Your Pros and Cons on this prospective upgrade?

[1ManArmY]

My current specs are listed below. I am currently considering upgrading my MOBO, CPU, RAM, and possibly Graphics card
ASUS P4T 533-C with 512 PC 1066 RDRAM to ASUS P4C 800 Deluxe 800 with 512 DDR PC 3200 400 MHz dual pack 2:5:3
3.06 533 FSB to 3.0C 800 FSB
80 Gig WD to 120 WD (7200 rpm 8mb)
9700 PRO to 9800 PRO

this was all prompted after posing the question of upgrading 9700 PRO to 9800 PRO before it loses anymore value when the new cards come out in the next couple of months.

Your thoughts please.
Upgrade without graphic cards was quoted 148 plus tax with 9800 PRO upgrade add 175, looking at trade-in plus out of pocket 350.00 for everything. Text

 

[DaveSimmons]

So someone will let you move from 533/RDRAM to 800/DDR for $148? That's a pretty good deal for the roughly 10% speed boost and chance to add another 512 MB DDR cheaper than 1066 RDRAM.

On the other hand, a 10% CPU speed bost probably won't make any difference in games either.

I'd pass on the P4 change in your place since I wouldn't want the aggravation of reinstalling Windows and all of my software for such a small speed change. I'd just set the money aside for the next real CPU upgrade, like to a 4 GHz at the end of next year.

The graphics-card change is harder to decide -- I'd want the 9800 pro for Half-Life 2 and Doom 3 unless I decided to wait for the new cards in Q1 '04 and just accept the decline in 9700's value.

 

[1ManArmY]

Yes and I was also looking at the board becasue I am only running at AGP 4X and my current card is capable of 8X. I know its a small performance boost but I wouldn't be losing as much as I originally paid with the trade-in value. My board is rock solid but only on a 533 bus, Im thinking that extra 267 MHz and 8X AGP I will see a difference in performance.

Which would you focus on the graphics upgrade or the CPU/MOBO/RAM? It seems that my ASUS P4T 533-C is hard to come by and they are willing to pay me to upgrade to the ASUS P4C 800 Deluxe 800.

 

[randumb]

Don't upgrade! You'll get such an insignificant boost (you probably won't even feel a difference) for the money, and your current system can rip through anything there is. Save the money and upgrade later.

 

[1ManArmY]

Would you just focus on the 9800 PRO, I could get into for 175 with trade in value of 9700 PRO. I am worried that when the next cycle of cards come out I will only get about 100 for the 9700 PRO as opposed to the 210 now.

 

[DaveSimmons]

Originally posted by: 1ManArmY
Would you just focus on the 9800 PRO, I could get into for 175 with trade in value of 9700 PRO. I am worried that when the next cycle of cards come out I will only get about 100 for the 9700 PRO as opposed to the 210 now.

except that you have to pay $175 now to keep that $110 in value. To me it would depend on when I would upgrade the graphics card again -- if upgrading again within 6 months, I'd just keep the 9700. If not upgrading for at least a year then I'd move to the 9800.

 

[4x4expy]

Originally posted by: randumb
Don't upgrade! You'll get such an insignificant boost (you probably won't even feel a difference) for the money, and your current system can rip through anything there is. Save the money and upgrade later.

IMO it really just depends on how deep your pockets are. If the cost of the upgrade is not significant, then definitely do it. If you have to keep a close eye on where your upgrade dollars go, then hold off. Yeah, if you paid $300 for your 9700p, then you could get about $225(maybe a few $ more)now, and spend $300 or so on a 9800pro, only to sell it in 6-9 months for ~$225 and buy a next gen card... Keeping cutting edge hardware in your box is a continual cost to maintain.

 

[vike105]

Damn you got a nice system as it is, right now the 9700 pro is still one of the top notch cards which can run just about every game with alot of eyecandy. If you absolutely need to have everything in the games you play on the highest settings and you have the dough then you might want to go for the 9800 pro, but to me that seems like a waste of money that could be saved. But i dont know if you'll be interested in what I'm saying cause I'm still playin with the geforce 2 mx lol (i know, I know, dont laugh, im a broke college student who's waited long enough to upgrade, so i might as well wait for half life 2 to come out before i purchase a new card, which will probally be the 9700np or pro)

 

[1ManArmY]

Well what I really wanted to do was upgrade when the next cycle of cards come out but their have ben no informative specs released just rumours. I think I will just upgrade the card now and if it determined if a 256 mem card is needed for HL2 and Doom III and make that move and have decent trade-in value for my 9800 PRO.

Only problem is that I will still be MOBO with AGP 4X, not taking full advantage of the card.

 

[dexvx]

Originally posted by: 1ManArmY

Which would you focus on the graphics upgrade or the CPU/MOBO/RAM? It seems that my ASUS P4T 533-C is hard to come by and they are willing to pay me to upgrade to the ASUS P4C 800 Deluxe 800.

What the?

I have a P4T533-C. I sure as hell would love to swap for a Canterwood board.

 

[modestninja]

I would do the mobo + processor trade in but keep your 9700pro. A 9800pro is not worth $175 more than a 9800pro. You'll get a more noticeable boost in performance going to the Canterwood, and it will make it much easier and cheaper to upgrade your ram if/when you want to.

 

[sniperruff]

i decided that it is too hard to make a reply since i don't see any real "PROS" but a lot of "CONS"

overall a waste of money, what with the new athlon coming out and the new P4, new chipsets and everything...

 

[sellmen]

Anandtech's 3.0C P4 review

"Upgrading" to a 3.0C would be a waste of money, look at the benchmarks linked above. The 3.0C is only marginally faster than the 3.06B, 2-4% in a few apps, while they are tied in a few others. There is no way you will notice this difference, other than in benchmarks. The 3.06B already has hyperthreading, so no real gain.

The Radeon 9700 Pro -> Radeon 9800 Pro is a waste to IMO. Wait for the next generation of cards before upgrading.

 

[1ManArmY]

Thanks, I decided to hold off on the CPU/MOBO/RAM upgrade since at best I would see a 10% performance boost and could possibly lose performance. I decided to go the upgrade once the CPU's hit 3.6 to see a 20% (noticable). I did decide to go for the 9800 PRO.