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Hey people.
I'm looking at upgrading me machine cos she's getting a bit old now. Her stats are:
AMD Athlon 1.2 Ghz
512mb RAM
Gigabyte MAYA Raedon 9000 Pro (128mb)
SBLive! PCI
60GB HD
I've got about £300 - £350 to splash out. What do I go for? I'm looking for gamesplaying (obviously!). Got Farcry on order and would like to be able to run it :)
I'm looking at upgrading me machine cos she's getting a bit old now. Her stats are:
AMD Athlon 1.2 Ghz
512mb RAM
Gigabyte MAYA Raedon 9000 Pro (128mb)
SBLive! PCI
60GB HD
I've got about £300 - £350 to splash out. What do I go for? I'm looking for gamesplaying (obviously!). Got Farcry on order and would like to be able to run it :)
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Ok, cheers for the replies. I'm getting there now. A few more q's:
XP2500 has 333fsb, 3200 has 400fsb. Is this much of a performance gain (assuming I managed to overclock the 2500)?
What effect does this have on the ram I need, ie if I have the 2500 is it pointless to get the ddr400 as it would only run at 333mhz (assuming mobo supports 400mhz ram)?
Also, best place for ram?
XP2500 has 333fsb, 3200 has 400fsb. Is this much of a performance gain (assuming I managed to overclock the 2500)?
What effect does this have on the ram I need, ie if I have the 2500 is it pointless to get the ddr400 as it would only run at 333mhz (assuming mobo supports 400mhz ram)?
Also, best place for ram?
Although if it doesnt softmod you could try a voltmod.
But i think that may be getting a bit too far ahead.
But i think that may be getting a bit too far ahead.
Notorious Biggles wrote:
> Cookie Monster successfully soft modded a 9800 SE. Although I believe
> it did die on him after a while. I think someone else did it as
> well.
I think it was unknown kernel.
> Cookie Monster successfully soft modded a 9800 SE. Although I believe
> it did die on him after a while. I think someone else did it as
> well.
I think it was unknown kernel.
Tallan wrote:
> I read about softmodding a 9800SE into a 9800Pro. Anyone tried this?
> Did it work?
Ive softmodded two 9800SE AIW cards, the first one softmodded almost perfectly, with only slight artifacting in games where there was light being reflected (the guys shades in the lobby game of 3dmark2001 for example). However this card died, whether due to my own misadventures or some manufacturing fault im not sure. So i RMA'ed it and got a replacement, however this one softmods like a kipper breakfast. There are artifacts even in windows.
You have to take a chance, if you NEED the power of a 9800pro then buy one, if you think a 9800SE would suffice and a successful softmod will be a bonus then you may as well try that instead. Just make sure you get the Hercules 9800SE AIW.
> Also, will an XP2500 be powerful enough?
After you overclock it, yeah. ;D
> I read about softmodding a 9800SE into a 9800Pro. Anyone tried this?
> Did it work?
Ive softmodded two 9800SE AIW cards, the first one softmodded almost perfectly, with only slight artifacting in games where there was light being reflected (the guys shades in the lobby game of 3dmark2001 for example). However this card died, whether due to my own misadventures or some manufacturing fault im not sure. So i RMA'ed it and got a replacement, however this one softmods like a kipper breakfast. There are artifacts even in windows.
You have to take a chance, if you NEED the power of a 9800pro then buy one, if you think a 9800SE would suffice and a successful softmod will be a bonus then you may as well try that instead. Just make sure you get the Hercules 9800SE AIW.
> Also, will an XP2500 be powerful enough?
After you overclock it, yeah. ;D
Cookie Monster successfully soft modded a 9800 SE. Although I believe it did die on him after a while. I think someone else did it as well.
RAM prices seem pretty stable at the moment to me, around £50 for 512 Mb of DDR400 TwinMOS stuff.
An Athlon 2500XP will be fine. Great processor actually, a favourite of overclockers as it is rather easy to make it run at 3200XP speeds.
RAM prices seem pretty stable at the moment to me, around £50 for 512 Mb of DDR400 TwinMOS stuff.
An Athlon 2500XP will be fine. Great processor actually, a favourite of overclockers as it is rather easy to make it run at 3200XP speeds.
And does anyone know if RAM prices have spiked in the last few weeks?
I read about softmodding a 9800SE into a 9800Pro. Anyone tried this? Did it work?
Also, will an XP2500 be powerful enough?
Also, will an XP2500 be powerful enough?
cookie monster wrote:
> Although if you can afford to i think you should stretch your budget
> to accomodate a 9800pro.
>
> Its really worth the extra money over the 9600.
Yeah a 9800 Pro would be a good investment. I have actually seen a brand new one for £155 which is alot cheaper than when I got my 9800 Pro 9 months ago for nearly £330 :(
> Although if you can afford to i think you should stretch your budget
> to accomodate a 9800pro.
>
> Its really worth the extra money over the 9600.
Yeah a 9800 Pro would be a good investment. I have actually seen a brand new one for £155 which is alot cheaper than when I got my 9800 Pro 9 months ago for nearly £330 :(
Although if you can afford to i think you should stretch your budget to accomodate a 9800pro.
Its really worth the extra money over the 9600.
Its really worth the extra money over the 9600.
Tallan wrote:
> So you would go for a better graphics and slightly better CPU (+RAM,
> mobo) over top end CPU (no graphics upgrade)?
Yes, because a decent AMD XP can be pretty cheap.
XP2500 = £50
Abit NF7 = £50
1Gb = £120 could be cheaper as I got 1Gb 9 months ago for less than £100 and its the same type as I looked at here.
You will then be able to get a 9600 XT 256mb card for about £120. This should give you a pretty decent gaming PC. If you want a PC to play games you do need to get rid of your 9000.
> So you would go for a better graphics and slightly better CPU (+RAM,
> mobo) over top end CPU (no graphics upgrade)?
Yes, because a decent AMD XP can be pretty cheap.
XP2500 = £50
Abit NF7 = £50
1Gb = £120 could be cheaper as I got 1Gb 9 months ago for less than £100 and its the same type as I looked at here.
You will then be able to get a 9600 XT 256mb card for about £120. This should give you a pretty decent gaming PC. If you want a PC to play games you do need to get rid of your 9000.
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