9700 Pro upgrade to X850 XT

[ricwhite]

I purchased the x850 XT from microcenter for $299 to upgrade from my 9700 pro. I have all the latest ATI catalyst drivers on my 9700 pro, so can I just stick the new x850 xt in my computer to upgrade or do I have to uninstall and reinstall them all with the new card. Since the new card will likely use the same catalyst drivers, it doesn't make sense to me to uninstall first. Or am I missing something?

Is there anybody else who has upgraded from a similar card to the X850 xt? Just wondered if there's a big difference. Also, will the X850 xt use more power than the 9700 pro? I have a 430 watt PSU that I'm hoping will be sufficient.

Any other installation tips or potential problems that I should expect or address before the installation.

Thanks in advance for your help.

Athlon 2100
1 gb 3200 ram
2 80 gb hard drives

 

[Eureka]

430w is more than enough... and while I haven't made an upgrade like that (my 6600GT to that would be nice), it should give you a big performance.

Now I'd upgrade that processor because it'll bottleneck.

Norm

 

[ricwhite]

Originally posted by: cevilgenius

Now I'd upgrade that processor because it'll bottleneck.

Norm

Yeah, the processor needs an upgrade. However, I saw a benchmark study that showed that different processors and even memory upgrades didn't affect framerates and scores very much. The video card was (by far) the most important component to improving framerates and scores. So, that is what I focused on first.

If I upgrade to an athlon 3400, I would probably only see a slight improvement.

 

[Eureka]

Maybe not with gaming... but you'd probably improve performance overall as well.

Norm

 

[christopherzombie]

Originally posted by: ricwhite
Do I have to uninstall and reinstall them all with the new card. Since the new card will likely use the same catalyst drivers, it doesn't make sense to me to uninstall first. Or am I missing something?

Yes, uninstall and reinstall your VGA drivers. Some even like to run a driver-cleaner too. I'm not sure about ATI drivers, but nVidia drivers need to be uninstalled and reinstalled even if the newer card is the same model with another bios.

 

[Wentelteefje]

To be sure, follow indeed christopherzombie's advice... A X850XT will be bottlenecked by your CPU, but that doesn't mean it will be unplayable... The most important factor is still your GPU (which is very strong represented with you now)

Your 430W should be perfectly fine, and of course it is a lot more power hungry than your 9700Pro... An Athlon 64 3400+ (if that was what you're talking about) will give you a serious improvement over your current XP 2100+... Although still socket 754, it is a very fast gaming CPU, and it will raise the overall speed of your comp by quite a bit...

 

[imhungry]

Originally posted by: ricwhite

Originally posted by: cevilgenius

Now I'd upgrade that processor because it'll bottleneck.

Norm

If I upgrade to an athlon 3400, I would probably only see a slight improvement.

That is definitely not true. Those tests are only for the higher resolutions. And with that processor, it wouldn't matter, because even a 3000+ will outperform it by many frames at even 640x480 resolution. Especially with that video card.

But you're right. With a lower-decent processor, you'd still see a bigger jump switching up a video card. Even though you had a 9700P before.

 

[blckgrffn]

That processor is insufficient with that video card. Heck, it was bottleknecking your 9700P. I would step up to a socket 754 a64 setup pronto

Games that are physics heavy, like HL2, Painkiller, and FEAR will stutter badly with an older processor like yours, despite the godly video card.

Nat

 

[badtyper1]

I just upgraded to the x850xt from a 9800 pro.
Don't know much about "bottlenecking" (I'm a noobie), but the difference in graphics is amazing. Playing Call of Duty 2 with the new card, all the eye candy turned on, very smooth. I suddenly realized that my player was wearing gloves, thought he just had dirty hands when playing with the 9800 pro.
Great card!
Be sure to get the $50 mail-in rebate from Micro Center!!

 

[ricwhite]

Thanks for the responses thus far. I am about 2 years from a complete upgrade. I was planning on some minor tweaking until then, but was too tempted by the $250 X850XT card, so I went for it. I am still a little puzzled that microcenter is offering this card for $250 after rebate while everybody else is at least $100 higher.

I know my processor is dated, and I will consider an upgrade soon to a Athlon 3000+ or so. I hope I will then be set for at least 2 more years before I completely rebuild my system. Does anybody have a tip on where I can find a hot deal on an Athlon 3000 or higher for my Asus A7N8X motherboard?

Thx.

Athlon 2100+
1 gb PC3200 RAM
2 80 gb 7200 HD
Asus A7N8X MB
ATI Radeon X850XT (soon)

 

[cubeless]

if u r thinking of getting a new cpu, try oc'ing the one u have first... u ought to be able to squeeze a couple hundred mhz out of it and get a feel for what some more mips will do for u... and if u kill it u were going to get a new one anyways! not really worth buying a faster 133fsb chip... i have a 2.3 ghz k7s5a rig, and it's still slow compared to my 2.2ghz a64...

 

[blckgrffn]

The thing is, a 3000+ could cost $100 in either A64 OR AXP, so you might as well spend $150 and have it just that much better (By investing in a motherboard, too). To tell the truth, you could probably get an easy $70 out of what you have and upgrade your mobo and processor for around $80. Your ram is already good to go.

The for sale/for trade forums are your friend for this kind of thing

Nat

 

[blckgrffn]

Right here, baby....

 

[Fern]

Originally posted by: ricwhite

Originally posted by: cevilgenius

Now I'd upgrade that processor because it'll bottleneck.

Norm

Yeah, the processor needs an upgrade. However, I saw a benchmark study that showed that different processors and even memory upgrades didn't affect framerates and scores very much. The video card was (by far) the most important component to improving framerates and scores. So, that is what I focused on first.

If I upgrade to an athlon 3400, I would probably only see a slight improvement.

Hi ricwhite and Welcome to the Foums!

I'm inclined to agree with you about CPU bottlenecking. IMHO, its way overstated.

If I were you I'd first pickup the gfx card. You can check for CPU bottlenecking by running benchies (D3 timedemo etc) at a real low rez like 8x6. If you get plenty of frames per second, you'll know the CPU ain't much of a bottleneck since higher rez's will mostly just burden the gfx card.

If you wanna upgrade the CPU, I suggest you pickup a used mobile from the FS/FT forum. You could then run at FSB 200mhz. If you can find a decent OCer (like the 2600+ with IQYHA steppings) you can prolly get to about 2.5ghz without a problem, and on air of course.

Fern

 

[ricwhite]

I installed my new x850xt card. It replaced my 9700 pro. Everything else on my computer I left the same. I have an Athlon 2100+ with 1 gb of pc3200 ram.

3DMark 03 Score with 9700 Pro = 4450

3DMark 03 Score with X850XT = 10255


I'd say that is an improvement. Yeah, my processor is probably bottlenecking, but the video card is by far the most important improvement for fps and gaming. In a couple of years I'll be doing a complete upgrade. For now, I'm happy with what I've got, even though it's not ideal.