Aces High Bulletin Board
General Forums => Hardware and Software => Topic started by: maddafinga on December 19, 2009, 07:52:15 PM
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So I was looking at getting a GTX260 so I could run AH with everything turned on, I know the psu will handle it without any problem, and I have plenty of cooling in my case. The issue that I'm seeing is that the card used pci-e 2 and my existing card only has a pci-e 1 interface. I assume that the card will fit but it it's wanting to run on the 2 interface and my mobo only has the 1, wouldn't that sort of hamstring the card? I'm kind of assuming that it'll work, just not as fast or up to its potential at all.
Now my other option is to get a new mobo/cpu combo that will work with my existing ram and that has a pci-e 2.0 already in it and then get the new card to put into that. The board I'm using now is a kind of crappy Abit nf-m2sv with an Athalon 64 X2 dual core 5200, and I feel like it does ok, but my 8600gt just isn't cutting it anymore. So what I'm thinking I could do is either, A) get this board http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813157160 and put my existing cpu and ram and everything onto it and use the new vid card in it as well. Or B) Get this mb/cpu combo http://www.newegg.com/Product/ComboDealDetails.aspx?ItemList=Combo.305245 and plug the old ram into that. A is certainly much cheaper for sure, but with option B I feel like I could add a couple more years onto the life of this computer before I go and build myself a much faster new one. I've got 4gig of ddr2 800 right now, which is probably going to be ok for a year or so before I feel the need for more and faster ram. I'm still using XP for the time being anyway, so more ram really wouldn't do me any good at all anyway.
I plan to get the vid card no matter what, my question is would I be that much more ahead to get the combo deal and then have to get ram later and listen to girlfriend ack all the while, OR get just the mobo, on the cheap, and eek it out with an older cpu for a couple of years?
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If it were my choice to make...and to save a little money yet maintain some upgrade capacity:
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813131381 (http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813131381)
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Good specs, but the cpu I have is an Athalon 64 x2. Would that board work with my processor, since I didn't see it specifically listed, or since it says it supports Athalon x2 in general is that a blanket statement that means I'd be able to plug my cpu into the board with no problem? I'm pretty sure that I've seen boards that have Athalon x2 and Athalon 64x2 both listed under supported cpu types, I think I have anyway, so does that mean that they are different cpus or am I just being overly cautious here? If that board would work for sure I'd be all over it to be honest with you, I just don't want to get it only to find that it won't work with my existing cpu.
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If it says socket AM2 it should work. There are SOMETIMES exceptions, but very rarely, I think you will be ok.
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Heya Madda,
prob the key thing regarding your decision, would be how much do you want to spend right now?
I would do this Combo, to utilize all your exisiting Ram, HD, DVD or CD drive, etc.......unless your money option is is a concern.......
http://www.newegg.com/Product/ComboDealDetails.aspx?ItemList=Combo.299383
or this other Newegg Combo suggestions, that cost a bit less......:
http://www.newegg.com/Product/ComboDealDetails.aspx?ItemList=Combo.308499 $271.98
( roughly $30+ more than your combo pick ) ( Read the Reviews )
or just this Motherboard and use all your old CPU(as long as it is AM2 minimal), Ram, drives, along with that new GTX260 you want to get...:
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813131361 ( offers many future upgrade options over any of the other boards I have seen listed so far )
the only thing you would be giving up is the option to use the newer DDR3 memory....... but the motherboard I have linked to gives you the following memory upgrade options: DDR2 1300(O.C.)/1200(O.C.)/1066*/800/667
over your current memory of 4gig of ddr2 800
also I liked to point out that upgrading to Windows 7 64 bit, you will gain a much better experience and use of your current 4 gigs and even more memory when you want to add more........
I use both Windows XP pro 32 bit and Windows 7 Ultimate 64 bit, and I experience better performance in Aces High on my Windows 7 64 bit partiton.... I currently have (4) 1 Gig sticks of PC6400 (800 mhz DDR2 ) only get to use 3.25 gigs total in Win XP, get to use it all in Win 7.... although I do use some 64 bit apps as well........
hope this helps.......... Good Luck......... ( and check your PM's ;) )
Johnny ( TC )
edit: newegg page link to your existing MB you are wanting to replace:
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813127048
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I do intend to upgrade to win7 64, just not immediately. I don't have a ton of money to spend on myself for christmas, so I'm trying to operate a bit on the cheap while not being on the bottom end. The new Windows will happen too, I want to be able to use more than the 3 gigs of ram xp recognizes. It'll just be couple of months further down the road. I'm still looking at stuff here and kicking around how much I can really afford. Something's going to have to be done though. I want new parts!
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TC good choices but...isn't the 790 a bit over the top if maddafinga wants to use his existing hardware? The 770s have almost identical specs to the 790s sans some obvious points but, with madda's existing hardware it's more complimentary, offers upgrade options and is more cost effective.
Just sayin.
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TC good choices but...isn't the 790 a bit over the top if maddafinga wants to use his existing hardware? The 770s have almost identical specs to the 790s sans some obvious points but, with madda's existing hardware it's more complimentary, offers upgrade options and is more cost effective.
Just sayin.
when I was looking at what MB's he had picked or others had offered. I looked at both the North Bridge chipset and South bridge Chipset.....
Regarding North Bridge chipset:
He will have opportunity to gain more with the AMD790FX over the lower 700 models, or even the AMD 790X model ( I have to find the old review, that helped me pick my current MB... to back this up )
South Bridge Chipset Information:
The only thing SB600 and SB700 have different is the SATA port count (and that they use A-Link 2.0 (PCI-E 2.0 x4 connection with the NB)), while SB750 is the one that features ACC (Advanced Clock Caliberation). So SB700 is more similar to SB600 than to SB750.
he mentioned either just picking a MB and using all his exisitng stuff or pick a MB/CPU combo..... I had 1st thought of the same CPU he chose along with the MB I am suggesting. but it was way to costly, and I figured he was trying to cut cost.. then I remembered the:
AMD Athlon II X4 630 Propus 2.8GHz Socket AM3 95W Quad-Core CPU
which will blow away his current CPU ( 5200 X2 ) and can overclock with ease, if he desires or feels the need too without touching any Vcore adjustments ( just has to bump the FSB multiplier ) people ae getting 3.2 to 3.5 easily on Air cool ........
and I looked at the price of the Combo he had chosen, the options & features that MB had........ and figured if ya going to go with either a new MB or a MB/CPU combo why not go FULLTILT and get a MB that you can really EXPAND with ( provided the AM3 socket AMDs run for a few years )
since I have kind of known maddafinga for years.. I looked at his situation as if it were me... my PC I am using now is equipped with an ASUS M3A32-MVP Deluxe WiFi-AP MB.. although I have a very disrespected AMD 64 Athlon 6400+ X2 3.2 gig Dual Core Processor ( actually works very well for me).. I am able to upgrade to the AM2+ and with bios flash to an AM3 when I am ready...... my MB is over 1 1/2 yrs old already btw.....
Reference websites about my own MB:
http://www.asus.com/product.aspx?P_ID=KC8yHOfBMCe9SlrP&templete=2
http://event.asus.com/mb/AM3_CPU_Support/
so he can use all his existing hardware now....... and he can have a very long upgrade path to boot.....except for the DDR3 part, I mentioned before...
I even told him in a PM to look at maybe getting an Ati 5750/5770/5870 video card....depending on their cost verses the GTX260 he had listed above..... he'd might save money there, and also have DirectX 11 support to boot....... and GDDR5 memory?....... ( I have not checked what specs the GTX260 has or its cost )
anyways that is why I recommended he go with the MB I had suggested.......
it solely is up to maddafinga to pick his setup.... I was just giving him a "what TC would do in my situation, and was budgeting my funds to get the most umph out of what I buy" type thought....... How far could I really UPGRADE before completely rebuilding a total New PC type thought.....
hope this is a acceptable answer, gyrene
my apologys to everyone for being such long winded in some of my posts........ :salute
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Yeah TC if he decides to jump on the CPU/mobo combo, may as well be that 790FX mobo. The Nvidia GTX260 is not as expensive as those new ATI cards...but then it doesn't have the specs either. Personally, the way things are right now, if you have an AMD chip...use an Asus or Gigabyte mobo and ATI video cards.
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Yeah TC if he decides to jump on the CPU/mobo combo, may as well be that 790FX mobo. The Nvidia GTX260 is not as expensive as those new ATI cards...but then it doesn't have the specs either. Personally, the way things are right now, if you have an AMD chip...use an Asus or Gigabyte mobo and ATI video cards.
Yeah I hardly ever look at any Nvidia pricing, since I am a diehard Ati fanboi :D, but just for the heck of it I went and did a cost comparison between the GTX260 he posted above compared to the most current/ nearly current different models of the Ati series ) only checked pricing at the egg btw )
price comparision:
GTX260 model:
lowest found: $ 169.99 highest: $224.99
ATI 5750 model:
lowest found: $ 139.99 highest: $154.99
ATI 5770 model:
lowest found: $ 162.99 highest: $179.99 ( very nice card, I chose this to compare to the GTX260 going only on price in comparison below for specs)
ATI 5850 model:
lowest found: $ 309.00 highest: $359.99 ( I personally would go up to the 5870 before buying a 5850 model ... I like the **70's series )
ATI 5870 model:
lowest found: $ 399.99 highest: $429.99 ( nearly Extreme )
ATI 5970 model:
lowest found: $ 649.99 highest: $719.99 ( for the Extreme )
with that comparison........I would look at the below SPECS comparison Nvidia verse ATI :
Nvidia GTX260 model ( I picked the 3 models to link to)
EVGA Model 896-P3-1255-AR cost: $214.99 Lifetime limited Warranty
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814130434&cm_re=GTX260-_-14-130-434-_-Product
BFG Tech BFGEGTX260MC896OC2DE cost: $199.99 Lifetime limited Warranty
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814143198&cm_re=GTX260-_-14-143-198-_-Product
ECS Black Series NBGTX260-896MX-F GeForce GTX 260 cost: $169.99 3 Years PartsWarranty 2 Years Labor Warranty
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814134077&cm_re=GTX260-_-14-134-077-_-Product
ATI 5770 model ( I picked the 3 models to link to)
ASUS EAH5770/2DIS/1GD5/V2 cost: $174.99 3 Years Warranty
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814121355
XFX HD-577A-ZNFC cost: $174.99 Lifetime limited Warranty
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814150447
SAPPHIRE 100283L Radeon HD 5770 (Juniper XT) cost: $179.99 2 Years Warranty
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814102858
the ATI 4890 series is more inline with the Nvidia GTX260 series , if you was looking at both being DirectX 10.1 compatible
XFX HD-489X-ZSFC Radeon HD 4890 1GB 256-bit GDDR5 cost: $189.99 ( $169.99 after mai in rebate ) Lifetime limited Warranty
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814150438
or an ATI 4870 series
XFX HD-487A-ZWFC Radeon HD 4870 1GB 256-bit GDDR5 cost: $154.99 Lifetime limited Warranty
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814150436
1st my apologies, if I was not suppose to list prices here.... I was simply trying to show the differences between the Nvidia vs the ATI series and cost differences.........
ok, I am done being long winded with my replys and suggestions and making you all read so much ( just be glad I did not include all the specs in this reply ).... will let you all be now........ :cheers: :bolt:
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I'll say it again...get a 5770! I am a proud owner of one...didn't know it but I was flying FS2004 at one point...alt tabbed and forgot about it. Opened up AH and played for 30 or 40 mins...alt tabbed to load up Eve Online and forgot about AH...I suffered no FR drops while playing Eve at it's highest settings. Now I know that the 5770 isn't the powerhouse of the computer, my quad core CPU is, but regardless the HD5770 is quite impressive.
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http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813128387
heres a gigabyte Motherboard I use and like ......its ddr2, no intergrated graphics and has lots of features, something else to look at
I don't see much for package deals for it at newegg though
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TC don't feel bad about long posts man, I much prefer more info to not enough. As far as the ATI, you guys seem to have convinced me. Now I've got to start looking at those and the specs for them.
The last ATI card that I bought was a 4 meg (yes meg) pass through card. You plugged it in and it had an external wire that connected to the monitor port on the computer, and you plugged the monitor into that. I bought it when I first discovered AW years and years ago. I hated it and never bought another. In recent years however, I start to see ATI kicking some serious hiney. I think I'll be getting one of them instead. I'm still debating on whether to get a cpu/mb combo or just a mb, but I'm leaning toward the combo. I think I can make it play with the gf to get the cpu and vid card. I think... I'll have to see after christmas how I can make it all work out though. I may have to seperate the purchases by a month or so.
It's been my experience that getting more information seldom helps make a decision easier. All the different options I hadn't really considered seem to have increased the complexity of my dilemma. I'm strongly, very strongly leaning to the combo though. Now I have to decide which one. How does the Phenom II compare to the AthalonII ? If I split up the purchases and get the vid card a month or so after I get the mobo/cpu, then I could probably go 300 or so on the combo as my christmas present to me, and then get a 300 dollar or so vid card, since it would be a necessity at that point really, the system would require it. See how that works?
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If I split up the purchases and get the vid card a month or so after I get the mobo/cpu, then I could probably go 300 or so on the combo as my christmas present to me, and then get a 300 dollar or so vid card, since it would be a necessity at that point really, the system would require it. See how that works?
There you go...problem solved.
I used to buy nothing but ATI until the last 9 series then I switched to Nvidia because the games I was playing peformed better with GeForce cards than the Radeons. Now that ATI has released this latest generation of video cards, I'm seriously considering ATI/AMD across the board for my next pc.
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So would I be ahead to get the vid card first or the combo first?
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So would I be ahead to get the vid card first or the combo first?
well, if you going to spend $300 or so on the Combo and then again on the video? then I say go ahead and get the AMD
Phenom II X4 955 Black Edition Deneb 3.2GHz / ASUS M4A79 Deluxe AM3/AM2+/AM2 AMD 790FX ATX AMD Motherboard combo
only thing you will not be acquiring is the DDR3 RAM option.........
then if you going to be able to get another $300 or so for video after 1st of the year. go with at least the ATI 5850...... ( look at the thread in this forum that Kazaa has on his 5850 ATI card, showing ingame screenshots )
for a reference of what you prob will be able to obtain......
still. take everything all of us say here with a grain of salt. we are simply making our opinionated suggestions....... it is still your call and final decision.... ;)
wish the best .... hope this helps
Johnny ( TC )
EDIT: btw if you don't know already, I am an AMD / ASUS/ ATI fanboi :D ..... have had nothing but Excellent Service out of ASUS products ( videocard, MB's, DVD/CD burners etc... )
EDIT 2: the Phenom II will have the extra 6 MB L3 Cache .. the Athlon II I linked to in the combo does not have L3 Cache.. but it is 95W and runs cooler than the 125W Phenom II.......
also NOTE* the MB you posted that you currently have, says it is a Micro ATX........... be sure that the New MB will fit your Case...... and remember all these new items will produce alot more heat than what you are used to....... please consider this aspect as well.......
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Oh yeah, I have a great big Thermaltake case with two huge bellybutton fans and three 120mm fans to boot. It's roomy and plenty cool, much more so than I even need right now in fact. http://www.thermaltakeusa.com/Product.aspx?C=1390&ID=1835 I got it with an eye to upgrading about a month ago. This mb is tiny inside it. I used an ASUS mb in the first computer I ever built some years back, never had a single problem with it. I have built a couple since then but only was able to get whatever the first and cheapest option to come along was. I'm hoping this will be something of a good step up from what I have now and what I've had the last several years. (I did take a 9 or 10 year layoff from flying due to real life interfering, so I didn't need a good puter really.) I'm further hoping that it'll last me one or two years before I have to start a new build from the ground up, I think these two upgrades will make that happen and make me very happy in the interim. The gf may complain some, but she'll get over it.