Should I upgrade my video card (GF2 Ultra) or my Processor (P3 550@733)

[TomC25]

Should I upgrade my video card (GF2 Ultra) or my Processor (P3 550@733)

Which one would help my gaming more?

I am getting an average of 55 FPS in Unreal Tournament with settings on medium.

512MB SDRAM
5400 RPM drive

I want more FPS while using higher graphics settings.

Thanks

 

[jmitchell]

I think you're stuck with both in this case, but my personal choice would be the cpu - an xp 1600 or better would give you a very nice performance increase, but, at the same time you'll very obviously see the performance limits of your gf2... At least, that was my experience when I upgraded my cpu first...

 

[InFecTed]

Get a better processor and motherboard first. Next step will be a GF4200 or a Radeon 8500

 

[Adul]

get a radeon 8500 for 98 bucks at newegg.com

you will see an increase in perf. but the cpu will remain the bottleneck.

 

[Adul]

gpu scaling

gives u an idea

 

[TomC25]

Thanks so much for the advice

Thanks Adul for the link

Looks like I may look into a P4 with a new motherboard and RAM

 

[Viper GTS]

Originally posted by: TomC25
Thanks so much for the advice

Thanks Adul for the link

Looks like I may look into a P4 with a new motherboard and RAM

Make sure you read this

Viper GTS

 

[stonecold3169]

get the CPU... the new Radeons are very cpu power hungry and will perform very poorly with your current setup

 

[CubicZirconia]

I'd probably get a new mobo/cpu/RAM combo. 733 MHz just isn't going to cut it anymore (unless you have really low standards).

 

[Athlon4all]

Hmmm, taking a hop over to the CPU Scailing tests on UT 2003, the entire GF2 Series' performance was identical when using both an 800MHz Athlon XP and an 1.73GHz one. But, then again, the P3 is too slow to fully use GF3/GF4/R8500/R9700, so......It's a toughie. I would have to say get a R8500 like Adul suggested. Yes there will be much unlocked potential, but it'll still be a good 30 or so fps more which would allow you to increase detail.

 

[BFG10K]

Overall a processor upgrade will help you the most, especially in UT and other CPU intensive games that are available today. You can always nip back the graphics details to help your GF2 Ultra cope until you upgrade your video card later.

I want more FPS while using higher graphics settings.

In that case your best choice is a video card upgrade although keep in mind that a slow processor will still hold you back so you'll just be able to use higher graphics settings without a performance hit rather than making them faster.