x800 now or upgrade first ???

[NapalmDeath]

I've fallen behind in my upgrades and could use some friendly advice on my choices.

The basic question is at what point will the Radeon x800 be cpu bottlenecked.

Most all reviews use a P4 3.4 or an AMD64 3400 to benchmark.
Using some benchmarks at firingsquad I extrapolated the following:

current system: P4 2.26Ghz (533), 1Gig Rambus 1066, Radeon 9700 pro, Asus P4T533-C

Far Cry 1024x768x32
AXP 3200 - 64.1 major upgrades
AXP 2800 - 60.0 w/x800pro (cpu and video upg)
AXP 2800 - 59.0 w/9800xt (just cpu upg)
AXP 2100 - 45.6 w/x800pro (just video upg)
AXP 2100 - 45.0 w/9800xt (current)

Far Cry 1280x1024x32 w/x800pro
AXP 3200 - 65.1 major upgrades
AXP 2800 - 57.6 w/x800pro (cpu and video upg)
AXP 2800 - 55.8 w/9800xt (just cpu upg)
AXP 2100 - 46.0 w/x800pro (just video upg)
AXP 2100 - 45.1 w/9800xt (current)

current cpu of P4 2.26Ghz (533) being "similar" to an AXP2100
current video of Radeon 9700 pro being "similar" to a 9800xt (ok not really, but it's all they had)
cpu upgrade being P4 2.26Ghz to a P4 3.06Ghz HT (last breath for my mobo Asus P4T533-C)
video upgrade being Radeon 9700 pro to Radeon x800 pro

Of course upgrading the cpu will always boost performance for an x800 upgrade, but what do people feel is a hard limit? From what I've read I'm thinking a P4 3.2 or AMD64 3200 would be the minimum cpu before getting an x800.

Now from a budget minded perspective and not having the cash to just upgrade everything.

CHOICES:
- $208 to upg P4 2.26 to P4 3.06

- $480 to upg Radeon 9700 pro to x800 pro

- $580 to upg P4 2.26 (533)/Rambus 1066 to AMD64 3200+ (800), 1Gig DDR400
and then x800 later for $480

Would I upgrade to x800 on my P4 2.26 and be thoroughly disappointed?
Would a P4 3.06 upg and than an x800 upg be reasonable?
Should I bite the bullet and do the AMD64 3200 upg, and then x800 later in the year?

Here is a link to the firingsquad article about cpu bottlenecks for x800
Link to Article about cpu bottleneck
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[GeneralGrievous]

If you play at 1600x1200 upgrade your video card. But at 1280x1024 i think you need 3 ghz+ in your processor.

 

[CU]

I have a P4 1.8@2.4 and I plan to get a x800pro or 6800 GT once HL2 and Doom III come out. That way I can run 1280x1024 @ 6AA & 16AF. I will upgrade my cpu later. Also firingsquad has the same article using Intel cpus you may want to look at also.

 

[DrMindbender]

I would upgrade the rest of the computer first and then add the X800. Also for Intel, I think I've read the same article or kind of article, but I see 2.8 as the cut-off point for most gains over the previous gen.

 

[NapalmDeath]

tks for the info on the intel cpu limit test
P4 with x800 benchmarks LINK

I guess it looks better than I projected.
Far Cry benchmarks with P4 x800 LINK

The only thing I'm gambling with is whether to take the middle hop to a P4 3.06C cpu
for $200. Or to put that $200 towards a bigger hop.

I think for now I'll bump my cpu, and wait for x800 stock and prices to stabilize.

tks again !

 

[DerwenArtos12]

I would have to say go for the A64 3000+, a gig of value ram pc3500 and an x800 fro for about $700(max) would be a great upgrade for you. I say the 3000+ because that core is a better ocerclocker than the other and it has an extra full multi over the 2800 which will help in hte oc process.

 

[NapalmDeath]

How much can you typically overclock an A64 3000+ ?

There is the A64 3000+ with 512k cache for $211 versus the A64 3200+ with 1MB cache for $270.
$60 for higher clock and more cache seems like a good deal.

 

[DerwenArtos12]

Originally posted by: NapalmDeath
How much can you typically overclock an A64 3000+ ?

There is the A64 3000+ with 512k cache for $211 versus the A64 3200+ with 1MB cache for $270.
$60 for higher clock and more cache seems like a good deal.

yeah but the 1mb cache cores will only overclock about half as high as the 512's. I think that the highest I have seen one of the 3000's was around 350fsb on air and the 1mbs I don't think will break 300. of course that is with a lower multi for both.

 

[Alkali]

Originally posted by: NapalmDeath
From what I've read I'm thinking a P4 3.2 or AMD64 3200 would be the minimum cpu before getting an x800.

Right, I'm going to start by qualifying my statements here...
1. If you play old games, at low IQ, the difference between 90fps (on a 9700pro) and 210fps (on X800) is pointless.
2. If you game with any IQ on at all, and play at a res at least 1024x768, on relatively new games, you will see a much bigger leap from going the X800 first.

The myth that has grown up around "no point getting an X800 until you have an FX-53" is rediculas. All graphics cards have been CPU limited when released, going back years. Its just that it isnt too obvious to start with. A perfect example is my GeForceII GTS card. It was as slow as a turtle when I used an Athlon 1200 with it - but with my AthlonXP3000+ is can run at 21+fps @ 1024x768 in ONS maps in UT2004.

The point I am making is - the X800 Pro is at least twice as fast as your current card in modern games like Far Cry with IQ on. The CPU is basically irrelevant in this case - the only time CPU limiting really matters is with old games at high frame rates, or games that just hit a brick wall at 60fps or so, like Commanche 4.


Get the card first. Then, get your nice mobo/CPU etc. Thats what I am doing. You will see the most improvement right now with the GFX card.

 

[Schadenfroh]

get the athlon64 first, your system is holding your 9700 pro back

 

[James3shin]

i wouldn't get a new processor, get the x800, any cpu you get is pretty much a bottle neck. Also, CPU prices are alot more volatile, i guess, CPUs drop in price alot more readily then GPU's with time...so just get the g. card, wait a while then get a faster cpu when they come along. A new g. card will be more of a noticeable improvement to your games then a cpu.

 

[caz67]

I would go with the new CPU??

 

[Zebo]

P4's look real ugly against a A64 loosing by up to 20% check this out http://www.digit-life.com/articles2/digest3d/0504/itogi-video-fc-wxp-1280.html


Ouch!!

Measley 2.0 dropping the bomb on 3200mhz.

Needless to say OC'ed to 2.5-2.6 you'd need over 4.2 pentium to match.

Id go both get a A64 clawhammer and a 6800 GT.