Tricky upgrade question

[ndee]

I currently have following rig:
Athlon XP 2400+
512MB RAM
Asus A7N8X-Deluxe Mobo
Geforce 4 Ti-4200

Now, I'm thinking about upgrading my machine. I wanna play World of Warcraft and Battlefield 2, once it is out. At the moment, playing WoW at 1024x768 is kinda jerky and I'm guessing other modern games would be too. So I thought about upgrading the video card. That's the tricky part: Should I already go PCI-E and get a whole new Mobo, RAM, CPU and video card or shall I just upgrade to 1GB RAM and a Geforce 6800 AGP card? Would I be very CPU limited?

Any help is greatly appreciated

 

[YOyoYOhowsDAjello]

I guess it depends on how much you want to spend

Your CPU will hold you back some if you go for a 6800gt, but you'll be able to play all the latest games. It's going to be a heck of a lot better than how its working now.

Upgrading to a gig of ram and getting an X800XL or 6800gt would give you a very nice boost.

 

[Azndude51]

The CPU is probably fine for now. Your best bet is to either upgrade the graphics card, then RAM if you want to spend the money. You shouldn't really go PCI-E until you build an entirely new system.

 

[DaveSimmons]

For 1024x768 you could just get a 6600GT (see Hot Deals for an AGP one around $170) and 512 MB RAM.

Then wait a year for a new full system, for the next generation of graphics chips and to see if SLI and/or dual-core makes any sense by then.

 

[PrayForDeath]

Do you have DDR400 or 333Mhz? Your processor isn't really good for MMOs, they are very CPU limited. But you also need RAM and a better video card. So I guess buying a totally new PC is the best solution (if you have the money), otherwise, I'd say get a 6600GT/6800 AGP and another stick of 512Mb. It really depends on how much you wanna spend. Did you try to overclock your CPU? That would give you some pretty good results if you know how to do it.

 

[ndee]

PrayForDeath: Not a fan(no pun intended) of overclocking. It just never worked right with my CPU&Coolers I think I have 333MHz RAM.

Hm, if I only "semi-upgrade", I could actually get a 6800 because they go for nearly the same price here in Switzerland. How long will AGP be around? Would the GF6800 last for another year?

 

[Frown66]

For 1024x768 you could just get a 6600GT (see Hot Deals for an AGP one around $170) and 512 MB RAM.

Then wait a year for a new full system, for the next generation of graphics chips and to see if SLI and/or dual-core makes any sense by then.

This is probably the best price/performance for your particular system. It will probably set you back around $250 (give or take).

 

[imported_itr]

if you want to upgrade now - 6600gt (less limiting on cpu compared to 6800gt)

if you can wait until the games come out, save some dinero and build a new rig .

 

[ndee]

ok, but if you guys would build a new rig, then you would DEFINITELY go with PCI-E, right? Is there a board with a AGP-to-PCI-E slot or something similar?

 

[YOyoYOhowsDAjello]

I built a new rig just last week, but stayed AGP because I had a 9800pro already and don't play a lot of games so I kept it.

If you're building a new rig and aren't keeping that ti4200, then definately go PCI-e.

 

[rudeguy]

for the record I have a 2600+ running off an A78NX with a 6800 and a gig of RAM and I can play any game out there.

 

[AristoV300]

Yeah your rig is fine, just upgrade to video card( depending on your budget) to a 6 series AGP card and look into getting another stick of 512 memory.

 

[Bonesdad]

if you go whole-hog and build a new rig, then in your case, I would go PCI-E.

 

[Mizuchi]

I see you got down your problems and solutions already...

#1. More RAM will solve the jerkiness.

#2. Once the jerkiness is gone, you will start noticing poor frames. Upgrading your vid card will give you a better frame rate, as well as enhanced visuals.

Personally, I can live with a slow frame rate, but pauses will wreck my flow. I would compare it to shoveling snow on sidewalk with some blocks popping up a few inches off the ground vs. shoveling snow on a smooth paved driveway (where higher frame rate = bigger shovel).

Sucks when your entertainment isn't very entertaining because of hardware.

I'd go the cheaper route and just get the extra 512MB RAM and AGP Vid card. Nothing special about PCI-e except that it supports tech coming up in a year or two, where AGP might only get the low end stuff. CPU tech is about to have huge leap with dual core, so that would mean you would need a new mobo to fit it into.


If you had someone wanting your old computer for some less demanding tasks, then you would be free to use the money from the sale to get PCI-e and CPU upgrade. No real performance increase except from the new CPU though. If you're worried about CPUs that much, you can probably find a Athlon XP 3xxx+ (even better used) cheap.

 

[Mizuchi]

I guess, since you play WoW, you can think about it like this:

You see that awesome item in the AH, but it's 5 levels higher than you. It doesn't have a bad price and you don't see anything else with as high stats like it. You bid and get it to save for when you're that level.

When you get to that level, you learn that things drop in instances are almost the same or you get a quest reward that was only slightly worse. Or you decide that you like one stat more than another now...

Edit: Or when you bid on that blue weapon thinking, hey it's 10gp and it will last 6-8 levels where other things are 2gp each and last 3-4 levels, yet being bad ass now will make up for the gp difference. Then you learn there's quests that give you *2* blue items that are better. (True story: friend bought a Speedsteel Rapier and then got a Sword of Omen, SM instance, and another sword, RFD instance)


It's like that with computers, sort of. You say, hey I'm happy that I got this new tech 'cause stuff is certainly going to be made to support it later. Then 1 year later, stuff finally comes out to support your tech, but the tech is so cheap that everyone has it by now and your sad since you invested a buttload, yet didn't see any more rewards than most others.

 

[TWills]

For Now:
1st: More Ram
2nd: ATI 9800 (cheap and good)

When Battlefield 2 comes out:
New system.

'nuff said

 

[ndee]

Originally posted by: Mizuchi
I guess, since you play WoW, you can think about it like this:

You see that awesome item in the AH, but it's 5 levels higher than you. It doesn't have a bad price and you don't see anything else with as high stats like it. You bid and get it to save for when you're that level.

When you get to that level, you learn that things drop in instances are almost the same or you get a quest reward that was only slightly worse. Or you decide that you like one stat more than another now...

Edit: Or when you bid on that blue weapon thinking, hey it's 10gp and it will last 6-8 levels where other things are 2gp each and last 3-4 levels, yet being bad ass now will make up for the gp difference. Then you learn there's quests that give you *2* blue items that are better. (True story: friend bought a Speedsteel Rapier and then got a Sword of Omen, SM instance, and another sword, RFD instance)


It's like that with computers, sort of. You say, hey I'm happy that I got this new tech 'cause stuff is certainly going to be made to support it later. Then 1 year later, stuff finally comes out to support your tech, but the tech is so cheap that everyone has it by now and your sad since you invested a buttload, yet didn't see any more rewards than most others.

Very good analogy actually I buy stuff to use NOW, not in the future It's a little bit short-sighted but that's how it is in the IT world

Thanks for your post!

BTW, got the same case like u and the same Mobo

 

[ndee]

But now, I just read some threads about a new A64 chip coming out, the Venice. The problem is, when I go AGP, I can't go A64 in maybe a year or so and that would be kinda "uncool" to say the least.

OK, re-reading the thread and some reviews of the 6600GT(AGP), I'm going with that card. It looks like this is the card, the Gf4 Ti4200 was 3 years ago

 

[ndee]

Whoa, never such an easy upgrade as this and the games run PERFECT with everything set to HIGH

now playing with 4AA/4AS... WoW looks SO sweet