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PC Upgrade Advice for the old DR

Discussion in 'Techno-Magic' started by Death Rabbit, Nov 12, 2006.

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  1. Death Rabbit

    Death Rabbit Straight, no chaser Adored Veteran Torment: Tides of Numenera SP Immortalizer (for helping immortalize Sorcerer's Place in the game!)

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    Remove all ads!
    [​IMG] Hey everyone - I think I'd like to upgrade my rig some time soon. Not a complete overhaul, but mostly just my processor and graphics card. Here's my current setup (relevant componants, anyway):

    AMD Athlon 64 3000+ @2.0ghz
    1.5g Ram
    nVidia 5900XT 128mb
    160gb Hitachi Deskstar HD (3 months old)
    Gigabyte GA-K8NS Socket 754 motherboard (AGP slot)

    What I'd like to do is upgrade the processor and the graphics card, and if possible, keep the motherboard since it's only a year old. I figure I have plenty of RAM. Since the nVidia 6800's are really cheap now, I'd like to move up to one of those, and increase my CPU to at least 3ghz. On certain games (like Civ4, for example), I can't play the larger maps because the slowdown makes the game chug to an unbearable level once all the civs are located. Stuff like that I'd like to get past.

    I'm up for any and all recommendations here, though I must say I'm partial to AMD and am near partisan when it comes to nVidia (I've had nothing but problems with Radions).

    Another thing to keep in mind, too: is there that much of a difference between AGP and PCI express? I can get a 6800 GPU in AGP, but I'm certainly willing to change out the motherboard if there's a significant advantage. Any input here would be helpful.

    Thanks a pantload in advance.
     
    Death Rabbit, Nov 12, 2006
    #1
  2. chevalier

    chevalier Knight of Everfull Chalice ★ SPS Account Holder Veteran

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    Get a GT one. Don't buy a plain 6800. ;) As for CPU etc, I don't know anything about AMD stuff. As for AGP and PCI-e, whatever card is made for both, will be more efficient in the AGP version. At least I think so and at least in the GF6 series. I think a PCI-E GF 6800 won't necessarily beat your current card to raw performance (although it does have newer toys), while a GF 6800GT AGP surely will.

    If you want to change the mobo, I'd really go for the dual core Intel stuff if you can afford it. But that means new mobo, new proc, new RAM, new card, preferably a faster HDD, so that's basically a whole new computer and it's probably better to buy a whole new computer and sell the old one in its entirety in that case. In fact, I don't know if buying a new processor for that mobo is actually a good investment... but it depends how much you are going and willing to pay and what are your future prospects for upgrading.

    I have a similar configuration, so I know your pain. ;)
     
    chevalier, Nov 12, 2006
    #2
  3. Harbourboy

    Harbourboy Take thy form from off my door! Veteran Pillars of Eternity SP Immortalizer (for helping immortalize Sorcerer's Place in the game!)

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    What does a GT one do?
     
    Harbourboy, Nov 12, 2006
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  4. Death Rabbit

    Death Rabbit Straight, no chaser Adored Veteran Torment: Tides of Numenera SP Immortalizer (for helping immortalize Sorcerer's Place in the game!)

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    What's the difference between the XT and the GT?

    edit - Also, what's better...256mb of DDR3 or 512mb of DDR2? And why?

    edit edit - Looking at the 7 series on newegg right now...prices pretty similar to the 6 series.

    [ November 13, 2006, 00:24: Message edited by: Death Rabbit ]
     
    Death Rabbit, Nov 13, 2006
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  5. chevalier

    chevalier Knight of Everfull Chalice ★ SPS Account Holder Veteran

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    GT is better than normal. XT is weaker than normal (beware with ATI because ATI's XT is better than normal, actually). In case of 5900XT, it's just minimally weaker.

    256 MB of faster memory vs 512 MB of slower memory is not a consistent difference. I guess in smaller resolutions you will be happier with faster memory, while in biiig resolutions, it's going to be trickier - speed vs capacity, which I can't really answer. It's just 512 megs will hold more textures and DDR3 will load and unload them faster. The difference between 256 and 512 megs of RAM isn't really going to pop up in current games, maybe in some new stuff, I think, anyway.

    In my view, the 7 series is way better than the 6 series. Just don't look at 7300. Consider 7600 up. From the 6 series, I think anything else than 6600GT, 6800 or 6800GT is wasted money even without the 7 series comparison.

    I have a link for quick comparison of graphics cards:

    http://www.gph.benchmark.pl/

    "taktowanie GPU, pamięci [MHz] i typ" - GPU clock, memory clock and type

    "wydajność wypełniania" - fill rate

    "przepustowość pamięci" - RAM bandwidth

    "proces wyk. / liczba tranzystorów" - self explanatory, I think :p

    "generacja" - hmm... guess? :p :shake:

    "silnik" - core

    The disclaimer above says the exact benchmark score is influenced by the testing computer configuration (my estimate is that they tested it on the average computer, given that my card there scores about 15% higher than what my results were :p ). This means your score with that card will likely differ. Use for relative comparison.
     
    chevalier, Nov 13, 2006
    #5
  6. Death Rabbit

    Death Rabbit Straight, no chaser Adored Veteran Torment: Tides of Numenera SP Immortalizer (for helping immortalize Sorcerer's Place in the game!)

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    Well, turd sandwich. Apparantly I have pretty close to the fastest AMD 64 available for a socket 754. So if I want better performance, I almost have to upgrade to a new motherboard. Which means I may as well move up to a PCI-Express.

    I don't know that I'll be able to make a cheap upgrade now. I'll have to put this off for another 6 months or so, unless someone has a suggestion for a good new combination.
     
    Death Rabbit, Nov 13, 2006
    #6
  7. chevalier

    chevalier Knight of Everfull Chalice ★ SPS Account Holder Veteran

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    If you move to PCI-E, you will likely pay less for the graphics card. PCI ones are cheaper than AGP counterparts.

    There's no such thing as a cheap upgrade unless you find a very good bargain or you're upgrading from very old to old. ;) Of course, I'm exaggerating. In fact, sometimes you can find a cheap auction and sell your old item for more than you paid for the previous one (you could pull it off upgrading from GF5900 to GF6600 or maybe even 6600GT where I live, for example).
     
    chevalier, Nov 13, 2006
    #7
  8. Death Rabbit

    Death Rabbit Straight, no chaser Adored Veteran Torment: Tides of Numenera SP Immortalizer (for helping immortalize Sorcerer's Place in the game!)

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    Ok - how does this look?

    • MSI NX7600GT-VT2D256E GeForce 7600GT 256MB GDDR3 PCI Express x16
    • ABIT AN8 32X Socket 939 NVIDIA nForce4 SLI X16 ATX AMD Motherboard
    • AMD Athlon 64 FX-55 ClawHammer 2.6GHz Socket 939 Processor
    GREAT deal on NewEgg, if it's a good combo that is. Compare to my current rig:

    AMD Athlon 64 3000+ @2.0ghz
    nVidia 5900XT 128mb
    Gigabyte GA-K8NS Socket 754 motherboard (AGP slot)

    Quick response here appreciated - I'm antsy. :D
     
    Death Rabbit, Nov 13, 2006
    #8
  9. Chandos the Red

    Chandos the Red This Wheel's on Fire

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    On the AMD side, I think all the 939 stuff is being phased out. You should be able to get a good price on anything 939. As for the video card, it is middle-of-the-road. I'd look at something better for a AMD 55FX based system.
     
    Chandos the Red, Nov 13, 2006
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  10. Harbourboy

    Harbourboy Take thy form from off my door! Veteran Pillars of Eternity SP Immortalizer (for helping immortalize Sorcerer's Place in the game!)

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    Why would you not go for a Core 2 Due given how much better they claim to be?

    On a side note, why do you all insist on calling your computers "rigs"? Are you all wannabe long haul truckers?

    Ten four. Yeah, we definitely got the dual core, good buddy. Mercy sakes alives! Looks like we got us a 3ghz CONVOY!
     
    Harbourboy, Nov 13, 2006
    #10
  11. Death Rabbit

    Death Rabbit Straight, no chaser Adored Veteran Torment: Tides of Numenera SP Immortalizer (for helping immortalize Sorcerer's Place in the game!)

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    Breaker one-niner, uh...we got us a Harbourboy 'needs a whoopin' - over.

    Why do we call them rigs? Same reason dogs lick their bizniss: because we like to and because we can. :heh:

    I may consider a Core 2 - if I can find one decently priced. I've had excellent luck with AMD so I see no reason to change, but I'm not an AMD freak like Desciple. I can be convinced either way.

    @ Chan

    What do you recommend? I saw a 7900GT for only $30 more than the 7600GT I was looking at...but it was a referb. I'm trying to stay at or below $500. If you see any cool combos on NewEgg, by all means post me a few links.
     
    Death Rabbit, Nov 13, 2006
    #11
  12. Harbourboy

    Harbourboy Take thy form from off my door! Veteran Pillars of Eternity SP Immortalizer (for helping immortalize Sorcerer's Place in the game!)

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    From what little I know, 7600GT seems to be the way to go at the moment.
     
    Harbourboy, Nov 13, 2006
    #12
  13. Blackthorne TA

    Blackthorne TA Master in his Own Mind Staff Member ★ SPS Account Holder Adored Veteran Pillars of Eternity SP Immortalizer (for helping immortalize Sorcerer's Place in the game!) New Server Contributor [2012] (for helping Sorcerer's Place lease a new, more powerful server!) Torment: Tides of Numenera SP Immortalizer (for helping immortalize Sorcerer's Place in the game!)

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    DR - You can get a Core 2 Duo E6400 that will outperform the FX-55, and give you another core to play with for about the same price on newegg right now.
     
    Blackthorne TA, Nov 13, 2006
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  14. Death Rabbit

    Death Rabbit Straight, no chaser Adored Veteran Torment: Tides of Numenera SP Immortalizer (for helping immortalize Sorcerer's Place in the game!)

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    Found the E6400 - could you match me up with a decent motherboard? There isn't a combo deal available for that model.
     
    Death Rabbit, Nov 13, 2006
    #14
  15. Blackthorne TA

    Blackthorne TA Master in his Own Mind Staff Member ★ SPS Account Holder Adored Veteran Pillars of Eternity SP Immortalizer (for helping immortalize Sorcerer's Place in the game!) New Server Contributor [2012] (for helping Sorcerer's Place lease a new, more powerful server!) Torment: Tides of Numenera SP Immortalizer (for helping immortalize Sorcerer's Place in the game!)

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    What were you looking to spend?

    I'm partial to Gigabyte and the new Intel P965 chipsets, so: link

    I went with the DQ6, but that's the expensive one.

    [ November 14, 2006, 00:38: Message edited by: Taluntain ]
     
    Blackthorne TA, Nov 13, 2006
    #15
  16. Death Rabbit

    Death Rabbit Straight, no chaser Adored Veteran Torment: Tides of Numenera SP Immortalizer (for helping immortalize Sorcerer's Place in the game!)

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    I can only spend about $500 for all three - processor, motherboard, and graphics card. If I get the E6400, I'll have to get a motherboard that's around $80-100, tops. The graphics card I want is around $199, so that only leaves me with about $300 (I could stand to go as high as $350 for a good deal) wiggle room for the CPU and motherboard.

    I also want something that'll last me a few years. I'm not a latest-and-fastest kind of guy, so I'm certain that last year's "OMG r0xx0rz that PWNZ!!!" will do me just fine for my needs, at less than half the price it was back then. I picked up the 5900XT almost 3 years ago (when it was a bargain-binner) and it's served me nicely.

    Question: will it sap the coolness of the E6400 if I get a sub-$100 motherboard? What's so cool about the pricey ones you just showed me? I know little about motherboards, obviously. Thanks
     
    Death Rabbit, Nov 13, 2006
    #16
  17. Blackthorne TA

    Blackthorne TA Master in his Own Mind Staff Member ★ SPS Account Holder Adored Veteran Pillars of Eternity SP Immortalizer (for helping immortalize Sorcerer's Place in the game!) New Server Contributor [2012] (for helping Sorcerer's Place lease a new, more powerful server!) Torment: Tides of Numenera SP Immortalizer (for helping immortalize Sorcerer's Place in the game!)

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    No, it won't sap the coolness :)

    But unfortunately, you need new RAM too if you go with Intel. That would be tough for $500 I think. You may be better off sticking with a Socket 939 CPU (AMD Socket AM2 CPUs also use DDR2 RAM like Intel) and motherboard if you want to reuse your current DDR RAM.
     
    Blackthorne TA, Nov 13, 2006
    #17
  18. Death Rabbit

    Death Rabbit Straight, no chaser Adored Veteran Torment: Tides of Numenera SP Immortalizer (for helping immortalize Sorcerer's Place in the game!)

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    Hmm...yeah, I may need to stick to AMD 64. I don't want to replace my RAM, which is fairly new. How much of a difference is there between the FX-55 and the Core 2 Duo? When you say "it outperformes," are we talking leaps and bounds, or just a marginal advantage that I may not even notice? I think it's safe to say that either option will be quite a leap above my current profile, wouldn't you?
     
    Death Rabbit, Nov 13, 2006
    #18
  19. Kitrax

    Kitrax Pantaloons are supposed to go where!?!?

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    While I usually always wave the Abit/ATI/Intel flag, if you want to stick with AMD, you should go with their AM2 socket.

    For a good priced mobo with a lot of features and a good track record, go with Abit. :thumb: :rolling:
     
    Kitrax, Nov 13, 2006
    #19
  20. Blackthorne TA

    Blackthorne TA Master in his Own Mind Staff Member ★ SPS Account Holder Adored Veteran Pillars of Eternity SP Immortalizer (for helping immortalize Sorcerer's Place in the game!) New Server Contributor [2012] (for helping Sorcerer's Place lease a new, more powerful server!) Torment: Tides of Numenera SP Immortalizer (for helping immortalize Sorcerer's Place in the game!)

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    He can't go with AM2 if he wants to keep his RAM.

    Other than the other core, the E6400 won't outperfom the FX-55 by leaps and bounds, so you may not notice it. But that other core can help take the load of all that background crap everyone has running.

    But for $500 limit, I'd say you'd do pretty well with the FX-55.
     
    Blackthorne TA, Nov 14, 2006
    #20
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