Basic Gaming PC

[antsct]

Hello everyone.

I might be able to get a PC off my Dad. It's a couple years old.

AMD Athlon XP Barton 2800+
Gigabyte GA-7VM400M(F) Motherboard
512mb DDR333
80Gb 7200rpm 8mb ATA133 Hard Drive.
ATX Cause + PSU.
Windows XP Pro SP2.

I was thinking, if I get this system from him, I would install

2Gb DDR400 RAM.
X1950GT Super AGP 512mb GDDR3.
320Gb 7200rpm 16mb ATA100 Hard Drive.

The max resolution my monitor supports is 1680x1050 and I wouldn't really bother with AA or AF.

I would be playing games like Source, UT2004, NFS Carbon (Hopefully) and UT3 (Hopefully).

How would this system preform in these games? My main concern would be the 2800+. I would like to find a 3000+ or 3200+ (has to be 333fsb) but they are very hard to find and not worth the $$ for the extra performance.

If I do this, it would be much cheaper than buying a whole new system.

Any input would be great, thanks.

 

[razor2025]

I wouldn't dump more money into that setup. You're going to be paying premiums for DDR, AGP video card. I would sell the hardware and get a new setup. If you're in tight budget, get the following:

X2 3600+
2GB of DDR2
X1950GT/Pro PCI-E


If the PSU has decen wattage, 400-450, you shouldn't need to replace it.

 

[zig3695]

agreed. keep that 'clunker' system intact, and use it as a tivo box or sell it as a htpc. actually that old system is perfect for an xp media center box... i dont like to use tv without a media center pc hooked to it now. if i cant pause live tv whats the point!

 

[antsct]

Yeah I know what you mean. I was considering buying a new system but the Ram is AU$40 more for 2gb DDR compared to DDR2 and the X1950 is much cheaper than buying say a 8800GTS, which is what I'd go for if I bought a new system. Buying those three compents alone would save me about 50% in $$

 

[Lalakai]

gotta follow the above advice: keep the old system intact and start on a new one. The 2800 will bottleneck most of the upgrades, and might not even handle the 1950 (I built system with X195XT 512 and it gave minimum recommendation of 2.4 GHz for the cpu, so you might run into difficulties on the GT).

you should be able to find mb that doesn't require the DDR2, but will still give you good cpu boost. if strapped for cash, pick up the stuff kind of piece meal, saving the vcard and cpu for last (as they will likely drop in price more, compared to mb and ram).

edit: correction on vcard cpu recommendation

 

[tHa ShIzNiT]

Originally posted by: zig3695
agreed. keep that 'clunker' system intact, and use it as a tivo box or sell it as a htpc. actually that old system is perfect for an xp media center box... i dont like to use tv without a media center pc hooked to it now. if i cant pause live tv whats the point!

Just a quick, and probably stupid, question. If you want to make a media center box, you have to buy Windows XP media center right? There's no download or anything that can make your current Windows XP key work on that and make it free? I am about to do this, just want to make sure that I do have to spend the cash to buy XP media center.

 

[antsct]

Thanks for the advice everyone.

I guess i'm going to go for a whole new system in a few months time then.

tHa ShIzNiT, I've never heard of, nor am I aware of a Windows XP to Windows Media Centre download. I'm 99% sure you have to buy the Media Centre OS.

 

[jpeyton]

Budget?

 

[grumpyboy]

@ tHa ShIzNiT no, you could use myth tv using linux for free though.
worth a try if your not too lazy like me to even attempt it
http://parker1.co.uk/mythtv_ubuntu.php

 

[antsct]

Originally posted by: jpeyton
Budget?

About $AU950-1000.

 

[bigsnyder]

If you still want to look in upgrading to the current system, 1GB (512MBx2) of DDR400 is sufficient for XP.
Also look into a used Radeon X800 variant, or Nvidia 6800 variant. Anything faster or newer probably is a waste. I assume you are running onboard video? If so, even a Radeon 9800 would be an improvement.