5punk

the-ox wrote:Wouldnt a 512 card be better then a 256? Been shopping around, and Asus or Saphhire (ATI?) cards seem to be money for value, but what the hell do I know?

Memory is cheap and doesn't add that much to performance (also it's unlikely that any card at that price will be able to use 512mb of memory)

It really comes down to budget though.

For under £70, I'd take an nvidia 7600GS
Over £70 I'd take an nvidia 7900GS.


The ATI cards are probably fine too, but I personally prefer nvidia as they perform better for the money.


Also Read through This, unbiased guide to gaming graphics cards.

the-ox wrote:Wouldnt a 512 card be better then a 256? Been shopping around, and Asus or Saphhire (ATI?) cards seem to be money for value, but what the hell do I know?

The difference between 256MB and 512MB of memory matters less than the differences between different GPUs, as well as memory and GPU clockspeeds. All other things being equal, a 512MB card will be better than a 256MB card, but in many cases (especially slightly older games at lower resolutions and lower quality/texture settings) a 256MB card with faster memory will be better than a 512MB card with slower memory.

Asus cards tend not to be particularly good value for money in my experience, as they tend to be a little more expensive than the competition. I'd certainly recommend also looking at cards from eVGA, BFG and XFX.

*Pitches ore in

I've long been an XFX fan (even though my current card is a Sapphire X700 ), and never had any complains about their cards. Can't really go wrong there.

Hehulk wrote:*Pitches ore in

*smelts

*rows off

Take a deep breath - this is a long one (TWISTH)

Right, I've done this:

CPU-Z 1.40 report file
Processor(s)
Number of processors 1
Number of cores 1 per processor
Number of threads 2 (max 2) per processor
Name Intel Pentium 4
Code Name Prescott
Specification Intel(R) Pentium(R) 4 CPU 3.20GHz
Package Socket 478 mPGA
Family/Model/Stepping F.3.4
Extended Family/Model F.3
Core Stepping D0
Technology 90 nm
Core Speed 3201.0 MHz
Multiplier x Bus speed 16.0 x 200.1 MHz
Rated Bus speed 800.2 MHz
Stock frequency 3200 MHz
Instruction sets MMX, SSE, SSE2, SSE3
L1 Data cache 16 KBytes, 8-way set associative, 64-byte line size
Trace cache 12 Kuops, 8-way set associative
L2 cache 1024 KBytes, 8-way set associative, 64-byte line size
Chipset & Memory
Northbridge SiS 655FX rev. 50
Southbridge SiS 964 rev. 36
Graphic Interface AGP
AGP Revision 3.0
AGP Transfer Rate 8x
AGP Side Band Addressing supported, enabled
Memory Type DDR
Memory Size 2048 MBytes
Memory Frequency 133.4 MHz (3:2)
CAS# Latency (tCL) 2.5 clocks
RAS# to CAS# (tRDC) 3 clocks
RAS# Precharge (tRP) 3 clocks
Cycle Time (tRAS) 6 clocks
System
System Manufacturer To Be Filled By O.E.M.
System Name To Be Filled By O.E.M.
System S/N To Be Filled By O.E.M.
Mainboard Vendor ASUSTeK Computer INC.
Mainboard Model P4S800D-X
BIOS Vendor American Megatrends Inc.
BIOS Version 1005.001
BIOS Date 09/07/2005
Memory SPD
Module 1 DDR, PC2300 (142 MHz), 512 MBytes, unknown brand
Module 2 DDR, PC3200 (200 MHz), 512 MBytes, unknown brand
Module 3 DDR, PC3200 (200 MHz), 512 MBytes, Melco
Module 4 DDR, PC3200 (200 MHz), 512 MBytes, Crucial Technology
Software
Windows Version Microsoft Windows XP Professional Service Pack 2 (Build 2600)
DirectX Version 9.0c


And now I need to know this:

I think it's Upgrade tiem as my processor seems to be the bottleneck I'm experiencing. I want to keep my BFG 7800GS (I could sell it on, but I can't be arsed, plus there's know guarantee it'll go on ebay I don't think). My only drawback being is that it's an AGP card.

Now I'm fucked if I know of (or am even likely to find) any motherboards that come packing AGP and PCI-E slots. I definitely want a board with PCI-E for expansion potential, but would rather keep my current card. Any ideas my wonderful 5punky brethren?

Also, do you think I'm right in thinking that my processor is the bottleneck currently? Cheers 8800 cu<b></b>nts...

Your CPU and Ram will be the bottleneck to a degree, yes (dunno how much on that system, eion runs something similar I think)

There's a few mobos about that support AGP and PCI-E, all made by asrock i think.

Unfortunately, you really have no clean upgrade path from your current machine (as it's an old socket 478 cpu and ddr1) So you're not gonna get a worthwhile performance boost without culling some parts.


What I would look at would be Replacing the Mobo, cpu and ram.

probably something along these lines.

Mobo: Asrock 4CoreDual-SATA2
CPU: Core 2 Duo, probably E6320 or 6420 (or whatever you can afford after the price drops coming soon)
RAM: Mid Budget DDR2 to suit whatever cpu you end up with (either 1066 or 1333)

That'll put you on a mid-range core2/DDR2 platform that'll be upgradable as money allows (and allow for PCI-E graphics)

Dr. kitteny berk wrote:Your CPU and Ram will be the bottleneck to a degree, yes (dunno how much on that system, eion runs something similar I think)

There's a few mobos about that support AGP and PCI-E, all made by asrock i think.

Unfortunately, you really have no clean upgrade path from your current machine (as it's an old socket 478 cpu and ddr1) So you're not gonna get a worthwhile performance boost without culling some parts.


What I would look at would be Replacing the Mobo, cpu and ram.

probably something along these lines.

Mobo: Asrock 4CoreDual-SATA2
CPU: Core 2 Duo, probably E6320 or 6420 (or whatever you can afford after the price drops coming soon)
RAM: Mid Budget DDR2 to suit whatever cpu you end up with (either 1066 or 1333)

That'll put you on a mid-range core2/DDR2 platform that'll be upgradable as money allows (and allow for PCI-E graphics)

Cheers mate. I've found this one on Overclockers <a href="http://www.overclockers.co.uk/showprodu ... >Clicky</a>

It seems like the best bet maybe, given that it's the only one I can find on UK sites that supports PCI-E and AGP. Still looking at processors, but I'm fucked and off to bed now. Cheers thus far, I shall pick this up tomorrow.

Yup, that's the bunny, the -Fista is just to denote a newer/shiner revision, IIRC.

tandino wrote:Now I'm fucked if I know of (or am even likely to find) any motherboards that come packing AGP and PCI-E slots. I definitely want a board with PCI-E for expansion potential, but would rather keep my current card. Any ideas my wonderful 5punky brethren?

well, I know for a fact the ASRock 939Dual-SATA2 has both AGP and PCI-Express, but it's Socket 939, so it isn't exactly a great choice. There really isn't a good option.

deject wrote:well, I know for a fact the ASRock 939Dual-SATA2 has both AGP and PCI-Express, but it's Socket 939, so it isn't exactly a great choice. There really isn't a good option.

There's no good options really, but the 4CoreDual-VSTA is ideal given the aims for an upgrade.

Dr. kitteny berk wrote:
There's no good options really, but the 4CoreDual-VSTA is ideal given the aims for an upgrade.

Aye, it does seem like the best bet so far. Lots of scope for upgrade and it looks like it can handle whatever I choose to throw at it over the next couple of years. Surprisingly cheap as well from Overclockers (I'm a little dubious of that though, but not complaining). I think I'll go for this board and <a href="http://www.overclockers.co.uk/showprodu ... N">this</a> processor. Just wondering if I should hold off for now and wait for the rumoured price drops to happen. Any forecast on this, or even if the rumours are true?

tandino wrote:Just wondering if I should hold off for now and wait for the rumoured price drops to happen. Any forecast on this, or even if the rumours are true?

Usually prices drop one week after you buy stuff.

The new 1333MHz FSB Processors should make the price of the 1066 ones drop. Looking at OC's C2D processor page they have the 6550 (2.33M/1333FSB) listed for pre-order cheaper than the 6420 (2.13M/1066FSB) - presumably once the 1333FSB chips start shipping, they'll recitfy this and you'll be able to get a ~2MHz Core2 for £70-90.

FatherJack wrote:Mod Edit: I'm moving this post to the Hardware Forum as I keep losing it.

I was going to make a snide post about not being good about the posting thing too, but I didn't want to be a bigger ass.

deject wrote:
I was going to make a snide post about not being good about the posting thing too, but I didn't want to be a bigger ass.

Good job you didn't then, eh?

I was going to request a move for this too as I kept loosing it also. I'm pleased now though. I may hold off for a while then and see what happens. Or I might go mental on my credit card this weekend when drunk and see what turns up on Monday. Huzzah for credit!

tandino wrote:
Good job you didn't then, eh?

I was going to request a move for this too as I kept loosing it also. I'm pleased now though. I may hold off for a while then and see what happens. Or I might go mental on my credit card this weekend when drunk and see what turns up on Monday. Huzzah for credit!

Didn't you book a holiday to Amsterdam last time you did that?

Dog Pants wrote:
Didn't you book a holiday to Amsterdam last time you did that?

Pfft! Nah, that was on my debit card...

Dr. kitteny berk wrote: You need a PCI-Express (PCI-E) Graphics card*.

What you want very much depends on budget, but I'd go for something like This (£100)

i know this was miles back but for cheaper than the 7900 as berk suggested, you can get a eVGA 8600gt
HERE

or an overclocked MSI 8600gt
HERE

ive dealt with Gladiator Computers once before and they seemed to be fine so its worth a look i think.

Womble is right, I don't really keep up on low end pricing and performance

edit: or not.

thewombleofdeath wrote:
i know this was miles back but for cheaper than the 7900 as berk suggested, you can get a eVGA 8600gt
HERE

or an overclocked MSI 8600gt
HERE

the problem with this is that not only is the 8600GT slower than a 7900GS in DX9 games, but it won't be running DX10 stuff worth a shit either.