Upgrading PC

[Grey]

Downloaded UT2K4 and the performance was laughable. It has been a long time since i paid attention to the game scene and I am getting ready for Tribes 3.

What I have now is
Duron 700mhz,
512 memory
120 Gig HDD (Seagate).
ATX Case w/Antec 300W PSU.
7200 Radeon VIVO

Should I upgrade the video card to 9800 Pro, or will that even help this dinosaur?

 

[WobbleWobble]

It'll definately help, but your 9800 Pro will be held back from it's top performance.

 

[tarentinos]

The only dinosaur-ish parts you have are the processor and video card.

Just pick up a retail Barton 2500+ (if your motherboard supports it) for $87 HERE. You might be able to overclock it to 3200+ speeds with the stock fan. That leaves you a little room for a a video card so how about a 9600pro HERE? You could also pick up a used ti4200 from someone on the forums for about $60 if you don't mind turning off AA.

You really need a new processor... that 9800pro with have a serious bottleneck with the Duron. The best thing to do would be to spend about $300 and buy a new processor AND a 9800pro. Again, make sure your motherboard supports.

 

[magomago]

What kind of Mobo Do you haev? It maybe possible to stick up to a 2600+ 266mhz FSB processor in there and coupled with that 9800pro that would breath a lot of life back into your rig and make it very competitive...kobvoiusly you'll take a 5-10% preforamnce hit on your motherboard depending how old it is (or god forbid its a kt266 the a revision was already, but that is fine)

 

[Grey]

The MOBO is a Asus A7v 133, sorry I forgot that.

 

[iboomalot]

might save a few $$$ on a 9700pro I am upgrading to a X800 PE and will be selling mine but it rocks for the most part.

9700 pro is not much slower than a 9800pro and you could put the money you save into a faster processor.

as far as the ti4200 I can't get Nvidia cards to work with tribes2 thus I sold my TI4200 for the 9700pro and its a better card too.


one thing might consider if his style of ram if he gets a barton he might have to switch to DDR.

what socket is your duron?? and what kind of memory???

without this info I would suggest a 1.8 duron mobo combo for less than 100.00 or the XP2500 as susggested before depending on your current stuff

 

[Grey]

socket A and the memory is just 133 SDRAM (Kingston)

 

[soulflyfan]

ooh, i put one of those in my firsyt build! very solid performers. just let me dig out the manual... quick setup guide? no not it... ah ha! It supports up to 266mhx FSB socket A athlons/durons. dont know if it supports the xp processors. send an email to asus customer support (tsd@asus.com) and they'll sort you right out

 

[iboomalot]

was typing missed your info

2500+ barton or if things are mucho tight duron 1.6 or 1.8. I had a 2800+ before upgrading to the a64-3500+ and it would make a night and day difference vs what you have now.

2500 barton clocked to 2200 mhz (slight OC) + 9700pro would do well & shouldn't break the bank.

 

[dmw16]

I think money well spent would be on an nForce2 motherboard and a Barton 2500+. Sure the vid card needs help too, but that board is gonna hold you back pretty badly too.

 

[iboomalot]

ouch just checked my local store.

need a bios flash and you can't use barton or thor B core XP processors

palomino core would work up to 2100+ or a 1.3 duron or lower should work with a bios update. Bios # 1.05


Personally I would get a 2500 barton mobo combo and save the headache. then you got till OCT when tribes 3 comes out and upgrade your GPU to a 9800 or 9700pro.


thats my 2 cents

 

[Grey]

I was afraid that might be the case. I guess a two year run out of that setup is good these days. I guess I am going MOBO shopping now in hot deals. Thanks for the help so far!

 

[Grey]

I bought the 9800 just to see if it was really needed and the games I downloaded to demo were pathetic. Unreal 2004 and FarCry were choking this machine anyway even on low res. Damn, I guess I have a good video card once I assemble the system..