Gaming Upgrade question

95Cobra-R

Member
Oct 11, 1999
161
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I currently have:

Soyo 6BA+IV BX Board
PIII 600E Slot 1
Voodoo 3 3500
Diamond MX300 sound card
Good case and a good 300 watt Power Supply
8X4X32 CDRW
Western Digital 40 Gig ATA100 Hardrive

I want to upgrade but not sure of what I want to go with so I am asking you guys for advice.

My first option was to buy a PIII 1Ghz slot one since I am very happy with my motherboard. I may upgrade the video at a later time. Everything I run on it runs fast but there is no 32bit color support for gaming. Price for a PIII 1ghz slot one boxed is around $229.00 on pricewatch.

My secound option was to replace the motherboard and processor and use my existing components. Whether I go AMD or Intel Probably doesn't matter since I will sticking with a P3 or AMD Thunderbird. They are priced somewaht close. Expected upgrade price around $300.00 or above.

Here is what I would like to achieve:
1.)I want to be able run Windows XP RC2 on a partition for testing and evaluation of the OS. The problem with doing this on my motherboard is that I need to connect my hardrive to the ATA33 controller since I have a Highpoint ATA66 controller (HPT366)that Highpoint is still working on Beta drivers for Windows XP. The newer ATA 100 controller HPT 370 or 370A have built in support on Windows XP RC2. So i will loose alittle performance all around going to AtA33 but hopefully only for a short time while waiting foe new drivers.

2.)I want to be able to run Multiple OS's using System Commander or Powerquest's Boot Magic which I already own and never installed it. I want to be able to run old dos games that do not run under win98SE or Win98SE's version of dos. Can this be done with an ATA66/ATA100 controller or do I need to connect it to the ATA33 controller?


Thanks!!!

Cobra

 

jackwhitter

Golden Member
Dec 15, 2000
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You should be able to run off of a controller, since it has its own bios and adds boot devices. if not, the ata 33 controller has built-in support on your motherboard, so it will work just fine. i run on scsi and the ide controllers should act just like the scsi controller where it adds hard drives as boot devices. although check highpoint and see if they have dos drivers for the controller.

a faster proc will help things run faster, but you didn't list your ram, and ram is really really cheap right now... if you have less than 256megs stick some more in there... lol.

it looks like you are good for gameing especially if all your games are older. it would not be an effective use of your money to change anything out if you don't plan to play the latest and greatest games.


oh, 1 more thing. if dos can't use your highpoint controller, you could always get a 2 gig ide drive and attach to your ata 33, and run dos from there (u may have to change some settings in your bios if u want to do that, but it should work just fine.) i am doing the same thing w/ my scsi card.
 

jaybittle

Senior member
Jan 23, 2001
550
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Depending on the types of games you want to play, I would suggest:

1. new video card.
2. more memory (if you need it.)
3. new processor.

.. in that order.. Your 600E should be plenty enough to run even the newest releases, especially with a decent video card. Look at getting into the GF2 Pro (from newegg, only $142 plus shipping..), which will be a good card no matter what your processor..

then upgrade your memory to at least 256, and at most 512. (I think the Soyo has three slots and your max on board memory should be 768.)

Finally, upgrade your processor.. I would wait until after the end of this month, as there are some more expected price cuts for Intel.

cheers,
--jb

 

95Cobra-R

Member
Oct 11, 1999
161
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I have two 128 Corsair PC133 Cas2 sticks of ram. I have two more open Dimm slots available.
If I upgrade my exisiting processor from 600 to 1ghz maybe add alittle more ram. Do you think I'll be set for a while even with the latest games? I will eventually get a new video card (Maybe the Gforce 2 Pro).

Do you think I should stay with my current motherboard as well?

Thanks in advance!!!!!!