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Opinions... Worth the money for upgrade?

G

gregom

Member
Hey all... I'm considering purchassing hardware to upgrade my main rig, but I'm not sure if it is worth the money. I've got other things I can spend the money on... So I really need some help. Any opinions and thoughts would be helpful.

First thing is first... Yes, I'm too lazy to search and spend hours in reviews... I'd rather play games. 😀 Also... I am currently in the world of SFF's, and I want to keep it that way.

Here's what I have now...

  • BioStar 200N SFF PC (done some mods to the case already, would love to keep it, but probably isn't gonna happen since there are no 'upgrade' mobo's that would fit.)
  • nVidia nForce2 IGP (400MHz FSB, 333MHz RAM)
  • 2x 512 MB DDR-333MHz Value Ram (I think... lol, it's been a while)
  • ATi Radeon 9800 Pro 128MB 256-Bit
  • Western Digital 100GB, 250GB, and 400GB 7200 RPM IDE ATA-133
  • Samsung 17" 173T TFT-LCD (25ms. response time)

And here's what I'm considering...


Totaling $1,071 with shipping from NewEgg.com

Basically is what I want to know.... Is it really worth it? Am I going to get much of a boost from my current system? The main game i play is America's Army (uses Unreal 2003 engine), also play lots of HalfLife 2, FarCry, and some other older games.... I want to make sure I can play Stalker when it comes out without too much trouble. I have Doom 3 but don't really play it much, mainly because LAN play is too slow. In all honestly from the benchmarks I've looked it, it doesn't seem this is going to be a big increase in speed. May be more worth-while for me to wait several months to get better deals and possibly better hardware.

If you have any other suggestions which may save money or get my better performance for the main games I play let me know. My main priority is performance in AA, I play a lot of this game. It actually runs quite well, but occassional slowdowns on the map SF Hospital (if anyone here plays AA you know the map I'm sure). Nothing major... but it would be nice if it ran a bit smoother and I could enable some anti-aliasing.

I'm not sure if I'm prepared to spend this much money on something that may not have good value right now (since this is mostly new hardware). Not only is the prices still kinda high, but the reliability and usability (mainly 64-bit acceptance for games and software now) are probably not that high right now compared to the hardware I currently have.

I'm also considering, instead of purchasing new hardware, buying myself a nice big 24" widescreen LCD from Dell for $1000. Although currently the price went back up to $1200, but I'm assuming it will go back down. My main concern is playing games at the native resolution of this huge monitor of 1920x1200. If I want to at this res I may have to upgrade my hardware soon... Or just deal with it at a non-native res. It's a lot of money for a monitor... but it's quite tempting.

Or I could just buy a 19" Hyundai LCD (decent monitor upgrade) and use the rest of the money for other stuff.

So that's my dilema... I'm not sure what I want to do. Of course none of it is really necessary... But I'm gonna spend it on something. It's either this or my car... lol Which really needs new shocks, but I don't drive a lot so its not a primary concern.
 
Limiting yourself to an SFF upgrade will raise the price of entry by quite a bit, as I'm sure you can see. You would certainly see a big jump in games, but to me that wouldn't be worth $1000.

I am sort of in the same position (Athlon XP at 2400MHz since August 2003, finally starting to seriously think about an Athlon 64 upgrade) - although I've had a 6800GT already since last July and am considering upgrading to a next-gen R520/G70 card in a few months. Luckily I have a friend who wants to buy my 6800GT for $300 - otherwise I wouldn't even think about buying a new high-end card (that is, whenever they're actually available and not just paper-launched).

Edit:
I'm not sure if I'm prepared to spend this much money on something that may not have good value right now (since this is mostly new hardware). Not only is the prices still kinda high, but the reliability and usability (mainly 64-bit acceptance for games and software now) are probably not that high right now compared to the hardware I currently have.
Click to expand...

You don't buy an Athlon 64 because it's a 64-bit CPU...you buy it because it's faster than anything else even in 32-bit apps. 😛
 
Yeah well I MUST stay SFF... I am ADDICTED to its size now. Will never go back probably... I took my 'toaster' (thats what I call it) to QuakeCon last year and it was awesome... I plan on doing it again this year. I really hate to get a new SFF though..., at least, the case. I've done a few mods (nothing major) to my SFF. Added a carrying handle, bought the plexi-glass side panels, got a carrying-bag for it. Plus I like the looks of it, and frankly I think that Shuttle is kinda ugly. Not to mention the sides and top are ONE PIECE! That BUGS me for some reason... I really like my case, I'd rather just stick a new mobo in it and keep the case. But most of these mobo's are somewhat propietary and each company has its own litttle design scheme.

$1000 is a lot to spend.... Frankly, and I'd like to spend it on something worth-while... the 24" LCD monitor is VERY tempting. So is going to the 19" Hyundai (better pixel response times, slightly bigger, better quality than my current LCD) and spending the rest on a new mouse, maybe a few goodies, and some on my car. It's a really hard decision, but I'm sure I'll make it sooner or later. I currently have $500 saved, will take me a few weeks to save up another $500.

I do have a guy at work offering $250 for my SFF with the CPU, Video, and RAM... But hoestly I think it seems a bit low. I was thinking more $350... But it is something, and then I don't have to decide what I'm going to do with it. I was probably just gonna make it my media machine to sit in a corner and play videos/mp3s. But I aleady have one of those really and its sufficient.

Hell... I don't know. I hate making hard decisions. So far my gut instinct says go with the 19" Hyundia, get a new MX1000 mouse... and spend the rest on other friffelous (<sp?) shit. I really need new shocks in my car, they are completely gone and its so damn uncomfortable to have the jarring feeling in your back when going over our crappy roads here, not to mention the noise and poor handeling... Also have $1000 in credit card debt I could pay off.... but that's not a primary concern at the moment...

DAMN IT! AHHHHHHHHHH!!!!!!

*sigh*
 
If you want a less expensive upgrade, you could just get a new videocard.

I'm not sure how power requirements would work for you, but a 6800gt for about $300 would offer you a significant upgrade in games as a fraction of the whole new system cost.
 
Well I'd have to get AGP card... And from the benchmarks I saw in UT2004, there was very small difference between a 9800Pro and a 6800GT. Seeing as how UT2004/2003 engine is highly processor dependent I can understand that. I play a LOT of America's Army which uses the UT2003 engine. Hoestly, I don't have a problem with how my system performs, it's still more than sufficient for the cost (currently, nothing! yay!).

So yeah.... WTF do I do? lol...
 
I toyed with the idea of building an A64 SFF system a few months ago myself...the size is really attractive. That + my LCD = LAN party goodness. However, now that I have a PCI HDTV tuner and the DVI daughtercard for it...any SFF is basically not an option for me now. Oh well. I would still like to do it, but I don't see how it's possible at this point. Plus I'm kind of starting to lean more towards more performance for the price, and obviously an SFF is not optimal in that regard. If only there were a decent SFF with three slots....:brokenheart:

Although I did just spend a reasonable chunk of change on a brand new high-end 600 Watt ATX PSU today (my previous one was about to self-destruct, some of the connectors were charred :Q), so I basically just locked myself into staying with a full-sized system anyway. 😛
 
Originally posted by: gregom
Well I'd have to get AGP card... And from the benchmarks I saw in UT2004, there was very small difference between a 9800Pro and a 6800GT. Seeing as how UT2004/2003 engine is highly processor dependent I can understand that. I play a LOT of America's Army which uses the UT2003 engine. Hoestly, I don't have a problem with how my system performs, it's still more than sufficient for the cost (currently, nothing! yay!).

So yeah.... WTF do I do? lol...
Click to expand...

If you're happy with the performance right now, by all means spend you cash on a new display. (or sound system, as I tend to suggest 😉)
 
Originally posted by: YOyoYOhowsDAjello
Originally posted by: gregom
Well I'd have to get AGP card... And from the benchmarks I saw in UT2004, there was very small difference between a 9800Pro and a 6800GT. Seeing as how UT2004/2003 engine is highly processor dependent I can understand that. I play a LOT of America's Army which uses the UT2003 engine. Hoestly, I don't have a problem with how my system performs, it's still more than sufficient for the cost (currently, nothing! yay!).

So yeah.... WTF do I do? lol...
Click to expand...

If you're happy with the performance right now, by all means spend you cash on a new display. (or sound system, as I tend to suggest 😉)
Click to expand...

Z640 pwns j00!!!!!

/runs away 😀
 
Originally posted by: SynthDude2001
I toyed with the idea of building an A64 SFF system a few months ago myself...the size is really attractive. That + my LCD = LAN party goodness. However, now that I have a PCI HDTV tuner and the DVI daughtercard for it...any SFF is basically not an option for me now. Oh well. I would still like to do it, but I don't see how it's possible at this point. Plus I'm kind of starting to lean more towards more performance for the price, and obviously an SFF is not optimal in that regard. If only there were a decent SFF with three slots....:brokenheart:

Although I did just spend a reasonable chunk of change on a brand new high-end 600 Watt ATX PSU today (my previous one was about to self-destruct, some of the connectors were charred :Q), so I basically just locked myself into staying with a full-sized system anyway. 😛
Click to expand...

Did you get the Seasonic? :Q
 
Originally posted by: SynthDude2001
Originally posted by: YOyoYOhowsDAjello
Originally posted by: gregom
Well I'd have to get AGP card... And from the benchmarks I saw in UT2004, there was very small difference between a 9800Pro and a 6800GT. Seeing as how UT2004/2003 engine is highly processor dependent I can understand that. I play a LOT of America's Army which uses the UT2003 engine. Hoestly, I don't have a problem with how my system performs, it's still more than sufficient for the cost (currently, nothing! yay!).

So yeah.... WTF do I do? lol...
Click to expand...

If you're happy with the performance right now, by all means spend you cash on a new display. (or sound system, as I tend to suggest 😉)
Click to expand...

Z640 pwns j00!!!!!

/runs away 😀
Click to expand...

:laugh:
 
Originally posted by: YOyoYOhowsDAjello
Originally posted by: SynthDude2001
I toyed with the idea of building an A64 SFF system a few months ago myself...the size is really attractive. That + my LCD = LAN party goodness. However, now that I have a PCI HDTV tuner and the DVI daughtercard for it...any SFF is basically not an option for me now. Oh well. I would still like to do it, but I don't see how it's possible at this point. Plus I'm kind of starting to lean more towards more performance for the price, and obviously an SFF is not optimal in that regard. If only there were a decent SFF with three slots....:brokenheart:

Although I did just spend a reasonable chunk of change on a brand new high-end 600 Watt ATX PSU today (my previous one was about to self-destruct, some of the connectors were charred :Q), so I basically just locked myself into staying with a full-sized system anyway. 😛
Click to expand...

Did you get the Seasonic? :Q
Click to expand...

Yes. 😀

I figured I might as well have something that will still be more than sufficient even if I do decide to go dual-core, high-end next-gen vid card, etc. later this year. 🙂
 
Originally posted by: SynthDude2001
Originally posted by: YOyoYOhowsDAjello
Originally posted by: SynthDude2001
I toyed with the idea of building an A64 SFF system a few months ago myself...the size is really attractive. That + my LCD = LAN party goodness. However, now that I have a PCI HDTV tuner and the DVI daughtercard for it...any SFF is basically not an option for me now. Oh well. I would still like to do it, but I don't see how it's possible at this point. Plus I'm kind of starting to lean more towards more performance for the price, and obviously an SFF is not optimal in that regard. If only there were a decent SFF with three slots....:brokenheart:

Although I did just spend a reasonable chunk of change on a brand new high-end 600 Watt ATX PSU today (my previous one was about to self-destruct, some of the connectors were charred :Q), so I basically just locked myself into staying with a full-sized system anyway. 😛
Click to expand...

Did you get the Seasonic? :Q
Click to expand...

Yes. 😀
Click to expand...

Sweet.
 
Originally posted by: YOyoYOhowsDAjello
Originally posted by: SynthDude2001
Originally posted by: YOyoYOhowsDAjello
Originally posted by: SynthDude2001
I toyed with the idea of building an A64 SFF system a few months ago myself...the size is really attractive. That + my LCD = LAN party goodness. However, now that I have a PCI HDTV tuner and the DVI daughtercard for it...any SFF is basically not an option for me now. Oh well. I would still like to do it, but I don't see how it's possible at this point. Plus I'm kind of starting to lean more towards more performance for the price, and obviously an SFF is not optimal in that regard. If only there were a decent SFF with three slots....:brokenheart:

Although I did just spend a reasonable chunk of change on a brand new high-end 600 Watt ATX PSU today (my previous one was about to self-destruct, some of the connectors were charred :Q), so I basically just locked myself into staying with a full-sized system anyway. 😛
Click to expand...

Did you get the Seasonic? :Q
Click to expand...

Yes. 😀
Click to expand...

Sweet.
Click to expand...

Yeah....I drove down to Houston to buy it too, heh. (For reference, Houston is about 90 miles southeast of the town my university is in.) I just didn't feel like waiting for shipping, and MicroCenter had the Seasonics in stock, so I figured, what the hell...I was gonna have to buy a new PSU sooner or later anyway. 🙂
 
Wow that connrector is scarry!!! lol... good thing you replaced it. Could have a fire on yer hands otherwise.

Well I got a good sound system, I'm more than happy with it. So far instinct still says monitor upgrade. I've already got two 17" LCDs.... Why not a 19" too? Possibly even that 24".... quite tempting...

Still... if anyone has idea/suggestions for a worth-while upgrade let me know. Otherwise... i'll probably just go with the monitor upgrade. Can never have too many monitors. And I'm all converted to LCD, no more CRTs.... Mmmmm.... sexy LCDs.... Yummy.... 😛
 
Originally posted by: SynthDude2001
Originally posted by: YOyoYOhowsDAjello
Originally posted by: SynthDude2001
Originally posted by: YOyoYOhowsDAjello
Originally posted by: SynthDude2001
I toyed with the idea of building an A64 SFF system a few months ago myself...the size is really attractive. That + my LCD = LAN party goodness. However, now that I have a PCI HDTV tuner and the DVI daughtercard for it...any SFF is basically not an option for me now. Oh well. I would still like to do it, but I don't see how it's possible at this point. Plus I'm kind of starting to lean more towards more performance for the price, and obviously an SFF is not optimal in that regard. If only there were a decent SFF with three slots....:brokenheart:

Although I did just spend a reasonable chunk of change on a brand new high-end 600 Watt ATX PSU today (my previous one was about to self-destruct, some of the connectors were charred :Q), so I basically just locked myself into staying with a full-sized system anyway. 😛
Click to expand...

Did you get the Seasonic? :Q
Click to expand...

Yes. 😀
Click to expand...

Sweet.
Click to expand...

Yeah....I drove down to Houston to buy it too, heh. (For reference, Houston is about 90 miles southeast of the town my university is in.) I just didn't feel like waiting for shipping, and MicroCenter had the Seasonics in stock, so I figured, what the hell...I was gonna have to buy a new PSU sooner or later anyway. 🙂
Click to expand...

Wow, that's determination. I'm impressed at your efforts.
Ok, I'm going to stop contributing to this major thread hijacking.

I'm headed off to bed too 🙂
 
Originally posted by: gregom
Well I'd have to get AGP card... And from the benchmarks I saw in UT2004, there was very small difference between a 9800Pro and a 6800GT. Seeing as how UT2004/2003 engine is highly processor dependent I can understand that. I play a LOT of America's Army which uses the UT2003 engine. Hoestly, I don't have a problem with how my system performs, it's still more than sufficient for the cost (currently, nothing! yay!).

So yeah.... WTF do I do? lol...
Click to expand...

I'd imagine the 6800GT wouldn't really pull away (in a massively CPU-limited game) until higher resolutions than a 17" or 19" LCD can display...and then you're just talking about more and more money to upgrade that too. 😛 (I should know, it happened to me 😱)
 
Yeah thx for hi-jacking my thread ya jerk... lol 😀

Yeah... Maybe I should just sit on my hands for the system upgrades, not really worth the price/performance ratio right now in my opinion. Maybe in another 6-8 months something will crop up that is worth the effort.

What do ya'll think?
 
However... what if I did maybe a 20" LCD or 21" LCD and a new video card? Think that'd pair-up for me? Bigger, and performance to match without breaking the bank on a whole upgrade. As I mentioned several times, America's Army is the primary game... So maybe a 20" LCD, GF 6800GT, 1600x1200 res.... let the good times roll?

Still not sure. I really hate making decisions... I didn't used to. But I've slowly slumped behind the current savvyness of the computer industry and haven't really kept up on the new technology. I just work, play games, and sleep. Bah... wasting my life away!
 
Originally posted by: gregom
Yeah thx for hi-jacking my thread ya jerk... lol 😀

Yeah... Maybe I should just sit on my hands for the system upgrades, not really worth the price/performance ratio right now in my opinion. Maybe in another 6-8 months something will crop up that is worth the effort.

What do ya'll think?
Click to expand...

Sorry...natural OT response. 😛

I'm not really sure what would show up in 6-8 months other than dual-core CPU's (not really beneficial for gaming at this point) and the next-gen video cards from Nvidia and ATI (which should provide quite a performance jump over the 6800/X800 series, but at probably high cost too...).

What kind of overclocking abilities do those Shuttle SFF's have? Maybe you could just get a "cheap" 3200+ Venice and overclock it as much as you could in there, and throw in either a 6800GT/X800XL or whatever mid-high-end card shows up in the next few months.
 
Hey Synth I see you've got the Dell 2005FPW 20.1" Widescreen LCD.... What res is that? 1680x1050 or something around there? Wonder how AA would play with that...
 
Originally posted by: gregom
However... what if I did maybe a 20" LCD or 21" LCD and a new video card? Think that'd pair-up for me? Bigger, and performance to match without breaking the bank on a whole upgrade. As I mentioned several times, America's Army is the primary game... So maybe a 20" LCD, GF 6800GT, 1600x1200 res.... let the good times roll?

Still not sure. I really hate making decisions... I didn't used to. But I've slowly slumped behind the current savvyness of the computer industry and haven't really kept up on the new technology. I just work, play games, and sleep. Bah... wasting my life away!
Click to expand...

Yes, I would very much recommend a 20" LCD over a 19". The Dells are high quality, good for gaming, and often can be had for (relatively) low prices. I own a 2005FPW myself (1680x1050) and I :heart: it. That might actually be your best upgrade at this point (along with the 6800GT as you said), perhaps adding in a "cheap" A64 and board if you can swing it. 🙂

Edit: Err...temporary memory lapse, I forgot that you can't do a "cheap" A64 if you're staying with an SFF. 😛
 
Yeah maybe... I'm not huge on overclocking... I've done some here and there. Sometimes it works great, sometimes not so great. I perfer to put out as little effort as possible honestly... lol. All I really wanna know is there going to be a decent increase in performance worth $1000 for this system. Maybe I can downgrade one or two things and O/C it. I wouldn't have a problem with that.

Can't hurt to future-proof either... PCI-E, and 64-bit capability. Should last me at least 1.5-2 years. Which x64 edition of Windows finally is decent and a few games come out with it it may have been worth it.

Crap.... hard decisions, too many options, not enough money.
 
Yeah a 20" is in between performance, big size, and price... still allowing me to do a system upgrade to allow the high res needed. and... WIDESCREEN!!!! MMMMMmmmmm....

Yeah can't do the A64 upgrade until later, gotta get a new mobo/case too...

Hmmm... I'm liking this idea here.

Big difference between AGP/PCI-E x16? Wonder how much.... Any articles/reviews on it you can find for me quickly?

Also, Windows does support that widescreen desktop size, right?
 
Originally posted by: gregom
Yeah a 20" is in between performance, big size, and price... still allowing me to do a system upgrade to allow the high res needed. and... WIDESCREEN!!!! MMMMMmmmmm....

Yeah can't do the A64 upgrade until later, gotta get a new mobo/case too...

Hmmm... I'm liking this idea here.

Big difference between AGP/PCI-E x16? Wonder how much.... Any articles/reviews on it you can find for me quickly?

Also, Windows does support that widescreen desktop size, right?
Click to expand...

Yeah, since you have one of the higher-end Athlon XP's, dropping in a 6800GT will probably be enough of a performance boost to hold you over until you can put together an A64 system.

As for AGP/PCI-E....video cards don't even utilize all of the bandwidth that AGP8x provides yet. They will at some point in the future (I wonder if the R520/G70 will), but that's not a concern right now.

And yes, Windows (and 99% of the games I've played, albeit sometimes with config file hacking) has no problems with the 1680x1050 resolution. 🙂
 
Sweet... This sounds like the deal for me. A compromize in screen size, performance, but with the advantage of widescreen, and a decent price ($490 or so I last saw this monitor on Dell a week ago). Sticking in a new video card will help... and I've been wanting to go back to nVidia for a while, something about the ATi drivers piss me off. And their multi-monitor support has issues.

So since 64 bit processing and the new PCI-E video cards are not all yet 'mature'... it would be best to hold off a while until they do. Save money and effort. I think this will work...

BTW... Any other ideas/suggestions on video card? Or stick with the 6800GT? I'm willing to go up, or better yet, down on the price a bit if I can get a bit more performance, especially in UT2003/2004. Farcry and HL2 is my other main games. But I don't really have any performance issues that bug me much at all.

Hmmm I think this may be my ticket here. I can do this for under $1000. Nice...
 
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