AMD CPU + Nvidia Card Upgrade

Ask, and the Pink Dragon shall receive...
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I'd choose the 3DMark tests for a better idea of the total performance.

 

Cards with more RAM perform better on higher resolutions.

 

How good is your power? 500w 80plus or cheap-o brand 400w?

Anyway, the new 9800GT budget cards are cheap and powerful.

Also, CPU wise, the Athlon 64 X2 5000+ 65w is maybe not the optimal solution but one my brother has had running for a good while now with absolutely no problems.

 

The GT is the best 8800 whit price performance ratio. hard to find, I guess the 9800 will be your card. There is one issue about those cards. Some are made whit 55 nm technologie, and some older whit 65. The 55 performs better using less power and getting less hot, but how to tell which one is which? Be carefull.

 

Tal, I'm no expert on current hardware trends, but if you want a new-ish graphic card you'll most probably need more than 430W. I think 500W is the lowest to aim for with a dual core and the 8800GT, especially if you have extra stuff in there (multiple hard drives and optical drives, etc)

 

Tal - Using a game engine like the one in F3, (which I've heard is really a reworked version of the Oblivion engine) the nVidia cards appear to be a good choice, like you suggest.

I've always been partial to EVGA cards, since they have very good service and support. I've called them in the past, and have had good response.

Maybe something like this one, which seems to rate pretty high, and it has 1GB, in case you use the higher res and one of the reviewers commented that it runs on 400 watts of power, which seems to be a good choice:

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814130391

You can look at the individual results here with F3:

http://www.firingsquad.com/hardware/fallout_3_mainstream_gpu_performance/

 

The 8800 generation is mixed up. Nvidia called the succesor of the 8800, 8800 and later renamed it. Only the types like gtx gt gts give it away. So different 8800's whit different chips are around. The 8800GT is as far as I know the newest 8800, later renamed 9800 after stock runned out.

Still one heck of a card so no cat in the bag there. EVGA is one of the top brands for Nvidia. MSI is rated in the middle.

 

The 9800GT is more or less the latest 8800 model renamed and redesigned. But hey, it's a budget card clocking around 150 euro last I checked.

The 430w power isn't going to be enough unless it's 80plus and even then it's doubtful.

And oh, get the low power version of the chosen AMD Athlon 64 X2 CPU. They're cheaper in the long run, and usually in the short run by now too.

As far as brands go, I prefer Asus or XFX.

 

Clud3d has a good reputation. The top brand some consider XFX to be. Club3d is a brand I would buy.

The memory problem of windows 32 bit comes to mind. A card whit more mem will leave less for windows. If it pays of whit two monitors, it seems logical but cannot tell for sure.

Stil, to be in the sweet spot of 75% max load whit 85+ performance for the Power unit, remember that the x2 6000 likes power too.

 

I would go with AMD X2 6000+ CPU, either model will perform just fine(90nm or 65nm).
-65NM model has less L2 cache and uses less energy where as the 90nm model has 1MB more of cache and uses more energy.

As for the GPU a Nvidia 8800GT or 9800GT can be had for $100-150 depending on brand, factory overclock, etc...

If you have the money to spend on the GPU I recommend a 260 Nvidia or the 9800GX2; both of those GPUs are good for the money.

I would not go Phenoem at this time; a mistake I made. The higher clocked AM2 CPUs out perform most of the Phenoems; that will change once the 45nm AM2+ CPUs are released.

If you are looking for a cheaper alternative to the 9800/8800GT card you could purchase a 9600GSO/8000GS; this card uses the same chipset as the 9800 series but has less ram and a few of the features turned off; these cards run for less than $100 at most places.

 

AM2 6000+ X2 90nm 3.0GHz 128x2 Level 1 cache and 1MBx2 Level 2 cache and 125W

The X2 90nm is better at multi-tasking thanks to its higher level of cache, but that is only if you have multiple background applications running and windows open. Most users would be more than ok with half the cache and a higher clock speed.

AM2 6000+ X2 65nm 3.1 128x2 Level 2 cache and 512KBx2 Level 2 cache and 89W of power

The X2 65nm is a good alll around CPU offer decent clockspeed and multi-tasking features. It is designed to use less energy and can keep up with the prior AM2 6000+ 90nm CPU.

If you can find a AM2 5400+ Black Edition buy that over any 6000+ CPU. The 5400+ CPU has a lower clock speed but can be easily overclocked and is lower priced than either 6000+ CPU. The only down side to the 5400+ BE CPU is that it does not come with a CPU cooling fan; however if you system currently has a CPU cooling you can use that as the cooling solution for the BE CPU after buying some thermal grease.

***edit***

The 5400 BE is the same CPU as the 6000+ 65nm; the only difference is the clock speed. The 5400+ is at 2.8 compared to the 3.1. With the ability to adjust the multiplier on the 5400+ BE you can easily bypass the 3.1 clock speed of the 6000+. In fact I have heard most user on air running the 5400+ BE at 3.5-3.6GHz.

As for Nvidia brand GPUs; I trust only three companies. XFX, PNY and EVGA.