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older gaming system. new gpu or start from scratch?

N

nep01

Junior Member
afternoon all. my current system is a asus a7vn8x, athlon 2500+, radeon 9500, and 1 gig 3200 ram. i mostly play ut2004 and city of villains, but may undertake some new fps games. can i get by with just a video card upgrade or should i consider replacing everything? its been a long time since i had to concern myself with upgrades, but im tired of running 800x600 🙂 thanks!
 
A cheap used 6600GT or 6800 for under $75 shipped from the FS/FT forum would make a nice upgrade, letting you play many games at 1024x768.

After that you might as well start saving up for the Core 2 / 8800GTS system you really want 🙂
 
Originally posted by: DaveSimmons
A cheap used 6600GT or 6800 for under $75 shipped from the FS/FT forum would make a nice upgrade, letting you play many games at 1024x768.

After that you might as well start saving up for the Core 2 / 8800GTS system you really want 🙂
Click to expand...

thanks thats exactly what i needed to hear
 
I would go for a full overhaul - no sense in throwing cash into another AGP card, as they'll die out within a year or so.

You can get the basics of a new system (processor, motherboard, memory, graphics card) for as little as $500-1000 total, depending on what you're looking for.
 
Originally posted by: magomago
Yeah go for a 6800GT or basically the best you can get for under 100....it will be a HUGE leap over a 9500
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i realize now i have a 9600...but either way the mention of ut2k7 has me pondering...perhaps something to hold me over until the launch, as epic has a habit of delaying their releases.
 
Definitely worth upgrading, just not to a new top-of-the-line card. I've got a P4 2.4 Northwood (OC'd to 2.9), 1.5GB PC3200, ASUS board, and I'm running a X800XT right now, I can play almost anything I need to. CSS/HL2 run great, I played through Titan's Quest with no problem, FEAR ran a bit buggy until I turned down all the extras, then even that ran alright. Just look for a decent card around the X800XT or 6800 level, for about $100 or so and you'll be happy.
 
With the system in my sig I went from initial 9500 Pro, briefly to a 9800 (non-Pro) and just this last summer to a X800GTO.

In CoD2 the 9500 struggled in DX9 mode through certain sections. The 9800 was speed boost but still hit the small walls rendering particular levels.

The X800 on the other hand was huge step forward; much higher average frame rates, more graphical options enabled, and no slow down in complicated scenes.
 
I would recommend just buying a cheap AGP card just enough to hold you over until the release of UT2k7, when you will definitely need to do a complete rebuild. Depending on your situation with the $$$, it might be more logical to just start a new rig now and forget about wasting the $1XX on a throw-away video card. I think you may be right about the delay of epic's game, though I am still looking forward to it. 🙂
 
Anything more than a 6800/7600 is probably too much. If you want more speed beyond the 6800/7600, you're going to need a bigger CPU and more RAM, at which point you basically need to start from scratch.
 
You'll notice a big improvement in CoV if you switch to an nvidia card and add then a little more improvement if you add another gig of RAM. Then, CoV will probably be CPU bound. The ATI drivers are not tuned well for many of the CoX effects.
 
Originally posted by: DaveSimmons
A cheap used 6600GT or 6800 for under $75 shipped from the FS/FT forum would make a nice upgrade, letting you play many games at 1024x768.

After that you might as well start saving up for the Core 2 / 8800GTS system you really want 🙂
Click to expand...
The first suggestion is still the BEST suggestion.

The jump you will get from a 6600GT will be a big difference, the other suggestions cost more and will not provide a bigger difference (per dollar). I have owned a 6600GT and a 6800GT (run @ Ultra speeds) and let me tell you that I am blown away at how well the 6600GT does! If you find a 6800GT for the same price (used on the forums) then fine, but if the 6800 is even $20 more, then forget it.

I would not bother buying any more ram. The prices are high enough for DDR that again the gain would not be worth the investment. If the ram is gonna be re-used on your next overhaul, then that's one thing. But I'd bet you will upgrade to a DDR2 system when the time comes which would make that ram investment a waste.

You haven't mentioned if your CPU is overclocked. Many Barton 2500's will run at 3200 speeds just fine (most need a small increase in the Vcore). Since your motherboard will support overclocking just fine, this will give you a huge return on investment (it's free). Besides, a 6600GT running with a CPU at 2200 will be able stretch its legs better then one with a CPU @ 1833 (the stock speed of your CPU). If anything a new HeatSink and fan will keep the CPU as cool (or cooler) then the stock unit I assume you are using. A good HS/Fan can be had for less then $25.
 
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