Upgrade

[cjbeattie]

Hi guys….

Some computer advice would be great here… as I’m planning on upgrading my computer..

At present my system consists of ..


P4 2.4
512 mb ram
Radeon 9700pro AGP Graphics card
60 gig HD



Rather than buying a new computer I’m thinking of upgrading.. starting with a another 512 ram taking it up to 1024…
Then a graphics card… now I know my motherboard is pretty old and is only 4x AGP.. so I’m at a loss of what graphics card would serve me best… I have around 200 pounds to spend on a card but of course it has to be complient with my motherboard…. I know nothing of new graphics cards etc.. I wondered what would be my best option.. Rome total war plays ok-ish on my system but a lot of the new games brings my system to a halt rapidly… Any suggestions would be great…. What would be the best way to get the most ‘bang for buck’ out of my system…

My motherboard is …Columbia (GA-8SIML) Ver 1.0 µATX motherboard.



Thanks

Craig

[Incinerate_IV]

The difference between 4X and 8X is pretty small, so its fine. Right now, the best AGP card you can get will have to be the 7800GS.

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16814130274

I'm don't know of any good shopping site out side of the US, but that above is a good reference of the price.

[PyrrhusIV]

You can stick a AGP 8x card in a 1x-4x slot? I never knew that!

[HorseArcher]

You can stick a AGP 8x card in a 1x-4x slot? I never knew that!

it only matters between AGP 2.0 vs AGP 1.0 I beleive. The older one is not even made anymore IIRC.

Basically your 8X AGp would run 4X, but the difference in speed between 4X and 8X is not even noticeable.

[krazykarl]

you cannot fit an agp 2x card in a 4x/8x slot, there is an extra groove in the connector. 8x cards work fine in 4x slots.

[cjbeattie]

thanks for the help

Is there a big difference between my old radeon and one of the new cards....

short of changing the card, memory... theres no much more i can do is there?

Craig

[jegui]

thanks for the help

Is there a big difference between my old radeon and one of the new cards....

short of changing the card, memory... theres no much more i can do is there?

Craig

hi,

u can get good deals in the UK on the site below (£200 gor a 7800GS)... but I think Incinerate_IV has a very good point about ur processor... may be getting a 6800GS for £150 is a better option...

http://www.scan.co.uk/Products/Produ...rds=&OrderBy=1

[Incinerate_IV]

Is there a big difference between my old radeon and one of the new cards....

Yes, the difference is huge.

short of changing the card, memory... theres no much more i can do is there?

You could always change or overclock your CPU. I think a 2.4 Pentium 4 would bottleneck any high end graphics card.

[Locky]

Buying a new video card, like a geforce series 7 card, is pointless because your system will bottleneck it. And you'll not notice much in the way of performence increase.