Need Suggestions for RAM and GPU

[inSaneELF]

Hello,

I'm not really a tech-savvy person, so I could use some help.

I'm looking for a DX10 AGP graphics card. Right now, I have a Radeon X800 PRO. I've only found two DX10 AGP's, one of which is:

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814129092

I'm also looking for 2 more GB of 184-pin RAM. I found this, but I'm not sure if it's really good or not:

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820148089

Any suggestions or comments are appreciated.

Thanks.

 

[Maziar]

if u want to have AGP , the definitely go for this :

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814241041

It demolishes a 8600GT ,also if u can pay more go for X1950XT/7950GT

 

[royalcrown]

That really depends on if you running your buss at 333 mhz, I am *** you are, it would say when you first turn it on. Also if you can get DDR 400 at the same price, buy that because you can always run it slower at 333. Some of the core 2 boards will even run ddr 400 so you could take it with you later if u wanted.

 

[inSaneELF]

RoyalCrown, apparently my mobo supports 400 mhz, but do I have to change the running speed of it myself? If so, that must mean my current RAM is running at 300, meaning I wouldn't be able to use 400, right? I may be wrong. As I mentioned earlier, I'm not the most knowledgeable when it comes to this stuff.

Also, Maziar, the card you listed apparently doesn't support DX10, no?

I thought I'd just post my current PC specs so you guys can get an idea...

CPU: AMD Athlon 64 FX 3200+
Memory: 1GB RAM (512x2)
Mobo: ABIT AV8 Socket 939 (Supports Dual Channel DDR 400/333/266 (Max. 4GB); Four 184-pin DIMM sockets)
BIOS: )Phoenix - Award WorkstationBIOS v6.0PG
GPU: ATI Radeon X800 PRO AGP 256MB (DirectX 9.0)
HDD: 160GB
OS: WinXP SP2

As I said, I am wanting to bump my RAM up to 3GB and get a DX10 compatible video card. Also, after I make these upgrades, I plan on installing Vista as my OS.

 

[Maziar]

no its not DX10 but it destroys 2600xt , in todays games dx10 doesnt have a noticeable difference with dx9 in most cases ,

 

[inSaneELF]

I want to be future-ready however. Thus, I'd really like a nice DX10 card.

I just wish there were more AGP ones...

 

[triatium]

Hi there inSaneElf

Well, there aren't many DX10 compatible games out there, so, for now, it will be a negative tradeoff of cost versus actual application usage. In a few months or so, one should start seeing more DX10 games (can't think of one offhand currently), but DX10 is still relatively in its infancy at the moment, so there isn't a lot of support for it.

When you wish to upgrade, maybe take a look at upgrading your board, then your card - a board that can support up to 800mhz RAM is pretty much standard nowadays, and PCI express cards are the way, if you want DX10 compatibility. Especially since DX games will probably be soul sucking resource monsters, so you will want that extra bit of capability of 16 lanes, as opposed to 8 lanes on an AGP.

The question is, what are your readily available resources that you can allocate for upgrading? That is also a critical determining factor.

I would suggest sitting tight for a few months, as then the hardware market should hopefully stabilise, as there has been intensive boom in hardware upgrading and new technologies, especially in the graphics and RAM departments - wait for the new stuff to be thoroughly tested and become cheaper, then hit the upgrades for yourself then.

Either ways, I hope that you get the best deal and feel happy with your choices, and the advice here on Tom's.

 

[inSaneELF]

Triatium, I think that sounds like a pretty good plan. I may just wait a couple months and buy a new mobo AND a new PCIe GPU. By then, DX10 will perhaps start to be more common. Of course, things will change in a couple months, but what do you recommend for a board (keeping in mind the things that I would like to accomplish with it)? This way, I can know exactly what I'm looking for right away.

Btw, my current RAM is 184-pin and runs at 333, so I'd like that to still work.