Radeon 9700 pro and UT2003

[ramazorg]

Hi!

I have Pentium 4 1.8 ghz and Radeon 8500

All my games run smooth except new UT. I was thinking that maybe in a couple of months or in the summer get a new videocard, e.g. radeon 9700 pro (by then the price should go down). The question I have is: will r9700 really improve my performance to have 85+ fps at 1024 x 768 at highest details all the time, or should I just upgrage my mobo with new ram and cpu, and get something even faster?

I have asus motherboard with 4x agp. Radeon 9700 has 8x agp. Will that affect performance?

Thanks in advace!

 

[GtPrOjEcTX]

your setup right now is nicely paired, neither your processor nor your video card it TOO much for each other. Putting a 9700 in there will boost performance but your 1.8Ghz processor will be holding it back. You might want to consider upgrading that too down the line.

 

[CJP]

My system is very close to yours. I've got a pentium 4 1.8 as well (400 mhz fsb) on an Asus p4t-e and a Geforce 3 ti-500 video card. I'm surprised ut2003 isn't running well on your system. Your Radeon 8500 is faster than my card and my system runs ut2003 very well - although not at max res. and settings and no fsaa or anisotrophic (sp?) filtering. You might try tweaking your settings a bit.

I'm also getting ready to upgrade my system. I'm looking at getting a Radeon 9700 non-pro and a pentium 4 2.6 ghz cpu (that's the fastest 400 mhz fsb cpu you can get) this summer though something better might be out by then.

I know it's kinda sacrilege to link to a tom's page here on Anandtech but here is a UT 2003 chart that'll give you an idea of what your upgrade will do -> performance chart.

Also, here's a couple of UT 2003 charts from Anandtech -> another chart

As far as agp 8x goes, from what I've read it doesn't have a significant performance advantage with current cards (though that may change down the line). You can put an 8x agp card in your 4x motherboard and it will just operate at agp 4x speed.

Hope that helps

 

[ramazorg]

ut2003 runs fine on the maps tested on anandtech but there are some maps there which are HUGE and have tons of special effects and all..so those ones run slow.. the maps tested on anandtech run ok on 1.6 ghz + gf4 mx

 

[BFG10K]

The question I have is: will r9700 really improve my performance to have 85+ fps at 1024 x 768 at highest details all the time, or should I just upgrage my mobo with new ram and cpu, and get something even faster?

It depends on what situations you're referring to and what settings you play the game at, but the general answer to your questions is no.

UT2003 will often drop below 85 FPS because of CPU limitations just as much as it does from GPU limitations. A 9700 Pro will help a lot in GPU limited situations but you won't be guaranteed 85 FPS or higher all the time. There isn't a rig in existance that can pull that off - yet.

 

[ScrewFace]

Have you not tried overclocking your CPU? Videocard? You should be able to hit 2.394GHz easily by bumping up the fsb to 133x18 and your RADEON 8500 should be able to hit 300/600 if it's a retail card. Give it a try.

 

[Mr.IncrediblyBored]

Originally posted by: ScrewFace
Have you not tried overclocking your CPU? Videocard? You should be able to hit 2.394GHz easily by bumping up the fsb to 133x18 and your RADEON 8500 should be able to hit 300/600 if it's a retail card. Give it a try.

Unless its a Willamette-based P4. In which case, he'll be lucky to hit 2ghz.