What should I upgrade? Video card and/or Processor?

[Jacmert]

Hi,

I'm wondering what your opinion on which upgrade path I should choose. My system rig can be seen at http://www.anandtech.com/mysystemrig.html?id=14360.

Here are my upgrade possiblities.

$120US Aopen GeForce2 Titanium GF2Ti-VO64 64MB DDR AGP w/TV Retail
$86 Intel® Celeron? 1 GHz FC-PGA BOX (not sure if it'll work on my MB)
$66 ECS K7S5A MB and $66 AMD® Athlon Thunderbird? 900MHz OEM

So, what should I do? Get the video card? Get the AMD CPU and MB combo? Get the video card and the Celeron? (this is the one I'm leaning towards since I won't have to change my MB)?

Thanks.

 

[Jacmert]

Ok, I updated my signature. Hopefully you can click on my system rig URL.

 

[miken]

Tbird all the way, but you'll have to buy DDR RAM as well.

The Celeron would be a better choice for your budget. The Celeron AND a good Vid card, try to get a GF2 GTS, they are around $80 now.

 

[rip22]

I checked your rig does ASUS P3BF have the BX440 chipset? if so i would keep it and then upgrade vidcard and later on the cpu + add 128 ram.

OTOH $66 ECS K7S5A MB and $66 AMD® Athlon Thunderbird? 900MHz OEM is very tempting you could go for that one as well and then upgrade the video card later + ram.

 

[BD231]

Celerons suck *SO HARD* when it comes to gaming, I'd definantly go for the T-Bird, much better investment.

 

[Jacmert]

Actually, I think the Celeron won't work on my MB without a new FCPGA to Slot-1 converter, which costs about $26US, so I might as well get the TB. However, I can't find any $80US Geforce 2 GTS's because I'm in Canada, and here, the Geforce 2 MX's are about $86US with TV/OUT. I want to stay on a low budget, but if I decide to get the Geforce 2 Ti 64MB AND the ECS K7S5A, what processor should I get? If I get anything with a 266MHz bus, I need to upgrade my PC100 RAM. I'll probably go with 256MB DDR RAM.

 

[rip22]

What about the p3 dosent your mobo support p3's whats the chipset?

 

[Jacmert]

440BX

But P3's here are really expensive, like $147US for a 750MHz plus I'll have to get the new FC-PGA to Slot-1 converter. Might as well get a new MB and 1GHz TB for the same price.

 

[CraigRT]

I'd drop in a new CPU and video card, and keep the mobo.

I had a P3B-F with a GF2 GTS and a PIII700@933 running rather well...

I would not get a Celeron, personally... (I'd go PIII) but I think it's too much hassle for you to get a new MB and CPU, I say, stay with what you have (motherboard) and do some good upgrades.. you also need a video card if you're gonna be gaming

 

[gregor7777]

As far as a video card replacement goes, I still am using my Geforce 2 GTS and I still love it. Good overclocking potiental too.

 

[oldfart]

Get a FC-PGA Slocket, and a Celeron 900 retail for $53. Overclock it it to 112 FSB, 1008 MHz. They have the Celeron 1 GHz retail for $73. Run it @ 112 FSB = 1120 MHz.
Another 128 meg ram $14
and the Ti200.

 

[rip22]

<< 440BX

But P3's here are really expensive, like $147US for a 750MHz plus I'll have to get the new FC-PGA to Slot-1 converter. Might as well get a new MB and 1GHz TB for the same price. >>


True, i recently built a rig with ECS K7S5A MB and Athlon - tbird 1400 i can recommend it.

However i just want to see what you can squeeze out of your current rig....

 

[rip22]

<< I'd drop in a new CPU and video card, and keep the mobo.

I had a P3B-F with a GF2 GTS and a PIII700@933 running rather well...>>

Exactly what i was thinking, he can OC the P3 700Mhz 100FSB and use PC133 or good PC100 ram.

 

[Jacmert]

But if I was able to choose ONLY 1 thing, should I stay with my 433MHz Celeron and get a Geforce 2 Ti 64MB, or get a the ECS K7S5A and an Athlon TB 900MHz and stay with my TNT2?

 

[oldfart]

Depends on if you want the (large) bottleneck to be the video card or the CPU. Either way, you have one. If you had to choose one, I guess the CPU or CPU/MB combo. The faster CPU will help in non game applications, the video card wouldn't. What type of improvement are you looking for?

 

[Jacmert]

I'm looking for a 3D gaming improvement first, other stuff second. I play Tribes 2 in OpenGL, at 800x600 and 1024x768. I'd like to play it at high detail settings, POSSIBLY 32-bit, but 16-bit is fine for me. Currently, I'm getting 9fps-20fps. I'm afraid that if I upgrade my video card, my processor will hold it back more than if I stuck with my video card and got a fast processor. What do you think?

 

[Jacmert]

K, forget the 20 fps. I get 9fps when I'm trying to flag cap or when it really counts. Or when I'm just outside (in the game).

 

[BigFatCow]

OMG!! 9FPS????


mwave has a cheap slot1->fc-pga converter, it worked on my 440BX after i flashed the bios, here 8$, im not sure how much shipping it but they have decent priced retail celerons too.

 

[Athlon4all]

I'd go for the Celery and GF2 Ti. A Celeron 1GHz should be ok performance wise (I think), and really the Ti will help MUCH MORE than just a T-Bird. If I could only pick 1, take the GF2 Ti. It won't be pushed to it's max, but still should be an improvement.

 

[BFG10K]

I'd definitely avoid Intel if you're on a budget and/or want to upgrade as much as possible. A Duron will cost less than a Celeron and it will absolutely cane it in terms of performance. Also you can stick with your old SDRAM if you get a VIA KT133a chipset, thereby saving yourself even more money.

A 1 GHz+ Duron with a GF3 Ti200 will offer you some serious bang for buck.

 

[oldfart]

What is the budget? You really need both a new CPU and a new Video card for decent performance. How about...

C900 $53
128 meg ram $14
Slocket $8
Visiontek GTS-V $70 shipped

All total with some extra for shipping....about $160.

 

[rip22]

<< But if I was able to choose ONLY 1 thing, should I stay with my 433MHz Celeron and get a Geforce 2 Ti 64MB, or get a the ECS K7S5A and an Athlon TB 900MHz and stay with my TNT2? >>

Tough call....in that case i would keep the mobo + ram, upgrade the vid card (+ add 128 ram $14) and later on (when your budget allows it) upgrade the cpu to a P3 700 @ 933 WHAM you got a nice rig right there!

 

[Jacmert]

BFG10K, I know that the DURON kicks the Celeron's butt in everything. But if I get a Duron, I'll have to get a new MB, and then I might as well get an Athlon instead. Also, I don't really need to change my RAM because it's PC100 and will run on the ECS K7S5A because it's a dual DDR or SDR RAM motherboard, and the Athlon 900MHz requires only PC100 RAM, and the Celeron's need either 66MHz or 100MHz FSB's.

rip22, if I were to wait and upgrade my MB and/or CPU, why would I get a PIII 733MHz? PIII's where I am are expensive; I can get a new MB and an Athlon for the same price.

Thx for all the advice everyone!

 

[rip22]

<< rip22, if I were to wait and upgrade my MB and/or CPU, why would I get a PIII 733MHz? PIII's where I am are expensive; I can get a new MB and an Athlon for the same price. >>

But dosent your current mobo support P3's? Yield had the same mobo and used a P3 700 which he OC'd to 933

--Did a quick search--

ASUS P3BF with P3

 

[sandorski]

Kind of a tough call, either a vidcard or cpu will increase performance. I think a PIII is probably your best choice right now.