Looking for advice on a new System

On Mon, 09 Apr 2007 18:11:12 GMT, "Robo29" <hard.TakeThisOut@work.ca> wrote:

>My current system is:
>- 1800 Duron
>- 768 Megs DDR Ram (512 pc3200 and 256 pc2700)
>- Ati 9600XT 128 Megs DDR AGP Vid Card
>- Win XP Pro SP1
>
>I know the beginner systems now blow the lid off my current setup, and since
>I only play UT99 I do not need the Top of the Line system either. Basically
>I was wondering what the ideal system for running UT at max settings without
>dropping any FPS would be. I am undecided between a Sempron 64 bit or a P4
>64 bit, or for the long run, would a Core 2 duo or an Athlon 64 X2 be the
>wiser decision. Then again if I was to get the newer cpu's I would need a
>new Vid card since it's all about pci-x.
>So I have 2 choices.....Keep my 9600XT and get a Sempron or P4 based system
>or go for the core 2 or X2 based system and get a 7600 GT Vid Card.
>Any input would be greatly appreciated.
>TIA
>Robo29
>

One of the best sites on the net for hardware reviews is Tech Report.
They periodically do a system guide and spec out systems from low to
high end. They just came out with a new article in March, so the
hardware is pretty fresh.

http://techreport.com/etc/2007q1/mar-system-guide/index.x?pg=1

The "grand experiment" sounds like it might be the best fit for you,
although the "sweet spot" system might give you some ideas as well.
 >> Stay informed about: Looking for advice on a new System 

> One of the best sites on the net for hardware reviews is Tech Report.
> They periodically do a system guide and spec out systems from low to
> high end. They just came out with a new article in March, so the
> hardware is pretty fresh.
>
> http://techreport.com/etc/2007q1/mar-system-guide/index.x?pg=1
>
> The "grand experiment" sounds like it might be the best fit for you,
> although the "sweet spot" system might give you some ideas as well.

Thanks Ciccio & Folk....awesome site. Added it to the Favs for future use
, yes indeed, I am in desperate need of a new system....I 've had this 20
Gig Maxtor HD for ....uumm...whoa...over 7 years Still works great
though but now I just need way more room Think I may have an idea of
what I want now
-AMD Athlon 64 3800+ X2 Dual Core CPU, Socket AM2
-1 Gig of DDR2 Ram, 250 Gig SATA HDD
-GeForce FX 7300GS 256MB DDR2 PCI-E Video
Card (would like a 7600 GT but I am on a bit of a budget)
-Acer 19 Inch 1916WAB Widescreen LCD Flat Panel, 700:1 5ms
....but you never know, once at the store, I may just spend more than I had
originally planned
I'd love to get the "Grand Experiment"..that'd be too sweet but I don't shop
online and converted to Canadian Dollars with shipping.....it's a tad bit
over my $1500 budget...which is too bad because i keep thinking of it as I
type...lmao.
Anyhoos thanks again
Robo29
 >> Stay informed about: Looking for advice on a new System 

"Robo29" <hard.TakeThisOut@work.ca> wrote in message
news:pxXSh.52142$6m4.50180@pd7urf1no...
>> One of the best sites on the net for hardware reviews is Tech Report.
>> They periodically do a system guide and spec out systems from low to
>> high end. They just came out with a new article in March, so the
>> hardware is pretty fresh.
>>
>> http://techreport.com/etc/2007q1/mar-system-guide/index.x?pg=1
>>
>> The "grand experiment" sounds like it might be the best fit for you,
>> although the "sweet spot" system might give you some ideas as well.
>
> Thanks Ciccio & Folk....awesome site. Added it to the Favs for future use
> , yes indeed, I am in desperate need of a new system....I 've had this
> 20
> Gig Maxtor HD for ....uumm...whoa...over 7 years Still works great
> though but now I just need way more room Think I may have an idea of
> what I want now
> -AMD Athlon 64 3800+ X2 Dual Core CPU, Socket AM2
> -1 Gig of DDR2 Ram, 250 Gig SATA HDD
> -GeForce FX 7300GS 256MB DDR2 PCI-E Video
> Card (would like a 7600 GT but I am on a bit of a budget)
> -Acer 19 Inch 1916WAB Widescreen LCD Flat Panel, 700:1 5ms
> ...but you never know, once at the store, I may just spend more than I had
> originally planned
> I'd love to get the "Grand Experiment"..that'd be too sweet but I don't
> shop
> online and converted to Canadian Dollars with shipping.....it's a tad bit
> over my $1500 budget...which is too bad because i keep thinking of it as I
> type...lmao.
> Anyhoos thanks again
> Robo29
>
>
Hi Robo,

Where in Canada are you ?

I'm from Montreal, I could point to a couple of stores in the area where you
could get a good deal. I just buy the parts, and build my own boxes, but
some local supplyers do sell complete boxes. at a good prices.

Later
Noxx
 >> Stay informed about: Looking for advice on a new System 

On Wed, 11 Apr 2007 02:15:49 GMT, "Robo29" <hard RemoveThis @work.ca> wrote:

>> One of the best sites on the net for hardware reviews is Tech Report.
>> They periodically do a system guide and spec out systems from low to
>> high end. They just came out with a new article in March, so the
>> hardware is pretty fresh.
>>
>> http://techreport.com/etc/2007q1/mar-system-guide/index.x?pg=1
>>
>> The "grand experiment" sounds like it might be the best fit for you,
>> although the "sweet spot" system might give you some ideas as well.
>
>Thanks Ciccio & Folk....awesome site. Added it to the Favs for future use
> , yes indeed, I am in desperate need of a new system....I 've had this 20
>Gig Maxtor HD for ....uumm...whoa...over 7 years Still works great
>though but now I just need way more room Think I may have an idea of
>what I want now
>-AMD Athlon 64 3800+ X2 Dual Core CPU, Socket AM2
>-1 Gig of DDR2 Ram, 250 Gig SATA HDD
>-GeForce FX 7300GS 256MB DDR2 PCI-E Video
>Card (would like a 7600 GT but I am on a bit of a budget)
>-Acer 19 Inch 1916WAB Widescreen LCD Flat Panel, 700:1 5ms
>...but you never know, once at the store, I may just spend more than I had
>originally planned
>I'd love to get the "Grand Experiment"..that'd be too sweet but I don't shop
>online and converted to Canadian Dollars with shipping.....it's a tad bit
>over my $1500 budget...which is too bad because i keep thinking of it as I
>type...lmao.
>Anyhoos thanks again
>Robo29
>

I would think long and hard about going with an AMD based system,
given the current dominance of the Intel's Core 2 Duo.
 >> Stay informed about: Looking for advice on a new System 

"Folk" <Folk.TakeThisOut@folk.com> wrote in message
news:4v5q13h9guah8b63puf58p6jt9t7lhno93@4ax.com...
> On Wed, 11 Apr 2007 02:15:49 GMT, "Robo29" <hard.TakeThisOut@work.ca> wrote:
>
>>> One of the best sites on the net for hardware reviews is Tech Report.
>>> They periodically do a system guide and spec out systems from low to
>>> high end. They just came out with a new article in March, so the
>>> hardware is pretty fresh.
>>>
>>> http://techreport.com/etc/2007q1/mar-system-guide/index.x?pg=1
>>>
>>> The "grand experiment" sounds like it might be the best fit for you,
>>> although the "sweet spot" system might give you some ideas as well.
>>
>>Thanks Ciccio & Folk....awesome site. Added it to the Favs for future use
>> , yes indeed, I am in desperate need of a new system....I 've had this
>>20
>>Gig Maxtor HD for ....uumm...whoa...over 7 years Still works great
>>though but now I just need way more room Think I may have an idea of
>>what I want now
>>-AMD Athlon 64 3800+ X2 Dual Core CPU, Socket AM2
>>-1 Gig of DDR2 Ram, 250 Gig SATA HDD
>>-GeForce FX 7300GS 256MB DDR2 PCI-E Video
>>Card (would like a 7600 GT but I am on a bit of a budget)
>>-Acer 19 Inch 1916WAB Widescreen LCD Flat Panel, 700:1 5ms
>>...but you never know, once at the store, I may just spend more than I had
>>originally planned
>>I'd love to get the "Grand Experiment"..that'd be too sweet but I don't
>>shop
>>online and converted to Canadian Dollars with shipping.....it's a tad bit
>>over my $1500 budget...which is too bad because i keep thinking of it as I
>>type...lmao.
>>Anyhoos thanks again
>>Robo29
>>
>
> I would think long and hard about going with an AMD based system,
> given the current dominance of the Intel's Core 2 Duo.

Not to mention I just read yesterday that AMD is really tightening their
belt company-wide because they are getting killed by Intel.
 >> Stay informed about: Looking for advice on a new System 

On Wed, 11 Apr 2007 13:18:24 -0400, Folk wrote:

> I would think long and hard about going with an AMD based system,
> given the current dominance of the Intel's Core 2 Duo.

There's nothing to think "long and hard" about. The C2D is simply an
outstanding processor, and beats the pants off anything AMD has at the
moment, at least on the same price curve. It really is nice. I'd
recommend the E6600.

I'm a former die-hard AMD user, FWIW. The C2D rocks.

--
"Ubuntu" -- an African word, meaning "Slackware is too hard for me".
 >> Stay informed about: Looking for advice on a new System 

> Hi Robo,
>
> Where in Canada are you ?
>
> I'm from Montreal, I could point to a couple of stores in the area where
you
> could get a good deal. I just buy the parts, and build my own boxes, but
> some local supplyers do sell complete boxes. at a good prices.
>
> Later
> Noxx
>
> Hey fellow Canadian

I'm on the West Coast of Canada in British Columbia (Vancouver Island) I've
built my last 3 systems (old yes but it was a good learning process) and
since I haven't been keeping up with the new specs and intel vs amd Soap
Opera I'm a bit leary building a new one....never used SATA or hooked up
pci-e and I'd hate to screw something up during the build. Nah
seriously though...I thought of building my own but finding the time to
build one with 3 little ones is kinda tough. As it is I only get about 5
hours a week to play UT (which is why it is still the only game I play)
Later Noxx

Robo29
 >> Stay informed about: Looking for advice on a new System 

On Wed, 11 Apr 2007 13:01:37 -0700, "goPostal"
<agutgopostal.RemoveThis@hotmail.com> wrote:


>> I would think long and hard about going with an AMD based system,
>> given the current dominance of the Intel's Core 2 Duo.
>
>Not to mention I just read yesterday that AMD is really tightening their
>belt company-wide because they are getting killed by Intel.

Heh. They have a long history of getting killed by Intel and a
relatively short period of superiority.

My last 4 boxes have been Intel, AMD, Intel, AMD. That was P2, K2, P4
and now AMD64 (3500+). I plan to replace my current system this Fall
(or whenever the UT3 demo hits) and unless AMD pulls a rabbit out of
their hat I'm going to go Intel this time. I'm certainly not a
fanboy... I'll use whatever is king at the time I'm building, but TBH
I'm glad it's going to be Intel this time around. Although my current
Nforce 3 based system is the most stable I've ever owned (built two
years ago and nary a problem) it's still true that the industry
designs toward Intel based platforms.
 >> Stay informed about: Looking for advice on a new System 

Robo29 wrote:
> My current system is:
> - 1800 Duron
> - 768 Megs DDR Ram (512 pc3200 and 256 pc2700)
> - Ati 9600XT 128 Megs DDR AGP Vid Card
> - Win XP Pro SP1
>
> I know the beginner systems now blow the lid off my current setup, and since
> I only play UT99 I do not need the Top of the Line system either. Basically
> I was wondering what the ideal system for running UT at max settings without
> dropping any FPS would be.

What you have now is fine except you could do with more horse power gfx
card wise - however this more or less means, just as you mention, you
need a PCI-X slot board which again means new CPU and new ram.... and
also a new PSU since more power is needed so you may as well get a new
case



I am undecided between a Sempron 64 bit or a P4
> 64 bit, or for the long run, would a Core 2 duo or an Athlon 64 X2 be the
> wiser decision. Then again if I was to get the newer cpu's I would need a
> new Vid card since it's all about pci-x.
> So I have 2 choices.....Keep my 9600XT and get a Sempron or P4 based system
> or go for the core 2 or X2 based system and get a 7600 GT Vid Card.
> Any input would be greatly appreciated.

I think ATI makes the better gfx cards and the next series coming up
looks to be THE solution so I'd wait a couple of months if possible. But
regardless if you go ATI(AMD) or NVIDIA then gfx card is still more
important than CPU when gaming.

As for any other recomendations. Get 2 GB ram, don't get VISTA and
consider getting a 10.000 rpm hard disc as the primary drive. Also
unless you have 21" screen allready go get one - you can buy an used
High End CRT screen, SONY/EIZO/LaCie, for $100 and for anything but wide
screen stuff it's still the best for gaming.

Kind regards
Bruno (Still loving UT @ 2048*1536 on my SONY F-520 and UT loves my
X1900XTX)
 >> Stay informed about: Looking for advice on a new System 

On Sat, 14 Apr 2007 04:36:24 +0200, Bruno <dont.use.RemoveThis@this.address.ever>
wrote:

> But regardless if you go ATI(AMD) or NVIDIA then gfx card is still more
>important than CPU when gaming.

Bzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz. Wrong answer.

I've benchmarked both UT99 and UT2004 extensively. I can say beyond a
shadow of a doubt that the CPU is the bottleneck in virtually all
cases. The only time graphics would be a problem is if you were using
integrated graphics. The OP's 9600XT is *plenty* of vid card for
UT99, but his Duron is certainly holding him back. If he would shove
in the fastest processor his current mobo would allow, he would see
his framerates soar.

This is not a generalized truth that applies to all gaming, but it's
absolutely the case for the current and past Unreal engine based
games. We'll have to see whether UT3 breaks that rule.
 >> Stay informed about: Looking for advice on a new System 

"Robo29" <hard DeleteThis @work.ca> wrote in message
news:4lvSh.48022$aG1.19521@pd7urf3no...
> My current system is:
> - 1800 Duron
> - 768 Megs DDR Ram (512 pc3200 and 256 pc2700)
> - Ati 9600XT 128 Megs DDR AGP Vid Card
> - Win XP Pro SP1
>
> I know the beginner systems now blow the lid off my current setup, and
> since
> I only play UT99 I do not need the Top of the Line system either.
> Basically
> I was wondering what the ideal system for running UT at max settings
> without
> dropping any FPS would be. I am undecided between a Sempron 64 bit or a
> P4
> 64 bit, or for the long run, would a Core 2 duo or an Athlon 64 X2 be the
> wiser decision. Then again if I was to get the newer cpu's I would need a
> new Vid card since it's all about pci-x.
> So I have 2 choices.....Keep my 9600XT and get a Sempron or P4 based
> system
> or go for the core 2 or X2 based system and get a 7600 GT Vid Card.
> Any input would be greatly appreciated.
> TIA
> Robo29
>
If you are running a 9600xt then you could just upgrade the processor which
is likely to be the bottleneck in your system ( you should junk the 256Mb
chip and put another PC3200 512Mb in for the faster processors to avoid
problems ) if your board will take an XP 2800+ or 3200+ then it will fly by
comparison if for example you are running 32 bit 1024x768 UT2k4 it should
be maxing out at 100+fps pity I cant' find the benchmarks for UT'99 it
will cost you bobbins and then you can hang back until UT3 releases before
spending the big money.

Nick-Dastardly (Derek)
"Nuttley keep the motor running"
 >> Stay informed about: Looking for advice on a new System 

"Folk" <Folk.DeleteThis@folk.com> wrote in message
news:3pq123p1dq9fr5tlj1q4cksl81t87isiq2@4ax.com...
> On Sat, 14 Apr 2007 04:36:24 +0200, Bruno <dont.use.DeleteThis@this.address.ever>
> wrote:
>
>> But regardless if you go ATI(AMD) or NVIDIA then gfx card is still more
>>important than CPU when gaming.
>
> Bzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz. Wrong answer.
>
> I've benchmarked both UT99 and UT2004 extensively. I can say beyond a
> shadow of a doubt that the CPU is the bottleneck in virtually all
> cases. The only time graphics would be a problem is if you were using
> integrated graphics. The OP's 9600XT is *plenty* of vid card for
> UT99, but his Duron is certainly holding him back. If he would shove
> in the fastest processor his current mobo would allow, he would see
> his framerates soar.
>
> This is not a generalized truth that applies to all gaming, but it's
> absolutely the case for the current and past Unreal engine based
> games. We'll have to see whether UT3 breaks that rule.

I'll back you up on that Folk. I ran UT on only a dual core processor with
no vid card installed just to see how it would do. I could get mid 40's
framerate on middle of the road graphic settings (UT2004). The physics were
choppy as the processor was really being stressed but it was playable.
 >> Stay informed about: Looking for advice on a new System 

On Sat, 14 Apr 2007 18:27:48 -0700, goPostal wrote:

>> This is not a generalized truth that applies to all gaming, but it's
>> absolutely the case for the current and past Unreal engine based
>> games. We'll have to see whether UT3 breaks that rule.

> I'll back you up on that Folk. I ran UT on only a dual core processor with
> no vid card installed just to see how it would do. I could get mid 40's
> framerate on middle of the road graphic settings (UT2004). The physics were
> choppy as the processor was really being stressed but it was playable.

How'd you get mid 40's framerate with no video? Hard to see how you could
even see the game, with no video card.

It is true that the CPU is the main chokepoint on the Unreal engine. It's
called being "CPU-bound". Some other games/engines are vidcard-bound.

--
"Ubuntu" -- an African word, meaning "Slackware is too hard for me".
 >> Stay informed about: Looking for advice on a new System