Spend my $50

[weshuang]

OK, maybe I am pre-determining the answer by posting this in the video forum, but oh well.

I have a Biostar M7VKD (which can handle CPUs up to an Athlon XP 2100 but I believe does not have a 4x AGP slot, since the specs just say "AGP"). I am running a Duron 850, and am using a GeForce 2 MX card.

My question is, for the purposes of playing games, am I better off spending $50 upgrading the CPU to a Tbird 1.4 ghz or maybe an Athlon XP 1700, or will the $50 be better spent upgrading the card? If the card is the answer, what should I hope to get for that kind of money on the FS/T forum?

Thanks,
Wes

 

[SickBeast]

xp1700+ tbred-b.

mine does 2000mhz (2400+) on stock cooling. good luck.

 

[CurtCold]

Originally posted by: SickBeast
xp1700+ tbred-b.

mine does 2000mhz (2400+) on stock cooling. good luck.

The cpu will help the performance of your video, as well as everything else. For $50? You can't go wrong with a 1700+

 

[weshuang]

Two votes for CPU so far, none for vid card. I'm surprised...

 

[BoomAM]

You`d be lucky to get a video card worth upgrading to for that price.
I`d say the XP1700 as well.
BUT
If you wanted some luxery, then treat yourself to a fancy keyboard or mouse, or something else along those lines.

 

[dxkj]

make that 3 votes for the cpu


for example



3dmark score using GeForce2 with 750mhz duron----- like 2k
3dmark score using Geforce2 with 1.7ghz athlon----- like 4.5k
3dmark score using GeForce4 with 750mhz duron---- like 4k

the Geforce4 costs more than 3 times the cost of the athlon to upggrade, and it does less overall =)

 

[nick1985]

Originally posted by: dxkj
make that 3 votes for the cpu


for example



3dmark score using GeForce2 with 750mhz duron----- like 2k
3dmark score using Geforce2 with 1.7ghz athlon----- like 4.5k
3dmark score using GeForce4 with 750mhz duron---- like 4k

the Geforce4 costs more than 3 times the cost of the athlon to upggrade, and it does less overall =)

i know thats not the ti-series....

 

[xSauronx]

id definitely take the cpu over a 50 dollar video card...which wont get you much more than a gf2 or some such. the cpu will be noticeable in more than gaming

 

[DClark]

The Biostar M7VKD uses the KT133A chipset which does have AGPx4. But you're not going to get a decent graphics card for $50, so by default my vote goes for a processor (but to be brutally honest, the GF2MX does suck quite hard for today's games). Looking at Newegg.com, they have an OEM AthlonXP 1700+ for $50, but if you're currently using the stock Duron heatsink you'll probably need to buy a heatsink that can dissipate the 1700's heat.

As for judging which is better by checking 3DMark scores, a Duron 850 and 64mb Radeon 9000 (they absolute cheapest card I would recommend for anyone)scores a bit higher than an AthlonXP 1700+ (remember you're checking for around 1466mhz, not 1700), but the Radeons get to run the Nature test. That means you should go well into the results to pick out a couple comparable tests (non-overclocked) and check out individual framerates. Here's what appears to be a stock Radeon 9000, running on a SDR SDRAM motherboard scoring 4266 marks. Subtracting the score of the Nature test (framerate x20) gives 3750 marks. Here's what appears to be a stock AthlonXP 1700+ running SDRAM with a GeForce2MX clocked to 220/220 (I think stock is around 200mhz for the GF2MX); it scores 3545 marks.

If you can afford to get into the $75 range (taxes included), then you may want to get a 64mb Radeon 9000; but $50 won't buy you a card that's a worthy upgrade to the GF2MX.

 

[BoomAM]

Stock speeds on the original GF2MX are 175/166.
I know this because i have a Hercules GF2MX on my shelf. These cards were clocked higher than standard. 175/183 to be exact.

 

[novice]

Just to be different, I would suggest trying to find a Geforce 3 or Geforce 3 Ti200 video card on the for sale/trade forum. Even a geforce 2 GTS or Pro will give you a decent increase in framerates, but if you could find a Geforce 3, you would see a huge increase, even with a Duron 850. Of course, you could upgrade to an XP1700 or 1800 for the same money, but you will still be a slave to the Geforce 2 MX limited memory bandwidth of about 2.7 gb/sec. Even the Geforce 2 GTS with 32 mb of DDR provides double the memory bandwidth, meaning increased framerates at higher resolutions. Maybe you should just pick up a used Geforce 2 Pro with 64 mb of DDR, and a Duron 1.3 gig cpu. Should be close to the $50 budget and would give a very nice boost. Failing that, I would try to find a geforce 3 of some flavor. Good luck.
Did find one other option, in case you wanted to stay with a new card. Check out this Radeon 7500 64 mb DDR card from newegg. It is a little over your budget, but would provide a nice boost from your Geforce 2 MX and is only $59 shipped. (BTW, the Geforce 3 would smoke it in games, but it is new..)

 

[weshuang]

This is great advice, guys -- thanks particularly for the specific tips on cards, plus the insight that the mobo I have is actually an AGP 4x.

I have one more question -- if I were to buy an OEM Athlon XP 1700, it seems that the stock Duron fan may be a little light. Can someone give me a recommendation of a reasonably priced (and quiet) CPU fan that would work for that chip?

 

[novice]

I would spend the extra $18 for the retail box version to get the 3 year warranty. For a cheap, yet effective and quiet cooler, I use a SVC GC68 cooler, available here for a paltry $4.95. They claim it is good up to about an XP1800+, I use mine on a Duron 850 and have no complaints. It fit fine on a Chaintech 7AJA2E motherboard and keeps the Duron around 38° C. I believe it would do fine on a XP1700+, particularly on a .13 micron chip that is supposed to run cooler than the .18 micron Palamino. That is the cheapest heatsink and fan that I have used, but I would still opt for the retail boxed version.

 

[Boogak]

Can't beat that GC68 cooler for under $5, I have 1 on my Palomino 1600+ which runs hotter than a Tbred 1700+.

 

[weshuang]

I"m surprised to hear that the Tbred 1700 runs cooler than the Palomino 1600.

This is going to sound really stupic, but is Tbred the same thing as Thunderbird? If so, I thought that the Athlon Thunderbirds were a chip architecture that predated the Palominos, which were used in the XP line. Obviously, now that I think about it more carefully, I'm confused somewhere.

Is there such a thing as a Palomino 1700? How can you tell which chip it is? All I typically see on retail sites is an generic description of the model, Athlon XP 1700, etc.

 

[weshuang]

Partially answered my own question with a little reading -- Tbred stands for Thoroughbred, not a mispelled Thunderbird