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best little bang for little bucks

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logicmaster2003

Member
fact : my current PC is about 3 years old ..

  • mobo: Aopen AX45-8XN, FSB of 133 (OC to 142)
    cpu: Intel Pentium 4 Northwood 2.40 ghz OC to 2.556 mhz
    video: ATI radeon 9800 - 128MB , DAC 400mhz , core speed OC to 351, Memory
speed OC to 321. running Omega 2.675a

and I've had enough with low FPS and not being able to play with AA and AF to settings any other than OFF

question # 1 of my current system, what do you think is bottlenecking the gaming FPS (choppy FPS), is it the CPU or the Video card ????????????


proposal: upgrade mobo + cpu but keep my AGP video card (at least till next summer, until PCI-E video card prices goes down to about $150).
  • mobo: $66 ASROCK 939DUAL-SATA2 ULI M1695 CHIPSET SERIAL ATA300 ATX FORM
FACTOR 1xPCI-E(X16)/1xAGP(8X)/3xPCI/4xDDR W/SATA2,LAN,USB 2.0 & AUDIO
  • cpu: $233 (AMD ATHLON 64 3700+)

FYI: Asrock mobo got both AGP8X and PCI-E-16x video card slot !! ( no SLI dual pci-e configuration though) but its super cheap $66 !

question # 2 : upgrading my mobo / cpu to the above, but using my old ATI-9800 AGP8X, do you think I will have a significant gain on gaming FPS ? versus my current mobo/cpu ?? will the bottleneck now be on the video card ??
 
I upgraded my neice using that motherboard and reusing a 9800 Pro and the results were very satisfactory. I suggest trying to get an Opteron 146 instead though. And if you're going to do it, do it NOW, because once the stock of current Opteron 146 at retailers are gone, they are gone forever. AMD is discontinuing retail sales of these CPUs because they are meant for servers and workstations, but they overclock like mad because of that, and too many end users are buying them for that reason thanks to the dumbasses here on AT who can't keep thier mouth shut about a good thing.
 
oh okay thanks for the quick reply 🙂 I'm new and I just signed up few minutes ago actually 🙂

oh yea additional FYI :

1) the maximum resolution that I will be using for gaming is 1280x720 ( I'm gonna continue using my 27" olevia syntax LCD for 2 more years). So I might not need to upgrade my ATI 9800 AGP8X to PCI express such as 6800GS/GT/etc as long as I can max out the AA/AF and a tolerable FPS at this resolution or even 1024x768.

2) the RAM that I have in my current system that I want to move over to the new mobo that I want to get..

slot1 - 1024MB PC3200 (200mhz) 3-4-4-8
slot2 - 256MB PC3200 (200mhz) 3-4-4-8
slot3 - 256MB PC3200 (200mhz) 3-4-4-8

and what should I do to make it dual channel ?? scrap what I have on slot2/3 and get an exact ram similar to slot1 ??
 
please help 🙁 i'm off work today so I only have today to decide what to buy.

Also, using the same ATI9800 AGP8x video card, will there be a significant boost in gaming FPS when i choose the Athlon 64 4000+ (sandiego) over Athlon 64 3700+ (sandiego) ?? thats just about $90 more !! or will it make no difference cuz perhaps my ATI9800 will bottleneck the FPS ?
 
Your ATI R480 GPU will be the bottleneck for more games. And if you're going to spend more cash on a CPU get an Opteron!

Get another 1GB stick. Are the 3-4-4-8 timings SPD default for the RAM stick or the motherboard relaxed timings?
 
I suggest 3700+ San Diego, you can always OC a little at stock voltages.

It's hard to stretch the 9800, though it is a great card.
 
Originally posted by: ribbon13
Your ATI R480 GPU will be the bottleneck for more games. And if you're going to spend more cash on a CPU get an Opteron!

Get another 1GB stick. Are the 3-4-4-8 timings SPD default for the RAM stick or the motherboard relaxed timings?
Click to expand...


Now who's not keeping their mouth shut? 🙂

Ya, Opteron is superior, get it while you can.
 
stick with the 1GB module

mobo: $66 ASROCK 939DUAL-SATA2 ULI M1695 CHIPSET SERIAL ATA300 ATX FORM

FACTOR 1xPCI-E(X16)/1xAGP(8X)/3xPCI/4xDDR W/SATA2,LAN,USB 2.0 & AUDIO

look for the hot deal for an opteron 144 for 130

sell your 9800 and the 2 sticks of 256 ram and try and find a 6800gs for 200-250
 
oh yea thanks Ribbon13 / Lasthitlarry.. yes I'm going to get that Opteron 148 🙂 its only $4 more than Opteron 146 🙂 but what are the other advantages of this Opteron over the Athlon64 3700+ or similar ??

ribbon13 : i believe my 1GB stick's 3-4-4-8 timings are the SPD default, so thanks for the advice .. i'll get another stick of the same characteristic around january next year 🙂

 
hi coomar,

thanks for the reply 🙂

Yea I tink I will be using my ATI-9800 AGP8X until around summertime of next year.. thats why I chose that mobo.
and for the two 256MB, I might just give it to my sis, then get another 1GB of the same characteristics of the one that I have.
 
I'm definately keeping an eye on this thread.

I'm still running my XP-M 2600 @ 2.5Ghz with a GB of RAM and a 9800P on an Nforce2 board. I was thinking of upgrading the MB and CPU, as I don't really play many newer games and the 9800 is fine for older games.
 
AMD makes tons of chips, the ones that pass the most stringent tests are good for server/workstation CPUs, and are dubbed Opterons. The next best are the 64s, and then there is Sempron.

Opterons are only on the consumer pc market for a while, and they have much better OC capabilities and are just more stable. Plus, the Opterons price is going to go up in the next few weeks.

And the lower models give 1MB cache over 512K cache from models lower than 3700 San Diego.

I believe the 64s are usually clocked higher, so they can't OC as much, and the Opterons clocked a bit lower, but can OC past the 64s.

It makes perfect sense to spend a few extra bucks on a more secure processor.
 
Originally posted by: logicmaster2003
ribbon13 : i believe my 1GB stick's 3-4-4-8 timings are the SPD default, so thanks for the advice .. i'll get another stick of the same characteristic around january next year 🙂
Click to expand...

Don't bother. I'm sure if you run your ram at 2.7v you can make your stick do cas2.5 and get a cas2 or cas2.5 rated stick then. They should average $90 by that time.
 
yey im soooo sooo very very excited now 🙂 heres what I just ordered.. and yes everything is on stock according to monarch computer 🙂

ASrock 939 dual sata2 mobo ($69)
AMD Opteronn 148 ($207)
Thermaltake CL-P0075 ($40) ------- I might as well spend $ on cpu cooler/fan if I want to OC
Maxtor 250GB 7200RPM SATA 16MB cache ($110) ------------ only cuz i never had a SATA HD yet !! and I might as well get the one with 16MB cache !
--------------------------
$427 !!

And im going to use my current parts:
Echo Star 680 watt Dual Fan AT (ESTAR-680-N) $24.95 purchased on 6/6/05 @ www.geeks.com
ATI Radeon 9800 Atlantis 128MB DDR AGP8X $170 purchased on 9/8/04 @ www.???
Dvd drive
Cdrw drive
logictech cordless desktop LX700 $79 purchased on 4/4/05 @ local staples
RAM
slot1 - 1024MB PC3200 (200mhz) 3-4-4-8 ( and get another one of similar spec)
slot2 - 256MB PC3200 (200mhz) 3-4-4-8 (will donate to sis)
slot3 - 256MB PC3200 (200mhz) 3-4-4-8 (will donate to sis)
 
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