Upgrading Thoughts

[ionoxx]

I need suggestions. These are my system specs and I was wondering what i should get to get the most out of my money...

AMD Athlon 64 3200+ skt754 2.2GHz 512Kb
Asus K8V-Deluxe
Crucial Ballistix PC3200 DDR CL2-2-2-6 512Mb 1 DS Dimm
Sapphire Radeon 9800 Pro 128Mb

The system will not overclock, which is a shame. 3DMark will not complete the software render portion when the FSB is at 205MHz. My Radeon i sometime overclock to 405/710 (over 380/680) and it gives me smoother play in some games.

I have a limited budget so stuff like Radeon X800XT is out of the question.

Otherwise I'm open to suggestions...

Thanks

 

[montag451]

Best way to speed up a system is MORE RAM, FASTER HDD.

There you are, that will be £100 please.
Used notes

 

[SrGuapo]

Another 512 MB of RAM would help you out alot in newer games (especially HL2 and most MMORPGs). I would recommend just buying a cheap (but high quality) stick of value RAM from Corsair, Mushkin, Kingston, etc., but that would slow down the RAM you already have. It would hurt performance much (1-2% Max), but it seems like a waste. You could get a stick of corsair value for under 70 USD.

You may also want to splurge on either a 6600gt (not that much faster than a 9800Pro) or a 6800 NU. These will cost around $220 and $270 respectively, so you may need to save a little. You could probably get $120 for your 9800 on ebay or FS/FT, so that may help.

Why can't you OC? Is there something in your system stopping you, or are you just unsure of how to go about it? You should be able to OC that processor at least a couple hundred MHz, not that it would help gaming performance much (unless you run REALLY low settings).

 

[PurdueRy]

I don't know any game your system shouldn't be able to handle. I have nearly identical but with 1 gig of ram and I have never seen a game not run even on pretty high to very high settings.

 

[Machine350]

Add another 512 mb of ram and you're good to go for awhile.

 

[ionoxx]

I was thinking of buying more ram, if so i would definitly get more Crucial Ballistix... I didn't spend that money before to quit now and buy cheap ram.

I can't overclock becuase the K8V is the via K8T800 chipset and there is no PCI AGP lock.

One of the things i was considering doing was to change the mobo. Either getting an ASUS K8N NF3-250Gb or Getting the Asus A8V K8T800 Pro (requires Dual-Channel Ram and a skt 939 proc though) In the case of the 939 I would get the slower 3200+ at 2.0GHz. I'm sure i could find a buyer for the old proc/mobo combo.

Is it really worth going up to the skt 939?
And is there a workaround for the O/C on this board?

 

[PurdueRy]

Dual channel ram is no different than normal ram. Its dual channel MODE. And no its not worth it

 

[fishmonger12]

there's no REASON to overclock your processor... it's already damn fast. the processor isn't the thing holding you back, the amount of memory is. after that, it would be the video card. after upgrading those two things, your cpu would be the bottleneck. but hardly.

you have a limited budget and you want to upgrade from that year old system? you're not being very budget conscious

oh, and if you want to avoid conflicts i would buy another stick of the stuff you already have. mixing memory brands/speeds is not a good idea.

 

[ionoxx]

I also have some concerns about PSU, I have this setup running on a Antec TruePower 330.

 

[ionoxx]

I used this power supply calculator.... http://www.3dcool.com/PWC.asp and it says i need a 411W PSU! On paper i'm short 81Watts

 

[Trashman]

According to that i'm like 142 watts short :shocked:, don't take that guide that seriously....if your system is running fine, don't worry.....looks like you got bit by the "upgrade" bug, and looking for something to buy. I'd agree with the rest though add more memory.

 

[ionoxx]

I have B-Day and X-Mas money to spend :laugh:

And it really tics me off that i can't O/C... I bought that Crucial Mem for that purpose!

 

[footbal07]

it wouldnt be a bad idea to get a new psu and ram. if you game much i would get a decent vid card first though. i have a similar system minus the video card and i went with a dfi nf3 mobo as my first main upgrade. i have been real happy with the mobo overall. i have a 3000+ running at 2.3 but i couldnt get higher then that on the clawhammer core. i am also temped to take the 2800 newcastle out of my other computer to see if i can reach 2.4-2.5.
to sum it up give it some more time before going 939, if your interested in gaming get a new videocard, if not get a psu and ram. the k8v is a nice mobo and i dont think you will see much of a oc with the 3200, so i would also wait on that.

 

[Zardnok]

Originally posted by: ionoxx
I also have some concerns about PSU, I have this setup running on a Antec TruePower 330.

Antec makes a good quality power supply, so I would not worry about it to much. If you can run your games without seeing the BSoD, I would not worry to much about it.

The "wattage rating" is not as important as the current available on the various rails. The True 330 has independent rails of +3.3V@28A;+5V@30A;-5V@0.5A;+12V@17A;-12V@1A;+5VSB@2A. The 12V rail is probably the one to be most concerned about. Anything over 15A is probably safe.

As for what upgrade you should invest in, I would go for another stick of RAM first and then save up for a 6800gt. This is the first card you will see a noticable improvement from your 9800Pro.

 

[RussianSensation]

If you power supply is not giving you problems, I wouldnt upgrade it yet. It could prevent you from overclocking though. Like others said though, overclocking the processor wont do much here since the videocard is the bottleneck. I'd probably get 1 more 512mb of ram stick and maybe an Audigy 2 zs. Those 2 things should improve the smoothness of gaming (and audigy 2 - the sound).

Your next upgrade should be a 6800GT or X800XL AGP or X800XT on this platform.