Simviation Forum - ...CPU or Graphics Card

Nov 24^th, 2003 at 8:27am

kemplen Offline
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..... have got enough dosh for one or the other ..... which do I need the most?, .... better graphics card or faster cpu? ..... an fx5600 256mb or an amd athalon xp 2800+ ? .... to improve the specs I currently run (as below) ..... my motherboard will take that cpu, I've checked ..... just looking for advice/ ideas ..... cheers Wink

AMD XP2000+ : Gigabyte GA-7VA 8xAGP : Asus 9600XT 128MB (Omega _2496c driver) : 512 MB RAM : 80 Gig Seagate 7200 : XP Pro

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Reply #1 - Nov 25^th, 2003 at 1:09am

Daz Offline
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hmm hard choice id go with the graphics card for now...

but the xp2800 or above i would suggest aswell because you can play an mp3 have about 10 programs open and still run fs flawlessly- prividing you have the right graphics card

AMD athlon XP2800+ @2.34ghz&&Epox 8RDA3G 400 fsb, 8x AGP&&1024MB DDR400 PC3200&&XFX 256MB FX5950 Ultra (oc 525/1.04)&&40 gig maxtor 7200rpm&&80 gig seagate baracuda 7200rpm&&

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Reply #2 - Nov 25^th, 2003 at 6:58am

IanR Offline
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absolutely no doubt - go for the graphics card upgrade.

IanR

Athlon XP2000 (1.6gHz) - XP Home SP 1 - VIA Chipset - 750 mB ddram - HDD1 = 40gB HDD2 = 120 gB - GForce FX 5600 256 mB - NEC XE17 - Saitek X45 - ED Glasses&&&&

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Reply #3 - Nov 25^th, 2003 at 11:11am

JBaymore Offline
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This kind of question is why I was wanting to do some testing Wink

. To figurer out what really matters for sure.

There was a posting at one point about a prior version of the simulator dependingf more on the CPU tthan the graphics card for performance upgrades once you reached a "base" minimum level of graphics card. Don;t know it this applies in FS2004.

best,

...............john

Intel i7 960 quad 3.2G LGA 1366, Asus P6X58D Premium, 750W Corsair, 6 gig 1600 DDR3, Spinpoint 1TB 7200 HD, Caviar 500G 7200 HD, GTX275 1280M, Logitec Z640, Win7 Pro 64b, CH Products yoke, pedals + throttle quad, simpit

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Reply #4 - Nov 27^th, 2003 at 1:02am

Big_Al Offline
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Quote:

..... have got enough dosh for one or the other ..... which do I need the most?, .... better graphics card or faster cpu? ..... an fx5600 256mb or an amd athalon xp 2800+ ? .... to improve the specs I currently run (as below) ..... my motherboard will take that cpu, I've checked ..... just looking for advice/ ideas ..... cheers Wink

Graphics Card is what you need. Plus I'd recommend getting Windows XP on your computer, much faster than 2000 when it comes to running games.

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Reply #5 - Nov 27^th, 2003 at 7:28am

Delta_ Offline
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the difference between the 2000 and the 2800 is the fsb and the clock speed which is abuout 400MHz more.

The graphics card would be a massive improvement.

My system:Intel Q6600@3.6GHz, Corsair XMS2 4GB DDR2-6400 (4-4-4-12-1T) , Sapphire 7850 OC 2BG 920/5000, X-Fi Fatality, Corsair AX 750, 7 Pro x64

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Reply #6 - Nov 27^th, 2003 at 12:31pm

congo Offline
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Maybe you can have both, well almost. Try to get hold of a 333mhz XP2600+, it's the same speed as a Barton 2800, it just lacks the extra cache ram which you don't need anyway. The XP2600+ is a lot cheaper.

Also, The GF FX5600 isnt much faster than a GF4 TI4200, But...... The Radeon 9800 is a stonking leap forward from both those cards.

Do a bit a research and you can probably get both. See my post: Best Video Card Is Too Cheap!

www.pricewatch.com shows the CPU for $88 and the radeon 9800 for $144.

So, for around $250 with postage and insurance you could pull it off!

Wink

Good Luck,

Congo

P.S.
And, it will all work better if the memory is PC2700 DDR RAM (333mhz) because this setup is best when then CPU, FSB and RAM are in sync.

Mainboard: Asus P5K-Premium, CPU=Intel E6850 @ x8x450fsb 3.6ghz, RAM: 4gb PC8500 Team Dark, Video: NV8800GT, HDD: 2x1Tb Samsung F3 RAID-0 + 1Tb F3, PSU: Antec 550 Basiq, OS: Win7x64, Display: 24" WS LCD

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Reply #7 - Nov 28^th, 2003 at 8:02pm

4_Series_Scania Offline
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Quote:

The Radeon 9800 is a stonking leap forward from both those cards.

.

Yup, many people in the FS2004 forum think the drivers arn't too clever, simply the reason I've got an Nvidia.

To agree to everybody else, get that card upgraded!!! Wink

Then, swap your mobo for an 800fsb p4 setup once they've got a little cheaper after Christmas... (He says with fingers crossed! )

Paul.

Daz, did you ever fry that ti4200 of yours ???

Posting drivel here since Jan 31st, 2002. - That long!

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Reply #8 - Dec 1^st, 2003 at 3:48am

Delta_ Offline
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If the standard ATi drivers don't work, go with the ATi supported Omega drivers, these work 99.9% for those people with problems.

My system:Intel Q6600@3.6GHz, Corsair XMS2 4GB DDR2-6400 (4-4-4-12-1T) , Sapphire 7850 OC 2BG 920/5000, X-Fi Fatality, Corsair AX 750, 7 Pro x64

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Reply #9 - Dec 1^st, 2003 at 12:16pm

JBaymore Offline
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I think "ATI supported" is probably an overstatement. But they are an option if all else fails.

Personally I'll stay on ATI's case to fix their own darn product.

best,

.................john

Intel i7 960 quad 3.2G LGA 1366, Asus P6X58D Premium, 750W Corsair, 6 gig 1600 DDR3, Spinpoint 1TB 7200 HD, Caviar 500G 7200 HD, GTX275 1280M, Logitec Z640, Win7 Pro 64b, CH Products yoke, pedals + throttle quad, simpit

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Reply #10 - Dec 2^nd, 2003 at 3:49am

Delta_ Offline
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I agree.

My system:Intel Q6600@3.6GHz, Corsair XMS2 4GB DDR2-6400 (4-4-4-12-1T) , Sapphire 7850 OC 2BG 920/5000, X-Fi Fatality, Corsair AX 750, 7 Pro x64

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