The CPU/GPU jungle

[leonardo]

Ok, here’s the thing. I have a little money to spend so I thought I’d do a well needed upgrade.
All I have at the moment is a AMD 2800 XP, 1024Mb DDR and a Ati Radeon 9200. My plan was to get myself an Intel P4 (3.2 or 3.4 Ghz) or a comparable AMD 64 3400+ since they are both pretty reasonably priced. That way I can keep the rest and upgrade RAM & HDD later on. If i got it right the p4 3.2 and the AMD 64 3400+ performance is quite similar. I have to look around more before I decide which one to choose.

I’ve been reading a whole lot about new graphics cards just to realize it’s a pretty complicated subject. There are so many things to consider; manufacturer, GPU type/clockspeed, memory type/speed, power requirements, size, and price. From what I’ve read and heard I’ve finally narrowed it down to nVidia 6 series. Even though ATI is slightly better for Half Life 2, nVidia seems superior in many other tests. For the brand I thought about ASUS because of a general feeling of trust. After this my headache got even worse.

6800 Gamers Edition 256 DDR3 (according to their specs, it’s 25% faster than other 6800 cards)
6800 GT 256Mb GDDR (!)
6800 Ultra 256Mb GDDR3

Is the 6800 GT GPU a lot better than the regular 6800 one? I guess one reason that I’m so confused is that the cheaper Gamers Edition has DDR3, while the GT has regular DDR. According to the specs both cards clock at the same speeds (except for the superior memory speed in GE). Which one should I go for? The difference in price is small and doesn’t matter to me. The fastest Ultra card is quite a leap up in both price and power usage, so I put that option aside for now. Any opinions, tips or links on this is very much welcome. Also if you feel I’m looking in the wrong direction with all of my hardware choices, feel free to tell me. I haven’t been following the gaming evolution for quite some time. I'm interested in a nice gaming system that works just as well as a everyday tool that won't cost me a fortune.

Thank you for your time

 

[[Matt]]

ASUS are rather annoyingly calling their normal 6800 card the GT which is totally wrong as it confuses customers who believe they are getting a better card than what they bought. The Asus gamers edition is the one to go for out of those two as its best 12 pipeline regular 6800 card on the market. Since it has GDDR3 memory ASUS can clock thememory much higher so that the gamers edition runs at 1000MHz instead of 700MHz. However for just a little more you could buy a proper 6800GT with the full 16 pixel pipelines instead of the 12 pixel pipeline gamers edition.

So just to recap. Go for a proper 6800GT not the asus one. Make sure its clocked at 350MHz core and 1000MHz memory. Also make sure its the full 16 pixel pipeline card and NOT a card with only 12 Pixel pipelines as it will be about 20% slower. My own recommendation would be to go with an XFX 6800GT as they are the best Nvidia partner out there right now. XFX cards are superb overclockers!

I also notice your looking at the 3400+ amd? I wouldnt recommend that option as its a socket 754 solution which doesn't support dual channel and AMD will not be producing new CPU's for that platform other than budget sempron CPU's. If you decide to upgrade your CPU later on you will not be able to use faster than a 3700+ which will be a pretty much worthless upgrade. I would recommend you go for a socket 939 motherboard along with either a 3200+ or 3500+ winchester core depending on what you can afford. AMD will be supporting socket 939 for a good 18 months yet, possibly up to 5000+ speeds!

 

[RogueFox]

I suggest this combo which has the 939 socket AMD64 3500. Saves about $40. There is a couple of switches you need to adjust on the mobo but I have 2 friends who bought it and say it runs awesome.

Get the 16 pipeline card its far superior hands down. And who told you a P4 is comparable to a AMD64? They lied.

 

[leonardo]

Thanks for the quick replies. You cleared up a lot of things for me. I'll go for the 939 socket and look at the graphics card you mentioned.

Rogue, I saw benchmarks on a AMD64 3400+ against a P4 3.2Ghz. Even though AMD ran most games better, the P4 had a few advantages (link).
I guess I'm old fashioned, but I think I'm beginning to accept this shiny 64 bit technology.

Deciding these kind of things are hard for me.
I really appreciate that you explain what you have learned.

 

[goss]

Don't you just love Tom's Hardware Guide

 

[RogueFox]

Shoot forgot to put up the link!

http://www.zipzoomfly.com/jsp/ProductDetail.jsp?ProductCode=80717-R-240412


I just looked at the price of a P4 Extreme Edtion which is what that benchmark says it used and that thing is almost a $1000!

http://www.zipzoomfly.com/jsp/ProductDetail.jsp?ProductCode=80667


For that money you need to be running it against the FX-55 which would blow its doors off.

 

[goss]

TBH i think you should go for the AMD 64 3400+ instead of a P4. Becuase then your set for the future. "Bring on teh windowz 64 bit".

goss,

 

[X|Rolando]

yes go for the 939 socket and youll have an easier time upgrading in the future

 

[goss]

yes go for the 939 socket and youll have an easier time upgrading in the future

What he said... Like only the top notch amd 64's only use 939sock's at the mo right!?

 

[[Matt]]

What he said... Like only the top notch amd 64's only use 939sock's at the mo right!?

yes... any new releases on the socket 754 platform will be budget CPU's such as the sempron...

 

[leonardo]

Great feedback! I can't afford it all at once so I'll probably wait for my next paycheck. I'm very excited but not in a hurry. At least now I know what I want. But the first thing I'm going to do is make a little donation and try push my materialistic wishes aside for a moment. Following the news these last couple of days has really been depressing. And also a reminder of what's really important in our lives.

 

[Sanius]

XFX cards are superb overclockers!

haha, coolbits let me rise my speed up by 1 mhz before it said "omfg stop!!". and this is a 6800 XFX..btw, is 350/700 a good speed? thats what it came with.
:imu:

 

[leonardo]

An Antec Truepower 480 W should suit my needs fine right?
I can't seem to find any information on how many dedicated molex connectors any PSUs have. Does anyone have knowledge about this?

teh plan:
AMD 64 3500+
6800 (plain or GT) - require 1-2 dedicated molex
2 optical drives - share molex
1 or 2 HDD drives - share or dedicated ?

Btw, SATA motherboards still have IDE connectors too right?

 

[[Matt]]

haha, coolbits let me rise my speed up by 1 mhz before it said "omfg stop!!". and this is a 6800 XFX..btw, is 350/700 a good speed? thats what it came with.
:imu:

Its possible you may need to volt mod the card...