ATI Radeon 9800 Pro

[Lawnmower233]

I need a new graphics card for Half-life 2: Aftermath that's coming out soon. I currently have:

ATI Radeon 9000 GFX Card
512MB of System RAM
2.53GHz CPU

Firstly, I need a few new sticks of RAM. I hope to bring it up to 1.5GB of System RAM. I need to find out what type my system takes. I have a HP Pavilon running Windows xP. So would anyone know what type of motherboard chipset that system is usually designed for as I haven't modified it. So the type of RAM should be the same for all HP Pavilons as they have the same motherboard? I don't know much about this. Any help would be appreciated.

Secondly, would any of you experts P) know if I sould bother investing in a Pentium 4 with 3.2Ghz of CPU power? Or can I just make due with a 2.53Ghz CPU for the time being with Aftermath and later games? I hear they are making more GPU intensive games rather draining the CPU speed more. Is this true?

And Lastly, the real important question. For a new graphics card should I aim for an old one like the ATI Radeon 9800 Pro, etc. or aim forthe top of the market, like the ATI Radeon X800 / X1K range? I don't know much about Gfx cards. Which one would be the more wise investment?

 

[furiousV]

Buying another 512MB stick of RAM should do fine.

Your CPU is a bit weak though, Lost Coast asked for a 2.9GHz or so
If you are considering getting a new CPU, you might as well get yourself a 64bit system, which would involve a new motherboard. If you do that, you might need to get yourself a new case.

If you go for a X800 then your current Pentium 4 will bottleneck its performance. I would look into a 6600 AGP, don't me ask how well it will cope with HDR though.

Your best friend, CPU-Z will tell you very useful information about your motherboard, CPU, RAM and graphics card.

I have a P4 2.8, 1GB RAM and 9800 Pro
Lost Coast works fine with HDR o
n, I assume it should also do for Aftermath.

 

[Lawnmower233]

Thank you. So I might as well just get a new computer? New motherboard, new gfx card, new CPU, new Ram. Only thing thatll be left original is the drives and the soundcard hehe. How customizable are HP Pavilons anyways? Would I need to get a my mom's friend (i think hes like a computer repair specialist or something) to install all the stuff except the RAM (the ram seems simple enough)? Any help will be appreciated.

EDIT: Thanks for the CPU-Z. I used to have something similar. Seems like my RAm is the DDR-SMRAM version. So I'll get another stick of that type.
The motherboard is A Hewlett-Packard HP system board,
with an Intel i845G Chip Set and
with an Intel 82801DB (ICH4) southbridge [whatever all this means is beyond me ]

So would I have to get a new 64-bit HP motherboard to work correctly with my Hp Pavilon? Or does it matter at all? And if I get a new one will I need a new type of RAm or will it still be DDR-SMRAM?

Is a 6600 AGP a processor? In CPU-Z it says somethign about my Graphics card being AGP. Is the 6600 AGP a graphics card?

 

[SubKamran]

I don't know if you can salvage a HP case... I think it's all propietary, meaning if you get a new mobo the switches and lights won't be compatible.

It's easier to just get a new case and transfer removable components into it.

For video card, I have a 9800 Pro, 3.06Ghz, 1GB RAM, and Lost Coast works well no AA, 16xAF and all settings high (800x600)

Really, if you want a good video card... it's better to get a PCIx motherboard because that's what all the new cards will be from now on. I will be upgrading very soon, maybe next month to 64-bit.

 

[furiousV]

Depends how much money you got to spend

 

[Lawnmower233]

I might give this one to my parents and get a new Dell one. You can get them custom built right? So I can request the 64-bit PCIx Motherboard the ATI Radeon x800 GFX Card and like 1gb of RAM and they'll give it to me along with a new computer? Right? Because if they don't, it's stupid advertise that you can customize it then. So does that mean I can get anything I want built into a dell?

Or could I just go for one of those machines that are especially for gaming?

 

[giant384]

I might give this one to my parents and get a new Dell one. You can get them custom built right? So I can request the 64-bit PCIx Motherboard the ATI Radeon x800 GFX Card and like 1gb of RAM and they'll give it to me along with a new computer? Right? Because if they don't, it's stupid advertise that you can customize it then. So does that mean I can get anything I want built into a dell?

Or could I just go for one of those machines that are especially for gaming?

no you cant get anything its alot better if your go with ibuypower there more customizable then dell. also dell only does P4 cpus

 

[Dynasty]

9800pro = great value dx9 card, i mean £90ish for a dx9 card that will be happy(ish) with today's games? pfft excellent. im running FEAR on 1024 res, max everything except a few light, decal details, which are on medium. i get about 20-30fps, sure thats not great, and it drops to 10 for a few secs somtimes, but its bloody well playable and looks great....surprised at how WoW of all games gets to 15fps in a few rare areas...ahem...

got a 2800+ cpu and 1gig of RAM. 9800pros are great...however you can snatch up an x800 pe (or x800xt pe or something) for around £150, which is an AMAZING card. more than capable of running tomorrow's games without being strained. you need a slightly beefy cpu to help it though, we're talking a 3200+ (almost definitely a 64-bit), if you want to get its full potential. 1gig of RAM is more than adequate too nowadays.