advice for upgrading my current computer to be UT2004 optimal

[dionx]

CURRENT SETUP:

Things I Plan to Keep
Asus A7N8X 2.0 Deluxe
AMD Athlon XP1700+ @ 2200MHz (200 FSB)
Mushkin 512MB DDR PC3200
Viewsonic VP171B LCD

Things Which May Need Upgrade/Add
Asus 128MB Ti4200 Dual DVI ==> ATI 9600/9800 Pro?
Maxtor 160MB, 8MB Cache ATA133 ==> Western Digital Raptor 36.7GB SATA
Adding another stick of Mushkin 512MB to bring a total of 1.0GB RAM

right now, at 1280x1024 and textures and details set at default, i get around 25-40 FPS. my goal is to get at least 60FPS on everything set to best quality at 1280x1024. i'm pretty sure i need to upgrade my video card first, but there are many different options of 9600/9800 from XT to SE to Pro. which one will give me what i need for the lowest cost?

after i upgrade the video, which is more important to reduce load times.... faster harddrive or more RAM?

TIA

 

[Dman877]

You need both ram and a fast hard-drive for the loading thing but I would go with a gig of ram first. Second, on the video card, to run maxed settings at 1280x1024 AND acheive 60 fps you will need an oc'd 9800 pro or a 9800xt. Just to give you an idea, my system runs 30 - 40 fps minimums at 1280x1024 with medium/high settings and A64's generally perform the best in UT.

 

[InlineFive]

1. A GPU upgrade would probably provide the biggest performance boost so go for it. At the current prices a 9800 Pro is probably the best buy you can get.
2. The levels in this game load really quickly on that hard drive (I use it) so I think the speed increase wouldn't be worth the cost.
3. And the way things are going 1GB of memory will never hurt.

Good luck!

-Por

 

[GtPrOjEcTX]

I'd do 9800Pro, then stick another stick of 512mg in there and you should be good to go. No need for the SATA drive.

 

[Brian48]

In order of priority (based on a week of playing around with the retail version):

1. RAM.
2. Video card.
3. HDD

 

[DaveSimmons]

Originally posted by: Brian48
In order of priority (based on a week of playing around with the retail version):

1. RAM.
2. Video card.
3. HDD

Given the high resolution I'd put the 9800 Pro above adding more RAM. Don't buy a 9600, it's not enough faster than the ti4200 to justify the cost.

1. 9800 pro
2. 512 MB RAM
3. (distant third) Raptor 74 GB (at least until the 36 GB second-generation models come out)

 

[GtPrOjEcTX]

Originally posted by: Brian48
In order of priority (based on a week of playing around with the retail version):

1. RAM.
2. Video card.
3. HDD

Definately video card before ram. What are you smoking?

 

[Special1Sauce]

I'd personally go for a 9600 XT and just OC if it gets too slow

 

[newb54]

9800 PRO for sure. Next the extra 512, UT can use over 512. Raptor wont really help, I would skip it.

 

[GtPrOjEcTX]

Originally posted by: Special1Sauce
I'd personally go for a 9600 XT and just OC if it gets too slow

why when you can get a 9800Pro for $194?

 

[jdogg707]

Originally posted by: GtPrOjEcTX

Originally posted by: Special1Sauce
I'd personally go for a 9600 XT and just OC if it gets too slow

why when you can get a 9800Pro for $194?

Exactly, 9800 Pro all the way in this situtation.

 

[tomstevens26]

I'll just repeat what others have said....

1) 9800 Pro. Don't mess with the 9600 line since the 9800 Pro's are priced just a little more than the 9600XT.

2) RAM. This game eats it. More should also help with your load times. I'm running an A7N8X-E w/ a Seagate 120GB 8M drive, a 2500+ at 2.2GHz, and 1GB of PC3200. I don't have long load times so my guess would be the RAM helps.

Tom

 

[Gusty987]

why when you can get a 9800Pro for $194?

From where?

 

[newb54]

There have been deals for $189 all over the place.

 

[50]

Personally, I would skip the HD. Get a 9600pro or XT if you want HL2. Then get a new processor/mobo.

 

[DaveSimmons]

9800 pro : www.GottaDeal.com has a listing for ATI brand for $205 after rebate, and newegg has Sapphire for just over $200 with no rebates.

 

[MDE]

The FX5900 is no slouch either, if you can find one at a decent price, don't hesitate.

 

[Gerbil333]

Ut2k4 is running great for me on an ATI Radeon 9800 Pro 128mb at 1024x768 with 4x AA and 16x AF. It feels very fast! I think I could use 1gb of RAM though. I can tell I need it when loading and exiting the game. You should probably get either a 9800 Pro.

 

[Sureshot324]

I'd wait a month or so for the video card upgrade. The R420 and NV40 should push current video card prices down.

 

[sandorski]

9800 Pro
512mb ram

and skip the hd

 

[suklee]

Originally posted by: sandorski
9800 Pro
512mb ram

and skip the hd

My sentiments exactly

 

[0roo0roo]

ram = must
video card = must
harddrive = maybe, as ram affects both load and in game perf while hd only speeds inritating load times.

no wait, u have a relatively new hd, load time wouldnt 'be so bad... now if u had something horrible like a 40gb it would be different.

 

[Super56K]

Hmm, maybe you could make a comparison here from my system specs. I play ut2004 at 1024x768 at 32bit. I also have everything maxed out as high as it can go. Also, I run it at 2xaa 8xaf. My system specs are as follows:

mobile athon xp 2400+ @2305mhz (11.5x200fsb)
512mb buffalo pc3200 200fsb wiht 2.5-3-3-8 timings
sapphire ati 9600xt @ stock settings
biostar m7ncd pro nforce 2 mobo
seagate 2mb cache 60gb HDD

With that setup and using a fixed exe(I haven't properly been able to emulate the cd-rom version yet, getting ready to try out deamon tools) my FPS averages around 40-80 something. It sometimes occasionally dips down into the 30-40 range but only on a few onslaught maps in select moments of mayhem .

If I hadn't gotten my 9600xt so cheap($83 shipped) I would have shelled out a bit more for a used 5900xt or se. Begger's can't be choosers though.

 

[caz67]

Definitely RAM, and then Video Card.

I using 800Meg Peak usage playing UT2K4.

get the 9800pro, or a 5900nu, and flash it to 5950U.