Simviation Forum - Upgrade Questions

Jan 30^th, 2004 at 3:08am

Vagrant Offline
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I love YaBB 1G - SP1!

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I have a P4 3.06GB processor with 1GIG of PC2600 memory with Nvidia 5200 Geforce 256MB video card. I am getting decent performance but I am in the market to either upgrade my memory to PC 3200 or buy a better video card. Can someone tell which option gives me the better chance of better performance? Better performance being smoother and faster gameplay.

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Reply #1 - Jan 30^th, 2004 at 3:35am

deadnight Offline
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Georgia, USA

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I would go with video card.. I don't know the science behind it so I can't say exactly what will give the best performance, but anyway I can almost guarante a newer video card is the better choice.

I would wait until the next gen of cards are out if you are going Nvidia though. the FX cards are screwed up for dx9 compatibility. Not many games use dx9 yet but it's coming fast.

ASUS P4C800 Deluxe &&Geforce FX5900 Ultra(256 MB)&&1 gig DDR PC3200 RAM&&Pentium 4, 3.0 GHZ, 800 mhz FSB&&Coolermaster 550 watt power supply&&----------------------------&&<-3dmark03 =

6535

->

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Reply #2 - Feb 2^nd, 2004 at 9:54pm

nickle Offline
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I love YaBB 1G - SP1!
San Diego, Ca

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Check Toms Hardware Guide for card tests.

I vote the card upgrade.

5200 is pretty weak.

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Reply #3 - Feb 2^nd, 2004 at 10:21pm

swanny338 Offline
Colonel
Switched from PC to Mac
and loving it
Houston, Texas

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Posts: 1140

*cough* get an ATI 9800 Pro or XT *cough* Wink

Still have a nice PC but I just switched to a hella nice mac

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Reply #4 - Feb 3^rd, 2004 at 12:16pm

congo Offline
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Make BIOS your Friend
Australia

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Posts: 3663

The video card upgrade.

The 5200 is not up to the job.

Get the best one you can afford, and then get a better one. Wink

You won't believe the difference it will make.

I think your RAM is PC2700, and not PC2600... correct?

PC2700 runs at 333mhz and PC3200 at 400mhz.

Your Ram is absolutely fine, you have loads of memory bandwidth as it is.

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 #5 - Feb 4^th, 2004 at 10:42pm

Vagrant Offline
Colonel
I love YaBB 1G - SP1!

Posts: 71

I am planning on getting a new video card. What is the best upgrade available from the FX5200? I am looking in to spend between $200-$300. If I upgraded with a 128mb card instead of the current FX5200 with 256MB would I still get better performance?

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Reply #6 - Feb 5^th, 2004 at 11:16am

congo Offline
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Make BIOS your Friend
Australia

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The amount of Ram on the video card is nowhere near as important as the the type of graphics chip.

Many people buy a lot of video ram thinking it's the hallmark of a good card..... it's not.

If you are going to spend that much money, you should get a very good card. Check these out and research them on the net.

At www.pricewatch.com there is a Radeon 9800 pro 128mb for $222, and same in 256mb for $319.

The GF FX5900 128mb card at Pricewatch is $185 and the 256mb one is $288.

These are the lowest prices, expect to pay more from a local supplier.

There are basically two camps when it comes to the Choice of video cards; Radeon and Nvidia (GeForce).

Radeons have recently been holding a lead in the Performance tests, Nvidia are very close behind.

Driver support for Radeon cards has been less than satisfactory for many up to the present, Yet it seems many Radeon owners are estatic about their cards.

Beware when buying, there is a trap. Most Video cards come in at least 2 flavours, a basic model and one with extra fast components, and sometimes a degraded slow model, (the "bargain").

For example, a GF FX5800 ultra is faster than the GF FX 5900. Research will pay off. Don't ask the salesman.

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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