upgrading a little, intel combo or new videocard?

[kc2gub]

i currently have a 2000+ and kt333 mobo, its all working great, and im quite happy, but my bday is coming up so i have money.. I was orignally going to upgrade from the 2000+ and kt333 mobo to a nforce 2 mobo and 2800+ barton..BUT then i decided to check out good ole intel, and i could actually afford it! Im really liking the intel p4 2.6c with ht and 800 fsb! and the Abit IS7-E which of course supports 800 fsb and ht...The intel combo and amd combo are pretty much the same price...i assume i should go the intel route as the 2.6c pretty much blows away anything amd has including the 2800+ which is what i was orignally going to upgrade to..Also i would oc, so i could prolly get the 2.6c over 3.0ghz easy...SO basically amd or intel? im pretty sure intel..the 2.6c, does it completly anilate the 2800+? Is this a worthy upgrade, i should see a REAL NICE performance gain with the 2.6c and mobo over my current mobo and 2000+, correct? lastly anybody have any links comparing all the cpus? also i know the mobo has dual channel memory, however i have a stick of 256mb pc2700 and a stick of 256mb pc2100, the 2100 does run fine at 2700, but this wouldn't work for dual channel would it? if not can i still just use both sticks and not run in dual channel mode?

thanks a lot guys..

 

[Schadenfroh]

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[kc2gub]

my bad, sry, but im not really starting a flame war, where im saying intel sucks, amd rules!!!! im just asking opinions, which should be allowed

 

[DaveSimmons]

What are you doing that needs more CPU power? If you say "games" then a better graphics card like a 9800 non-pro will almost certainly give you more of a performance gain than a faster CPU.

 

[kc2gub]

well ya games, but videocard is next..my games are running great with my current mobo and proc, so they will just run better with a faster mobo and cpu..but ya video is next after this...

 

[kc2gub]

so should i go 2.4c oced to 3ghz, abit is7, and pc3200 ram running in dual channel or keep my ti4200, 2000+, kt333 mobo and get a 9800 non pro, which would show more performance? i would think the cpu, ram, and mobo would show more performance overall, but just for gaming getting the 9800 non pro might be better, but i really want the 800 fsb and ht technology..opinions?

 

[MercenaryForHire]

Originally posted by: Schadenfroh
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No, no, click here.

- M4H

 

[kc2gub]

thanks for your help, i don't care, now opinions? look at title, its no longer amd vs intel...

 

[Insane3D]

Jeez guys...give the guy a break, he is just trying to get some upgrade advice.


Anyways, can you tell us a little more about your budget? Also, what video card are you running now? Either an AMD or Intel upgrade will be fast, so don't worry too much about what will "blow the other out of the water".

One thing to consider on the Intel upgrade. If you went that route, it would make more sense getting a 2.4C and o/cing than a 2.66 IMO. Also, with the 800mhz FSB P4's, the memory and FSB run 200mhz actual speed. You would likely need to get some PC3200 to run the 800mhz FSB, and to o/c above 2.4ghz, you would need some decent stuff.


Another thing to consider is a Barton/NF2 combo will o/c good too, and be just as fast as all but the fastest P4 setups in most things. With the money you might save on a AMD upgrade, you might still be able to have a system upgrade and a video upgrade.

 

[Schadenfroh]

Originally posted by: MercenaryForHire

Originally posted by: Schadenfroh
Click Me

No, no, click here.

- M4H

you forgot the "you suck at the internet" in the address bar

 

[DaveSimmons]

Well, if all your current games are fine, you could set the money aside for now, so you can get an even better upgrade later. I know that's hard though -- I'm trying to talk myself into a 2.8C or 3.0C and 9800 Pro even though I have a pile of older games I haven't played yet that will run fine on my P3-933 and GeForce3.

Me wants new toy!

But if you must: if you have anything slower than a 9700 nonpro or ti4600 you're much more likely to need more graphics power before you need more CPU power.

 

[kc2gub]

i thought i said it, but maybe not ive posted in many forums, heres the whole situation copied from my post at another forum

should i keep my current 2000+, kt333 mobo, pc2700 ram, and upgrade to a 9800 non pro from my ti4200

or...

should i get a 2.6c p4 oced to 3.0ghz, abit IS7 mobo, and pc3200 ram for my ocing needs and keep my ti4200

which would be a better upgrade? Im leaning towards the cpu, ram, and mobo as i really want the 800 fsb and hyperthreading technology, and the 2.6c as you prolly know easily overclocks to 3.0ghz or higher which would be real nice..and also with the new setup the memory would run in dual channel mode for real nice performance and bandwidth...which is the better upgrade? overall, benchmark wise i would think the cpu,ram, and mobo upgrade would be better, as my ram performance will increase, cpu performance, and gaming even, with the 2nd upgrade, memory and cpu performance would be the same, but gaming performance could increase a lot...

 

[kc2gub]

im thinkin cpu, ram, mobo now, video card later, when i need it more for hl2 and doom 3, because for now ti4200 is doing it fine for me, 1280 1024 rez, basic high details, with the ram, cpu, mobo now ill be more set for a better video card later, im gonna get a job, so the videocard might not be to far off after the ram, cpu, memory

 

[Insane3D]

Please...what is your budget? Have you considered an AMD system upgrade as well as video? Or are you only interested in the Intel upgrade, or a new video card? The 2.4C also goes to 3Ghz and beyond...

 

[kc2gub]

400 tops...you read my above post? i already have a quite good computer, 2000+ i was considering the 2800+ barton, but why the intel can be oced to over 3 ghz and has the ht and 800fsb and basically beats by a good amount anything amd has to offer, read my 2 above posts, its better explained the whole situation

 

[DaveSimmons]

In this chart at evil-THG the ti4200 is being driven at 80% of max performance with just a 1 GHz Athlon, so your XP 2000+ is likely maxing it out now and you'll get 0 increase in going to a 2.6C.

On the other hand, a 9700 Pro (about the same as the 9800 np), is almost at fast as the maxed-out ti4200 even on a 1 GHz, and will be (adjusting by 2.0/2.7) at least 50% faster than the ti4200 (maxed out).

But if moving to 800 FSB will make you happier, go for it.

 

[kc2gub]

well, to me, my gaming performance is fine as of now, so im thinking ram, cpu, mobo now, then a new video card later when i need it more like for hl2 and doom3, if i get a 9800 now, ill be bottlenecked, of course still much better than 4200, but still bottlenecked, if i get ram,cpu, mobo now ill be more set for a new video card later, i think of a 2.6c oced easy to 3ghz with ht and 800 fsb, and i jsut about creme...

 

[kc2gub]

ok say i keep my 2000+, my mobo, ram and just get a 9800 non pro...this probably would be a huge increase in gaming performance over the ti4200, a much bigger game performance increase than keeping my ti4200 and getting a new mobo, cpu, and ram, and this would be cheaper too...i was thinking and like some said...even with the new ram, mobo, cpu, gaming won't be much better, ti4200 is already probably maxed by my 2000+, 9800 non pro would be huge..i saw a 9800 running splinter cell in bestbuy, damn it looked beautiful, completly blew away what mine looked like..

 

[Insane3D]

I read your posts. However, you seem really enamored with the 800mhz FSB P4 like it is sent from heaven or something. You could upgrade your CPU/Mem/Motherboard to a high end AMD setup and still have anough left for a video upgrade now. You will likely be able to play D3/HL2 with you current setup and a decent video card.

Let's take a look at a AMD system upgrade...just for example. On your budget, you could get this..

Epox 8RDA+ - $82
2500+ Barton Retail - $87
512mb (256mb x 2) Kingston HyperX DDR400 - $124

Total: $293

Now, with that setup, you could o/c the 2500+ (yes, AMD o/c's too! *gasp*) to 2.2ghz with a 400mhz FSB, or a 3200+ that hangs right with a P4 @ 3Ghz. You would get some nice extra like the NF2 sound and onboard Firewire as well. If you could sell your old stuff and/or scrape up another $100, you could get a 9700NP for $199.

You could get a better NF2 board like the Abit NF7-S that has goodies like SATA and digital audio output for a little more.

 

[kc2gub]

well, you see my newest post? im leaning towards keeping 2000+, mobo etc, and just getting a 9800 non pro...this will show a huge increase in gaming performance..as the mobo, ram, cpu and my ti4200 really wouldn't show much increase as my ti4200 is already maxed by my 2000+

 

[kc2gub]

then if i have extra left after the 9800 non pro..ill get an nforce 2 mobo....instead of my kt333 chipset...but i think the 9800 non pro alone will be huge increase..

 

[Insane3D]

I did see it, I was just pointing out that if you do it right, you could upgrade your system and your video card. A 9700NP is pretty much the same thing as a 9800np, just a bit slower and a lot less $$$. Splinter Cell will look the same on a 9700 or 9800. I enjoy playing SC @ 1600 x 1200 on my system with a 9700NP.

 

[kc2gub]

hmm well i could get a 9700np for 200 and then have enuff for a 2800+, the thing is, i wonder if it will work in my epox...i just did a bios update and i thought maybe it said support for 2800+. ill look into this...if i can keep my current mobo with a 2800+, ill get that and the 9700 non pro i suppose. or a 9800 np AHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHhhhh im going crazy

 

[Insane3D]

Ok...I feel I need to explain something to you. The 2800+ and the 2500+ are the same as far as o/cing. It makes no sense, IMO, to get a 2800+ that will o/c to the same speed as the 2500+. Why not just get a 2500+ and make it run 3200+? What Epox KT333 board do you have?

 

[kc2gub]

8k5a2...i made a post on the epox boards asking if the barton core 333 fsb is supported...i hear the 2500 ocs well...so get that and a 9700 np........