What will give a higher performance boost

ShawnD1 · September 28th, 2003, 06:05 AM

I've decided it's time to upgrade.....but what to upgrade to?
Remember, I want GAMING performance here.

Here is my current system
AthlonXP 1700+ (the core before thoroughbred. palamino was it?)
KT266A chipset (266mhz FSB that is)
GeForce FX5200 (non ultra)
1gb PC2700 ram

Now I can either get a faster CPU/mobo or I can get a faster video card.

mobo and CPU
Gigabyte 7N400-L (nforce 2) 400 FSB / 400mhz Dual DDR / 8X AGP / Lan
AMD Athlon XP 2500+ 333 FSB / 512KB Cache
total cost: about $200

I was looking for a review on the 9600 Pro at Anandtech when I found this article about the different video cards
http://anandtech.com/video/showdoc.html?i=1812&p=4
Remember that the Ti4800 is a tad faster than the Ti4600

video cards
GeForce4 Ti4800SE
Radeon 9500 Pro
Radeon 9600 Pro

Both changes are similar cost but which one gives a better performance boost? If the mobo and CPU gives more boost, is the difference really worth the trouble of replacing the CPU and mobo? (something I really hate doing).

DallasDon · September 28th, 2003, 06:33 AM

the wise guy move would be to buy an Nforce7-m (onboard video), And 2500+ Barton for 200.

Sell the current mobo/cpu/vid card bundle for cash, or trade for a T1 4200 or better.

good sized performance increase with room to grow.

IMO, at least

slinky · September 28th, 2003, 06:50 AM

Processor upgrade first, then try to trade that 5200 for a Ti 4200 or wait for something newer (i like to go by the skip a generation rule). too bad that 5200 you have isnt an ultra because i've heard from owners of it say it actually felt faster than a Ti 4200.

ShawnD1 · September 28th, 2003, 07:02 AM

Quote:

the wise guy move would be to buy an Nforce7-m (onboard video), And 2500+ Barton for 200.

Sell the current mobo/cpu/vid card bundle for cash, or trade for a T1 4200 or better.

I can't exactly sell my current setup because it's not worth anything. Go to Best Buy and you'll see an AthlonXP 2200+ (thoroughbred) on a motherboard about as fast as mine complete with a video card (integrated probably), hard drive and WindowsXP for like $400. I would have to sell my current setup for like $100 which is just a huge waste. It would be better use the old setup to upgrade my server.

Ok now, keeping in mind that I only have $200 and I absolutely can't sell anything I currently have, which upgrade would you choose?

Those guys who said the 5200 Ultra is faster than the 4200 are on crack. There isn't a benchmark out there that will support that theory.

twiztidtruckie · September 28th, 2003, 08:05 AM

IMO:

Truckie says, go get yourself atleats a XP-2400+ AMD CPU, and a K7S5A MoBo for a total of 127$ shipped through www.newegg.com since its a gaming machine (thered be no REAL need for ocing) so that setupo should do just fine. I agree with DON that you should then sell your current setup here (cause id take it for the right price) and go grab a nice vid card for the extra 73$ and what you make on the sale for the video card upgrade. Youll be in good gaming shape for a good while.

Good Luck!

Truckie

uethello · September 28th, 2003, 08:35 AM

In answer to your actual question: the video card will definitely give a bigger boost than any CPU you can get for $200. Particularly with your qualification of "gaming performance". I'm an nVidia man, but the 9500 Pro looks like a fantastic deal right now.

**Whir** · September 28th, 2003, 09:48 AM

Don't bother upgrading your CPU. A 1700+ will work fine for any game on the market. I went from a Duron 900 @ 1066 to a 2100+ and barely noticed a difference in games. I felt it the most in DirectX games like Dungeon Siege. Neverwinter Nights hardly blinked. Unreal 2 was a little faster. I doubt you'd see any appreciable difference unless you went to a 3000+ or higher and a 333Mhz FSB. But that's just my opinion.

As for video cards, the 9500 is still the top performer in most things compared to the other two. Ti4600 beats it on a few things, but is not DX9 compliant. I didn't have any trouble with my 9500 Pro and the KT266A chipset (it doesn't like my nForce chip combined with my power supply though for some odd reason). They are a bit power hungry (have their own power connection via floppy four pin power), but tear up games. I went from a Ti4200 to the 9500 Pro and it was a HUGE difference.

I'm far from being anti-nVidia (I loved my Ti4200), but Radeons are just the way to go right now it seems (I've done a fair bit of research regarding them due to some technical difficulties I had with mine - as seen above).

If you decide to go with a Ti4800, I'm sure you won't regret that either.

BTW, my old gaming system was that 2100+ Palomino, 512 PC2100, and a KT266a. Ran everything just fine.

ShawnD1 · September 28th, 2003, 05:56 PM

Quote:

Originally posted by twiztidtruckie
Truckie says, go get yourself atleats a XP-2400+ AMD CPU, and a K7S5A MoBo for a total of 127$ shipped through www.newegg.com

How did you come up with that price? I can't find a mobo with nforce2 chipset and 400mhz bus for less than $80. 2400+ are out of the question because they are Thoroughbreds, I want a Barton. The retail 2500+ (Barton) costs $90. Total cost: $170 + shipping.

Quote:

Don't bother upgrading your CPU. A 1700+ will work fine for any game on the market. I went from a Duron 900 @ 1066 to a 2100+ and barely noticed a difference in games

slinky · September 28th, 2003, 08:26 PM

video card performance is quite dependant on the processor speed as benchmarks show, so there's another thought to keep in mind.

speedyvision · September 28th, 2003, 08:42 PM

go with the new processor and mobo then sell the old ones and ur vid card and depending on how much u get try to get urself a radeon 9600 or an fx 5600, thats wat i would do