AGP upgrade from 9550

[artois281065]

I've read the forums and I know the preferred route is new motherboard etc to move away from AGP. Only recently installed more ram, new psu and hard drives are ata. The 9550 has only been in for a short time and from what I've read I should get a good increase in performance by upgrading the card. I'm considering 6800GT/GS, X850XT or even 7800GS. What will give the best performance for the money given my system : 2.53 P4, 1GB 3200RAM, 550W power supply. I'm not sure about the Powercolor X850XT on this site not heard good reports, and not many X850XT's about otherwise.

 

[hp7909]

m8, if you've got the budget for a X850XT or even 7800GS, your better off going PCI-Express. TBH, your current processor might be a bottleneck

Heres a quick small spec I whacked up:

• Leadtek WinFast PCX6600GT-TDH GeForce PCX6600 GT 128MB DDR3 TV-Out/DVI (PCI-Express) - Retail (GX-045-LT) £69.95
• AMD Athlon 64 3000+ Venice 90nm (Socket 939) - OEM (CP-130-AM) £61.95
• Asus A8N5X nForce4 (Socket 939) PCI-Express Motherboard (MB-120-AS) £44.95
• Subtotal £176.85
• Shipping (City Link Parcel Next Day (Delivered Mon-Fri)) £8.25
• VAT £32.40
• Total £217.50

 

[artois281065]

Guess this would mean 2 new hard drives and PSU? If so the card only could be a viable upgrade until I upgrade the whole machine? Is the processor really a problem?

 

[Cyanide]

Guess this would mean 2 new hard drives and PSU? If so the card only could be a viable upgrade until I upgrade the whole machine? Is the processor really a problem?

They'll still work, you'd just need the above spec

 

[hp7909]

Guess this would mean 2 new hard drives and PSU? If so the card only could be a viable upgrade until I upgrade the whole machine? Is the processor really a problem?

Your RAM & PSU are fine and so is whateva hard disk you have. Just that, you'll have to reinstall Windows/programs/etc

EDIT: You can also sell on the old componets to offset the cost of the new ones

 

[artois281065]

When I fitted the new psu recently it was a doddle. Are motherboards a standard fit as well - the case is a compaq? I didn't know I could transfer the RAM I thought it was board specific. Won't I need different connectors for the PSU for the ATA drives?

 

[hp7909]

Sorry if this is stupid question. I can pick up a 6800 GS for £140, We're talking about a £217 upgrade and I guess I'd need to replace the RAM as well? Like I said the 2 hard drives are not SATA - will these connect to the new board? Are motherboards a standard fit as well - the case is a compaq?

If its a Compaq, might-might not. They must use ATX (seeing that is the standard fro the last few years) or at worst MicroATX (mATX) which you can also get

 

[artois281065]

The existing board is a micro star 6577 had the pc since Jan 2003.

 

[artois281065]

Existing board is micro ATX socket 478. Doesn't look like there's enough room for a bigger board. Case itself is 15 wide by 14 high

 

[Kabaala]

The situation you are in atm is pretty much where i found myself about 6 months ago. I decided on building a new system as i was so limited by the compaq system i had. If you do decide to upgrade to an x850xt or a 7800GS then yes you will see a huge boost, your only problem then lies in future upgrades. You wont be able to upgrade 'anything' worthwhile without upgrading the whole system.
It's hard to tell just now without dx10 or vista being around yet, but its looking like people are going to have to do some upgrades after next summer to be able to play the newest games, and by that time i doubt the x850xt will be able to keep up. And i doubt that we wil be seeing dx10 AGP cards (prolly will now i've said that ) So, sooner or later you're going to have to do a major upgrade, it comes down to willingness and funds for when you decide to do it.

 

[hp7909]

Existing board is micro ATX socket 478. Doesn't look like there's enough room for a bigger board. Case itself is 15 wide by 14 high

If its a Compaq, might-might not. They must use ATX (seeing that is the standard fro the last few years) or at worst MicroATX (mATX) which you can also get

Some time ago I also wasted money updgrading my HP PC, when I could have built a new one for less

EDIT: Which I eventually did. Sold of the HP as parts & was suprised how much demand was there for it (but don't count on the same thing happening)