Upgrade advice plz :)

**Mugzy** · 07-20-2007, 11:57 AM

Ok, I currently have an AMD XP 3000+, 2 gig ram and an ati xt800gto(agp).

It will be a while still till I can upgrade my whole system to get pci-e support, so I am wondering how much of an preformance boost I will get by upgrading my video card to a ati 1950pro.

Any thoughts?

Thanks,

Mugzy

**Sarcoma** · 07-20-2007, 01:22 PM

First question:Whats your budget? answer this before you shoppe.

I track prices with http://www.pricewatch.com/ (Purchase only from well rated sellers!!)

Take a look at http://www.anandtech.com/ or another page like it for hardware reviews. Anandtech is my favorite as the articles are well written and include lots of graphs. Just search the article database for the cards you looking at.

let us know what your looking at spending.

Sarcoma

**Mugzy** · 07-20-2007, 02:46 PM

My budget is $250 max.

I may be able to get a new mb/cpu and a cheap pci-e card for that. Or I could get a very good AGP card.

Acreo Aeneas · 07-20-2007, 04:48 PM

www.tomshardware.com

Check the VGA Charts for 2006/2007.

You should get a rough idea of how much of a performance boost you'll get from the x1950 Pro over the x800 Pro you currently use.

And for $250, you have quite a bit of choice imo.

msdz · 07-20-2007, 05:41 PM

If you are just wanting to upgrade the video card this would be my choice.
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16814161082
Although I have had nothing but bad luck out of my ATI X800XT All in Wonder. Drivers keep needing reinstalled about every 2 weeks. Anyway, maybe that will hold you over till you can afford to do a major upgrade as I plan on doing. I have an Athlon XP 3000+ also with only 1.5Gb of RAM though.

Mosatii · 07-22-2007, 04:00 PM

You really need to upgrade both your CPU and GPU. Otherwise, you're going to wind up with a pretty nasty bottleneck. Another factor to take into consideration is your PSU; a lack of power could cause a plethora of problems (and that card is a hog).

It's hard to say what kind of improvement you would see with just the one upgrade.

Maus · 07-24-2007, 09:17 PM

On a related note, since my question is pretty similar:

When I got my new PC (Dual core E6400, 2Gb RAM) I popped a budget-ish video card into it (x1650 Pro) figuring it'd be better to wait til DX10 cards were more common before treating myself to a better one. Now I find myself looking at the ATI x2900 and the 640Mb 8800 GTS and wondering if it's time to upgrade, and whether I'd honestly see much of a performance boost. Any thoughts?

2 Para · 07-24-2007, 09:23 PM

Yes i have the X1650, which came with the computer to start with. For now i dont see a need in upgrading, it plays 2142 fine and all of my memory rich programs like pinnacle.

=Sarc= · 07-24-2007, 10:50 PM

Well, I wouldn't get the X2900. It seems to use far too much power for the performance you get. It needs 2 power connectors compared to 1 for the 8800GTS.

I'd also wait for the 2nd gen cards if possible since you don't seem to upgrade often. The first round of cards have barely been benched with X10 compatible games. The few games that have been tested don't run that well either.

Maus · 07-25-2007, 07:13 AM

All righty - just the kind of advice I wanted, thanks! +rep

07-20-2007, 11:57 AM	#1 (permalink)
Mugzy Join Date: Oct 2006 Location: Frisco, Texas Posts: 145	Upgrade advice plz :) Ok, I currently have an AMD XP 3000+, 2 gig ram and an ati xt800gto(agp). It will be a while still till I can upgrade my whole system to get pci-e support, so I am wondering how much of an preformance boost I will get by upgrading my video card to a ati 1950pro. Any thoughts? Thanks, Mugzy __________________ When you can't run, you walk. When you can't walk, you crawl and when you can't do that, you get someone to carry you. Add me to Xfire

07-20-2007, 01:22 PM	#2 (permalink)
Sarcoma Join Date: Jul 2005 Location: San Francisco Age: 36 Posts: 543	Re: Upgrade advice plz :) First question:Whats your budget? answer this before you shoppe. I track prices with http://www.pricewatch.com/ (Purchase only from well rated sellers!!) Take a look at http://www.anandtech.com/ or another page like it for hardware reviews. Anandtech is my favorite as the articles are well written and include lots of graphs. Just search the article database for the cards you looking at. let us know what your looking at spending. Sarcoma __________________ Sarcoma.

07-20-2007, 02:46 PM	#3 (permalink)
Mugzy Join Date: Oct 2006 Location: Frisco, Texas Posts: 145	Re: Upgrade advice plz :) My budget is $250 max. I may be able to get a new mb/cpu and a cheap pci-e card for that. Or I could get a very good AGP card. __________________ When you can't run, you walk. When you can't walk, you crawl and when you can't do that, you get someone to carry you. Add me to Xfire

07-20-2007, 04:48 PM	#4 (permalink)
Acreo Aeneas Join Date: Nov 2006 Location: DePaul University (Chicago) Age: 22 Posts: 4,006	Re: Upgrade advice plz :) www.tomshardware.com Check the VGA Charts for 2006/2007. You should get a rough idea of how much of a performance boost you'll get from the x1950 Pro over the x800 Pro you currently use. And for $250, you have quite a bit of choice imo. __________________ Acreo_Aeneas Former 9th Member "People usually see me and ask if I speak Chinese. I respond by asking if they speak American." "Tomorrow's high-end tech today? Why bother, it'll be old when tomorrow arrives anyways."

07-20-2007, 05:41 PM	#5 (permalink)
msdz Join Date: Nov 2006 Location: WV Age: 36 Posts: 775	Re: Upgrade advice plz :) If you are just wanting to upgrade the video card this would be my choice. http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16814161082 Although I have had nothing but bad luck out of my ATI X800XT All in Wonder. Drivers keep needing reinstalled about every 2 weeks. Anyway, maybe that will hold you over till you can afford to do a major upgrade as I plan on doing. I have an Athlon XP 3000+ also with only 1.5Gb of RAM though. __________________

07-22-2007, 04:00 PM	#6 (permalink)
Mosatii Join Date: Jul 2005 Location: Philadelphia Posts: 140	Re: Upgrade advice plz :) You really need to upgrade both your CPU and GPU. Otherwise, you're going to wind up with a pretty nasty bottleneck. Another factor to take into consideration is your PSU; a lack of power could cause a plethora of problems (and that card is a hog). It's hard to say what kind of improvement you would see with just the one upgrade. __________________ \|Xfire: Mosatii \|Xbox: Mosati \|BF2 : CoH : ArmA : INS

07-24-2007, 09:17 PM	#7 (permalink)
Maus Join Date: Dec 2005 Location: Chicago, IL Posts: 326	Re: Upgrade advice plz :) On a related note, since my question is pretty similar: When I got my new PC (Dual core E6400, 2Gb RAM) I popped a budget-ish video card into it (x1650 Pro) figuring it'd be better to wait til DX10 cards were more common before treating myself to a better one. Now I find myself looking at the ATI x2900 and the 640Mb 8800 GTS and wondering if it's time to upgrade, and whether I'd honestly see much of a performance boost. Any thoughts? __________________ 2142: \|TG-Irr\| Silverfish BF2: \|TG-Irr\| Maus

07-24-2007, 09:23 PM	#8 (permalink)
2 Para Join Date: May 2007 Posts: 232	Re: Upgrade advice plz :) Yes i have the X1650, which came with the computer to start with. For now i dont see a need in upgrading, it plays 2142 fine and all of my memory rich programs like pinnacle.

07-24-2007, 10:50 PM	#9 (permalink)
=Sarc= Join Date: May 2003 Location: Ottawa, Canada Posts: 4,493	Re: Upgrade advice plz :) Well, I wouldn't get the X2900. It seems to use far too much power for the performance you get. It needs 2 power connectors compared to 1 for the 8800GTS. I'd also wait for the 2nd gen cards if possible since you don't seem to upgrade often. The first round of cards have barely been benched with X10 compatible games. The few games that have been tested don't run that well either. __________________ JO Guides & Tutorials Team Element - It's who you game with.

07-25-2007, 07:13 AM	#10 (permalink)
Maus Join Date: Dec 2005 Location: Chicago, IL Posts: 326	Re: Upgrade advice plz :) All righty - just the kind of advice I wanted, thanks! +rep __________________ 2142: \|TG-Irr\| Silverfish BF2: \|TG-Irr\| Maus

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