Video Card for Dual P3 1.4 Ghz

[tungtung]

I'm looking for a video card upgrade for my dual P3 1.4 GHz system.

Anyway the card I have now is the old PCI All-in-Wonder Radeon. I mostly play strategy games (Age of Mythology, Command and Conquer Generals, etc. type of games), and would like to get a decent playing experience at 1024x768 resolution.

I'm not looking for upgrading my motherboard/CPU anytime soon, cause I do need a dual CPU system, and I have not find any that fit my current budget (dual Opteron & dual Xeon are just way too pricey).

 

[Pete]

Do you have an AGP slot? I guess a 9600 Pro or XT would be a nice fit, especially considering the games you play aren't that graphically demanding, but it's possible you may make use of a used 9700/Pro.

 

[tungtung]

oh sorry ... forgot to mention that ... the machine I have does have an AGP 4x slot.

 

[Pete]

To clarify: when I say "nice fit," I mean it should offer playable framerates at 10x7 with AA+AF, and it and the 9600P are also very frugal with power. A 9600P/XT uses <10W idle, ~20W under load. By comparison, a 9800P uses roughly proportionally the same power under load, but is very inefficient when idle. A 5900XT should be closer to a 9600P/XT when idle, and to a 9800P under load. It's also in between in terms of 3D performance, though it tends to be closer to a 9800P due to its 256-bit memory bus.

You'll probably be CPU-limited with most RTS games, but those same games probably won't demand much more than a 4-pipe, 128-bit memory bus-width 9600P/XT at 10x7 with some AA+AF. If you'll want to game higher than 10x7, then you'll want to step up to an 8-pipe, 256-bit memory bus-width 9700/P or 9800/P.

You can see how a wide range of cards perform in C&amp;C:G here. Keep in mind that those cards are benefitting from a much, much (, much) faster CPU+RAM combo (A64 3400+) than you've got, but you can get the general idea in terms of relative performance among those cards. As you can see, there's basically a 2x performance jump going from a 9600XT to a 9800P ... on that CPU. Your CPU will probably limit a 9800P rather mightily, though, so don't expect it to generally outperform a 9600XT on your system except at 1280x960 or higher with AA+AF.

If you insist on buying new, here's a good deal on a 9600XT. Otherwise, you should be able to find a used 9700, 9700 Pro, or 9800 for about the same price.

 

[Marsumane]

Originally posted by: Pete
To clarify: when I say "nice fit," I mean it should offer playable framerates at 10x7 with AA+AF, and it and the 9600P are also very frugal with power. A 9600P/XT uses <10W idle, ~20W under load. By comparison, a 9800P uses roughly proportionally the same power under load, but is very inefficient when idle. A 5900XT should be closer to a 9600P/XT when idle, and to a 9800P under load. It's also in between in terms of 3D performance, though it tends to be closer to a 9800P due to its 256-bit memory bus.

You'll probably be CPU-limited with most RTS games, but those same games probably won't demand much more than a 4-pipe, 128-bit memory bus-width 9600P/XT at 10x7 with some AA+AF. If you'll want to game higher than 10x7, then you'll want to step up to an 8-pipe, 256-bit memory bus-width 9700/P or 9800/P.

You can see how a wide range of cards perform in C&amp;C:G here. Keep in mind that those cards are benefitting from a much, much (, much) faster CPU+RAM combo (A64 3400+) than you've got, but you can get the general idea in terms of relative performance among those cards. As you can see, there's basically a 2x performance jump going from a 9600XT to a 9800P ... on that CPU. Your CPU will probably limit a 9800P rather mightily, though, so don't expect it to generally outperform a 9600XT on your system except at 1280x960 or higher with AA+AF.

If you insist on buying new, here's a good deal on a 9600XT. Otherwise, you should be able to find a used 9700, 9700 Pro, or 9800 for about the same price.

That is a killer price on the xt. Still though, for $30 more u could have a 5900xt or 9700p. Theyre definately faster, but still its $30 more... If i were you, i would get a reg 9600 (NOT se) for around $100 and be happy with that. It will get u 80% performance of the xt, and u can save ur extra cash to upgrade the rest of your system in the future. I think that would be the better choice in your case. Another good choice is the GF4TI4200 128mb. That card is just about as fast as the 9600 (w/o aa or af) and is $20-$30 less. You could definately get decent frames out of that card and save even more for your system. Actually, i think thats even a better deal for you sense most of your games arent even using the dx9 support of the 9600. So, a ~$75 4200, and $65 left over to upgrade your system in the future.

 

[tungtung]

By the way does anyone have an idea at which level of GPU would my CPU be the limiting factor in terms of the framerate?

 

[Cawchy87]

quite honestly, for rts games ( play generals as well) a geforce3 would do fine, but a 9600pro/xt for ~90-100 bucks would be a nice fit for you. No need to go any higher.

 

[MercenaryForHire]

OMG @ the dual 1.4 Tualatin P3s. ;drool; Are those the S model with 512KB as well?

I'd say you'd be fine in the 9600XT ballpark as far as CPU limiting - but again, you could get a used 9700/9800 series (non-SE!) for the same money and have a little more future-proofing and potential.

- M4H

 

[tungtung]

MercenaryForHire: yupe these are those CPU's the S model Tualatins. That's why I'm not prepared to upgrade to anything that's on the market now. I was thinking of getting a dual Athlon XP-M and modify them to MP's or getting the Opterons, but I just can't justify the cost versus performace increase at the moment.

Also one more question for anyone, do you think I could still use my current AIW Radeon for it's TV tuner capability (as a secondary card)?

 

[kylebisme]

most games only run on one thread, dont they?