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Replace GPU, Upgrade Mobo to PCI-E or new system?
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Hi guys,
First post since I signed up this morning!
Basically I have been given £200 cash over the Christmas period that I wasn’t expecting. Since my system is starting to creek quite a lot, I figured the sum would be best spent upgrading it in time for the new semester at university where I study games design. I am running this system currently:
Athlon 64 3400+ (Socket 754)
DFI Lanparty UT 250gb
Nvidia GeForce 6800 (Regular; AGP)
2Gb Geil Value DDR400
200Gb Primary Drive
250Gb Storage Drive (Both Maxtors, 16Mb Cache)
DVD-RW 16x
Soundblaster Audigy
460W PSU (30a on 12V stated;20-pin)
2x 21” Sony Trinitron CRTs
Coolermaster Ammo Case
Given that my student loan is on its way, a certain amount could be ‘fronted’ if required to make up the cost. I could also sell my current rig and rebuild.
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The graphics card is obviously what I want to upgrade – and the new AGP version of the X1950 Pro looks very tasty at £159.99 + VAT as does the current ‘this week only’ one @ £129.99 + VAT
Also, it has occurred to me that there is a second option – to upgrade my mobo to a 754 pci-e and buy a faster (and pound-for-pound, cheaper) graphics card – either the same X1950 Pro 512Mb, the X1950XT-X 512Mb or the Nvidia 8800 GTS. This would be between £200-£300 + VAT
Ideally I would love to get a new system, Intel Core2DUO and 8800, but would only be able to supplement anything made on the sale of my pc by £300 or so (so Sale + £500). Are the benefits of the 8800 worth the price over a decent 7800/7900 or ATI X1950 XT-X, given that it would mean sacrificing other parts in order to stretch my budget to breaking point? I’m guessing a full rig would run around £850 + VAT
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Anyway, the system will be used primarily for gaming – and I game at 1600x1200 (really feeling the pain these days, lol). I will be playing FPS and RTS games (as well as MAME etc). I noticed medieval 2 would not let me run at my beloved 1600x1200 (sigh) and this is one of the reasons an upgrade is in order.
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If you think a full rebuild is the best option, please take into account that I will also be doing a lot of; Photoshop CS2
Maya 8.0
UnrealED
Flash
Obviously, 2GB of ram is preferable here as is Dual Core (especially for rendering) – what about a Raptor disk?
I do a little mixing (music) on the side using Virtual DJ and a half decent soundcard update would be good but not required.
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So my main questions are as follows:
a) How good is the new AGP X1950 pro (512mb)? Is it worth upgrading this part alone, given the relatively low price? This will run OK with my current spec? (No bottleneck/power problems?)
b) How good are socket-754 PCI-Express motherboards anyway? Is it worth swapping this part and going PCI-E? Would I be best opting for the DX10 platform, or should I wait a while?
c) How much could I theoretically get for my system, excluding monitors? Will this be enough to rebuild a decent spec? Has anyone on the boards built a gaming rig with that amount of cash recently?
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Anyways, sorry for the long post, but wanted to give you as much info as possible to avoid lots and lots of posts.
PS. Sorry if any of the abovce contravines the forum rules, I have read the faq and will take any advice on the issue if so.
Replace GPU, Upgrade Mobo to PCI-E or new system?
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Hi guys,
First post since I signed up this morning!
Basically I have been given £200 cash over the Christmas period that I wasn’t expecting. Since my system is starting to creek quite a lot, I figured the sum would be best spent upgrading it in time for the new semester at university where I study games design. I am running this system currently:
Athlon 64 3400+ (Socket 754)
DFI Lanparty UT 250gb
Nvidia GeForce 6800 (Regular; AGP)
2Gb Geil Value DDR400
200Gb Primary Drive
250Gb Storage Drive (Both Maxtors, 16Mb Cache)
DVD-RW 16x
Soundblaster Audigy
460W PSU (30a on 12V stated;20-pin)
2x 21” Sony Trinitron CRTs
Coolermaster Ammo Case
Given that my student loan is on its way, a certain amount could be ‘fronted’ if required to make up the cost. I could also sell my current rig and rebuild.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
The graphics card is obviously what I want to upgrade – and the new AGP version of the X1950 Pro looks very tasty at £159.99 + VAT as does the current ‘this week only’ one @ £129.99 + VAT
Also, it has occurred to me that there is a second option – to upgrade my mobo to a 754 pci-e and buy a faster (and pound-for-pound, cheaper) graphics card – either the same X1950 Pro 512Mb, the X1950XT-X 512Mb or the Nvidia 8800 GTS. This would be between £200-£300 + VAT
Ideally I would love to get a new system, Intel Core2DUO and 8800, but would only be able to supplement anything made on the sale of my pc by £300 or so (so Sale + £500). Are the benefits of the 8800 worth the price over a decent 7800/7900 or ATI X1950 XT-X, given that it would mean sacrificing other parts in order to stretch my budget to breaking point? I’m guessing a full rig would run around £850 + VAT
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Anyway, the system will be used primarily for gaming – and I game at 1600x1200 (really feeling the pain these days, lol). I will be playing FPS and RTS games (as well as MAME etc). I noticed medieval 2 would not let me run at my beloved 1600x1200 (sigh) and this is one of the reasons an upgrade is in order.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
If you think a full rebuild is the best option, please take into account that I will also be doing a lot of; Photoshop CS2
Maya 8.0
UnrealED
Flash
Obviously, 2GB of ram is preferable here as is Dual Core (especially for rendering) – what about a Raptor disk?
I do a little mixing (music) on the side using Virtual DJ and a half decent soundcard update would be good but not required.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
So my main questions are as follows:
a) How good is the new AGP X1950 pro (512mb)? Is it worth upgrading this part alone, given the relatively low price? This will run OK with my current spec? (No bottleneck/power problems?)
b) How good are socket-754 PCI-Express motherboards anyway? Is it worth swapping this part and going PCI-E? Would I be best opting for the DX10 platform, or should I wait a while?
c) How much could I theoretically get for my system, excluding monitors? Will this be enough to rebuild a decent spec? Has anyone on the boards built a gaming rig with that amount of cash recently?
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Anyways, sorry for the long post, but wanted to give you as much info as possible to avoid lots and lots of posts.
PS. Sorry if any of the abovce contravines the forum rules, I have read the faq and will take any advice on the issue if so.
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