Upgraded to Radeon 9700 Pro - now what processor should I get??

[spartacuskzm]

Considering I went big on the graphics card, I figure I should get a better processor to complement it. System specs are below - as you can see it's an Epox 8kha+. How much processor can this board handle and how what should I do about Ram? Another 512 of PC2100 DDR?

Thanks.

 

[pillage2001]

Get a Xp2100 or Xp1700 Tbred b and oc that bitchhhhhhhhh

 

[mcveigh]

I have the same mobo, I beleive the 2400+ XP is the fastest

 

[JSSheridan]

You will need better memory to overclock. I recommend C2 PC3200 from Samsung, Kingston, Crucial, Micron, Mushkin, or Corsair. Peace.

 

[pillage2001]

Originally posted by: JSSheridan
You will need better memory to overclock. I recommend C2 PC3200 from Samsung, Kingston, Crucial, Micron, Mushkin, or Corsair. Peace.

His mobo is a Kt266 Mobo. His RAM is enough for him to oc for now.

 

[limsandy]

Some corrections:

His mobo is based on KT266A chipset.

Athlon 2600+ XP is the fastest CPU compatible with it.

 

[spartacuskzm]

Sorry to be such a nooblet, but what is this xp1700 Tbred b thing I've heard about numerous times now? How easy is it to overclock and why would I get that over a xp2400 (or something like that?). Also, have never OC'd anything so I'd be a bit worried. Is it relatively easy? Is it a soft mod or does it require pins and needles, glue, etc...

BTW, my 3dMark03 score is 4323 - up from 867 on my old GF3 Ti200. Does that score blow or is it ok?

Thanks.

 

[human2k]

Get a new board/RAM. Most common combo:

Epox 8rda+ $95
TBRED XP1700 -$50
SLK800 + 80mm fan - $40
TwinMOS/Kingston/Corsair PC3200 DDR RAM



Fast and cheap upgrade!



Cheers!:beer:

 

[apoppin]

Why upgrade?

Are any of your games running slow?




Just a "thought"; I know it may be considered heresy here but upgrade (1) when you "need" to, OR (2)when money is burning a hole in your pocket. Which is yours?

If you "need" better framerates, just go for the cheapest CPU (or CPU that O/C's best) that is bang-for-buck. Very likely you are gonna like the new products coming shortly from Intel/AMD that are going to require much more of an upgrade (THAT is the time to upgrade the MB/RAM).

EDIT: In other words, if it were ME, I'd get the Athlon 2600+ XP and O/C it (or a lower model that O/C's better). That should provide plenty of performance to complement your 9700 until you do the BIG upgrade. 😉

 

[spartacuskzm]

<FONT face=Helv color=#000000 size=2>
The main reason I want it is to complement the new video card. BF 1942 is my main game. The graphics are great now, but it takes forever to load. By the time I first spawn half the guys are already flying :-(.
Is the xp1700 Tbred b different than the normal xp1700? I went to newegg and couldn't find the "b" designation. Also, since I'm not big into OC'ing (at least yet) would the xp2400 be safer to go with?
Thanks.</FONT>

 

[Mem]

With the latest BIOS you can have a XP 2600+ CPU,I remember AMD did release some XP 2600+ 266 fsb mhz processors,look around you should be able to find some a still.

 

[spartacuskzm]

How about this one for $109 + Tax? Easy, simple, and I can overclock it later if I get a better Mobo...

2400 Retail

Should I go for it or will we be seeing massive price-drops soon?

Thanks

 

[eklass]

fastest

affordable

 

[chizow]

If BF1942 is your main focus, I would look into a faster HDD (8MB WD SE or 8MB Maxtor Ultra, or SCSI, or RAID 0) and/or more RAM. I've made considerable upgrades to my rig since I got BF1942 and found a faster HDD had the biggest impact on load times, followed by more RAM, with a 700MHz boost in CPU clockspeeds having an almost negligible effect on load speeds. RAM is a nice cheap upgrade that will also help in-game performance as play will be smoother (the entire map is cached to main memory, so texture swapping doesn't occur).

Chiz

Edit: Here's a few threads on the same topic, although this person had a considerably slower system than you:

Before more RAM

and

After more RAM