Upgrading a P4 M/B + GFX Advice

MADMAN69UK

MADMAN69UK

MADMAN69UK

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Upgrading a P4 M/B + GFX & PSU Advice

Hi there,

I've recently been looking to update my computer so that it handles the latest game a little better. She's currently running a P4 3Ghz Prescott CPU, 2GB Dual Memory, and a BFG GeForce 256MB 6800 Ultra OC graphics card.

I've been looking at the PCI-E cards and wondered what you thought of the following:

Graphics Card:
Gainward BLISS GeForce 7800 GT "Goes Like Hell" 512MB GDDR3 VIVO TV-Out/Dual DVI (PCI-Express) - Retail (GWGFFX7647) (GX-026-GW)

And which motherboard would be the better of the two? Or even a different one completely:
Gigabyte G1-Turbo G1975X Intel 975X (Socket LGA775) PCI-Express Motherboard (MB-055-GI)
Gigabyte 8N SLi Quad Royal nForce4 SLi (Socket LGA775) PCI-Express Motherboard (MB-053-GI)

Any advice would be great. I seem to be lacking in my latest gaming hardware knowledge at the moment :(


Edit: Added PSU to the title.
 
Last edited:
fenderbass86 said:
Why Intel if your gaming? a 7800GT isn't a huge jump from a 6800 Ultra either (i don't think).
Click to expand...

Dunno really. Always been a fan of Intel, never really trusted AMD etc. Don't ask me why lol.

I do some video editing as well as gaming if that makes a difference.

What would be the recommened CPU for super fast smooth gaming? In fact what would be the full spec of a super fast smooth gaming PC?

Could I use any of my current parts:

P4 3Ghz Prescott CPU. 2GB dual memory. 120GB Serial ATA HDD. BFG GeForce 256MB 6800 Ultra OC AGP graphics. Not sure on the motherboard, pretty cheap one if I recall. 650W PSU.
 
MeatLoaf said:
For the gfx card id go for the 7900GT as the leadtek one is the same price as the 7800GT goes like hell card. Also if buying from scratch id be inclined to get a single fast card rather than 2 slower cards to SLi together.
Click to expand...

Thanks for the info :)

Can I just ask why you say the 7900GT and not the 7900GTX Extreme? Is it because the extra cost doesn't really impact the speed etc, or something like that?
 
Spudgun said:
What games are struggling on that rig? Probably other than FEAR you could play practically anything on there at a decent res and loads of detail
Click to expand...

The main game I have problems with is Star Wars Galaxies. I tend to get framerate issues at times. And the graphics aren't exactly all turned up.

I think I noticed framerate issues with games like Doom 3 also with the graphics turned up a little. I thought maybe I had something configured wrong somewhere. I do fresh re-installs every few months but the effect is the same.

Are there any obvious tweaks anyone knows of that might be effecting my current performance maybe?
 
Yeah that's very true.

I'll try running a benchmark later and post the results to see if I'm running at a reasonable level.

Additionally, would anyone know anything about the BFG 256MB AGP Ultra O/C graphics card? In that for some reason, when I open my DVD-RW I get a warning box pop up about the graphics card not getting enough power and that the quality has been reduced to compensate. Which certainly appears to be correct. I bought my 650W PSU just for this card. Does anyone have any advice on what's wrong? Do I have it wired wrong maybe? Do I need additional power etc?

Thanks :)
 
Ok, haven't gotten around to a benchmark yet. The other night I had a lot of the messages about my GFX card not getting enough power. Always after using the DVD-RW. Then my comp froze and I lose the DVD-RW completely, couldn't open it or anything, until I turned the computer off completely.

I'm thinking the PSU has some issues so wondered if anyone could now advise what would be the best one to get for my GFX card?

BFG GeForce 6800 256MB Ultra OC AGP. Has 2 power inlets.


Thought maybe:

Enermax Liberty 620W ELT620AWT ATX2.2 Modular SLI Compliant PSU (CA-024-EN)
or
Antec NeoHE 550W Modular ATX2.0 PSU (CA-046-AN)
 
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Thanks again for all the tips.

Yeah I was originally looking at getting a PCI-E to speed things up a little. But I've been reading all about Windows Vista etc so figure I might as well wait until the DX10 cards start to hit the market then I can think about a bigger overall upgrade.

So for now I think I'll just try to get things working smoothly as they are. So would anyone be able to recommend a good quality PSU that would run my GFX ok?
 
MADMAN69UK said:
Thanks again for all the tips.

Yeah I was originally looking at getting a PCI-E to speed things up a little. But I've been reading all about Windows Vista etc so figure I might as well wait until the DX10 cards start to hit the market then I can think about a bigger overall upgrade.

So for now I think I'll just try to get things working smoothly as they are. So would anyone be able to recommend a good quality PSU that would run my GFX ok?
Click to expand...

Morning nudge so I can get advice on a new PSU :D
 
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