upgrade help

HydroMaf

HydroMaf

HydroMaf

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Joined
17 Jan 2007
Posts
43
Hi, i have a Asus A8V Deluxe motherboard and i just want to ask a few questions

1 What is the best GFX card & CPU i could put onto this motherboard?

2 Are there any CPUs/GFX that my motherboard could not handle(i.e too modern)?

3 If my motherboard can still handle anything when could i expect hardware to not be compatible with it anymore?

4 Can it run Geforce cards?

I ask these questions as i want to buy the best cpu and GFX card for this mobo before i go and buy an all out new PC again. and dont know if this mobo can still handle gfx and cpus well into the next few years, in which case i'll wait, or would now be the best time to invest since it is already obsolete and may as well get the best for this mobo before i change pcs all together.

Thanks in advanced for any help given, my current spec is below

AMD3800+
x800pro
2GB ram
 
If memory serves your motherboard is AGP only so that rather limits your options.

1. An X1950pro in AGP form is the best graphics card you could use. You'd need to check the Asus website but presumably with possibly a bios flash you could use an X2 socket 939 CPU.

2. It won't work with AM2 or socket 775 CPUs because they are different socket designs and too new.

3. You are already there.

4. Yes, it will work with any AGP 8x graphics card. :)
 
What is your rough budget for the upgrade? It may be that a cheap Core2Duo overclocked with a PCI-E graphics card will be a better option and cost around the same as upgrading that system to a similar or lesser level. :)
 
Hi, money is no obligation really. when i buy a new pc i'll most likely be spending over 1k so i want to make sure i get the most out of this 1 before i do that.

So the very best gfx card i can put in is the x1950pro, cant get any better then that? what about nvida, i heard they tend to perform well with recent games (particularly HL2 mods) even after flashing the bios to its most recent drivers.

what is the current best x2 socket 939 avil? i'll check to see if i can get it first, i only saw one in overclockers web-site which was an amd3800+ dual. which is strange coz i have the amd 3800+ single! if i cant get duel what would be my best alternative option?
if logic servers me correctly... the dual will quite literally be "twice as fast"?

another strange thing.. WOW at how fast the market has moved. i just played BIOSHOCK (had to delete Pixel shader 3.0) but i could play it easily at full spec, yet my PC components arnt even being sold anymore!!!!
thanks for any help given
 
If you prefer Nvidia then a 7800GS would be the best option (if memory serves the Gainward models used the 7900GT cores) and that shouldn't be too far behind an X1950pro in AGP form.

I suppose it depends on what is available secondhand but if you can find one at a reasonable price then an X2 4400 would be a good choice, they have 1mb L2 cache and many overclocked well. If you are buying new then an X2 3800 or X2 4200 is probably about all you will find, either would be an improvement on the A64 3800 single cores. It won't quite be twice as fast but if you are multitasking or if you use software that is coded to take advantage of dual core then it does provide a boost.

As an example of the Core2Duo system I'd suggest see below, it comes in at ~£190 and would provide an upgrade platform so you could change in stages. This isn't too bad when you consider the X1950pro AGP costs about £105 on its own and the CPU is ~£45 not including a cooler for it.

Asrock 4CoreDual-SATA2 (Socket 775) PCI-Express/AGP DDR2 Motherboard £36.99
(£43.46) £36.99
(£43.46)
Intel Core 2 Duo E2160 "LGA775 Conroe" 1.80GHz (800FSB) - Retail £44.99
(£52.86) £44.99
(£52.86)
OcUK ATI Radeon X1950 Pro 512MB GDDR3 HDTV/Dual DVI (PCI-Express) - Retail £71.99
(£84.59) £71.99
(£84.59)
Sub Total : £153.97
Shipping cost assumes delivery to UK Mainland with:
City Link Parcel Next Day (Delivered Mon-Fri)
(This can be changed during checkout) Shipping : £8.25
VAT is being charged at 17.5% VAT : £28.39
Total : £190.61
 
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