thinking of upgradeing, but will it be worth it

Dark Lord · Oct 13, 2007, 09:04 PM

heres where im at right now...

i have a S754 3200+ (clawhammer), 1gig DDR400, and an X1950XT (agp)

im looking at switching to an S939 mobo and getting an X2 42/4400+.

im all over the place in what i play, Dawn of War, Team Fortress 2, CSS, Oblivion, Crysis, so on and so forth. i try and play everything at 1600x1200 also. (i know the upgrade still wont let me play crysis at 1600x1200)

**temeteus82** · Oct 13, 2007, 09:38 PM

If you got the money you would go to core 2 duo and DDR2 ram. But that would mean PCI-E gfx if you aren't going to asrocks boards.

Dark Lord · Oct 13, 2007, 09:41 PM

i had looked at that, but the s939 mobo and cpu would only cost me about 100-120.00, where as the C2d processor costs more then that alone. plus then i would need ddr2, as you mentioned.

basicly im trying to find out if this 120 dollar upgrade would actually make enough of a difference to warrent it. im hopeing that itll give me another 12-18 months before i do need to go with a whole new system.

Grace · Oct 13, 2007, 11:00 PM

I think that you should stick to what you currently have. A processor upgrade of this class will not help your framerates by any substantial percentage. If all you care about is gaming, you will currently waste your money with that kind of upgrade.

You should stick to what you have, compromise with lower resolutions where necessary and then in 1-1.5 year to build something new, just like you mentioned.

BlueMak · Oct 14, 2007, 12:52 AM

I don't know if your current CPU will be enough for games released a year+ from now. If you play games like Crysis, I don't see it handling them. There are already games out that require speeds of ~2800 from a single core CPU and IIRC the 3200 is lower than that and single core, right?

The graphics card you have is good enough for now and the near future.

The X2 4400 should be ok for another year.
If you are going to have enough money to buy a new system in 1-1.5 years, then I would say to do the upgrade now.
If the money you will spend in 1-1.5 year is going to be very limited, then you might as well take your chances and keep your current system as it is and keep the $120 for that upgrade/system.

Dark Lord · Oct 14, 2007, 02:01 AM

yup, the 3200+ is clocked at 2.0.

ive noticed that most the games im playing right now that strugle at 1600x1200, its only by 5-10fps for the most part, and i would think/hope that the new cpu would give me that little boost i need.

the money isnt an issue, i just want to hold out as long as i can. (my old computer lasted me 6 years. was a Pentium 3 @ 667mhz, 512megs of ram, and a TNT2 Ultra.)

BlueMak · Oct 14, 2007, 03:11 AM

Well the games that require from 2.3 to 2.8 say they require that speed for single core CPUs and usualy there is no limit for dual core (yet).

If money is not an issue and you just like to not spend much, then I would say go for it. It should last you for another year+ till the DX10.x games start pouring out and you "require" to get another graphics card.

EDIT: By "go for it" I mean the upgrade to the X2 4400. BTW, I would suggest getting one more GB of RAM if you can find one cheap.

Dark Lord · Oct 14, 2007, 03:41 AM

2x512 unfortunatly. unless i can slap a 1gig into the 3rd slot... not sure how that works out for the overall performance though.

damn it, nothing is easy for me. i just realised that my mobo doesnt have onboard video. i was going to give this to my parents and sell their old socket A and 2600+ (damn things suprisingly go for 50+ on ebay. a S754 mobo/cpu combo seems to go for less then 20 for some reason)

BlueMak · Oct 14, 2007, 08:46 AM

If you sell their mainboard and CPU, you whould get enough money for a cheap graphics card.

Matth · Oct 14, 2007, 06:38 PM

With 2x 512MB modules, you'd have to load a S939 with 4x 512MB or 2x 1GB as a memory upgrade, though the 2x 512MB dual banked would increase memory bandwidth.

The "all slots loaded" penalty is at least a switch to 2T command rate, unless the modules are all single sided, so 4x 512 has its drawbacks. Pretty sure the AMD can't balance 2 512's with a 1GB, though some Intel chipsets do have that capability.

Are you overclocked already, are you planning to overclock the X2 ?

Dark Lord · Oct 14, 2007, 07:58 PM

na, i stay away from overclocking, with the exception of my video card. i just set that to the factory recomended OC with CCC. i took the core from 648 to 675.

im pretty sure i can snag an older video card from one of my friends for next to nothing, so that takes care of that problem.

so now i just need one last thing. a good motherboard, S939, AGP, DDR, and preferably SPDIF out (optical)

any one got any suggestions of where i should start looking?

so far im looking at,
Abit AV8

Asus A8V deluxe

DFI LANPARTY UT nF3 ULTRA-3
DFI NF3 ULTRA-DAGF

MSI K8T Neo2-F
MSI K8T Neo2-FIR

Soltek
SL-K8TPro-939

BlueMak · Oct 14, 2007, 08:30 PM

Well, I had a DFI lanparty that was very good, but it would be an overkill IMO. Still, I like DFI boards so you might want to have a look there. EVGA has some good boards too, but don't know if you can find a s939 anymore, new one that is.

Dark Lord · Oct 14, 2007, 10:00 PM

im leaning towards the Asus A8V Deluxe or one of its variants. looks like theres quite afew on ebay and they can be had for about 35 bucks.

so, heres how things are looking.

Asus A8V Deluxe, X2 4400+ (oem), and an Arctic Cooling Freezer 64 pro.

final system will be,
A8V deluxe
x2 4400+
X1950XT
2x512 DDR400
Antec Neo HE 550

if i all goes right, i hope to have it ordered in a few days.

also some time in the future ill be going to 2x1gig, over the 2x512 in it right now.

Dark Lord · Oct 18, 2007, 11:16 PM

just picked up an Asus A8V Deluxe.

was going to pick up an x2 4800+ (oem) and artic freezer pro 64 this evening, but nooooo. newegg dropped the 4800 this afternoon and no one else carries them.

back to looking for a 44/4600.

Dark Lord · Oct 21, 2007, 04:03 AM

and i just bought a cpu. actually... 3 of them.

3 x2 4800+s from Directron (only place that had them in stock) for 119.00 each.

ill be keeping 1 for my self and selling the other 2 on ebay. they all go for 160+, some of them even reaching over 200.00. ill be able to pay off most of the cpu this way, or even make a little extra cash.

Oct 13, 2007, 09:04 PM	#1
Dark Lord HardwareHeaven Extreme Member Join Date: Jul 2004 Location: Grand Rapids, MI Posts: 5,945 Rep Power: 125 System Specs	thinking of upgradeing, but will it be worth it heres where im at right now... i have a S754 3200+ (clawhammer), 1gig DDR400, and an X1950XT (agp) im looking at switching to an S939 mobo and getting an X2 42/4400+. im all over the place in what i play, Dawn of War, Team Fortress 2, CSS, Oblivion, Crysis, so on and so forth. i try and play everything at 1600x1200 also. (i know the upgrade still wont let me play crysis at 1600x1200) __________________

Oct 13, 2007, 09:41 PM	Thread Starter #3
Dark Lord HardwareHeaven Extreme Member Join Date: Jul 2004 Location: Grand Rapids, MI Posts: 5,945 Rep Power: 125 System Specs	i had looked at that, but the s939 mobo and cpu would only cost me about 100-120.00, where as the C2d processor costs more then that alone. plus then i would need ddr2, as you mentioned. basicly im trying to find out if this 120 dollar upgrade would actually make enough of a difference to warrent it. im hopeing that itll give me another 12-18 months before i do need to go with a whole new system. __________________

Oct 14, 2007, 12:52 AM	#5
BlueMak HH's Asteroids' Dominator Join Date: Nov 2004 Location: Hellas->Macedonia->Thessaloniki Posts: 13,465 Rep Power: 349 System Specs	I don't know if your current CPU will be enough for games released a year+ from now. If you play games like Crysis, I don't see it handling them. There are already games out that require speeds of ~2800 from a single core CPU and IIRC the 3200 is lower than that and single core, right? The graphics card you have is good enough for now and the near future. The X2 4400 should be ok for another year. If you are going to have enough money to buy a new system in 1-1.5 years, then I would say to do the upgrade now. If the money you will spend in 1-1.5 year is going to be very limited, then you might as well take your chances and keep your current system as it is and keep the $120 for that upgrade/system. __________________ The people who are regarded as moral luminaries are those who forego ordinary pleasures themselves and find compensation in interfering with the pleasures of others(Bertrand Russell)"You go into Afghanistan, you got guys who slap women around for five years because they didn't wear a veil,You know, guys like that ain't got no manhood left anyway. So it's a hell of a lot of fun to shoot them." - Lt. Gen. James N. Mattis This is slavery, not to speak one's thought. [Euripides-The Phoenician Women (c.411-409 B.C.)] http://www.macedonia.info/FALLACIESANDFACTS.htm *Sic semper tyrannis.*

Oct 14, 2007, 02:01 AM	Thread Starter #6
Dark Lord HardwareHeaven Extreme Member Join Date: Jul 2004 Location: Grand Rapids, MI Posts: 5,945 Rep Power: 125 System Specs	yup, the 3200+ is clocked at 2.0. ive noticed that most the games im playing right now that strugle at 1600x1200, its only by 5-10fps for the most part, and i would think/hope that the new cpu would give me that little boost i need. the money isnt an issue, i just want to hold out as long as i can. (my old computer lasted me 6 years. was a Pentium 3 @ 667mhz, 512megs of ram, and a TNT2 Ultra.) __________________

Oct 14, 2007, 03:11 AM	#7
BlueMak HH's Asteroids' Dominator Join Date: Nov 2004 Location: Hellas->Macedonia->Thessaloniki Posts: 13,465 Rep Power: 349 System Specs	Well the games that require from 2.3 to 2.8 say they require that speed for single core CPUs and usualy there is no limit for dual core (yet). If money is not an issue and you just like to not spend much, then I would say go for it. It should last you for another year+ till the DX10.x games start pouring out and you "require" to get another graphics card. EDIT: By "go for it" I mean the upgrade to the X2 4400. BTW, I would suggest getting one more GB of RAM if you can find one cheap. __________________ The people who are regarded as moral luminaries are those who forego ordinary pleasures themselves and find compensation in interfering with the pleasures of others(Bertrand Russell)"You go into Afghanistan, you got guys who slap women around for five years because they didn't wear a veil,You know, guys like that ain't got no manhood left anyway. So it's a hell of a lot of fun to shoot them." - Lt. Gen. James N. Mattis This is slavery, not to speak one's thought. [Euripides-The Phoenician Women (c.411-409 B.C.)] http://www.macedonia.info/FALLACIESANDFACTS.htm *Sic semper tyrannis.*

Oct 13, 2007, 11:00 PM	#4
Grace HH's Tomboy Join Date: Nov 2005 Location: Anywhere but in my house! Posts: 776 Rep Power: 56	I think that you should stick to what you currently have. A processor upgrade of this class will not help your framerates by any substantial percentage. If all you care about is gaming, you will currently waste your money with that kind of upgrade. You should stick to what you have, compromise with lower resolutions where necessary and then in 1-1.5 year to build something new, just like you mentioned.

Oct 14, 2007, 03:41 AM	Thread Starter #8
Dark Lord HardwareHeaven Extreme Member Join Date: Jul 2004 Location: Grand Rapids, MI Posts: 5,945 Rep Power: 125 System Specs	2x512 unfortunatly. unless i can slap a 1gig into the 3rd slot... not sure how that works out for the overall performance though. damn it, nothing is easy for me. i just realised that my mobo doesnt have onboard video. i was going to give this to my parents and sell their old socket A and 2600+ (damn things suprisingly go for 50+ on ebay. a S754 mobo/cpu combo seems to go for less then 20 for some reason) __________________ Last edited by Dark Lord; Oct 14, 2007 at 06:32 AM.

Oct 14, 2007, 08:46 AM	#9
BlueMak HH's Asteroids' Dominator Join Date: Nov 2004 Location: Hellas->Macedonia->Thessaloniki Posts: 13,465 Rep Power: 349 System Specs	If you sell their mainboard and CPU, you whould get enough money for a cheap graphics card. __________________ The people who are regarded as moral luminaries are those who forego ordinary pleasures themselves and find compensation in interfering with the pleasures of others(Bertrand Russell)"You go into Afghanistan, you got guys who slap women around for five years because they didn't wear a veil,You know, guys like that ain't got no manhood left anyway. So it's a hell of a lot of fun to shoot them." - Lt. Gen. James N. Mattis This is slavery, not to speak one's thought. [Euripides-The Phoenician Women (c.411-409 B.C.)] http://www.macedonia.info/FALLACIESANDFACTS.htm *Sic semper tyrannis.*

Oct 14, 2007, 06:38 PM	#10
Matth Flash Banner Hater Join Date: Jun 2002 Location: UK Posts: 3,426 Rep Power: 93 System Specs	With 2x 512MB modules, you'd have to load a S939 with 4x 512MB or 2x 1GB as a memory upgrade, though the 2x 512MB dual banked would increase memory bandwidth. The "all slots loaded" penalty is at least a switch to 2T command rate, unless the modules are all single sided, so 4x 512 has its drawbacks. Pretty sure the AMD can't balance 2 512's with a 1GB, though some Intel chipsets do have that capability. Are you overclocked already, are you planning to overclock the X2 ? __________________ Mary had a little lamb, Her father shot it dead Now Mary takes her lamb to school, Between two crusts of bread Last edited by Matth; Oct 14, 2007 at 06:44 PM.

Oct 14, 2007, 07:58 PM	Thread Starter #11
Dark Lord HardwareHeaven Extreme Member Join Date: Jul 2004 Location: Grand Rapids, MI Posts: 5,945 Rep Power: 125 System Specs	na, i stay away from overclocking, with the exception of my video card. i just set that to the factory recomended OC with CCC. i took the core from 648 to 675. im pretty sure i can snag an older video card from one of my friends for next to nothing, so that takes care of that problem. so now i just need one last thing. a good motherboard, S939, AGP, DDR, and preferably SPDIF out (optical) any one got any suggestions of where i should start looking? so far im looking at, Abit AV8 Asus A8V deluxe DFI LANPARTY UT nF3 ULTRA-3 DFI NF3 ULTRA-DAGF MSI K8T Neo2-F MSI K8T Neo2-FIR Soltek SL-K8TPro-939 __________________ Last edited by Dark Lord; Oct 14, 2007 at 09:33 PM.

Oct 14, 2007, 08:30 PM	#12
BlueMak HH's Asteroids' Dominator Join Date: Nov 2004 Location: Hellas->Macedonia->Thessaloniki Posts: 13,465 Rep Power: 349 System Specs	Well, I had a DFI lanparty that was very good, but it would be an overkill IMO. Still, I like DFI boards so you might want to have a look there. EVGA has some good boards too, but don't know if you can find a s939 anymore, new one that is. __________________ The people who are regarded as moral luminaries are those who forego ordinary pleasures themselves and find compensation in interfering with the pleasures of others(Bertrand Russell)"You go into Afghanistan, you got guys who slap women around for five years because they didn't wear a veil,You know, guys like that ain't got no manhood left anyway. So it's a hell of a lot of fun to shoot them." - Lt. Gen. James N. Mattis This is slavery, not to speak one's thought. [Euripides-The Phoenician Women (c.411-409 B.C.)] http://www.macedonia.info/FALLACIESANDFACTS.htm *Sic semper tyrannis.*

Oct 14, 2007, 10:00 PM	Thread Starter #13
Dark Lord HardwareHeaven Extreme Member Join Date: Jul 2004 Location: Grand Rapids, MI Posts: 5,945 Rep Power: 125 System Specs	im leaning towards the Asus A8V Deluxe or one of its variants. looks like theres quite afew on ebay and they can be had for about 35 bucks. so, heres how things are looking. Asus A8V Deluxe, X2 4400+ (oem), and an Arctic Cooling Freezer 64 pro. final system will be, A8V deluxe x2 4400+ X1950XT 2x512 DDR400 Antec Neo HE 550 if i all goes right, i hope to have it ordered in a few days. also some time in the future ill be going to 2x1gig, over the 2x512 in it right now. __________________ Last edited by Dark Lord; Oct 15, 2007 at 05:04 AM.

Oct 18, 2007, 11:16 PM	Thread Starter #14
Dark Lord HardwareHeaven Extreme Member Join Date: Jul 2004 Location: Grand Rapids, MI Posts: 5,945 Rep Power: 125 System Specs	just picked up an Asus A8V Deluxe. was going to pick up an x2 4800+ (oem) and artic freezer pro 64 this evening, but nooooo. newegg dropped the 4800 this afternoon and no one else carries them. back to looking for a 44/4600. __________________

Oct 21, 2007, 04:03 AM	Thread Starter #15
Dark Lord HardwareHeaven Extreme Member Join Date: Jul 2004 Location: Grand Rapids, MI Posts: 5,945 Rep Power: 125 System Specs	and i just bought a cpu. actually... 3 of them. 3 x2 4800+s from Directron (only place that had them in stock) for 119.00 each. ill be keeping 1 for my self and selling the other 2 on ebay. they all go for 160+, some of them even reaching over 200.00. ill be able to pay off most of the cpu this way, or even make a little extra cash. __________________