NEED ADVICE!

[aaronhawn1983]

Hey Guys!
I just have a quick question.
Ok...over the coming summer i am going to be saving my money to updgrade my computer. Here's what i have:

ASUS NForce2 MB - Will support 400FSP
512 Crucial PC2100 Memory
Gf2 Ti
100 GB HDD
ect ect ect.

What I'd like to know is - if i dont want to replace my motherboard, what CPU would you recommend? But more importantly what Videocard would you recomend? I dont need a massive amount of power - all i really want is playable framerates in both Doom3 and HL2.

Thanks for your advice!

Regards, Aaron

 

[myocardia]

I assume you mean a nForce2 motherboard, right? The Asus A7N8X-Deluxe, in other words. I think you should buy yourself a mobile Barton, and a gig of PC3200 ram. Corsair XMS or Mushkin Level I would be very good ram picks.

 

[Fricardo]

I agree with myocardia on all of that, eventually. They look like good upgrades when you have the cash. But personally I would wait on the RAM and pick up a new video card first. Get the XP-M and then pick yourself up a 9800 Pro or a 9600 Pro if you can't afford it's bigger brother. Your going to notice the new graphics card a ton more than you will the ~400 Mhz or so that you would get from faster RAM, especially considering the graphics card you have now. The GF 2 doesn't even support Direct X 8.:roll:[/quote]

 

[aaronhawn1983]

Hey Guys -
ok. I think i've decided on an XP3200+ - But several people have mentioned the moblie's. Whats the difference between the two. Also - just so you know - i originally was not running a gf2 on this system - i had a gainward gf4 4200 but it decided to go on the fritz. So what VC would you recomend? I get so confused when i look at them because there are so many choices....what happened to the good 'ole days?

 

[SickBeast]

keep the gf2 for another month or so then buy something uber-powerful.

 

[11427]

I'd pass on the 3200+, pick up a mobile 2400+, 2500+ or 2600+ whichever is most handy, easy to get, or best price. Run it at 400 fsb (or higher if possible) on your nForce2 MB. As for the VC,.... from what I hear none of the current VC's are going to run D3 or HL2 at great framerates, so if money is a big concern I'd go with an ATI 9800 it shoud easily OC's to Pro speeds. If money is not a problem get the 9800XT or wait a few weeks/months for the next gen cards and spend, spend , spend ;-)
oh, and get some better memory 1GB of PC3200 or PC3500 from any of the top brands (Corsair, Kingston, OCZ, Mushkin etc.)

 

[Fricardo]

Originally posted by: aaronhawn1983
But more importantly what Videocard would you recomend? I dont need a massive amount of power - all i really want is playable framerates in both Doom3 and HL2.

If that's all he needs, then buying something "uber-powerful" is a waste. Like I said before, 9600 pro or 9800 pro are the best deals currently. If you want playable framerates in HL2, then get the 9800 pro. It can be had for just under $200 and will definitely do the job well.

 

[aaronhawn1983]

Hey Guys - thanks for all your help - but i have one more question that I asked earlier - whats the difference between the moblie's and the regulars?

Thanks!

 

[11427]

The desktop's nominal voltage is 1.65 and the mobile is 1.45 IIRC. Gives you some more headroom for OCing.

 

[Fricardo]

Originally posted by: 11427
The desktop's nominal voltage is 1.65 and the mobile is 1.45 IIRC. Gives you some more headroom for OCing.

Exactly. Also, the mobiles don't have a locked fsb while all the new desktops do. The mobile is definitly a superior chip.

 

[ColossusX]

You can pick up a retail box Sapphire 9800 Pro 128mb from Newegg.com for about $220.

To expand abit on 11427's explanation, the mobile Barton was designed for just that, mobile systems.
They are mult. unlocked and they run at a lower voltage as 11427 stated (partly to lessen battery drain in notebooks). You can easily (at least as of this writing) run them at 200mhz FSB and adjust your mult. to get a desired/stable over clock. And since they default at a lower voltage, you do have more headroom as it were. Also, from what I have read recently, though yet to see it personally, the newer desktop Barton 2500's are having some difficulty hitting 200fsb now, unlike a few months ago.

I too would get a gig of PC3200 to go with your new videocard and processor. There doesnt seem to be any point to getting the top of the line video cards (which will be replaced anyways by the upcoming Geforce 6 series and the ATI R420 this summer) if the rest of your system is barebones (ie 512mb of PC2100). It makes more sense to spread your budget around and get a mobile proc, decent video card (9800 pro is best bang for the buck right now) and memory. For the price of a 9800XT, I got a 9800Pro, 1gb Kingston HyperX PC3200, mobile 2500 and some change.

The current issue of Maximum PC (May 2004) has some "estimates" of system requirements to run the upcoming games in all their glory, to give you somewhat of idea of what to shoot for:

Game/Proc/video card/memory
D3- 3Ghz/FX51, Radeon 9700/GF FX 5900, 2gb mem
HL2- 2.5ghz, Radeon 9700/GF FX 5900, 1gb mem

 

[Zebo]

These guys will have you spending too much.

9800NP OC to XT $170
2x256 MB Buffalo Ch-5 $90
Moblie barton 2400 > 2300Mhz $77

Or you could save more by keeping your ram upping to 150-166FSB as long as MOBO supports high multipliers. And a gig of memory is a total waste for me. I've never used over 400MB let alone 512.

 

[Mik3y]

well, dont forget taht not everyone is an overclocker. he hasnt mentioned anything about him overclocking anything. well, i think you should get a radeon 9800 pro for about $205, mushkin 512mb ddr pc3200 ram for $100, and depending on your budget, a 3200+ if you are not willing to overclock. otherwise, if you know how and are willing to, then the mobile bartons are your best bet. you will also save a ton of money, but overclocking is not recommended if you dont already know how to and how to keep the system stabilized.

 

[aaronhawn1983]

I used to be willing to O/C but my experiences with AMD O/Cing havent been that good. So I really think that I really want to get the fastest CPU I can get without going to the FX CPU's and I also NEED (as many of you have mentioned) to get a new VC but I thought the 9800's were getting a little bit old? Sorry if I sound like a n00b. I've acctually been building for a very long time and I just havent really been paying much attention to the industry recently.

 

[Fricardo]

The 9800 architecture is still pretty good. We'll have to see once the R420 comes out if the new discount cards are as good. If not, the 9800 Pro will not dissapoint you and will have ample power for HL2. You might not be able to run 1600x1200 or 8x AA and 16AF, but should definitely have good framerates with 1024x768 or so. Don't buy the 9800 NP. It's a gimped version that runs at around the speed of a 9600 Pro but for more $$. Also, the Saphire 9800 Pro is a bit too much at $220, I think, while not really giving you better performance. Right in the middle is the ATI version of the Pro for $198 last I checked.

My 2 cents

 

[aaronhawn1983]

Thanks for all of you're help guys!

 

[exar333]

Those reqs for the games are for MAXIMUM settings....don't believe that you need 2 GB of RAM to run Doom 3....im guessing that release was "brought to you by Samsung" or the like...