, get more cache, and save cash .

 

[Adul]

why not do both. 1 Ghz duron at newegg is 45 bucks. 99 Bucks for a radeon 8500le 64 MB DDR. sell your old video card and cpu to bring in a tad more cash.