939 upgrade

gazozborne

gazozborne

gazozborne

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Joined
31 Oct 2005
Posts
247
Location
Yorkshire
hi guys,

so finally decided i need to upgrade, recently got an Xbox HD-Dvd drive and the films are stuttering.

i currently have;

Opteron 146
ASrock dual sata
2gb geil value ram
x1900xt

id rather not do the graphics yet but i need something that will play HD films back smoothly.
i also do a lot of gaming but the x1900 is "ok" for the moment, i was tempted by a 2400xt as iv read its much better at HD but could i use it side by side or would i need to go for a 38xx card and get rid of the x1900?

i have around £200 to spend, will go up too £300+ if i need to upgrade the graphics card or it makes it more worthwile!

thanks :)
 
Tetras said:
Maybe a silly question but do you have hardware acceleration enabled with whatever software you are using?
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yeah i've enabled that but it still stutters , this was with Transformers. HD trailers seem to be fine though.

i was thinking of the E8400 or the Q660 but wasnt sure of the difference, similiar price an Q6 has more cores?

would the 8800gt be a significant leap from the x1900? iv been trying to find the length of my x1900 as it says as it says the 8800gt is 27cm! im not sure that would fit in my case.
 
i was thinking of the E8400 or the Q660 but wasnt sure of the difference, similiar price an Q6 has more cores?
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Q6600 is Conroe generation 65nm, E8400 is Penryn generation 45nm.

Penryn CPUs are a little faster clock for clock (lower power consumption) and require a board that supports 45nm CPU and 1333 FSB.

Q6600 is 2x E6600 and E8400 is a native dual core. E8400 is clocked at 3 Ghz with a 9x multiplier and 333 FSB, Q6600 is clocked at 2.4 Ghz with a 9x multiplier and 266 FSB.

E8400 is faster in almost all games, Q6600 is faster in apps that can use it (like encoding/rendering). For more comparisons see the gadzillion threads on the topic of E8400 v Q6600 and dual v quad.

I thought some used very low grunt CPUs like 2140s in HTPCs and still ran HD content so maybe there is something wrong with your drivers or elsewhere? Aren't 3450s better than 2400XTs?
http://www.overclockers.co.uk/productlist.php?groupid=701&catid=56&subid=168
 
Ah thanks.

Somebody on AVForums mentioned the 2400xt i didnt realise the 3450s were that cheap also.

also i've seen this;
http://www.overclockers.co.uk/showproduct.php?prodid=MB-280-AS

with x2 PCI-E slots, i was thinking of the 3450 for HD playback & the 1900 for games, is it possible to set the 1900 output to monitor & 3450 to the Tv and for them both to show the same desktop with different resolutions for both?

or if not il get IP35 and a 4850?

but what memory? any 2gb? as i dont really need 4gb at the moment + i dont use vista atm.

also i've tried re-installing/updating to radeon drivers, i have anydvd to get round the hdcp problem and iv closed most of the applications down while films are on and it still stutters. task manager shows the CPU @ 100% while a film is on. i upped the opteron from 2.2 to 2.5 and it was stil the same. its not so much as stuttering as looking like it has a low framerate.
 
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Anything to change?

Intel Core 2 Duo E8400 LGA775 'Wolfdale' 3.00GHz (1333FSB) - Retail £110.44

Crucial Ballistix 2GB (2x1GB) DDR2 PC2-8500C5 1066MHz Dual Channel Kit (BL2KIT12864AA1065) £41.11

**B Grade** Abit IP35 Pro (Socket 775) PCI-Express DDR2 (MB-135-AB) £46.99

Gainward ATI Radeon HD 4850 512MB GDDR3 TV-Out/Dual DVI/HDMI (PCI-Express) £111.61

Total : £320.67
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And to think the X1900 cost me bloody £350 alone 2 1/2 years ago :o
 
Just seems kind of expensive way to get HD video...

My immediate worry would be the memory, 2GB is looking a bit thin nowadays, if you aren't planning on more than 3.6 Ghz I'd pick 4GB of PC2-6400.

Also a b-grade IP35-Pro mmhmm...... would be a bit annoying if the backplate is missing and if it uses an old BIOS that doesn't support the E8400. I'm not sure if it still boots with 45nm CPUs on old BIOS, probably? You might want to check that.
 
Well to be honest its not all about HD video, i havent upgraded since Feb 06 and with newer games im having to switch all the graphic settings to barebones with low resolutions. It'd be nice to see older games in better quality aswell.

Which motherboard would you recommend? I've scanned the forum but the choice is huge, iv never really paid more than £55 for a motherboard and it seems it'll cost me nearly £100 for the IP5Qs which seems popular. How far would the e8400 clock on this board?

Also im still running XP at the moment, never really looked into Vista. With the games i normally play iv never needed more than 2GB either. Would it not be worth getting 2x1gb for now and if i start playing demanding games get the same again or is 2x2gbs faster?
 
Would it not be worth getting 2x1gb for now and if i start playing demanding games get the same again or is 2x2gbs faster?
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Trouble is that then you risk running into compatibility issues and increased stress on the mobo. The RAM is an investment and if you stick with XP then you can bet sooner or later a DX10 game will hit that actually makes use of the hardware.

The IP35-Pro should still clock the E8400 very well but I can't give you specifics. There are cheaper boards like the GA-P35-DS3L and P5Q (P45). I think you would be best browsing (or asking but there are loads of similar questions already) for a specific recommendation (for as little moolah as possible) in the motherboard forum.
 
I just read up on what you mentioned earlier, not all IP35 boards will pick up the e8400 out of the box so i have to hope i get an updated bios by the looks of things. either that or scrap the e84 and get the Q6 instead.

argh!

So my options now are;

4850/Q660/IP35/Crucial 2GB £327

4850/E8400/P5Q/OCZ 4GB £364

worth the £37 difference? not sure about the Q6 as im sure more stuff should be out soon that supports it? also noticed my supreme commander hasnt got a chance on what i have now.
 
There are loads of threads and opinions on the fast dual v slower quad debate and I'm not even gonna try answer that here, you'll have to do a search ;)

Personally I would say that the E8400/P5Q/4GB PC2-6400 option is a better rounded gaming system and will last you a good while (it'll also be cooler and less power hungry).

That said, there is nothing wrong with the performance of a Q6600. You have to decide if you need one.
 
Hmm i think il have to go for th E8400 then, saying that in the processors forum their talking about price drops on intel cpus in the next 2 weeks so i guess il have to bloody wait now!

By the way, what PSU ratings are normal now? I have a 530W tagan from years ago, will it cope with the 4850/e8400 etc?

Tempted by Quad core though as iv seen people at 3.6 with it but i dont know if its on stock cooler or not..

Also i just watched "Happy feet" on HD-DVD and it was fine untill there were a lot of penguins on screen at once? I thought video would just be straight all the time, not like a graphics card where it slows down when a game gets busy =\
 
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penguins on screen at once
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Am I in the twilight zone? :confused:

Tempted by Quad core though as iv seen people at 3.6 with it but i dont know if its on stock cooler or not..
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The stock cooler with a Q6600 isn't great, most people have Tuniqs or summat like that. The E8X00 CPUs overclock good too but you may need higher clocked RAM cos of the default 333 FSB (as opposed to 266 on the Q6600) giving you low multis in relation to frequency potential. PC2-6400 gets you 3.6 on a Q6600 or E8400.

By the way, what PSU ratings are normal now? I have a 530W tagan from years ago, will it cope with the 4850/e8400 etc?
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Should be ok, decent 500 Watt is still enough for overclocked, single card rigs. Does it have 6pin PCI-E connector(s) and 8pin EPS for the mobo?

talking about price drops on intel cpus in the next 2 weeks so i guess il have to bloody wait now
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Price drops aren't that huge for E8400/Q6600, only like a tenner, I think.

thought video would just be straight all the time, not like a graphics card where it slows down when a game gets busy =\
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I don't know enough about it to comment but it does seem strange.
 
Try a graphics upgrade to a 8800 or better first, if it still is not ideal it'll fit in the new rig anyway. I have the same board as you, fitted a 8800 and cannot justify an upgrade now, plays whatever on high at 1280x1024 except for "that" game.
 
Haha no, Happy feet.

Just looked into the Tuniqs, they sound huge going off the reviews so think il pass on those. I've got an arctic freezer 64 (which for some reason isnt as literally cool as it used to be) and thats big enough as it is.

This is the supply i have, it says ' Two EMI-shielded power connectors for PCI Express & VGA graphic cards'. Seeing as my X1900 is PCI-E i take it thats fine?

Im not sure about the motherboard one though, heres a picture of the connectors but i dont know which one it'd be?

CA-008-TG_400.jpg
 
Nick644622 said:
Try a graphics upgrade to a 8800 or better first, if it still is not ideal it'll fit in the new rig anyway. I have the same board as you, fitted a 8800 and cannot justify an upgrade now, plays whatever on high at 1280x1024 except for "that" game.
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What cpu?

I normally play at 1680x1050 but most games from the last year or so need dropping down to 1440x or less and then with barely any details on at all.

If delivery wasnt 8 quid id order the 4850 but as it stands id rather not pay £16 for two deliverys if need be.
 
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