Should i upgrade?

[xChaoSx]

ok i got a new computer 2 years ago:

3200+ 64 AMD
512 mb kingston ram
9800 ATI pro 128mb
200gig harddrive
XP

Now im thinking of upgrading my computer again in a year or two, but i was thinking if a quick 100-150 dollar (Canadian) fix would improve my gaming until then. (Im also getting an 512mb ram upgrade)

Would this Vid cards be worth the 140 bux until i fully upgrade my computer in a year or two?

Sapphire Radeon X1300 512MB PCI-E $119

Thanks in advance!

 

[GeneticWeapon]

You dont want that card, it will be a downgrade from what you have already.

Pick something else.

 

[ShortyNumber45]

At least an R X800 vanilla or GF 6800.

 

[DragonDoc]

ok i got a new computer 2 years ago:

3200+ 64 AMD
512 mb kingston ram
9800 ATI pro 128mb
200gig harddrive
XP

Now im thinking of upgrading my computer again in a year or two, but i was thinking if a quick 100-150 dollar (Canadian) fix would improve my gaming until then. (Im also getting an 512mb ram upgrade)

Would this Vid cards be worth the 140 bux until i fully upgrade my computer in a year or two?

Sapphire Radeon X1300 512MB PCI-E $119

Thanks in advance!

:idea: Please note; My comments are based on you having a motherboard with AGP Video and not PICe...

The memory upgrade is a good call. I would even recommend upgrading to 2GB but your next board should be DDR-2/3. No need to go beyond the 512 upgrade here because you well need to upgrade to DDR-2/3 and PCIe anyway.

Im not so sure the video card is a wise investment until you get a new board with PCIe anyway. If you did decide to upgrade (AGP), I would recommend a Radeon X850. That would be about all you should spend with your current board.

Please excuse me if my assumption was wrong about AGP. I hope this helps.

 

[cleeve]

I wouldn't bother upgrading a 9800 PRO to anytihng less than an X800 GTO or geforce 6800 GS.

Both of those are more than $200 Canadian, so it looks like you're stuck for a while...

 

[MTLink]

RAM first. Have at least 1GB.

Not much you could do with that little money. Like Cleeve said, save for an X800 GT or 6800GS.

 

[bront]

I think you're probably better off making do till you can replace the board with a PCI-E board and then upgrading. You should be able to "get by" with that system, with maybe a 512 MB ram upgrade, till you can replace it completely.

 

[xChaoSx]

thanks for the tips and my motherboard i forgot to mention is a Asus K8V SE Deluxe. I assumed that upgrading to a cheaper card with more mb would increase my gameplay. Im buying Oblivion in 14 days and im getting extra ram for it for sure.

 

[bront]

thanks for the tips and my motherboard i forgot to mention is a Asus K8V SE Deluxe. I assumed that upgrading to a cheaper card with more mb would increase my gameplay. Im buying Oblivion in 14 days and im getting extra ram for it for sure.

I've generaly found that upgrading to a low to midrange card, even with a new feature set, isn't a good idea if you're near the top end of a previous generations' card range. You don't get much additional performance, and in many games you'll get a decreased performance, except for games that rely heavily on the new feature set, and often that's just something to make it look a bit better, and not esential to gaming.

I ran on a Radeon 8500 on a 2400+ up till about a month ago, and that was missing some fairly critical features the 9800 Pro has (like SM2). I wasn't a big gamer, but it performed well enough for me up untill reciently.

Will an upgrade get you more FPS? Yes, quite easily. However, not enough that you won't be asking the upgrade question again next year. So you're probably going to be happier waiting, particularly with Vista and potential new standards coming up in the near future, when you can then replace the entire system.

 

[pauldh]

I wouldn't bother upgrading a 9800 PRO to anytihng less than an X800 GTO or geforce 6800 GS.

Both of those are more than $200 Canadian, so it looks like you're stuck for a while...

I fully agree.

 

[xChaoSx]

thanks for the tips! Looks like im waiting 1-2 years for my AM2 and 1900XTX or whatever new card comes out then :lol:

Though it kills me not being able to see the full beauty of Oblivion 🙁

 

[7H4_D00D3]

At least an R X800 vanilla or GF 6800.

Totally agree xD

 

[sirkillalot]

ok i got a new computer 2 years ago:

Now im thinking of upgrading my computer again in a year or two, but i was thinking if a quick 100-150 dollar (Canadian) fix would improve my gaming until then. (Im also getting an 512mb ram upgrade)
Would this Vid cards be worth the 140 bux until i fully upgrade my computer in a year or two?
Sapphire Radeon X1300 512MB PCI-E $119

Thanks in advance!

The better you upgrade now the longer you can use it before the nexted one so save as much as you can then go all out...imo

at least 1 gig ram
and 7900gt

 

[PX7800GT]

I Agree With SIRKILLALOT , Upgrade Now But Memory First (1Gb) and Buy a X800GTO or X800XT or 6800GS , (X800XT is Recommanded)
:twisted:
Dont Even Think About Buynig a X1300 Card :!:

 

[xChaoSx]

i upgraded to 1 gig ram and holy sh*t its a boost in performance. All my games when i let them auto select my options would put resolution to 800x600 and meduim everything. With 1 gig ram it goes MAX on every setting..insane how much a 50 dollar upgrade boost performance!

 

[angry_ducky]

no $hit