Is it worth it?

Caimbeul

Distinguished
Jul 4, 2003
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Hi just a quicky...would it be worth going from an XP2100+ to a 2800 Barton? would there be a big difference with games? or would it be best to wait for the new intel/amd processors? any thoughts?

Give a lazy man an easy job and he'll find an easier way of doing it.
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XP2100+, 1Gb RAM, ASUS A7N8X, 64Mb Ti4200.
 
Games-wise, probably not - you'll get much more performance from a gfx card upgrade than a cpu one... but you don't even need that yet - your specs seem fine...

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$hit Happens. I just wish it would happen to someone else for a change.
 
For games, no. With as much processing power and RAM as you already have, your limiting factor is your graphics card. Save up for a top-end Radeon or GF-FX or just live with what you've got. :)

"<i>Let's see what <b>Paragraph 84-B</b> has to say about it.</i>" - Thief from <A HREF="http://www.nuklearpower.com/daily.php?date=030724" target="_new">8-Bit Theater</A>
 
If you can, wait.

Actually, if you don't <i>need</i> an upgrade, then don't, or else you'll just end up frustrated...

<font color=red><b>M</b></font color=red>ephistopheles
 
Thanks all for the VERY swift responses. that helps alot, now all that is left to do is debate over 9800pro etc or wait for the supposed new Graphics Cards from ATI and NVIDIA that are due out at the end of the year to replace the 5900Ultra and 9800pro.

Give a lazy man an easy job and he'll find an easier way of doing it.
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XP2100+, 1Gb RAM, ASUS A7N8X, 64Mb Ti4200.
 
Or wait for the Yule-season array of graphics card updates to lower the price for the Radeon 9800 Pro. 😉

(Which is what I'm doing, as well as hoping by that time Sapphire releases a fanless 9800Pro to augment their fanless 9700Pro, or else I might have to stick with the latter.)

"<i>Let's see what <b>Paragraph 84-B</b> has to say about it.</i>" - Thief from <A HREF="http://www.nuklearpower.com/daily.php?date=030724" target="_new">8-Bit Theater</A>
 
Actually Sapphire has released a fanless 9800 Pro. Here is a review at <A HREF="http://www.hothardware.com/hh_files/S&V/sapphire_ultimate_eds.shtml" target="_new">HotHardware</A>.
 
i'm waiting for a fanless fx5800...lol

3 386DX-25's...12 volts...glue some ln2 and a wicked amount of overclocking and you get a willamantee minus 36 pins, 33.75 million transistors and a couple hundred mhz... 😎
 
Sweet. :)

It's about flirking time too! I was beginning to think that Sapphire wasn't going to even bother. Granted I still may get the fanless 9700 Pro just for cost reasons, but it's nice to know that I have options. :) (And really nice to know that if needs be I could go as low as a 9600 Pro and still be fanless.)

"<i>Let's see what <b>Paragraph 84-B</b> has to say about it.</i>" - Thief from <A HREF="http://www.nuklearpower.com/daily.php?date=030724" target="_new">8-Bit Theater</A>
 
i'm waiting for a fanless fx5800...lol
Mock all you want, but if someone made a fanless GF-FX 5900 I'd seriously consider it. I've got two 120mm fans for cooling in my case and I'm not afraid to use them. 😛

Thinking of which, I should really check on how my RMA is doing since Newegg sent me the wrong bloody fan...

"<i>Let's see what <b>Paragraph 84-B</b> has to say about it.</i>" - Thief from <A HREF="http://www.nuklearpower.com/daily.php?date=030724" target="_new">8-Bit Theater</A>
 
i am not gonna buy any new gpus until they make them heatsink-less...thats why i have stuck with my rage pro and vodoo banshee all these years...

3 386DX-25's...12 volts...glue some ln2 and a wicked amount of overclocking and you get a willamantee minus 36 pins, 33.75 million transistors and a couple hundred mhz... 😎
 
i am not gonna buy any new gpus until they make them heatsink-less...thats why i have stuck with my rage pro and vodoo banshee all these years...
Even my PCI Savage4 has a dinky little heatsink on it. **ROFL**

"<i>Let's see what <b>Paragraph 84-B</b> has to say about it.</i>" - Thief from <A HREF="http://www.nuklearpower.com/daily.php?date=030724" target="_new">8-Bit Theater</A>
 
trust me...it does not need it...

Until i can get a heatsink-less 5800 pro i will stick with my 8mb rage pro...or possibly go for a via gpu...or a sis trident..lol...it makes your teath clean :smile:

3 386DX-25's...12 volts...glue some ln2 and a wicked amount of overclocking and you get a willamantee minus 36 pins, 33.75 million transistors and a couple hundred mhz... 😎
 
**LOL** Well, whatever makes you happy.

And not only does it make your teeth clean, but it makes your PC smell minty-fresh.

"<i>Let's see what <b>Paragraph 84-B</b> has to say about it.</i>" - Thief from <A HREF="http://www.nuklearpower.com/daily.php?date=030724" target="_new">8-Bit Theater</A>
 
hehe

3 386DX-25's...12 volts...glue some ln2 and a wicked amount of overclocking and you get a willamantee minus 36 pins, 33.75 million transistors and a couple hundred mhz... 😎
 
Been researching and I seem to have found my bottleneck. So it is the GPU that screws me as far as FPS games like Counter-Strike.

<A HREF="http://www.anandtech.com/mysystemrig.html?id=23810" target="_new"><font color=blue>My System </font color=blue></A>





















<b><font color=blue>VAGABOND<font color=blue></b>

<b><font color=blue>veni,vidi, and ended up in THGC<font color=blue></b>
 
Wouldnt have thought it was the CPU causing bottleneck? XP2400+ is a decent CPU, mine is only a 2100 but then i have a Ti4200 so that may be making the diffence.



Give a lazy man an easy job and he'll find an easier way of doing it.
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XP2100+, 1Gb RAM, ASUS A7N8X, 64Mb Ti4200.
 
Hey Cami,

Just installed the 2400 two days ago. Before it was running an Athlon C 1.0GHz CPU. Definite difference in performance especially number-crunching like seti.

<A HREF="http://www.anandtech.com/mysystemrig.html?id=23810" target="_new"><font color=blue>My System </font color=blue></A>
<b><font color=blue>VAGABOND<font color=blue></b>

<b><font color=blue>veni,vidi, and ended up in THGC<font color=blue></b>
 
Indeed! ... by the way is that SETI the thing where you share the number crunching from the radio telescope in (aricibo?) with loads of others round the world? ...whats it like? do you just leave youre system runing that only?

Give a lazy man an easy job and he'll find an easier way of doing it.
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XP2100+, 1Gb RAM, ASUS A7N8X, PNY 64Mb Ti4200.
 
Yeah, I do seti@home, it is best to leave the computer with nothing else CPU requiring running. With an old KG7-RAID and an XP2200, I get a work-unit done per 4 hours. Beats the heck out of the old P166 doing them in like over 100 hours a piece.

You can run other things while running seti, but it takes longer to do a work unit. It is actually a screen-saver, and looks neat when you don't have your screen go blank. I've got about 2400 work units done myslf.

I too once had money, then I got into computers...
<A HREF="http://service.futuremark.com/compare?2k1=6607283" target="_new"> 3DMark </A>
<A HREF="http://www.anandtech.com/mysystemrig.html?id=24383" target="_new"> My Rig </A>
 
Cool, have ben thinking of D/L'ing it....may give it a shot.

Cheers!

<i>"We have always been here." - Koch
Mmm Dawn AND Eve Drroooooolllll
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<b>XP2100+, 1Gb RAM, ASUS A7N8X, PNY 64Mb Ti4200. 😎
 
I've been wondering about this SETI thingie... So it acts like a screen saver? Is it interesting? It is scientifically interesting, I suppose, but is there an actual incentive for the average user to run SETI?...

<font color=red><b>M</b></font color=red>ephistopheles
 
Yeah - You can set it as a screen saver, or just run it I think.. [my dad used to run it all the time].. there's no real incentive, apart from the fact it's a slightly less useless benchmark than most - it actually <i>does</i> something...

incidentally - what someone said about it looking cool... my dad (on his 166MMX) found that if he made it just go blank it was about 2x as fast at completing units... LOL..

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$hit Happens. I just wish it would happen to someone else for a change.
 
What is actually the purpose in SETI? Does it look for unknown and inexplicable patterns in received electromagnetic waves (like radio/X-Ray/Gamma/and so on)?... Just curious...

<font color=red><b>M</b></font color=red>ephistopheles
 
It tries to look for repeating patterns in chunks of data from some radio telescope somewhere - basically it's looking for signs of intelligent alien life (or aliens that can create radio waves anyway).. hence the name - <b>S</b>earch for <b>E</b>xtra <b>T</b>errestrial <b>I</b>ntelligence..

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$hit Happens. I just wish it would happen to someone else for a change.