Upgrading finally, comments?

TheCorp · 01-11-2003, 05:19 PM

Well im finally upgrading the home comp and I just wanted to get some input from you guys on what I should get. Ive got around 500ish dollars to spend so here is what I got so far...

Unfortunately one of the things I got through one of the deals here at G|A went sour, its my HP DVD/CDRW combo drive. I should have known better than to buy a drive from HP, the damn thing barely works anymore ;-) Anyways, thats getting replaced with a Plextor PX-320A-BPS 20X CD-R, 10X CD-RW, 40X max CD-ROM, 12X DVD-ROM which is about $130. If any of you have better combo drive suggestions, or suggestions in regards to this in general, please speak up. I read a lot of reviews, and this plextor seems to be really good, and it has awesome DAE which is something I use a lot.

Next we have the old school SBLive which has been failing me lately as ive been wanting to hook up my new Klipsch speakers and get a good hookup with my home theater setup as well. So what im thinking is that ill get the SB Audigy2 Platinum, which has all the stuff I need and is around $160. I was thinking about getting the Audigy 1 Plat, but its maybe 15 bucks less so im not gonna bother.

Ok now here is the hard part, I am not sure whether I should just leave the upgrade to this for now and wait till later to upgrade the mobo and CPU and so on. I am interested in getting a hammer setup (im an AMD type guy) but I have this sinking feeling that despite its release date being sometime late this quarter, it wont be ready till summer, and even then it wont be worth getting because the platform wouldnt have matured enough yet. Right now my box is a 1.2 tbird, a geforce3, 768 ram, 120gig hd, so it by no means is a slow computer. BUT, I just recently got Asherons Call 2, and for one reason or another, it is bringing my system to its knees and I am barely able to run it in 800*600, which annoys me to no end. Thus the desire to upgrade. So I was thinking maybe just a small upgrade now to tide me over till maybe xmas this year or something. Possibly get a nice mobo (this is where i need suggestions) and a Tbred 2100XP maybe.

Oh and I havent had a disk drive for about a year or so now and I really need to update my BIOS so I think ill get one of those too. I wonder if they have SCSI disk drives =)

So yea, any commentary, suggestions, and so on would be welcome.

TheCorp · 01-11-2003, 05:25 PM

Oh and one other small matter, I was looking at those Dell LCD deals on the deals page earlier today and for the love of god I WANT that 19incher. It looks so damn slick, and from what ive read its a badass LCD. I may be able to somehow get that extra money (sell the new server that we just setup for G|A anyone? =).

Does anyone have this monitor or know if its worth getting?

Showtime · 01-11-2003, 10:59 PM

Just upgrade your video card for now. Get a deal on a ti4200 128 or higher. A 9700pro will last a while. The rest of you rig should be fine for all current games with this card.

The longer you wait to upgrade, the more you get for your dollar generally speaking.

I'd make a list and wait for crazy deals to appear.

Good luck,
-jel

ps: you could try ocing your stuff.

TheCorp · 01-12-2003, 01:20 AM

You really think its the video card? I dont know if thats the case, I really think I might need more CPU performance. Anyone else, ideas?

sbp · 01-12-2003, 02:19 AM

SB Audigy 2 is the best gaming card out there. Definitely better sound clarity, lower cpu utilization and WinXP drivers than the aging, mediocre SB Live.

There will always something better coming down the road. There aren't bad times to upgrade, there are just better times then others.

Hammer won't be available in any sort of number anytime soon. Even then it'll be more expensive than AthlonXP line.

"You really think its the video card?" Might be videocard limited or cpu limited. The game could be so graphical intense its causing the problems or it needs more cpu horsepower.

To be honest you could upgrade both your cpu and videocard. If you have to choose, I'd go for the CPU upgrade first and get a nice solid nForce 2 motherboard {like Asus}. The Tbred 2100XP {get retail) is a great bang for the buck and the price won't drop much more in the future. That will be more than enough to tide you over and then some until the Hammer hits, becomes mainstream and inexpensive. The GF4 Ti4200 is not a big upgrade over the GF3.

Congrats on the 6th year anniversary http://www.pcparadox.com

TheCorp · 01-12-2003, 02:44 AM

You really think the nforce2 is the way to go for the motherboard? I havent read a lot about them, but I do hear performance is pretty badass. I have one small problem though, I have 768 megs of ram, 1 256 stick and 1 512 stick, will that work for the dual channel ram thing?

As for the video card though, I know the GF4 really isnt a huge upgrade to the GF3 I got, if I were going to upgrade my video card id just bite the bullet and spend the money to get a 9700, those things are monsters. As for Asherons Call, I noticed very little difference in gameplay speed when I upgraded from my GF2 Pro to the GF3 I have now (got it free) so im assuming it isnt that video limited, and hell it would be nice to have a little extra CPU power under the hood.

So yea, Im thinking maybe the nforce + XP 2100 is gonna be my best bet. Ive dropped any fantasies of waiting for a hammer rig, those are just too far off/too expensive I guess, at least for the near future. But yes, im definitely getting that Audigy2 and the Plextor CDRW/DVD thingy.

Thanx for the help guys, if anyone has any specific nforce2 mobo suggestions, Asus or otherwise, id love to hear it. Oh and, if my numbers are correct, PC Paradox is celebrating its 5th anniversary. The whole idea for the site and preliminary design (which is hilarious if any of you want to see it) start late '97, so here we are 5 years later. Needless to say, the site has been around for a damn long time, although stagnant for the past year and a half. Ive got plans for it, and I think I finally have the time for it, so we'll see =)

bachviet · 01-12-2003, 03:08 AM

T-Bred B and NF2 are good combo now for AMD. I would go with R9500Pro or R9700 if you don't have the $$$ for the R9700Pro. The R9500Pro is a better deal than GF4 Ti4200.

sbp · 01-12-2003, 03:10 AM

Quote:

Originally posted by TheCorp
everything said

Not sure about running different size ram.

I'm not a VIA fan so a nForce 2 motherboard is what I would get. Leadtek has a good one. Another choice would be a solid and inexpensive VIA KT333 mobo. Epox has good overclocking KT333 mobo's.

About the videocard: if you want top of the line performance now the Radeon 9700 Pro is the way to go. The Radeon 9500 is a good bang for buck performer. The GF4 Ti 4600 is overpriced. GeForce FX is not in sight and its going to be expen$ive.

TERRIBLETOM · 01-12-2003, 08:55 AM

It sounds like you have some tough choices ahead of you, How many watts is your power supply, and I may have missed it but is your present ram DDR? If your having present problems with it and you have $500 to spend I would play it safe and just get what you need to keep it going for now, then hopefully when summer hits you may be more comfortable with the choices suggested.

~~Cantacuzene~~ · 01-12-2003, 08:55 AM

If your 768 megs of ram arent ddr then you cant use them in teh nforce2.

TheCorp · 01-12-2003, 02:07 PM

Oh its definitely DDR, its PC2100 Crucial RAM CAS 2.5, and i just RMA'd both sticks so its all good.

I think my PSU is 250 watts, I dont know if thats going to be enough, but I have a LOT of **** in my comp right now and its running just fine. Actually now that I think about it, I think its 300 watts. I hear 350 is recommended for nforce2 boards, so we will see if this is gonna work or not.

And yea, this is just an incremental upgrade, should hold me off till next year sometime.

TERRIBLETOM · 01-12-2003, 04:33 PM

Quote:

Originally posted by TheCorp
Oh its definitely DDR, its PC2100 Crucial RAM CAS 2.5, and i just RMA'd both sticks so its all good.

I think my PSU is 250 watts, I dont know if thats going to be enough, but I have a LOT of **** in my comp right now and its running just fine. Actually now that I think about it, I think its 300 watts. I hear 350 is recommended for nforce2 boards, so we will see if this is gonna work or not.

And yea, this is just an incremental upgrade, should hold me off till next year sometime.

If you plan on keeping your case I would upgrade to a 400w PS even though they may say 300w is enough. I did and I have the comfort of knowing it wont be an issue...

OremuS · 01-12-2003, 08:50 PM

Quote:

Originally posted by bachviet
T-Bred B and NF2 are good combo now for AMD. I would go with R9500Pro or R9700 if you don't have the $$$ for the R9700Pro. The R9500Pro is a better deal than GF4 Ti4200.

I jsut got the Radeon 9500 Pro and from what I have been reading, it is a pretty solid overclocker. Can get it up to 9700 Pro speeds, but it lacks the 256bit memory bus. Might be worth a thought if you are upgrading the video card.

TheCorp · 01-12-2003, 09:02 PM

Hmm thanx for the input guys, Ill see if my PSU can handle the load, and if not, I guess ill upgrade. As for the video card, I think I am going to stick with the GF3 for now, I just cant justify spending on the 9500 or 9700, I may get those later if prices drop for them.

01-11-2003, 05:19 PM	#1
TheCorp Administrator Join Date: Sep 2000 Location: San Diego, CA Posts: 110	Upgrading finally, comments? Well im finally upgrading the home comp and I just wanted to get some input from you guys on what I should get. Ive got around 500ish dollars to spend so here is what I got so far... Unfortunately one of the things I got through one of the deals here at G\|A went sour, its my HP DVD/CDRW combo drive. I should have known better than to buy a drive from HP, the damn thing barely works anymore ;-) Anyways, thats getting replaced with a Plextor PX-320A-BPS 20X CD-R, 10X CD-RW, 40X max CD-ROM, 12X DVD-ROM which is about $130. If any of you have better combo drive suggestions, or suggestions in regards to this in general, please speak up. I read a lot of reviews, and this plextor seems to be really good, and it has awesome DAE which is something I use a lot. Next we have the old school SBLive which has been failing me lately as ive been wanting to hook up my new Klipsch speakers and get a good hookup with my home theater setup as well. So what im thinking is that ill get the SB Audigy2 Platinum, which has all the stuff I need and is around $160. I was thinking about getting the Audigy 1 Plat, but its maybe 15 bucks less so im not gonna bother. Ok now here is the hard part, I am not sure whether I should just leave the upgrade to this for now and wait till later to upgrade the mobo and CPU and so on. I am interested in getting a hammer setup (im an AMD type guy) but I have this sinking feeling that despite its release date being sometime late this quarter, it wont be ready till summer, and even then it wont be worth getting because the platform wouldnt have matured enough yet. Right now my box is a 1.2 tbird, a geforce3, 768 ram, 120gig hd, so it by no means is a slow computer. BUT, I just recently got Asherons Call 2, and for one reason or another, it is bringing my system to its knees and I am barely able to run it in 800*600, which annoys me to no end. Thus the desire to upgrade. So I was thinking maybe just a small upgrade now to tide me over till maybe xmas this year or something. Possibly get a nice mobo (this is where i need suggestions) and a Tbred 2100XP maybe. Oh and I havent had a disk drive for about a year or so now and I really need to update my BIOS so I think ill get one of those too. I wonder if they have SCSI disk drives =) So yea, any commentary, suggestions, and so on would be welcome. __________________ "TheCorp" - Your other favorite RealGN admin.

01-12-2003, 03:08 AM	#7
bachviet What's Da Pho*? Join Date: Aug 2001 Location: SoCal (714) Posts: 13,296	T-Bred B and NF2 are good combo now for AMD. I would go with R9500Pro or R9700 if you don't have the $$$ for the R9700Pro. The R9500Pro is a better deal than GF4 Ti4200. __________________ Dell Dimension 9200 \| Intel Core 2 Quad Q6600 (2.4GHz) \| 4x1GB DDR2 \| 256MB nVidia GeForce 8800GT Dell Studio 17 \| Intel Core i7-720QM (1.6GHz) \| 2x2GB DDR3 1066MHz \| 1GHz ATI Mobility Radeon HD 4650 Intel P4-C 3.0GHz \| ECS 865PE-A \| 3x512MB PC3200 \| 128MB PNY GeForce 6600GT

01-12-2003, 08:55 AM	#9
TERRIBLETOM Commander Join Date: Dec 2002 Location: Boston, MA Posts: 1,261	It sounds like you have some tough choices ahead of you, How many watts is your power supply, and I may have missed it but is your present ram DDR? If your having present problems with it and you have $500 to spend I would play it safe and just get what you need to keep it going for now, then hopefully when summer hits you may be more comfortable with the choices suggested. Last edited by TERRIBLETOM : 01-12-2003 at 10:16 AM.

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01-11-2003, 05:25 PM	#2
TheCorp Administrator Join Date: Sep 2000 Location: San Diego, CA Posts: 110	Oh and one other small matter, I was looking at those Dell LCD deals on the deals page earlier today and for the love of god I WANT that 19incher. It looks so damn slick, and from what ive read its a badass LCD. I may be able to somehow get that extra money (sell the new server that we just setup for G\|A anyone? =). Does anyone have this monitor or know if its worth getting?

01-11-2003, 10:59 PM	#3
Showtime Lakers fanatic Join Date: Sep 2000 Location: L.A. ->SoCal<- O.C. Posts: 7,338	Just upgrade your video card for now. Get a deal on a ti4200 128 or higher. A 9700pro will last a while. The rest of you rig should be fine for all current games with this card. The longer you wait to upgrade, the more you get for your dollar generally speaking. I'd make a list and wait for crazy deals to appear. Good luck, -jel ps: you could try ocing your stuff.

01-12-2003, 01:20 AM	#4
TheCorp Administrator Join Date: Sep 2000 Location: San Diego, CA Posts: 110	You really think its the video card? I dont know if thats the case, I really think I might need more CPU performance. Anyone else, ideas?

01-12-2003, 02:19 AM	#5
sbp Chief of Naval Operations Join Date: Dec 1999 Posts: 11,037	SB Audigy 2 is the best gaming card out there. Definitely better sound clarity, lower cpu utilization and WinXP drivers than the aging, mediocre SB Live. There will always something better coming down the road. There aren't bad times to upgrade, there are just better times then others. Hammer won't be available in any sort of number anytime soon. Even then it'll be more expensive than AthlonXP line. "You really think its the video card?" Might be videocard limited or cpu limited. The game could be so graphical intense its causing the problems or it needs more cpu horsepower. To be honest you could upgrade both your cpu and videocard. If you have to choose, I'd go for the CPU upgrade first and get a nice solid nForce 2 motherboard {like Asus}. The Tbred 2100XP {get retail) is a great bang for the buck and the price won't drop much more in the future. That will be more than enough to tide you over and then some until the Hammer hits, becomes mainstream and inexpensive. The GF4 Ti4200 is not a big upgrade over the GF3. Congrats on the 6th year anniversary http://www.pcparadox.com

01-12-2003, 02:44 AM	#6
TheCorp Administrator Join Date: Sep 2000 Location: San Diego, CA Posts: 110	You really think the nforce2 is the way to go for the motherboard? I havent read a lot about them, but I do hear performance is pretty badass. I have one small problem though, I have 768 megs of ram, 1 256 stick and 1 512 stick, will that work for the dual channel ram thing? As for the video card though, I know the GF4 really isnt a huge upgrade to the GF3 I got, if I were going to upgrade my video card id just bite the bullet and spend the money to get a 9700, those things are monsters. As for Asherons Call, I noticed very little difference in gameplay speed when I upgraded from my GF2 Pro to the GF3 I have now (got it free) so im assuming it isnt that video limited, and hell it would be nice to have a little extra CPU power under the hood. So yea, Im thinking maybe the nforce + XP 2100 is gonna be my best bet. Ive dropped any fantasies of waiting for a hammer rig, those are just too far off/too expensive I guess, at least for the near future. But yes, im definitely getting that Audigy2 and the Plextor CDRW/DVD thingy. Thanx for the help guys, if anyone has any specific nforce2 mobo suggestions, Asus or otherwise, id love to hear it. Oh and, if my numbers are correct, PC Paradox is celebrating its 5th anniversary. The whole idea for the site and preliminary design (which is hilarious if any of you want to see it) start late '97, so here we are 5 years later. Needless to say, the site has been around for a damn long time, although stagnant for the past year and a half. Ive got plans for it, and I think I finally have the time for it, so we'll see =)

01-12-2003, 08:55 AM	#10
~~Cantacuzene~~ Banned Join Date: Jan 2002 Location: Atlanta, Georgia, USA Posts: 8,700	If your 768 megs of ram arent ddr then you cant use them in teh nforce2.

01-12-2003, 02:07 PM	#11
TheCorp Administrator Join Date: Sep 2000 Location: San Diego, CA Posts: 110	Oh its definitely DDR, its PC2100 Crucial RAM CAS 2.5, and i just RMA'd both sticks so its all good. I think my PSU is 250 watts, I dont know if thats going to be enough, but I have a LOT of **** in my comp right now and its running just fine. Actually now that I think about it, I think its 300 watts. I hear 350 is recommended for nforce2 boards, so we will see if this is gonna work or not. And yea, this is just an incremental upgrade, should hold me off till next year sometime.

01-12-2003, 09:02 PM	#14
TheCorp Administrator Join Date: Sep 2000 Location: San Diego, CA Posts: 110	Hmm thanx for the input guys, Ill see if my PSU can handle the load, and if not, I guess ill upgrade. As for the video card, I think I am going to stick with the GF3 for now, I just cant justify spending on the 9500 or 9700, I may get those later if prices drop for them.

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