Can't wait any longer

[Hawklord]

Hi, I've been umming and ahhing over whether to upgrade or hold out for the next round of CPU/GPU tech but have now decided what the hell I'll do it now

My current system:-

A64 3500+ (Newcastle)
Asus A8V Deluxe (AGP)
2GB Corsair XMS3200 TwinX
HIS Excalibur XT850XT PE (AGP)
X-Fi Xtrememusic sound card

Basically I'm looking to replace my motherboard with a PCI-e board and use my current cpu and memory. I haven't as yet overclocked my CPU so would also like to replace my stock cooling with something more substantial that'll allow me to overclock. My CPU isn't the best but should still be up to the task shouldn't it?
I'd also like recomendations for the best bang for buck card that'll allow me to play games to the max @1280x1024 (my LCD's native res) I was thinking a PowerColor ATI Radeon X1800 XT 512MB GDDR3.
Would there be any interest with regard to my existing XT850XT PE? and what would I expect to get for it if I were to sell?

So if someone could make recomendations for:-

A socket 939 PCI-e Good clocking MOBO
PCI-e Graphics card (either Nvida or ATI)
Best SKT 939 cooling solution.

I have a budget of £300 + the current value of my XT850XT PE.

thanks for any pointers

 

[Steve-O 2006]

I have a MSI NForce4 Socket 939 Board PCI-E, Cost £60 somewhere else and got VERY good reviews. Also, would go with 7900GT. Dont know much about cooling solutions as Im running on Retail AMD one which keeps my 3200+ Venice down at 28 Deg C when running apps / browsing net which seems quite good but it seems people go with Zalman when upgrading their cooling.

MSI K8N Neo4-F nForce4 (Socket 939) PCI-Express Motherboard (MB-053-MS) - £68.09

XFX GeForce 7900 GT 256MB GDDR3 TV-Out/Dual DVI (PCI-Express) - Retail (PVT71G-UDLR) (GX-075-XF) - £234.94

Zalman CNPS7700-CU Ultra-Quiet CPU Cooler - Retail (HS-010-ZA) - £23.44

Total - £326 and some pennies

btw, wait for other people to reply, they might have better options etc

My System 3200+ Venice, 1gb Corsair XMS3200 ram kit, XFX 7900GT ran Quake 4 at Highest Quality, 8x AA etc perfectly... Couldnt run at Ultra as that uses up 512MB of Ram and I only had 1gb so It made the game jump like mad but Im guessing If I get another gb of ram I will be able to

 

[dale1uk]

for a starters your xtpe will fetch between £160-£190 on a certain auction site, my x850xt sold for £165 a few weeks ago So say a total budget of £475

Cooler
Scythe Ninja Plus Heatpipe CPU Cooler (Socket 478, 754, 939, 940, LGA755) (HY-003-SY) @£32 - Reported as the best 939 cooler when matched with a good fan.

Graphics
PowerColor ATI Radeon X1900 XT 512MB GDDR3 AVIVO TV-Out/Dual DVI (PCI-Express) - Retail (GX-060-PC) @ £311 - why not

Motherboard
Not too sure on these but with £130 still left in the budget then you won't have a problem getting a good one.
I've got this one: MSI K8N Neo4 Platinum nForce4 Ultra (Socket 939) PCI-Express Motherboard (MB-046-MS) for £75 and cant fault it and has plenty of clocking options.

hope that helps

 

[Hawklord]

Thanks for your reply

I was thinking of getting the PowerColor ATI Radeon X1800 XT 512MB GDDR3 over the 7900gt due to it having more memory and I also thought that my A64 3500+ would be bottlenecking the 7900gt. I know for raw power that the 7900gt is the way to go but I don't think it can do AA and HDR at the same time either.
I don't want this thread to turn into a fanboi war but which is the best bang for buck card that offers the most functionality and PQ that will give the best performance at a resolution of 1280x1024?

I'll check out the mobo and cooling solution you suggested thanks

 

[sgoaty]

Thanks for your reply

I was thinking of getting the PowerColor ATI Radeon X1800 XT 512MB GDDR3 over the 7900gt due to it having more memory and I also thought that my A64 3500+ would be bottlenecking the 7900gt. I know for raw power that the 7900gt is the way to go but I don't think it can do AA and HDR at the same time either.
I don't want this thread to turn into a fanboi war but which is the best bang for buck card that offers the most functionality and PQ that will give the best performance at a resolution of 1280x1024?

I'll check out the mobo and cooling solution you suggested thanks

If a 7900Gt will make your cpu a bottleneck then so will the X1800 XT as its not a slower card than the 7900 GT

 

[easyrider]

Get a DFI mobo something like the DFI LanParty UT NF4 SLI-D .The DFI mobo's are simply the best s939 mobo's out there in terms of quality performance and overclocking IMO.

As for the cooler

SI 120,
zalman 9500 cooler,
Scythe Ninja

I have the zalman 9500 cooling my opty dual core on 7v silent overclocked to 2.8ghz.



As for graphics the x1800 512mb is a good choice but the extra ram won't do that much at the resolution you play at.

I would get a 7900 GT as they are fast and overclock well and use less power.Plus you could get another in due course and play with SLI.The 7900 GT are IMO the best overclocking gfx cards out there reaching not far from GTX speeds.

And by all acounts you could keep your current PSU due to their low power consumption and little heat.

If you want a 512mb card then get the x1800 its a good card but the overclockability of the GT's make up for it.

 

[Hawklord]

Wouldn't it be best at lower resolutions to have the option off AA and HDR?
I'd be happy with the 7900gt I'm sure but want to have the best image possible @1280x1024. Does the 7900 do AA and HDR as I'd like to run Oblivion and future games in all their glory? I have an Akasa 550W psu so power shouldn't be an issue hopefully.
How much will my A64 3500+ overclock with a good air cooling solution and will it be a large bottleneck for either card overclocked?.

thanks for all your input btw it's much appreciated

 

[zAndy1]

Interesting thread for me cos I'm undecided between these 2 cards as well. I've just got a new PC from Evesham through work (HCI) but it's only got an X800GT in which is letting it down badly. I'm not convinced they'll have put a decent enough PSU in it to cope with an X1800XT so perhaps I might have to go for a 7900GT unless I also replace the PSU which I'd rather not do.
If the 7900GT did AA and HDR I'd have made my decision by now but I feel if I'm spending that sort of money then to not be able to use AA and HDR is a severe compromise. Never straightforward is it....

 

[Hawklord]

Interesting thread for me cos I'm undecided between these 2 cards as well. I've just got a new PC from Evesham through work (HCI) but it's only got an X800GT in which is letting it down badly. I'm not convinced they'll have put a decent enough PSU in it to cope with an X1800XT so perhaps I might have to go for a 7900GT unless I also replace the PSU which I'd rather not do.
If the 7900GT did AA and HDR I'd have made my decision by now but I feel if I'm spending that sort of money then to not be able to use AA and HDR is a severe compromise. Never straightforward is it....

Join the club

Both cards will obviously give me a marked improvement over my XT850XT PE but I want the best value for money solution that will give me the best flexibility and PQ. I always go for the best compromise be it Nvida or ATI.

How long will this upgrade last me for btw are we looking at 18months or so till the dx10 cards and new cpu sockets arrive?

 

[Hawklord]

Well finally hit the buy button.

Today I ordered:-

Arctic Cooling Freezer 64 Pro CPU Cooler

Hitachi Deskstar T7K250 NCQ 160GB SATA-II 8MB Cache

PowerColor ATI Radeon X1800 XT 512MB GDDR3

Asus A8N5X nForce4 (Socket 939) PCI-Express Motherboard

should get the delivery Thursday so that's my weekend sorted

Also got a buyer lined up for my XT850XT PE to the tune of £120 so that'll help.

 

[Cyber-Mav]

for the cooler get a Tuniq Tower.

 

[lemonkettaz]

good choice in gfx card

 

[no_1_dave]

Nvidia cards are less cpu dependent