what would you do? Upgrade or no..

[rocadelpunk]

well...I haven't upgraded in a looong time.

my main machine is a 1.2 t-bird @ 1.4-5, I usually run it at 1.2 though...b/c I'm not doing anything that requires more mhz.

my video card is a radeon le...i stopped overclocking it after a while...used to oc it as high as possible...but I just haven't really played games anymore.

well I just got a 19in dell ultrasharp lcd...and need a card that can do dvi.

I thought about getting a 9600pro or a 9800 np and I'm stuck between which. I don't play games that much anymore, but I figure maybe being in collge where there'll be a lot more people playing games..I might, and maybe half life 2 or doom 3 will spark my interest in games or maxpayne2. So I figure I should ge the non pro..60 bucks more and I'll more likely be able to run those games in 1280x1024 (native resolution of lcd)

the problem is...money though, spending 500 dollars on a lcd and then another 250 on a video card...especially on my older system, I'm just not quite sure what to do. I should add that this is my parents money (just turned 19)...I was planning on getting a job second quarter, but apparantly my dad refuses to allow me to get a job, he wants me to concentrate soley on grades for first year...then i can get an internship.

so basically, any spending money will come through him : \. I'd like to make my own money and be sudo independent, but his house his rules type of deal. I'm going to ohio state, so I'll only be like 30-40 min away, not really far enough to just do things without them realizing...maybe, we'll see.

---

so b/c of the lcd, I'm in need of dvi...what do you think I should do? Spring for the 9800np...go for the midrange and just hopefully upgrade the rest of my computer sometime and hope the 9600 still performs...get a low end card that just has dvi...or do nothing and wait till I have enough money to upgrade everything? Thanks for advice


edit: or should i just get any card with dvi since the 1901 apparantly ghosts a bit to a lot.?

 

[KGB1]

Assumptions here.. correct me if im wrong, since you rig is not posted
Guessing your system is a KT133A/KT266A since you have a pretty old(but still good) CPU

Options:
1. Go for the 9800np (get the REAL non Pro.. not the SE or anything lower) That should help you out with your situation and make your purchases future proof.

2. Get a 9600pro and use that system for a while, have money left over and later on purchase an Athlon XP 2600+(266FSB) and make up the difference with the CPU upgrade and the performace lost when not purchasing a 9800np.

Both are viable options and have their draw backs..(1)Fast video card...medium cpu (2)medium video card--medium cpu with fast cpu purchase later on.

I would recommed option 2. For 2 reasons.. 9600pro runs much cooler and quiter than 9800np and overclocks well. Another reason is that upgrading the CPU later on will make you gain SSE instructions and lower operating temperature (since T-bred runs cooler/quiter than T-Bird)

Good luck

 

[VIAN]

Well first of all, I wouldn't buy an LCD because CRT gives much better picture and they are cheaper. If you can't get away from that, though, then go for the 9600 pro. The 9800 np will not let you play those future games at that 1280x1024 with good framerates, especially on that computer. Your entire system would limit the 9800 np. There is no point in getting the 9800 np unless you buy a quicker cpu. If you have a kt133 then get the 9600 pro. If you have a kt266 or nforce then you could get the 9800 np and a cpu with 266 fsb which would be under the hundred dollar range.

 

[McArra]

That system is going to make a huge bottleneck in the 9800np.

 

[rocadelpunk]

yah my system is aging

abit kt7-e (kt133), axia step t-bird 1.2ghz @ whateva, I can hit 1.5 with a volcano 2 though : P,
256megs pc-133 : \ (the other stick died when going to new case), but I can pick that up for cheap.
radeon le

but other stuff is still viable, 2x 120gig wd se in raid-0, sb live 5.1 gamer, 16x plexy, 16x slot dvd, coolermaster wavemaster case


Ah yes, I should mention that I have a pretty good crt, for when I come back home from college. 19in iiyama vision master pro 450, does 1600x1200@85hz


anyways, thanks for advice : P, maybe one day when I have desk space and a decent system I could run dual monitor setup...quagmeyer "oh yah"

 

[ponyo]

I would just get 9100 with DVI or Ti4200 with DVI. Should run you around $50-80 and would be pretty balanced with your system.

Both cards should let you play most of today's games with no problem and won't break the bank.

Good luck w/ college.

 

[Johnbear007]

the fact that you dont like to play games makes me hurt inside. I cant help you, im sorry.