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Will I see the difference

Gixer

Gixer

Gixer

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28 May 2004
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Southampton
I currently have a socket 939 A64 3500 cpu in my system that isnt overclocked as my ram wont let me (1gig PC3200 XMS running at 10,2,2,2)

I did try looser timings but the ram just doesnt seem to like higher FSB speeds so I didnt bother overclocking.

Anyway I am upgrading my system to 2gig of G.Skill PC3200 zx ram. My question is the socket A64 4000 San Diego is priced very well and looks as though it will clock to decent speeds. Also it has 1mb of L2 cache which is double what I currently have

Will the combination of the A64 4000 San Diego and the G.Skill ram be able to be overclocked to see a noticeable difference over my current system? I would think it would and will hopefully see me through another year or so.

Opinions appreciated. I just cant afford a major upgrade so am trying to stick with my existing mobo etc (I know its AGP but the old 6800Ultra is still doing well!)
 
You'll notice the difference in benchmarks, but that's about it.

You might notice a difference due to the extra RAM but only if you like either serious multitasking or running games like X3/BF2/etc.

Other than that...? Not really. You may notice if your graphics card is struggling (you may get a few more fps - probably 5% more) but I doubt it otherwise.
 
The upgrade is mainly due to the fact I will be getting the new version of Microsofts Flight sim (FSX) which is due out soon.

It does drain megga amounts of resources and my setup now only just manages to run the current sim with everything maxxed out!

I was just hoping that I could do this upgrade for a realtively cheap outlay and overclock the cpu (which FSX uses a lot of)
 
But you seem to have exchanged !Gb of PC3200 for 2Gb of PC3200...? The Corsair stuff should overclock reasonably (read: it will vary due to chip use) but if the GSkill is that much better... (perhaps it may be, but again it will vary)?

Sure, the overclock will be better by default (a higher multiplier on the same FSB will always be better) but I'm not sure the difference will be that great if it even is noticeable.

I think somebody who plays the latest version of FS will be able to help you a bit more with specifics as my understanding has been gleaned from games in general.

What resolution are you running the game in, and what IQ is enabled? There is a large chance your graphics card may be the limiting factor depending on what you're up to as the AMD64 CPUs are not exactly slow when it comes to powering a system (sure, the Conroes are faster, but...).
 
It was a while back that I tried overclocking my PC. In the end I had to run the ram out of synch with the CPU to get anywhere. I'm sure I had the CPU running ok at 2.5-2.6Ghz but the ram was out of synch so it ran poorly.

What ever I tried back then, slackening off the timings, upping the voltage a bit etc I couldnt get the ram FSB up at all. I cant remember the rev of my ram but at the time it wasnt the rev that everyone was saying clocked well.

I have heard good things about the G.Skill stuff, as in tight timings and good overclocking potential. The reason I am changing ram is currently I have two sticks of 512mb running 1T. To be able to keep running at 1T I can only use two sticks, hence I need to purchase a 2x 1gig stick kit.

I put a question up in the ram forum and the G.Skill stuff was what was recommended to me.

The latest version of FS is out in October, but there has been a demo released yesterday. I am just looking at upgrading now ready for when it is released. I only run 1280x1024 currently due to my monitor (I have a higher res CRT in storage) but its not all about graphics with FS. Because of all the things like autogen, AI aircraft and traffic on the roads now and other new stuff it just munches resources up :(

Unfortunately there isnt much I can do about my graphics card. The 6800Ultra is still hanging in there just but it is an AGP card so I would have to do a mobo upgrade to if I were looking at upgrading that. I know FSX would lovel an SLI setup but there is no way I can afford that right now!
 
If it is that CPU-based, then it should have a bit of an effect, but I'm not sure how much as I've not played FS since Win3.1. However, it all depends on what you do and how you do it.

Judging by the latest 4000+ thread, a 250x12 CPU should be good for a sizeable increase in frame rate, although this is entirely dependant on how the game scales.

Are there no benchmarks regarding different CPUs and the effect on frame rates for the sim?

EDIT: Looking at a few fansites, it would appear that the biggest help for the sim (bar graphics card) would come from a CPU with a ridiculously high HT-RAM link, coupled with a high clock-speed.

Also, having an awesomely fast hard-disk system would help...
 
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Not yet as it hasnt been fully released yet.

I think I may hold fire on the CPU. I need the ram as I know it munches that (it is recommended you have 2gig to run it at its best) so that will be a definate. I know the game has been optimised for Windows Vista and fully supports SLI, so it may be best for me in the long run to save the cash and do a full upgrade, I was just wondering if the 4000 overclocked would gain me noticeable CPU speed with a game that uses it.

Thanks for the help :D
 
LOL! Just missed you, it would seem.

Having had a look at various fansites, loadsa RAM will always help... I'd hazard a guess that you'll need the highest HT you can get to make it run as smoothly as possible (i.e. data flux twixt RAM and CPU as rapid as possible). And then a CPU spinning faster than a quasar to help shuffle it all along.
 
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