PC Upgrade Dilemma

Zef

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Hi all - need some help.
Current system is Pent III 866 512 pc133 ram and a Geforce 2 Ultra Gfx card.

now the challenge is to upgrade the cheapest and best way.

looking at the range of upgade bundles at komplett, I can across ones with onboard vga Onboard deals . Now would it be wise to go with one of these or a standard upgrade package: standard packages and keep my current vid card...

note my budget is too keep under £200...
 
IMO it's currently better to upgrade your graphics card first, then worry about the motherboard and processor.

I've got a similar spec pc to you but my graphics card, a leadtek nVidia 4200 Ti 64Mb mean even games like Unreal Tournament 2004 and Hidden and Dangerous 2, CMR 4 run nicely for me.
 
Originally posted by Mr.The.Spoon
a leadtek nVidia 4200 Ti 64Mb mean even games like Unreal Tournament 2004 and Hidden and Dangerous 2, CMR 4 run nicely for me.

Ive got the Leadtek 4200 ti 128mb card,and trust me ,we are going to be struggling big time with the games being released over the forthcoming months:(

Games such as Farcry,Doom3,etc are the first ones which are actually going to require the current available technology to get anywhere near fullfilling their potential.

A new proccessor is the first on my list,and depending how my system copes with Farcry and Soldner I may wait for HL2 till I get a new gfx card,which is going to make the biggest difference.

(Sorry Zef,not much help to you,just rambling)
 
Originally posted by Mr.The.Spoon
a leadtek nVidia 4200 Ti 64Mb mean even games like Unreal Tournament 2004 and Hidden and Dangerous 2, CMR 4 run nicely for me.

Ive got the Leadtek 4200 ti 128mb card,and trust me ,we are going to be struggling big time with the games being released over the forthcoming months:(

Games such as Farcry,Doom3,etc are the first ones which are actually going to require the current available technology to get anywhere near fullfilling their potential.

A new proccessor is the first on my list,and depending how my system copes with Farcry and Soldner I may wait for HL2 till I get a new gfx card,which is going to make the biggest difference.

(Sorry Zef,not much help to you,just rambling)
 
ive just bought a radeon sapphire 9200 se £36 how will this struggle at the newer games as ive played the first level of half life 2 and it runs sweet same as when i play the demo of farcry while im on the subject what is this card comparable to nower days (im only a casual gamer)
 
Hi mate,it may play the recent demos ok as does mine,but not with all the settings set to their highest and IIRC the demos are minus dx9 so a lot of the effects arent even in them.

I think someone posted some screenshots of Farcry with coldfilter enabled(a feature only available with dx9 I think)and the difference was huge.

Obviously we will be able to play all the new games but it will be like watching tv on a small black and white portable when we should be watching an 8ft plasma with 6.1dts;)

Out of curiosity,what "first level of HL2"are you talking about cos if its the leaked build,Im sure that isnt going to include all the bells and whistles which are gonna need the extra juice of the new cards.
 
its all in really dodgy russian talk
 
so can anyone give me any advice ?.

If I were to go with a graphics card - I think I might go ATI theres a 9600 pro at Aria for £81 - will this improve my current setup ??.
 
Yes it will....

However, you will notice problems in other areas.

There is no cheap way to upgrade your system, with your current setup you have unfortunately reached the point where it will need mobo, CPU, GPU and memory upgrades.

At least the 9600 Pro will be a decent card to transfer to a new system when you get the cash.
 
Unfortunately your system is too long in the tooth and will no longer cut it with regard to the current crop of games that are coming out. I'd save a while longer and build yourself a completely new system as £200 is not enough to give you much of a peformance gain as most of your components need bringing up to date. Here's an idea of what I'd suggest you need to budget for :-

mobo(onboard 6.1 sound), cpu, memory package £170:-

http://www.komplett.co.uk/k/ki.asp?sku=114450&cks=PRL

Case and psu £63:-

http://www.komplett.co.uk/k/ki.asp?sku=114494&cks=PRL

graphics card £145:-

http://www.komplett.co.uk/k/ki.asp?sku=122901&cks=SER

Hard drive from £32:-

http://www.overclockers.co.uk/acatalog/Online_Catalogue_Maxtor_Hard_Drives_9.html

dvd/cd drive from £10:-

http://www.overclockers.co.uk/acatalog/Online_Catalogue_CD_ROM_Drives_113.html

OS windows XP home £60

above are just examples of what's on offer you could find cheaper if you shop around:)

For around £450-£500 you would get a good spec machine which will be able to run all the current crop of games at high resolutions and with all graphical eyecandy you could want:devil:
 
hi there im in the same boat as zef PCS ARE **** HOLES im in the middle of sorting my pc too at the mo i have a 750 amd processor and 320meg of ram i can only go upto a 1.6 processor on my current board so this is the plan
amd xp 2800 barton cpu £79.00
pc chips m848 alu skta mother board £25.00
branded 256 mb ddr pc 3200 ddr 400 £37.00
how would this all work together as a unit?? also would there be any difference in performance in my graphics card A RADEON SAPPHIRE 9200 SE as the new board would be a 8x board also is it true that i will need to reinstall xp as a pc shop told me that i might have to thanks for your time
if anyone would like to see the choices ive made there here
www.web-systems.co.uk
thanks alot
ps are amd better than intel on processors??
 
I personally wouldn't have <512mb of ddr memory and would advise you go for 1024mb if you can:)
The 9200 is qite a low end card but you'd get improved performance if your new mobo support 8x agp over an old one that was 2x. Amd processors are not necessarily better than intel you just tend to get the same performance for less money:)
If you get an xp2800+ with 512mb of pc3200 ddr memory it'd be quite a power house of a system the weakest link being your graphics card then imo. I'd save up and get a radeon 9800 pro (around £120) to maximise the overall system performance but your old card will tide you over:) I'm assuming that this is going to be a gaming rig that will cope with the likes of Far Cry and doomIII etall:D

what case and power supply will you be using because all this new gear will need more juice than your older system. I'd not use a psu<350W for the above kinda spec.
 
thanks for the info, looks like I need to start saving and persuade Mrs Zef that a new PC is needed... :)
 
hawklord i think the mother board has 3 memory slots so gradually would get 2 512 mg or ram then another how do you like them apples
 
would i need to reinstall xp when i switch everything??? the board
 
Yes it'd be a complete re-install- always best with new mobo especially. It'll give you a chance to do a good clear out of files etc. Just make sure you download all the up to date drivers and make a note of all you internet settings etc. It's probably easier to just buy a new hard drive and start from scratch at least then you'll have all of your current data accesable on your old disc (you always forget something lol).
 

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