Upgrade time ?

[behappier]

Hi all,

Currently running a system with

Abit Is-7e, crucial DDR PC3200 2x512, Geforce ti4200, Celeron D 2.4 @ 2.9Mhz, 1xWD 80Mb 8Mb cache IDE, 1xSeagate 160Mb 8Mb cache IDE, 1xSeagate 160Mb 8Mb cache SATA.

I am considering

MSI K8N SLI, Opteron 146 @???, 6600GT or X800GTO.

Questions :

1. How much a difference would I notice in everyday computing and games (Doom3, M$ flight sim) and video creation

2. What do you think I would get for my old bits on Ebay ?

3. Is it worth upgrading at all?

Thanks

[kempez]

I would say that you would certainly notice the difference in games with the X800GTO and the Opteron.

Prices: not sure tbh

Is it worth it??: Well thats up to you. The upgrade would make all games smoother, better looking and generally more fun. If you feel you ca save that little bit longer and get a slightly better Graphics Card then it may be worth it

[dannyboy83]

the ti4200 is a bit old to be honest...

to be cheaper, you could get a newer AGP card to save changing the mobo etc, and i'm sure it'd improve the visuals of your flight sim.

perhaps getting another 2 512Mb PC3200 memory sticks would improve Windows XP's performance a bit

[behappier]

That's my dilemna, do I invest in a new AGP card or do I go the PCI-E route?

Regarding the RAM, I monitor RAM usage and it rarely goes below 250Mb free, the cache on the disk is on the SATA one. Not sure if more RAM would make such a difference.

[peterb]

What will the upgraded system do that your existing one won't? Then is the benefit worth the cost?

[Oakleyb]

f you're into video encoding you're better off getting an ATI gfx card. I've heard the new drivers they're releasing next week will allow blistering video encoding, about five times faster than CPU encoding! I'm not sure though if it's just the newest generation or if it will work for previous generations...

[kempez]

And further to above on the gaming front: There is NO doubt in my mind that an x800GTO will run newer games well and make ALL games better than the Ti - good though those card were

Its still up to personal choice in the end: do you want to play the newest games and make your older ones look nicer?? Only you can answer that!

[behappier]

What will the upgraded system do that your existing one won't? Then is the benefit worth the cost?

We are into entertainment territory here. Just the sheer fact of rebuilding the machine is entertaining enough! Already have 3 laptops (inc work), a pentium 4 1,9 not currently used and an Aopen Xcube as MP3 jukebox. Don't really need the upgrate TBH.

The point of the upgrade is to keep up with technology - if it makes sense!

[dannyboy83]

i know exactly what you mean. It's like a weekend project to upgrade your PC. and the joy comes out of upgrading, and getting the bl00dy thing to work!

I jumped from AGP to PCI-E last week, replaced my MSI Neo2 PLanitunum NForce3 mobo, with an Asus A8N-SLI, and swapped my Sapphire Radeon 9800PRO Ultimate 128Mb, with a Connect3D Radeon X800 GTO 256Mb.

To be fair it did cost slightly over £200.

[behappier]

Spot on DannyBoy, was looking at spending i the region of £250 minus whatever I can get off fleabay for the old bits. Any idea ?

[peterb]

Yep - I can sympsthise with that! Thats a valid reason! Nothing like a weekend tinkering!