Purchasing question: Are these properly matched?

[SweeJ]

Hey there,

Thinking of upgrading from my P4 2.8Ghz HT & ATI Radeon 9800 Pro.

I'm looking to match the CPU & GPU as best as possible so that the games will not be CPU or GPU bound/limited.

Will the AMD 64 3500+ go well with the ATI Radeon X800 GTO?
Or the AMD 64 3200+ with the ATI Radeon X800 GTO will be fine?

Or are these graphic cards too slow, and do I need a faster one like the Radeon X800 XL?

Also, if I get a OEM CPU, wat's the diff with retail? Do I still get the heatsink and instructions?

Cheers!

 

[jlbenedict]

the X800XL is not much faster than the X800GTO (at stock speeds)

I have the X800GTO, and I currently have it benchmarking and performing faster than the X800XL.
My GTO is mod'ed to 16 pipes (same as the X800XL)..
The GTO is currently the best price per peformance value under $200 today.

 

[zagood]

Might as well spend the extra $50 to get the faster processor, right? Personally, I like to get the best I can afford, if it doesn't match you just leave yourself open to upgrade the other parts later!

Just my 2c.

-z

 

[tyborg]

if you're getting an x800, get a sapphire x800 GTO2 and softmod it to an x850xtpe.

 

[alimoalem]

stick with the gto and stick with the 3200.

oem comes ONLY with the cpu. it could have either none or very short manufacturer warranty instead of the typical 3 years warranty

 

[SweeJ]

Thanks for the replies. Now, I have found the Connect3D ATI Radeon X850XT to be about $60 more than the Sapphire Radeon X800 GTO2.

Do you think I should go for the X850XT instead now, and is it worth $60 more?

Also, if I get the X850XT, do you think the X850XT will be well-matched?

 

[GOREGRINDER]

a 3500+ and an x850xt would be a nice system that you would see a very nice increase from,you really wouldnt need to tweak much just instal,make your settings and play,and the 11x multiplier would be nice to have when and if you decide to give the cpu a nice OC boost later on if you feel it getting tired as time goes on.

 

[imported_rod]

Personally, I'd say stick with the 3200+. Games will nearly always be bottlenecked by the VC before the CPU.

The OEM chip is just the chip, with a 3 month manufacturer warranty i think. The OEM comes with a heatsink, and atleast a 1 year point-of-purchase warranty.

RoD