New computer parts :)

[Kage]

I'm a newbie here. Saw the site and thoguht it luks quite kewl, so i signed up, So Hi to you all

I've recently updated my videocard to a Sapphire ATI Radeon 9800 pro 128mb, and it has worked wonders with games, but i think my CPU is lagging it down (Well i'm pretty certain)

1) I have a Gigabyte made AMD based 4x AGP motherboard,
2) an AMD Athlon Thunderbird 1.2 GHZ CPU (rather crusty i know)
3) Creative Sound Blaster Live! soundcard
4) 40 GB 7200 rpm Harddrive
3) 512 MB DDR ram
4) Running on Windows XP Service pack 2.

I hope to update to a AMD Athlon 64 3400+ CPU, which means i'll have to change my motherboard too (one with a 8x AGP) that supports the CPU. I have been looking on MicroDirect and i think I have found the ones i want:

http://www.microdirect.co.uk/ProductInfo.aspx?ProductID=5366&GroupID=409

http://www.microdirect.co.uk/ProductInfo.aspx?ProductID=4903&GroupID=302

How much of a difference do you think i'll expect from the improvements?
In Half life 2, i'm getting about 58 fps, at 640x480, running at medium quality, 0x antia, 16x Antistro (still jerks though in places).
Doom 3 runs, but rather jerky, and slow, a rate which is almost impossible to play, on medium settings. (Sound stuttering always follows after it has jerked on both). i'd like to have games playing rather smoothly at rather high/medium settings on future titles in the the next 2 years or so as I don't want to keep updating...
I also wouldn't mind a bit of a boost when it comes to 3D Rendering! :|

I'm also a tad bit worried about the CPU temperature and what it would be like... getting about 52 degrees at the moment running from a 70x70 fan diameter, 3,000 rpm cooler as I would rather have my system running as quiet as possible (my mum has ears like a bat ), at the moment, about 31db (It used to sound like a jet engine)
+ I have no idea how to set up a water cooled system, and would be afraid to try

Hope you can help me Sorry about the long message, I hope you reach this point without getting bored... sorry again

Thanks,
Kage

 

[rakedog]

First off, welcome to CF. Saw some of your first posts, you seem well educated with computers, so stay!

Second, yeah, that AMD should really boost your fps rate, but i might also suggest a RAM update. In about a year, 512 will be considered low end, so you might want to update it to a gig. Other then that, the CPU , ram and mobo update should keep you going!

 

[alvino]

Hey Welcome to CF!!!! your mobo should be ok (i have the VIA K8T800 chipset too ). about your cpu, see if you can find the "clawhammer" core version of the 3400+. it has 1mb L2 cache compared to the "newcastle" core's (the one youre thinking of getting) 512k L2 cache. altho the clock speed for the "clawhammer" is 2.2 (newcastle is 2.4) you can just OC it to 2.4 really easily. thats what i did now i have 1mb of cache and a clock speed better than the "newcastle" core

 

[alvino]

and you should get 1gb of ram too, like rakedog said.

 

[alvino]

sorry about the double posting, rakedog. or should i say triple posting! lol

 

[Kage]

Hi,
Thanks alot guys!

lol thanks for that remark rakedog. I wouldn't call myself a wizz or anything though, i've just taught myself from about the 5 years we've had a PC lol (research helps a bit too)

Well I would rather not overclock a CPU lol... I mean if i'm expecting it to overheat without any help...i wouldn't want to say to it "Go on you can do it you lazy...*trails off*" lol. Remember in saying, i dont want to get a CPU cooler which will make my computer sound like a low flying jet... its not good... my mums rooms sort of next door, and she can hear it now (about 35db with everything else) lol...

I've done a bit of research before hand mind, and noticed that the 1mb L2 cache only increased it in certain memory situations, and not really by that far. Now Alvino , imagine me overclocking my 2.4 to something like a 2.6... hehe... (I really wouldn't want to do it though, i mean i'm scared of overclocking my video card) I was just really looking for comfirmation that what i was thinking of getting would keep things running for the near future of things.

Rakedog, thanks for the info on the ram. I'm actually wondering if my ram i have now will even be supported, even if it is DDR. But yeah, 1 gig does sound good

You know this AMD is a 754, well if i would want to update in 3 years or so, wouldn't they have moved on? Ive heard latest chipsets use socket 939... and so I'd end up changing the motherbaord again. No worries though!

Thanks everyone for you're help! (Won't be gettin them for a while, i'm a bit skint) (damn long posts... i cant help it you know lol)
Kage

 

[alvino]

lol no problem. good luck on your choices and your comp!

 

[airiox]

you should be able to bump you res up to 1024x768 with simular results.

Turn now the ansio though. 16x is way too high.