Raptor, RAM, Video Card?

[LOLWTFBBaCUE]

I'm going to have about $500 for christmas, and I wanted to know how to spend this money the best possible way.

I'm for sure buying a new graphics card, either a 6800 OC($250), X800pro, or 6800GT

I have a slight bias for ATI, because it'd be easier to install the x800, and I'd feel a lot more comfortable with one, as I've used them all my life. I went from the RAGE 128MB, to the earlist AIW, to a radeon 8500, to a 9800poo. These cards in my experience have all been very high quality, so I don't know if I want to part with ATI. Same reason I got an Ipod, not because of price/performance, but because I felt comfortable with it.

Anyway, right now I have the slowest RAM, and the slowest hard drive on the planet. Paired with the slowest graphics card...

So, I have a problem.

Right now, my specs include:

Sempron 3100+(2.2ghz)
VNF3-250
Infeneon PC2100(came with HP bought in 01-02
Samsung 80GB 7200RPM HD 2MB buffer(came with HP I bought with RAM, terribly slow)
Radeon 8500(my 9800pro died)
Raidmax PSU(another problem)
Rest doesn't matter.

I'm for sure buying a new graphics card. and then I'm either buying other stuff, according to what happens.

I for sure have $400 right now, and I'm waiting on a possible $100-$250 more.

My most ideal situation would be getting a 6800GT($400), raptor($110), and 1GB PQI pc3200($240)

That easily breaks my budget.

So, I was thinking about the following compromises:

#1
6800 OC($250)
512mb PQI/PDP 2-2-2 RAM($110-126)
and the bewest, biggest, zalman HSF($40)
$360-$416

Or,

#2
6800 OC($250)
1GB PQI/PDP 2-2-2 RAM($220-240)
$470-490

Or,

#3
6800OC($250)
512mb PQI/PDP 2-2-2 RAM($110-126)
WD 26.7 GB Raptor($110)
$470-486

Or,

#4
X800PRO/6800GT($400)
512mb PQI/PDP 2-2-2 RAM($110-126)
$510-526

Or,

#5
X800PRO/6800GT($400)
WD 26.7 GB Raptor($110)
$510

Or,

#6
X800PRO/6800GT($400)
512mb PQI/PDP 2-2-2 RAM($110-126)
WD 26.7 GB Raptor($110)
$620-636

So, I just wanted your opinion on which setup would be the best.

I game a lot. I also listen to music a lot, and am constantly on firefox. I also use bittorrent, and I usually have at least 5 windows of anything up at a time. I occasionally photoshop, too.

 

[Excelsior]

Id say the Raptor isn't as necessary as 1GB or at least 512 of nice ram, and a good video card is. Believe me, even teh 80GB WD SE would be a decent setup. Your HD still isn't as slow as you think at is (at least it is 7200 RPM).

Head to Head comparison between what I believe is your current drive and the 80GB SE.

If you'd rather have the speed than the space, then yes, go for the raptor.

Id say get the raptor, 512 (I guess 2x256) of good RAM, then the best video card you can get with the money left over.

 

[DaveSimmons]

Click the Storage tab and read the Raptors in RAID article, it also includes solo Raptor info. Except for level loading times a Raptor doesn't offer much value for money.

Why would you be spending $80-100 extra over "plain" PC3200 when the better timings only make a tiny difference? Get 1 GB of "regular" PC3200 for $130-150.

Since you like ATI, get the X800 and 1 GB of cheap PC3200.

 

[Excelsior]

Yeah, good point.

$60 for WDGB SE, $150 for Gig of reg PC3200.

That leaves $290 for graphics card.

 

[LOLWTFBBaCUE]

ALright, I've decided against the raptor.

so getting 1GB of RAM, maybe a PSU, and an x800pro/6800GT is probably the way I'm going.

Thanks

 

[Googer]

Forget about a raptor. They are nice, but not budget friendly.

Raptor is a poor buy for someone on a budget. A Hitachi 7k250 250gb w/8mb has 90% of the speed of a raptor 300% more storage for 30% less $Green$. Plus by judging by the age of some of your components you do not have SATA and PATA provides the same or slightly
better performance for Drives like 7k250 (an extra 1-4mb/s)

As for the Video Card get a 6600GT It has the same performance level or better than ATI's X800pro for 25% less cash; and wait for someone to come up with a BIOS hack that alows them to run like 6800GT or Ultra. Just like you could turn a 9500pro in to a 9700pro with a bios flash. Upgrading your ram good luck since your motherboard/chipset/bios probably wont support or run anything faster than what you already have.

It would help me tremendously to know the model number of the Computer you have from HP.

 

[Excelsior]

Originally posted by: LOLWTFBBaCUE
ALright, I've decided against the raptor.

so getting 1GB of RAM, maybe a PSU, and an x800pro/6800GT is probably the way I'm going.

Thanks

How are your rails?

 

[LOLWTFBBaCUE]

Usually they're pretty off, especially my Vdimms. They usually fluctuate .1-.3 most of the time.

 

[LOLWTFBBaCUE]

Also, I wanted to OC to hopefully 8x300mhz, I didn't think I could do that without a divider w/normal ram

 

[Lyfer]

Get 1gb of mushking DDR400 value ram for $140, and get a 6800OC.

 

[Matthias99]

Originally posted by: LOLWTFBBaCUE
Also, I wanted to OC to hopefully 8x300mhz, I didn't think I could do that without a divider w/normal ram

You're not gonna do 300(!)Mhz with even most really good RAM. That's DDR600! Plus, AT got better performance at DDR550-580 with a 1T command rate, even though they were able to hit DDR600 with very relaxed timings with some RAM. AT A64 memory article.

Usually they're pretty off, especially my Vdimms. They usually fluctuate .1-.3 most of the time.

This means nothing unless you've checked them with a voltmeter. Software monitoring is notoriously inaccurate.

And just a comment on this other comment:

Originally posted by: Googer
As for the Video Card get a 6600GT It has the same performance level or better than ATI's X800pro for 25% less cash; and wait for someone to come up with a BIOS hack that alows them to run like 6800GT or Ultra. Just like you could turn a 9500pro in to a 9700pro with a bios flash. Upgrading your ram good luck since your motherboard/chipset/bios probably wont support or run anything faster than what you already have.

The 6600GT is far slower than an X800Pro (it's faster than a 9800Pro, but slower than the 6800NU, which itself is slower than the X800Pro). And there's no way to soft- or hard-mod the 6600GT into anything else. Please don't go blathering about things you don't know about. The 6600GT might be an excellent choice for a video card for the OP (its price/performance is very strong, especially the PCIe version, which is available for ~$180), but it's *not* a better performer overall than an X800Pro or 6800NU.

 

[Astu222]

i would get a nice PSU, like an antec true 430: $72 -or- if you really want it: a WD 80GB SE $60
6600GT AGP: $215
some PDP or pqi with samsung TCCD chips 2-2-2: about $215

thats $490 or $502, depending on which route. if you are using a stock heatsink, add a thermalright XP-90, 92mm fan, and some acrtic silver 5 on there (should be about 55+ bucks) and overclock that sempron.

 

[Googer]

I suspect but dont know this for sure is that his computer is an oem HP so overclocking may be out of the question.

I believe it was TomsHardware.com that benchmarked 6600gt and found that it tied the x800pro. I am looking for the article, I hope i can find it.

 

[Matthias99]

Originally posted by: Googer
I suspect but dont know this for sure is that his computer is an oem HP so overclocking may be out of the question.

I believe it was TomsHardware.com that benchmarked 6600gt and found that it tied the x800pro. I am looking for the article, I hope i can find it.

They haven't benched the cards head-to-head that I've seen.

X800Pro faster than 6800NU in everything but Doom3 and Call of Duty

6800NU faster than 6600GT in everything

X800Pro > 6800NU > 6600GT, except for maybe in Doom3, where the X800Pro might be a little slower than the 6600GT.

AT benches -- X800Pro versus 6600GT/6800GT. Other than Doom3, the 6600GT gets whupped, in a pretty thorough fashion with AA/AF enabled (sometimes the X800Pro is close to 100% faster with AA/AF, and they didn't even test 1600x1200).

 

[Googer]

I saw it somewhere but i cannot remember where.
this was all i could find but is not the article i was refering to
http://graphics.tomshardware.c...40921/ati_x700-09.html

the xt has 12"pipes" pro has 16

the differance between 6800 and 6600 is 3fps and 100-200 dollars.

 

[Matthias99]

Originally posted by: Googer
I saw it somewhere but i cannot remember where.
this was all i could find but is not the article i was refering to
http://graphics.tomshardware.c...40921/ati_x700-09.html

Uh, great. Maybe next you find something that's actually relevant.

the xt has 12"pipes" pro has 16

Yes, but when did the X800XT come into this?

the differance between 6800 and 6600 is 3fps and 100-200 dollars.

Guh?

The difference between an AGP 6600GT (~$225 right now) and an AGP 6800NU (~$275 right now, sometimes with deals) is about $50. There's more of a gap on the PCIe side, but that's because the 6800NU cards are very hard to find, and the 6600GT PCIe cards are about $180.

And there's a clear difference between the 6600GT and 6800NU, especially with AA/AF involved. The low bandwidth of the 6600GT (it has less memory bandwidth than a 9800Pro!) just kills it when you use AA and AF. Look at, for instance, these benches, or these.

 

[LOLWTFBBaCUE]

I do not want a 6600 at all... Mostly because a 6800NU is $250 at fry's, and I don't want to save $20, and get 2/3rds the performance.

I still don't know if I should get 2-2-2 RAM or not, I'm set on a gig right now. I want to get at least 2.3ghz(255mhz) out of my RAM without a divider. I wanted some headroom, so I wanted the samsung TCCD chips, with the brainpower board for the RAM.

I don't know if I should get a new PSU or not. I have a raidmax, and I've hearda alot of bad things about them.

And I've decided against a hard drive totally.

All I need to get is a graphics card, RAM, and maybe a PSU/Zalman HSF.

Thanks for all the replys btw.

 

[LOLWTFBBaCUE]

bump, because I need some more answers soon

 

[LOLWTFBBaCUE]

All I need to know now is what graphics card, and what RAM. And if I should get a PSU.

6800 OC?

6800GT?

x800pro?

$150 hyperX RAM@fry's?

$220/$240 PDP/PQI 2-2-2 RAM?(might hit DDR600, according to some)

Also, I'm considering getting one of the new Zalman HSF's, and a new PSU.

Are the x800pro/6800GT worth the $150 more over the 6800 OC? I could always attempt to unlock the pipelines...

I want to get at least 275mhz out of my RAM to OC, with a 1:1 ratio, not possible with hyperx, right?

 

[Matthias99]

Originally posted by: LOLWTFBBaCUE
All I need to know now is what graphics card, and what RAM. And if I should get a PSU.

6800 OC?

6800GT?

x800pro?

$150 hyperX RAM@fry's?

$220/$240 PDP/PQI 2-2-2 RAM?(might hit DDR600, according to some)

I dunno. I've never been much of a believer in super-expensive RAM, and ultra-tight timings won't help performance more than a few percent, whereas another $100 on your video card will give a HUGE improvement in gaming performance.

Also, I'm considering getting one of the new Zalman HSF's, and a new PSU.

Well, a good PSU never hurt, and they're nice coolers. But neither will really help gaming performance.

Are the x800pro/6800GT worth the $150 more over the 6800 OC? I could always attempt to unlock the pipelines...

Hard to say. If you were pretty sure (~75% or so) the 6800 would unlock, then the GT is probably not worth it. If you're not sure (last I saw it was about 50/50 for a wide variety of 6800s, but a particular model might be better or worse than average), then it might be worth it to buy the GT and still have a warranty on it.

I want to get at least 275mhz out of my RAM to OC, with a 1:1 ratio, not possible with hyperx, right?

No clue. The A64 is not nearly as bandwidth-starved as the P4, though, so super-high RAM speeds won't improve performance *that* much. Personally, I'd spend more on the video card and get 1GB of cheaper RAM, even if it meant running at a 5:4 ratio.

 

[LOLWTFBBaCUE]

The reason I want to get a new PSU is stability. I'm overclocking, so I want that a little...

Also, I'm still not sure about the 6800 OC. The 6800GT looks so tempting, but that'd mean I wouldn't have money to improve the rest of my system.

I really have two choices right now.

Maybe three.

Option 1
x800pro/6800GT($400)
$220/$240 2-2-2 RAM
$620-640
no PSU, no zalman

Option 2
6800 OC($250)
1GB 2-2-2 RAM($220/$240)
PSU($70?)
Zalman HSF($40)

Option 3
x800pro/6800GT($400)
1GB HyperX($150)
PSU($70?)
Zalman HSF($40)

Wow, I've never had such a hard decision...

I'm leaning most heavily towards 1 and 2...I could deal with 1, and just not OC that much. Hmph.

/looks at psus

 

[CraigRT]

Agree on getting the cheaper RAM... I went from Hyper-X in my main system, to regular PC3200 now (more) because bigger is better.
the Hyper-X is in my 1700+ system now. it's GREAT memory, but not worth it IMO. few percentage points improvement AT BEST.

money should be spent on quantity of RAM, and video card. no question.

 

[Matthias99]

Originally posted by: LOLWTFBBaCUE
The reason I want to get a new PSU is stability. I'm overclocking, so I want that a little...

Also, I'm still not sure about the 6800 OC. The 6800GT looks so tempting, but that'd mean I wouldn't have money to improve the rest of my system.

I really have two choices right now.

Maybe three.

Option 1
x800pro/6800GT($400)
$220/$240 2-2-2 RAM
$620-640
no PSU, no zalman

Option 2
6800 OC($250)
1GB 2-2-2 RAM($220/$240)
PSU($70?)
Zalman HSF($40)

Option 3
x800pro/6800GT($400)
1GB HyperX($150)
PSU($70?)
Zalman HSF($40)

Wow, I've never had such a hard decision...

I'm leaning most heavily towards 1 and 2...I could deal with 1, and just not OC that much. Hmph.

/looks at psus

Of those three, I'd go with #3. You'll only have a hair less performance at stock than Option 1, and the better PSU and HSF should let you get a better overall OC. Option 2 will perform *much* worse than Option 3 in terms of gaming, and only a tiny bit better at things like video encoding.

 

[LOLWTFBBaCUE]

ALright then.

I'll get a 6800GT, and buy whatever RAM i can afford after that.

I'll get the Zalman, and a new PSU as an afterthought.

Yay.

Thanks everyone for helping, I'd be so lost without this forum.

Have a great christmas

 

[CraigRT]

Originally posted by: LOLWTFBBaCUE
ALright then.

I'll get a 6800GT, and buy whatever RAM i can afford after that.

I'll get the Zalman, and a new PSU as an afterthought.

Yay.

Thanks everyone for helping, I'd be so lost without this forum.

Have a great christmas

you too dude, good luck.