Quote:So I recently replaced my Geforce 3 graphics card with an ATI Radeon 9600. But I didn't get quite the performance boost I was hoping for. So I wonder if there is anything else I should be upgrading (within reasonable price range)
Operating System: Microsoft Windows XP
Processor: Intel Pentium 4 @ 1.75GHz
Graphics Card:ATI Radeon 9600 128MB
Sound Card: SB Live! Series (WDM)
Total Physical Memory: RIMM RAMBUS 512MB
Motherboard Manufacturer: Intel Corporation
Motherboard Model: D850GB
Direct X: 9.0b
Hard drive: 80 GB
Speakers: Logitech z640 5.1
3D Mark 2001 score: 7687
3D Mark 2003 score: 2494
You'd have seen a far better result from ditching the 1.7p4 and getting a beefier one.
A friend of mine has just changed from 1.7p4 to 2.8 800fsb p4, keeping his GF4 ti4600. His 3D Mark score went from 7400 to 12850!!!
The later p4's have 512k of L2 cache, earlier chips like my friends and I suspect yours, only have 256k ,Celeron's stutter along with 128k......
You'll notice a big improvement simply over a 1.7 256 and a 1.7 512!
Overall, I'd say his machine is about twice as quick as it was, more importantly, the Video card now has the cpu muscle it lacked before.
A 1.7p4 isn't enough to get the best from a GF3!!!
I'd be looking at an Intel Springdale or Canterwood 800fsb Mobo combined with one of the 800 fsb p4's.
Or look on the bright side ,TheBladeRoden, you could be stuck with a real powerhouse of a cpu like mine!
STOP PRESS!
Whilst typing the earlier part of this reply, I was sitting at my friends house admiring his new p4..... then it dawned on me! He's now got a p4 1.8 surplus to requirements !
Not wanting the p4 to feel rejected & homeless, I offered my humble motherboard as a home for it.....
He agreed!
A quick dash back home to fetch my beastie, a little twiddling of screwdrivers and prising of cpu's from heatsinks later.....
The Celeron is now on the dungheap where it belongs, I'm quite frankly staggered at the differance an extra 128k L2 cache & 100mhz of CPU power has made to my machine! Ok, my FX still isn't running at its optimum, trying it in the 800fsb beast proved that, - 14,232 3D marks
! More than double what it'll now achieve with the p4 1.8!
That said, for "Bugger all" in the way of cost, I've gained quite a boost in fps rates all round and certainly arn't complaining it certainly makes me wonder how many people @upgrade@ a 3D card without ever reaching the best from their previous cards due to low power cpu's....
Alas, true to form, CFS3 still runs like a rabid dog, frankly, I doubt I'd have recovered from the shock if this had'nt been the case.......
Paul.
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