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Eliminating a bottleneck

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Firetiger5

Junior Member
First, i'll start with my system specs, since that's what the thread is about.

2.4Ghz P4, 400Mhz FSB, 512kb cache
512MB pc133 SDRAM
Soyo P4IS2 motherboard

Recently I moved from a Geforce 3 Ti500 to a Geforce 6800 NU (leadtek).
I tested several games, and the there is almost no difference in performance whatsoever.

Obviously, my system is bottlenecked. I'm looking for the cheapest solution to my problem. I was considering replacing the mobo and buying a stick of ddr400 ram. The ram speed would match my processor FSB speed, which would eliminate any bottlenecks other than the system as a whole. I've been told this is not the way to go, but i'd like a second opinion, or another suggestion.
 
The biggest problem is the RAM and then it's the processor.

Get an A64 + mobo + DDR400 combo and you'll be screaming.
 
your ram is a huge bottleneck. Additionally, i think u still should see a performance increase since you upgraded to a 6800 NU from a ti200. Perhaps it could be drivers issues.
 
1) Get a i875p motherboard (model depends on options you want) that start out about $80 and up.
2) 1GB (2x512 dual channel ready) DDR RAM (make and model depends on if your overclocking and how high) <- You will not be able to take advantage of this until you get a 800fsb CPU.

If your not going to overclock above 5% then you could get the above for about $230 shipped (board and memory). This could hold you for awhile.
 
A64 combo is the best choice, sell your present setup and use it to offset some of the cost. The difference in cost between just upgrading the board&amp;ram and completely switching platforms is only $175 for a retail A64 3000+ and will give you a much bigger performance boost for gaming than the board&amp;ram for the P4 will.
 
dapunisher has a good idea, i have the same setup as you downstairs except my P4 2.4 is paired up with some ill-fated PC800 RDRAM (RAMBUS) the system clock is only 100MHz on that P4, but then its "quad pumped" what ever the hell that does. a 400mhz fsb p4 would be matched with only pc2100.

my p4 rig plyed ut2004 acceptably but now ive gone a64, and 6800gt.....well there is no comparison and there is no goin back!!!!
sell that rig on ebay, or something maybe add a few things to make it more appealing then jus go A64, even the 2800 A64 will be a nice upgrade!
 
Originally posted by: Firetiger5Obviously, my system is bottlenecked. I'm looking for the cheapest solution to my problem.
Click to expand...

I can't replace everything, I simply don't have the cash, nor will I have it anytime soon.

It's why I asked how bottlenecked it would still be if I switched to DDR400.
 
Originally posted by: Firetiger5
Originally posted by: Firetiger5Obviously, my system is bottlenecked. I'm looking for the cheapest solution to my problem.
Click to expand...

I can't replace everything, I simply don't have the cash, nor will I have it anytime soon.

It's why I asked how bottlenecked it would still be if I switched to DDR400.
Click to expand...
You have to buy a new board too, so once again the difference is the cost of the A64 CPU. You will get by far the most resale money from your P4, and could make the cost of a A64 2800+ as little as $60$70 difference. Since the board and ram are similar costs between platforms that mean the difference between a still fairly slow sub-3ghz P4 non HT system and A64 system is approximately $60-$70 when all is said and done.

The A64 is a compelling choice given the final cost of each solution to the problem, but hey, if you want to throw money at a new board and ram just to have your CPU still be the weakest link over saving $70 or so then have at it 😉
 
In that case, go with Sep's recommendation.

1) Get a i875p motherboard (model depends on options you want) that start out about $80 and up.
2) 1GB (2x512 dual channel ready) DDR RAM (make and model depends on if your overclocking and how high) <- You will not be able to take advantage of this until you get a 800fsb CPU.

If your not going to overclock above 5% then you could get the above for about $230 shipped (board and memory). This could hold you for awhile.
Click to expand...

...except, get an i865PE based motherboard. They are cheaper than the i875P and there really isn't much difference between the two. The i875P is really only for the tweaker that is willing to spend extra money for minimal gains, which doesn't describe you. You could also start out with 256MB of RAM. The i865PE boards have 4 slots for RAM, so you can add another set of 2 x 256MB as needed or your finances allow.

some ideas for you to get this stuff for cheap...

ECS i865 mobo $60 shipped

2 x 256MB Corsair Value Select RAM $90 shipped
 
I agree with DAPANISHER and otispunkmeyer, that's the best solution.

edit: I just read Nitromullet's advice and it seems better for you, except for the "256Mb" recommendation, 512Mb is minimum for today's games, and 256Mb will make a huge bottleneck on your system especially that you got a 6800.
 
Additionally, i think u still should see a performance increase since you upgraded to a 6800 NU from a ti200.
Click to expand...
He's probably running his games at CPU limited settings so that's why he can't see a difference.

What about the processor?
Click to expand...
FSB and the fact that it's not a 'C' so it doesn't use dual-channel memory. P4s are very sensitive to memory bandwidth and FSB speed.

It's why I asked how bottlenecked it would still be if I switched to DDR400.
Click to expand...
DDR400 should give you a reasonable performance gain. If that's all you can afford then I'd recommend this option.
 
Thanks for the suggestions.

Can anyone guesstimate how much performance i'd be losing with my current setup and ddr400 (since most of ya seem to be experts at this)?
 
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