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Would appreciate your opinion.

bagman

bagman

bagman

Associate
Joined
20 Nov 2002
Posts
129
Hi there

I'm currently running a 7950GX2 with AMD FX-60, 2gb of RAM and XP Pro.
Using a 20" LCD at 1600 x 1200.

Until I get around to a CPU upgrade I was thinking of moving to a single
8XXX series card.

Any advice in that respect ? Will I notice much of a difference going from my 7950GX2 ?


cheers
 
That GX2's a great card. Stick with it until the new cards are being released... they should represent a real increase in performance if they're much better than the current generation.

Only upgrade might be board, ram and a C2D. That FX60 would fetch a pretty penny on the bay meaning your upgrade might not cost you much (if anything) at all!!! :)

gt
 
:eek:











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i think you could possibly save on the above poster's build by not going with such performance ram... Still, though, wait for a bit and save your cash. you'll be glad you did when you can buy one of the new cards...
 
Pretty poor advice imo, get a 8800GT 512MB, will provide a better experience with your current hardware then your 7950GX2 will with a new CPU.
 
ebilcake said:
Pretty poor advice imo, get a 8800GT 512MB, will provide a better experience with your current hardware then your 7950GX2 will with a new CPU.
Click to expand...

Um.... no... it won't.

The FX60 doesn't have the grunt. He will be CPU bound, and TBH why get a new card now when he is more desperate to get a better system together.

What you are saying isn't logical in any way shape or form.

Upgrade a GPU now when there are new cards coming out in a month or 2 (at the latest) which will offer *far* better performance.

OR.

Upgrade CPU/MB/RAM now, keep the current card and upgrade when the new ones arrive.

He could easily get a cheap E2160 + 4GB of ram system together for a few hundred pounds, and then just upgrade the card to a nice new tech one when they are released.
 
ebilcake said:
Pretty poor advice imo, get a 8800GT 512MB, will provide a better experience with your current hardware then your 7950GX2 will with a new CPU.
Click to expand...
GX2 provides 90% of the performance of the GT and is still an amazing DX9 card.

With the newer GPU's around the corner i think it would make better sense to wait.

As for the other kit it makes sense to swap out as the rarity of the FX-60 means it will go for good money. That can then be used to buy a better performing C2D which costs way less. Same goes for the ram which in the DDR's case should be just as (if not more) expensive meaning a no cost upgrade.

Dark_Angel said:
He could easily get a cheap E2160 + 4GB of ram system together for a few hundred pounds, and then just upgrade the card to a nice new tech one when they are released.
Click to expand...
Agree completely. Only way to do it if you are looking to upgrade right now!

gt
 
gt_junkie said:
GX2 provides 90% of the performance of the GT and is still an amazing DX9 card.

With the newer GPU's around the corner i think it would make better sense to wait.
Click to expand...

I've had both cards and thats just not true, the 7950GX2 did well in some older titles against the 8800GTS 640MB, mainly Fear, but that was the exception and the 8800GT is faster.

Theres always new stuff around the corner, the 8800GT is already very cheap for what your getting.
 
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ebilcake said:
I've had both cards that thats just not true, the 7950GX2 did well in some older titles against the 8800GTS 640MB, mainly Fear, but that was the exception and the 8800GT is faster.

Theres always new stuff around the corner, the 8800GT is already very cheap for what your getting.
Click to expand...

Yeah - it is cheap for what you are getting.

But the bottom line is - C2D system now is a FAR better option, and a better GPU later.

There will always be new stuff around the corner true, but not literal new tech (a complete new card design). 1 month away, buying now is silly. It is that simple, unless you are desperate.

The op isn't desperate, he is more desperate for a better PC in general rather than a GPU.
 
ebilcake said:
I've had both cards that thats just not true, the 7950GX2 did well in some older titles against the 8800GTS 640MB, mainly Fear, but that was the exception and the 8800GT is faster.

Theres always new stuff around the corner, the 8800GT is already very cheap for what your getting.
Click to expand...
I agree, i had to get the GTX to beat my GX2 as the GX2 imo bettered or matched the old GTS so often that it wasn't an upgrade.

In that regard it was, as i say, around 90% of the performance.

As others have said waiting for the new GPUs would be the best approach - if bagman must upgrade then a fast dual/quad, mobo and ram would be best and wouldn't actually cost him that much - indeed, with the sale of that FX it may not cost him anything.

gt
 
Dark_Angel said:
Yeah - it is cheap for what you are getting.

But the bottom line is - C2D system now is a FAR better option, and a better GPU later.

There will always be new stuff around the corner true, but not literal new tech (a complete new card design). 1 month away, buying now is silly. It is that simple, unless you are desperate.

The op isn't desperate, he is more desperate for a better PC in general rather than a GPU.
Click to expand...

The FX60 is still a decent performer, it's not exactly slow for general usage so thats just garbage, for general usage his system more then strong enough, the only thing it's lacking is a good graphics card.

It would be allot better and cheaper for him to buy a 8800GT now and enjoy improved gaming performance, upgrading his system now for allot more cash and still be largely limited by his 7950GX2 which really can't handle the latest games isnt a very good move imo.
 
ebilcake said:
It would be allot better and cheaper for him to buy a 8800GT now and enjoy improved gaming performance, upgrading his system now for allot more cash and still be largely limited by his 7950GX2 which really can't handle the latest games isnt a very good move imo.
Click to expand...

You're wrong again.

A 8800GT would be *completely* bottlenecked by a FX60 in modern games.
He'd notice a small performance increase, for the money.

Upgrading to a C2D setup and keeping the grfx would give a *much* more noticeable performance increase, for ~the same price.
 
ebilcake said:
The FX60 is still a decent performer, it's not exactly slow for general usage so thats just garbage, for general usage his system more then strong enough, the only thing it's lacking is a good graphics card.

It would be allot better and cheaper for him to buy a 8800GT now and enjoy improved gaming performance, upgrading his system now for allot more cash and still be largely limited by his 7950GX2 which really can't handle the latest games isnt a very good move imo.
Click to expand...

First of all - don't tell me I said it was slow for general usage. I didn't say that at all.

Now to continue, the 8800 GT will be slowed down by a system with an FX60. Most people know that a C2D of 3GHZ or so is needed in many cases to push the 8800 cards fully (unless high res or AA).

The FX60 if sold now could net him a decent return, and make his move to a C2D system pretty damn cheap.

Furthermore, how is a C2D move "a lot more cash" :confused:

E2160 45 pounds
Motherboard 50 - 60
4GB 60

Even a Q6600 is only around 130 or so. As mentioned in my previous post, that is around 200 or so. Factor in sale of the current stuff he has, it might only cost him 100 (if he is doing badly in what he gets for his old gear).

The card he has isn't terrible, and to say it is killing him now is just plain silly. Bottom line, the only game really pushing it will be Crysis, and even if it is struggling with a flash browser game at the moment, why get a 8800 now, drum his fingers, then have to upgrade to a C2D system, and see that ATI or NV's new cards are slapping his 8800 GT around ? It makes no sense at all.

I have upgraded a Barton @ 3200 speeds from a 9800 PRO to a X800XT, and the difference was pretty damn small, (that was back in the days when I had a 19" crt). Putting it on a Venice @2.7 cut the gap a lot - but because I got the GPU first, I missed the PCI-E boat completely.

When I upgraded from 939 to a Conroe setup, I actually was waiting for the 8 series, and was using a 6200 Turbo Cache (because I had no PCI-E card) as my card, which when overclocked barely gave me decent FPS in Counter Strike 1.6. I then happily grabbed the 8800 series of cards, and joy followed.

Bottom line is, the 8800 GT will be "old" tech in 1 months time (maybe a little more, if he is doing well). Get the CPU, MB and RAM now. Sell the rest of the stuff, wait for the new cards to come and, and buy them.

It makes no sense to buy something which will be held back by your current system, and out dated in just a few weeks time - fair enough the 8800 GT is excellent value for money, but for 150 in just a little time, you will probably be able to get 50 percent of performance extra (graphics performance)... and have a far better overall PC.
 
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uvmain said:
You're wrong again.

A 8800GT would be *completely* bottlenecked by a FX60 in modern games.
He'd notice a small performance increase, for the money.

Upgrading to a C2D setup and keeping the grfx would give a *much* more noticeable performance increase, for ~the same price.
Click to expand...


No i'm not, I have a old X2 4400+ system at 2.6GHz with a 8800GT and know exactly how it performs compared to my Q6600+8800GTX rig. Games are allot more GPU limited then they are CPU lmited these days, as long as you have a half decent dual core system AMD or Intel the performance in games is fairly good. :rolleyes:
 
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