Help: Video Card Upgrade Opinions

[Applebutter]

my system current consists of a 1.5 G P4, 256 M ram, geforce2 mx....i currently play mostly half-life(counter-strike, tfc) and some quake 3 so my system performs good enough for these but i was not able to play warcraft 3 at a high detail level.....what makes the most sense for me if all i have is say $300 to spend and i want to play some of the upcoming games with good framerate/quality?

geforce4 Ti 4200 or similiarly priced radeon

or

radeon 9500

or

radeon 9700 / geforce fx (when it comes out)

will my system really benefit (is it worth the extra money) if i upgrade to one of the high end cards?....or will the cpu speed really limit the card?

 

[TourGuide]

Bump to a GF3 Ti and jack your proc speed up and get another 256 if you can.

It makes little sense to spend the green on those high end cards with system specs like that unless you intend to keep the card for a LONG time and build the system around it. That may be your choice, but I personally would not make that decision.

 

[AnAndAustin]

If that RAM is SDR PC133 then chuck it out along with your mobo as your perf will be well below a PIII or Duron. I'd start by getting your RAM to 512MB, then consider a CPU upgrade, 2ghz shouldn't be too costly. Then I'd suggest either a Rad9500PRO or 4200 depending how much cash you have left over. 256MB and a Rad9500PRO is a better idea than 512MB and a 4200 (or even 4600) so see what the prices add up to

 

[Applebutter]

thanks for your input....my ram is rdram 800 so i think it is worth holding onto another 256MB will definitely help matters....i don't know if it is worth going up 1/2 a gig in the processor considering my cpu is socket 423 (do they matter a 2 GHz socket 423 chip?)

i was looking at a powerleap pl-p4/n that will convert my socket 423 motherboard to allow it to use the newer northwood chip this will cost 50 bucks alone and the 2.4 GHz will cost around $180....is it worth going this route or would a new motherboard be a better option?....also at what speed will the P4 really be able to take use of the faster front side bus and is it worth going to a higher cpu speed if my motherboard can only use the lower fsb speed?

it seems like the cpu and ram upgrade alone will be a bit over 300 bucks so i guess there goes some of my christmas money

 

[AnAndAustin]

Yeah Rdram PC800 is still very good indeed, certainly as good as DDR PC2700. 256MB is not bad at all but adding between 128MB and 256MB is worth it esp if you run WinXP. Skt423 is still good and won't choke even a 2ghz CPU, but you do pay more for the slower Skt423 CPU. If an adapter will make your mobo Skt478 (minus the 533FSB ability I assume) it may be worth considering BUT at $50 it's as much as a very good and very new TRUE Skt478 mobo. Add to the fact that DDR PC2700 is cheap (compared to any Rambus) and it should be very tempting for you to consider switching to a Skt478 NW P4, 533FSB (either by default or o/c'ing) and 512MB DDR PC2700. I'd suggest you add up the cost and the pro/cons for each option open to you. Compared even to some PIII and Duron systems a P4 1.5ghz is certainly 'showing its age' so do consider your options carefully. Another thing to consider is switching to AMD which would really keep the cost down, AthlonXP2000+ is VERY cheap and nicely powerful (certainly equal to P4 2ghz) and would work VERY well even with DDR2100 although PC2700 would be better considering the price diff is small. Anyway there are plenty of options open to you so be sure to explore them all, if you want a quick, simple boost then a gfx card alone WILL give you PC a nice boost, IMHO you should be considering a CPU and mobo upgrade in the next few months but you can always take a new gfx card over to the 'new' PC anyway. Considering you're using a GF2MX even a GF4MX440 or Rad9000PRO will give a BIG boost, although GF4TI4200 or Rad9500PRO are worth the extra cash (esp if you plan to add a faster CPU later). If you plan to keep your 1.5ghz then you could save by going for a Rad8500LE-128MB (or other 8500) as this is a nice match and a very good gfx card!

I know a review site did a perf of a 4600 and 9700PRO on a range of CPUs (both P4 and A-XP) and this included a P4 1.6ghz, I'll route around, Xbit or FiringSquad IIRC.

HERE it is