What should I do?

[Hardcore Marine]

Hey everyone,
This is my first time posting here and I need your professional advice. My system is a bit older but, I wanted to upgrade to a 9800pro. I am wondering if you think I am going to bottleneck the video card or will I get all of the performance out of the card with what I have?
Here is a list of what I have right now.

Abit p4t-E mobo
Samsung 512 mb pc600 ram
P4 2.0 Williamette processor (yeah, I know)
ATI 8500le not o'clocked

I have 300 bones and I wanted to go and get the 9800 pro but, do you think I should just get the 9600 instead and save my money since I am not going to get everything out of the 9800 that I want?
Thanks,
Dre'

[Mista K6]

Sorry mate, but it aint gonna happen. See my specs? I'm in the same ball park as you. Right now, I have a Ti4200, and the rest of my system can barely keep up with it (CPU mainly). A 9800 would be useless in your system, as you wouldnt be able to use half the effects. Also, if that system was built for you with those specs, you probably dont have a power supply (PSU) that can handle a 9800. The minimum requirement is a 300watt PSU, and at that it needs to be a REALLY good 300watt PSU. My comp is a Dell, and I have a 250watt, so no go. Check your specs. Anyways, I'd seriously advise against getting a 9800. Getting a 9600 Pro or XT might be good for you, as you could turn up resolutions, FSAA, and graphics card driven eye-candy. It'll defintely be a bigger improvement. Of course, the best improvement would be to get a newer system. If that's not an option for you, go with a 9600 Pro or XT, they'll be exactly what you need and then some. : peace2: Mista K6

[Hardcore Marine]

Thanks for the reply. I know what you are saying. Well, believe it or not, my wife surprised me tonight with a brand new 9800 pro. I will install it and run 3dmark 2001se tomorrow and then I will post the score to let you know how it worked out.
I was looking into a new system and looking at both Pentium systems and AMD. The AMD is only 150 cheaper and I am not sure whether I should do AMD or not. I was scared away from AMD after doing Audio Production and it being a nightmare. Maybe it's a bit different for games. Do you think it's better to save a few bucks?
It's either an
AMD Barton 2500
or an
Pentium 4 2.4c
Not sure what to do yet, or even if I should do it. I'll let you know tomorrow when I sober up.
Thanks,
Dre'

[Fatguy3]

Even as an AMD Fanboy, I must say, if you got the money, right now the P4 spanks the AMD XP in most benchmarks. Plus Hyperthreading is a nice feature. Just remember to get a springdale or canterwood chipset (canterwood is more expesnive but better p[erformance).

[Hardcore Marine]

Alright Yall,
I went ahead and benchmarked my system using both 3DMARK03 and 3DMARK 2001 SE and I came up with some interesting numbers.
With my 8500LE 128 I got

3DMARK 2001SE = 8165
3DMARK03 = 1366

Now with my 9800 Pro I got


3DMARK 2001SE = 11451
3DMARK03 = 5290

I know that the score for SE is really crappy for my 9800 Pro but, what about the 3DMARK03 score. Isn't that somewhat decent for my system?

[Fleck]

No, if you had that 9800 Pro overclocked real nice and a 2600+ Barton overclocked to 2.3GHz or more then you'd be looking at over 15K marks in the older 3dmark.

[SearanoX]

Those scores sound about right for your system. I suggest getting new RAM (PC3200), and if possible, a new motherboard. Those should bring your scores up to snuff.

[Hardcore Marine]

Yeah, the only problem with trading out my cpu for another one is that I am using a 478 socket cpu. Will my motherboard accept a 2.6c? I haven't upgraded in a couple of years so, I am now trying to catch up on technology.
Also, my motherboard only accepts rambus ram which sucks. I could put pc1066 memory in my system and boost it to 533fsb but, I don't think that would help much. My motherboard is a good overclocker except there is no pci lock on it. Maybe I should just go that route and throw on a new cpu and see how that would work out. what do you all think?

[Wiggo]

No ya mobo will not run a P4C and I doubt whether PC1066 would improve things very much. To upgade to a P4C will require a mobo upgrade and a mobo based on either the i865 or i875 chipset would be the best option (ASUS P4P800 or P4C800 series mobo's are good value) plus they're both dual memory channel equiped but usin' cheaper DDR SDRAM modules instead of RAMBUST. Ya'll also get the benefit of HT as well.