| Author |
Message |
Doug
Guest
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 Posted:
Fri Nov 11, 2005 3:24 am Post subject:
Upgrade to better AGP card or better CPU+motherboard |
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I presently have the following system:
nf7s v2.0
XP-Mobile @ 2530
2GB DDR 400 (running at 211Mhz 2-3-2-10 and command rate/command-per-clock
on [I think, whatever's slowest])
9800 Pro (423 core 376 memory)
I'm thinking that instead of getting a faster AGP card it would be better to
buy a motherboard and CPU. My reasoning is that if I can get an AGP/PCIe
motherboard (AMD Athlon 64 of some type) and can run my memory at a faster
speed games will run faster for two reasons:
a. I have a faster CPU
b. the AGP DIME memory will be faster than on my beat-up NF7s v2.0
Is the above just wishful thinking? Will any change in framerate be
noticeable? I know of only one motherboard that is AGP/PCIe:
ULi M1695 PCIe/AGP Socket 939 for Athlon 64. Anandtech has an article about
it.
--
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Bill
Guest
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| Posted:
Fri Nov 11, 2005 8:26 am Post subject:
Re: Upgrade to better AGP card or better CPU+motherboard |
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|
In article <7UOcf.10229$BZ5.557@newssvr13.news.prodigy.com>,
pigdos@nospam.com says...
| Quote: | I presently have the following system:
nf7s v2.0
XP-Mobile @ 2530
2GB DDR 400 (running at 211Mhz 2-3-2-10 and command rate/command-per-clock
on [I think, whatever's slowest])
9800 Pro (423 core 376 memory)
I'm thinking that instead of getting a faster AGP card it would be better to
buy a motherboard and CPU. My reasoning is that if I can get an AGP/PCIe
motherboard (AMD Athlon 64 of some type) and can run my memory at a faster
speed games will run faster for two reasons:
a. I have a faster CPU
b. the AGP DIME memory will be faster than on my beat-up NF7s v2.0
Is the above just wishful thinking? Will any change in framerate be
noticeable? I know of only one motherboard that is AGP/PCIe:
ULi M1695 PCIe/AGP Socket 939 for Athlon 64. Anandtech has an article about
it.
|
I've no experience with the ULI M1695 motherboards, but if your
getting a new video card anyway, get a PCI-e video card and nf4 board.
BTW, a 9800 PRO is still a decent card. What are you playing that your
frame rates are suffering?
Bill |
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tod
Guest
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| Posted:
Fri Nov 11, 2005 11:00 pm Post subject:
Re: Upgrade to better AGP card or better CPU+motherboard |
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|
Is that XP-Mobile running at 2530mhz or Performance Rated (PR) 2530?
"Doug" <pigdos@nospam.com> wrote in message
news:7UOcf.10229$BZ5.557@newssvr13.news.prodigy.com...
| Quote: | I presently have the following system:
nf7s v2.0
XP-Mobile @ 2530
2GB DDR 400 (running at 211Mhz 2-3-2-10 and command rate/command-per-clock
on [I think, whatever's slowest])
9800 Pro (423 core 376 memory)
I'm thinking that instead of getting a faster AGP card it would be better
to buy a motherboard and CPU. My reasoning is that if I can get an
AGP/PCIe motherboard (AMD Athlon 64 of some type) and can run my memory at
a faster speed games will run faster for two reasons:
a. I have a faster CPU
b. the AGP DIME memory will be faster than on my beat-up NF7s v2.0
Is the above just wishful thinking? Will any change in framerate be
noticeable? I know of only one motherboard that is AGP/PCIe:
ULi M1695 PCIe/AGP Socket 939 for Athlon 64. Anandtech has an article
about it.
--
there is no .sig
|
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Doug
Guest
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| Posted:
Fri Nov 11, 2005 11:47 pm Post subject:
Re: Upgrade to better AGP card or better CPU+motherboard |
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|
It's running at 2532 (211*12) @ 1.875 V Vcore. I know someone who managed to
gat an XP-mobile athlon to over 2600Mhz stable.
--
there is no .sig
"tod" <no_spam_i@earthlink.net> wrote in message
news:u64df.477$s14.466@newsread2.news.pas.earthlink.net...
| Quote: | Is that XP-Mobile running at 2530mhz or Performance Rated (PR) 2530?
"Doug" <pigdos@nospam.com> wrote in message
news:7UOcf.10229$BZ5.557@newssvr13.news.prodigy.com...
I presently have the following system:
nf7s v2.0
XP-Mobile @ 2530
2GB DDR 400 (running at 211Mhz 2-3-2-10 and command
rate/command-per-clock on [I think, whatever's slowest])
9800 Pro (423 core 376 memory)
I'm thinking that instead of getting a faster AGP card it would be better
to buy a motherboard and CPU. My reasoning is that if I can get an
AGP/PCIe motherboard (AMD Athlon 64 of some type) and can run my memory
at a faster speed games will run faster for two reasons:
a. I have a faster CPU
b. the AGP DIME memory will be faster than on my beat-up NF7s v2.0
Is the above just wishful thinking? Will any change in framerate be
noticeable? I know of only one motherboard that is AGP/PCIe:
ULi M1695 PCIe/AGP Socket 939 for Athlon 64. Anandtech has an article
about it.
--
there is no .sig
|
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Doug
Guest
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| Posted:
Fri Nov 11, 2005 11:50 pm Post subject:
Re: Upgrade to better AGP card or better CPU+motherboard |
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|
Thanks for the response Bill. Chronicles of Riddick and Doom3 exhibit
stuttering w/2xAA[temporal AA] and 800x600 resolution. Doom3 is the worst.
When I first fire up Doom3 everything is fine then after playing for maybe
10 to 15 minutes the stuttering begins and doesn't go away unless I quit the
game and restart. Chronicles of Riddick is at least playable as was the FEAR
demo.
Unfortunately Bill there's no way I can afford a new video card (i.e. one
that is better than my 9800 Pro) and a new motherboard/CPU/heatsink.
--
there is no .sig
"Bill" <spamtrap@tinlc.lumbercartel.com> wrote in message
news:MPG.1dddef67f4e99e2e9896cc@news.supernews.com...
| Quote: | In article <7UOcf.10229$BZ5.557@newssvr13.news.prodigy.com>,
pigdos@nospam.com says...
I presently have the following system:
I've no experience with the ULI M1695 motherboards, but if your
getting a new video card anyway, get a PCI-e video card and nf4 board.
BTW, a 9800 PRO is still a decent card. What are you playing that your
frame rates are suffering?
Bill |
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tod
Guest
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| Posted:
Sat Nov 12, 2005 1:47 am Post subject:
Re: Upgrade to better AGP card or better CPU+motherboard |
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|
I would say to hold off until you are ready to do a upgrade with both
motherboard and graphics card.
"Doug" <pigdos@nospam.com> wrote in message
news:VO4df.15258$q%.8032@newssvr12.news.prodigy.com...
| Quote: | It's running at 2532 (211*12) @ 1.875 V Vcore. I know someone who managed
to gat an XP-mobile athlon to over 2600Mhz stable.
--
there is no .sig
"tod" <no_spam_i@earthlink.net> wrote in message
news:u64df.477$s14.466@newsread2.news.pas.earthlink.net...
Is that XP-Mobile running at 2530mhz or Performance Rated (PR) 2530?
"Doug" <pigdos@nospam.com> wrote in message
news:7UOcf.10229$BZ5.557@newssvr13.news.prodigy.com...
I presently have the following system:
nf7s v2.0
XP-Mobile @ 2530
2GB DDR 400 (running at 211Mhz 2-3-2-10 and command
rate/command-per-clock on [I think, whatever's slowest])
9800 Pro (423 core 376 memory)
I'm thinking that instead of getting a faster AGP card it would be
better to buy a motherboard and CPU. My reasoning is that if I can get
an AGP/PCIe motherboard (AMD Athlon 64 of some type) and can run my
memory at a faster speed games will run faster for two reasons:
a. I have a faster CPU
b. the AGP DIME memory will be faster than on my beat-up NF7s v2.0
Is the above just wishful thinking? Will any change in framerate be
noticeable? I know of only one motherboard that is AGP/PCIe:
ULi M1695 PCIe/AGP Socket 939 for Athlon 64. Anandtech has an article
about it.
--
there is no .sig
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Scotter
Guest
|
| Posted:
Sat Nov 12, 2005 2:35 am Post subject:
Re: Upgrade to better AGP card or better CPU+motherboard |
|
|
Hey Doug -
Sounds like you have a certain amount of money to where you can either buy a
new vid card or you can buy MB+CPU.
Sounds like the other factor is your current games are not very fun to play
with your current setup.
Based on these factors, I think you came up with the best idea, which is to
buy a socket 939 MB that supports both PCI-e and AGP so you don't have to
upgrade your vid card right away but right away you WILL see some speed
increase from swapping out a 64bit AMD-whatever for that XP-mobile you are
currently using.
How much increase in performance will you see? Probably not much because
those games are more GPU intensive than CPU intensive BUT CPU does matter a
lot more than most people think! But you are really taking no risk by going
this path because you are buying socket 939 with PCI-e capability and can
feel free then to buy a badass PCI-e video card whenever you next have the
money.
You'd *possibly* see a bit more perf gain if you kept your current MB+CPU
and bought a faster AGP card but then, unless you go top of the line, you
would be buying something that is pretty much already obsolete. And even IF
you bought something like a 6800 ultra AGP to run in your current system,
you'd probably never see it's full use because of your CPU limitation.
--
Scotter
"Doug" <pigdos@nospam.com> wrote in message
news:7UOcf.10229$BZ5.557@newssvr13.news.prodigy.com...
| Quote: | I presently have the following system:
nf7s v2.0
XP-Mobile @ 2530
2GB DDR 400 (running at 211Mhz 2-3-2-10 and command rate/command-per-clock
on [I think, whatever's slowest])
9800 Pro (423 core 376 memory)
I'm thinking that instead of getting a faster AGP card it would be better
to buy a motherboard and CPU. My reasoning is that if I can get an
AGP/PCIe motherboard (AMD Athlon 64 of some type) and can run my memory at
a faster speed games will run faster for two reasons:
a. I have a faster CPU
b. the AGP DIME memory will be faster than on my beat-up NF7s v2.0
Is the above just wishful thinking? Will any change in framerate be
noticeable? I know of only one motherboard that is AGP/PCIe:
ULi M1695 PCIe/AGP Socket 939 for Athlon 64. Anandtech has an article
about it.
--
there is no .sig
|
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Bill
Guest
|
| Posted:
Sat Nov 12, 2005 4:26 am Post subject:
Re: Upgrade to better AGP card or better CPU+motherboard |
|
|
In article <RR4df.15261$q%.7278@newssvr12.news.prodigy.com>,
pigdos@nospam.com says...
| Quote: | Thanks for the response Bill. Chronicles of Riddick and Doom3 exhibit
stuttering w/2xAA[temporal AA] and 800x600 resolution. Doom3 is the worst.
When I first fire up Doom3 everything is fine then after playing for maybe
10 to 15 minutes the stuttering begins and doesn't go away unless I quit the
game and restart. Chronicles of Riddick is at least playable as was the FEAR
demo.
Unfortunately Bill there's no way I can afford a new video card (i.e. one
that is better than my 9800 Pro) and a new motherboard/CPU/heatsink.
|
Sounds like maybe a heat problem. First thing I'd do is clean
out all the crud buildup in the machine. Fans, filters, heatsinks,
processor, memory, everything. Then I'd make sure that the processor
is not being throttled by heat related bios settings.
Then I'd ensure that there were no software settings throttling the
processor. Then I'd make sure that no software programs were starting
up/running in the background while I was playing. Try going to
taskmaster and shutting down every program that you don't need to run
the game before you start playing.
Is this happening in single player mode or while playing on-line?
If none of this helps, and you're cash strapped, I'd go with the
Asrock 939 Dual Sata < on sale this weekend at newegg for $66.00 >
and the fastest AMD Venice core CPU I could afford, then maybe over
clock the cpu a bit. An Asrock and 3500+ should set you back less than
$300, which is around what you'd have to spend for a graphics card.
Make sure your power supply is able to support the new hardware. There
is a chance it could be causing your present problem if it's running
hot due to dirt buildup or starting to fail.
Then you could save for when the PCI-E 7800 GTXs become cheap.
Bill |
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Doug
Guest
|
| Posted:
Sat Nov 12, 2005 7:09 am Post subject:
Re: Upgrade to better AGP card or better CPU+motherboard |
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|
Scotter, I have heard from one guy who had a Athlon XP 3200+ and upgraded
his 9800Pro to a 6800GT he said the difference was between night and day. He
doubled his framerates at the same resolution, AA and AF in Doom3. I see
what you're saying though, even a 6800ultra is only midrange now and that,
or an X850XT PE would be the best I could get at this point.
On the downside, I'd lose my Nvidia soundstorm if I upgrade my motherboard,
I wonder if the Audigy Gamer I've got would be just as good?
--
there is no .sig
"Scotter" <spam@spam.com> wrote in message
news:jg7df.2856$th3.1488@tornado.texas.rr.com...
| Quote: | Hey Doug -
Sounds like you have a certain amount of money to where you can either buy
a new vid card or you can buy MB+CPU.
Sounds like the other factor is your current games are not very fun to
play with your current setup.
Based on these factors, I think you came up with the best idea, which is
to buy a socket 939 MB that supports both PCI-e and AGP so you don't have
to upgrade your vid card right away but right away you WILL see some speed
increase from swapping out a 64bit AMD-whatever for that XP-mobile you are
currently using.
How much increase in performance will you see? Probably not much because
those games are more GPU intensive than CPU intensive BUT CPU does matter
a lot more than most people think! But you are really taking no risk by
going this path because you are buying socket 939 with PCI-e capability
and can feel free then to buy a badass PCI-e video card whenever you next
have the money.
You'd *possibly* see a bit more perf gain if you kept your current MB+CPU
and bought a faster AGP card but then, unless you go top of the line, you
would be buying something that is pretty much already obsolete. And even
IF you bought something like a 6800 ultra AGP to run in your current
system, you'd probably never see it's full use because of your CPU
limitation.
--
Scotter
"Doug" <pigdos@nospam.com> wrote in message
news:7UOcf.10229$BZ5.557@newssvr13.news.prodigy.com...
I presently have the following system:
nf7s v2.0
XP-Mobile @ 2530
2GB DDR 400 (running at 211Mhz 2-3-2-10 and command
rate/command-per-clock on [I think, whatever's slowest])
9800 Pro (423 core 376 memory)
I'm thinking that instead of getting a faster AGP card it would be better
to buy a motherboard and CPU. My reasoning is that if I can get an
AGP/PCIe motherboard (AMD Athlon 64 of some type) and can run my memory
at a faster speed games will run faster for two reasons:
a. I have a faster CPU
b. the AGP DIME memory will be faster than on my beat-up NF7s v2.0
Is the above just wishful thinking? Will any change in framerate be
noticeable? I know of only one motherboard that is AGP/PCIe:
ULi M1695 PCIe/AGP Socket 939 for Athlon 64. Anandtech has an article
about it.
--
there is no .sig
|
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Alceryes
Guest
|
| Posted:
Sat Nov 12, 2005 11:59 pm Post subject:
Re: Upgrade to better AGP card or better CPU+motherboard |
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|
| Quote: | Is the above just wishful thinking? Will any change in framerate be
noticeable?
|
Wishful thinking unless you play your games at 800x600 with all eye candy
off. There was an extensive review/test done a while ago (anyone know the
link?) that showed MB/CPU upgrade VS. video card upgrade. The long and the
short of it was that the higher the resolution and eye candy you use, the
more the frame rate becomes video card limited. Sure you may get an average
5-7 fps boost from better memory handling and beefier CPU but putting that
same amount of money into a better video card could net you a 20+ fps boost.
I am actually in the same boat as you - NF7-S v2.0, XP 2800+ (OC'd to
3200+), 9700Pro, etc...
I don't want to drop a nice chunk of change on an AGP video card when the
interface is singing it's 'swan song'.
The reviews on the ULi M1695 are mixed. IOW, the ONLY reason you would want
to get it is because of the AGP and PCIe interface. If it were me and I had
the money/inclination to make my purchases I get a good S939 MB, cheap
AMD64, and probably the new 6800GS video card.
--
"I don't cheat to survive. I cheat to LIVE!!"
- Alceryes
"Doug" <pigdos@nospam.com> wrote in message
news:7UOcf.10229$BZ5.557@newssvr13.news.prodigy.com...
| Quote: | I presently have the following system:
nf7s v2.0
XP-Mobile @ 2530
2GB DDR 400 (running at 211Mhz 2-3-2-10 and command rate/command-per-clock
on [I think, whatever's slowest])
9800 Pro (423 core 376 memory)
I'm thinking that instead of getting a faster AGP card it would be better
to buy a motherboard and CPU. My reasoning is that if I can get an
AGP/PCIe motherboard (AMD Athlon 64 of some type) and can run my memory at
a faster speed games will run faster for two reasons:
a. I have a faster CPU
b. the AGP DIME memory will be faster than on my beat-up NF7s v2.0
Is the above just wishful thinking? Will any change in framerate be
noticeable? I know of only one motherboard that is AGP/PCIe:
ULi M1695 PCIe/AGP Socket 939 for Athlon 64. Anandtech has an article
about it.
--
there is no .sig
|
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Doug
Guest
|
| Posted:
Mon Nov 14, 2005 1:21 am Post subject:
Re: Upgrade to better AGP card or better CPU+motherboard |
|
|
Wierdly enough Bill, I just upgraded to the latest Catalyst for my 9800 Pro
(Catalyst 5.11), my Doom3 problems have pretty much vanished. I can't see
spending money on an AGP only motherboard at this point. It's got to be
SLI/AGP.
--
there is no .sig
"Bill" <spamtrap@tinlc.lumbercartel.com> wrote in message
news:MPG.1ddeba7ba3dbd4a09896cd@news.supernews.com...
| Quote: | In article <RR4df.15261$q%.7278@newssvr12.news.prodigy.com>,
pigdos@nospam.com says...
Thanks for the response Bill. Chronicles of Riddick and Doom3 exhibit
stuttering w/2xAA[temporal AA] and 800x600 resolution. Doom3 is the
worst.
When I first fire up Doom3 everything is fine then after playing for
maybe
10 to 15 minutes the stuttering begins and doesn't go away unless I quit
the
game and restart. Chronicles of Riddick is at least playable as was the
FEAR
demo.
Unfortunately Bill there's no way I can afford a new video card (i.e. one
that is better than my 9800 Pro) and a new motherboard/CPU/heatsink.
Sounds like maybe a heat problem. First thing I'd do is clean
out all the crud buildup in the machine. Fans, filters, heatsinks,
processor, memory, everything. Then I'd make sure that the processor
is not being throttled by heat related bios settings.
Then I'd ensure that there were no software settings throttling the
processor. Then I'd make sure that no software programs were starting
up/running in the background while I was playing. Try going to
taskmaster and shutting down every program that you don't need to run
the game before you start playing.
Is this happening in single player mode or while playing on-line?
If none of this helps, and you're cash strapped, I'd go with the
Asrock 939 Dual Sata < on sale this weekend at newegg for $66.00
and the fastest AMD Venice core CPU I could afford, then maybe over
clock the cpu a bit. An Asrock and 3500+ should set you back less than
$300, which is around what you'd have to spend for a graphics card.
Make sure your power supply is able to support the new hardware. There
is a chance it could be causing your present problem if it's running
hot due to dirt buildup or starting to fail.
Then you could save for when the PCI-E 7800 GTXs become cheap.
Bill
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Bill
Guest
|
| Posted:
Mon Nov 14, 2005 4:39 am Post subject:
Re: Upgrade to better AGP card or better CPU+motherboard |
|
|
In article <inMdf.12876$7h7.6675@newssvr21.news.prodigy.com>,
pigdos@nospam.com says...
| Quote: | Wierdly enough Bill, I just upgraded to the latest Catalyst for my 9800 Pro
(Catalyst 5.11), my Doom3 problems have pretty much vanished. I can't see
spending money on an AGP only motherboard at this point. It's got to be
SLI/AGP.
|
There is no SLI + AGP that I know of.
Bill |
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