I can't imagine my hardware configuration is that common as most members of this board have long since moved on from socket 754 platforms, but last year I purchased a motherboard (EPOX 754/NF4 hybrid) that allowed me to continue using my DDR1 and A64 3200+ @2.6Ghz with a PCI-e SLI congiguration (7900GT KO presently) and I'm considering upgrading to a 8800GTS. The configuration has actually worked out beautifully so far, but now I'm facing the urge to push this old horse even further. However, I'm concerned about potentially wasting the horsepower of the 8800GTS on what may be a CPU limted upgrade path. Any thoughts, comments, or even questions would be welcome. Thanks!
754+
- Thread starter jjzelinski
- Start date
I take it that your board is the 8NPA SLI, I have one of those lying about...nice board.
It shouldn't have any problem with a 8800GTS as long as you have a decent PSU, but yes you will be very CPU limited by that setup.
I'm still using a skt 754 setup (see sig), I'm happy with how it runs...I just wish Sapphire would hurry up and release the X1950PRO AGP in Australia :|
It shouldn't have any problem with a 8800GTS as long as you have a decent PSU, but yes you will be very CPU limited by that setup.
I'm still using a skt 754 setup (see sig), I'm happy with how it runs...I just wish Sapphire would hurry up and release the X1950PRO AGP in Australia :|
Lying around you say... sounds like you opeted for an AGP setup, if so why?
Also, if you believe the configuration would be CPU limited (don't want to buy something that I can't make full use of) what speed of CPU (can't imagine dual core would even pay into it) would be appropriate in an price vs. performance sense? Again, thanks!
Also, if you believe the configuration would be CPU limited (don't want to buy something that I can't make full use of) what speed of CPU (can't imagine dual core would even pay into it) would be appropriate in an price vs. performance sense? Again, thanks!
I had a pair of Leadtek 7900GT's to go with it...but something came up (see first link in sig) and I need some money fast, so I sold both of my 7900GT to a needy friend and decided to hold on to my AGP rig for a bit longer...now I'm just going to go the whole hog and Upgrade to a C2D rig in few months, so I figured while I had a bit of loose change about I'm might see what my AGP setup was capable of...it's pretty fast for a single core rig.
For your rig it wouldn't make much sense to buy a 8800 series card...but if you plan on doing a whole upgrade in the near future then it might pay to get the 8800 if you can get it cheap enougth
I'm picking up a 22"in TN panel for 1650x1050 (or something like that) so I'd be running at that resolution with the idea of getting decent frame rates on next gen games and outstanding rates on current (obvlivion, BF2142, Q4, etc.)
SonicIce
Diamond Member
- Apr 12, 2004
- 4,771
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If all you're interested in is getting bunchmarks in the multi-hundreds then yes, your processor will be too slow. But currently, I don't think any game will be limited by a 3200+ especially at 2.6GHz. Just because the game might be CPU limited doesn't mean it will be too slow to play. You'll still get way over 60 FPS unless the game has some really CPU intensive things going on. As long as you have the power supply to go with it, get the fastest graphics card you can.
That's kind of what I was thinking. The more I think about the more I wonder if I (and others, obiously) have stumbled upon the biggest bang-for-your-buck configuration out there as it it simply dirt chea ( especially for anyone not itching to jump to an imamture OS.) A brand new C2D system (assuming DD2 hasn't been adpoted yet) is reaaally expensive, at least more expensive than a single 8800GTS for me.
the only problem I could see is you might actually get sh*t frames in the new games like alan wake and UT2007 that "supposedly" will only run well with dual core or higher procs. I read an article from the lead designer that said Alan Wake was designed for dual cores and could make use of up to 4 cores. He also said there would be a significant performance decrease if all those threads had to run on 4 cores. Just something to think about. You might want to consider selling that SLI board as well as your current proc and grabbing a cheapy 939 board and a used x2 3800+ on the forums. I had a 939 x2 3800+ for sale for 140 shipped with a zalman 7700 cooler, add 40-50 for a mobo and you would be good to go.
morgash
morgash
lol found that article. It was here on Anand.
"Alan Wake was demoed during Paul Otellini's keynote on an overclocked Core 2 Quad system running at 3.73GHz, mainly because the game itself is significantly multithreaded and could take advantage of the quad-core system. While development is still continuing on the forthcoming game, we did get some insight into exactly how Alan Wake will utilize multiple cores.
Surprisingly enough, Markus indicated that Alan Wake would pretty much not run on any single core processors, although it may be possible to run on single-core Pentium 4 processors with Hyper Threading enabled, with noticably reduced image quality/experience.
The physics thread will be used to handle all of the game's physics, which is driven using Havoc's physics engine. As Alan Wake uses Havoc's engine, there is no support for AGEIA's PhysX card and thus the host CPU must handle all physics calculations. During the keynote Markus mentioned that the physics thread used an entire core by itself, later clarifying that on a normal Core 2 Quad processor approximately 80% of one core would be used by the physics thread. With 80% of a single core being used for physics alone, the dual core CPU requirement is no longer so shocking."
SOURCE
morgash
"Alan Wake was demoed during Paul Otellini's keynote on an overclocked Core 2 Quad system running at 3.73GHz, mainly because the game itself is significantly multithreaded and could take advantage of the quad-core system. While development is still continuing on the forthcoming game, we did get some insight into exactly how Alan Wake will utilize multiple cores.
Surprisingly enough, Markus indicated that Alan Wake would pretty much not run on any single core processors, although it may be possible to run on single-core Pentium 4 processors with Hyper Threading enabled, with noticably reduced image quality/experience.
The physics thread will be used to handle all of the game's physics, which is driven using Havoc's physics engine. As Alan Wake uses Havoc's engine, there is no support for AGEIA's PhysX card and thus the host CPU must handle all physics calculations. During the keynote Markus mentioned that the physics thread used an entire core by itself, later clarifying that on a normal Core 2 Quad processor approximately 80% of one core would be used by the physics thread. With 80% of a single core being used for physics alone, the dual core CPU requirement is no longer so shocking."
SOURCE
morgash
I'll certainly concede that by no stretch of the imagination would I plan to hang onto this configuration what would likely be 1 1/2 to 2 years into the future expecting it to run such marvels Alan Wake, but I DO expect to be able to run UT2007 without max bells and whistles at a comfortable frame rate. Furthermore, it will be MONTHS before these games come out (at a minimum) and the longer I hold off on the newest platforms the less I in the long run. It seems like I would be paying a premium for a feature I can't presently take advantage of anyways, so at least I wouldn't feel at all penalized for waiting.
I'm a geek, I love gaming, have for a long time, but I'm also happily married and have a family that I feel compelled to make my expensive hobby as cost efficient as possible for. Getting an 8800GTS now would benefit present games more than a C2D setup with my present 7900GT would at a less of a cost, and I could still benefit from the 8800GTS later on when I finally have to take the multi-core plunge.
Perhaps that ramble will offer more of a background for why I'm hesitant to upgrade anything but my video card, and even then I'd like to be sure that I'll net a significant performance boost with it (which is why I started this thread.) Anyhow, I value the input and any more you might be willing to offer.
PS
I'm about to give your FS thread a bump
EDIT 2:
Drat, nice stuff. Shame I didn't see it earlier.
I'm a geek, I love gaming, have for a long time, but I'm also happily married and have a family that I feel compelled to make my expensive hobby as cost efficient as possible for. Getting an 8800GTS now would benefit present games more than a C2D setup with my present 7900GT would at a less of a cost, and I could still benefit from the 8800GTS later on when I finally have to take the multi-core plunge.
Perhaps that ramble will offer more of a background for why I'm hesitant to upgrade anything but my video card, and even then I'd like to be sure that I'll net a significant performance boost with it (which is why I started this thread.) Anyhow, I value the input and any more you might be willing to offer.
PS
I'm about to give your FS thread a bump
EDIT 2:
Drat, nice stuff. Shame I didn't see it earlier.
lol thanks. What I was trying to show in the Alan Wake article though was that it was running fine on a quad core proc and ONE 7900gt. If you get a C2D rig it will set you up perfectly for all the games coming out that are very heavy on physics and multiple threads such as Crysis PLUS that 7900gt (especially OC'ed to 7900GTX or better speeds) will run everything fine in DX9 mode for the forseeable future. AND since you pointed out you didnt want to waste money, why waste it on a DX10 card when you don't want to waste the money on Vista? If the 7900gt can play it fine, grab a AM2 dualy or a C2D instead, otherwise, all the new games that focus on realism in physics and procedural animation are going to destroy that single core proc. Since almost all the new games coming out WILL focus on the previous aspects it just makes more sense, and since I don't think you will be dropping 200 on a PhysX card...
morgash
morgash
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