Amd Cpu

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Originally posted here by SirDice
I haven't seen any games that need more than you already have...

Please note that there aren't many games that take advantage of 64bit (the only one I know is FarCry) and/or dual-core (maybe only quake3/4?)...

Why do you need to upgrade?

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Played any of the latest FPS ? That system mostly likely won't even run BF2, much less play it well. I have an AMD 4000 with 1G ram and a Radeon X800 XT, SATA hdds, and, on high detail, BF2, Doom3, America's Army all tax it pretty hard. Even games like KOTOR II, Rome: Total War and Civilization IV can tax my system heavily at times, granted I know I could lower the settings a bit and speed things up, but I like watching pretty explosions :)

Your points about the dual core and 64 bit are quite accurate, and something I have tried to explain to my friends many times, but at the same time, the jump from a XP 2100+ to a AMD64 4000+ is a massive one and something I think that he would see qutie a big improvement from (If you don't go dual core, make sure your AMD processor is either FX or > 4000, socket 939, and smallest die size (90nm is better) to get the full feature set and 1M L2 cache, which can make a big difference in games). Whereas the performance difference between a AMD 64 4000 and AMD 64X2 3800 are debateable (and until recently, the single core won on performance (see tom's hardware for some guidelines, they have a recent article on it) ).

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Originally posted here by mavro6000
I have a AMD XP 2100. I have 160 gig hardrive and 512 of ram. I need to upgrade my mobo/CPU/VGA.

I haven't seen any games that need more than you already have...

Please note that there aren't many games that take advantage of 64bit (the only one I know is FarCry) and/or dual-core (maybe only quake3/4?)...

Why do you need to upgrade?

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I have to agree with nebulus200... Not only is that setup not capable of playing games worth playing (Doom 3, quake 4, etc...), but I bet it's an HP or something with less then satisfactory components. And if he did build it, he might not have originally built it with gaming in mind. An example would be his 512 mb of ram, it could have high latency and might only be pc2100 or pc2700... and let's face it, in the PC gaming world, that processor is outdated... And the FSB that CPU is capable of using is terrible for gaming...

AMD 64 FX-55 processor is very good for gaming. but the thing costs more than the total buget that you are putting for this.

you might, on the other hand try upgrading th ram first (1gb min). then get a good graphics card( something like radeon x800 xt).
its true that the fps games will really tax your system. compensate everything on the ram and the graphics card. therefore the importance of having a good one.
its usually the game engine and not the actual game which taxes your system. if you have a good hardware, all that is required is benchmarking your system. this can be done using softwares withing windows itself

bagggi, good advice, but if he's going to upgrade his RAM and vid card to that level, he's going to experience bottlenecking from his current CPU and the low FSB it uses... He needs a new processor and motherboard... Mavro, your best bet is to just build a whole new gaming machine, and start a network with your old PC and the gaming PC :)

Ok, First I wanted to thank you for all your help and support. I am going to clarify a few things. My system right now is an AMD Athlon XP 2100. I have 512 of ram on an ASROCK K7541gx mobo. Right now I have a NVIDIA Geforce MX 4000.

I play games like Civiliation4, FEAR, Fligh Sim 04. It lags just a bit.

I just purchased the Radeon X800XL. I bought for $250. Is that a good price or should I go for something better?

I am not sure to purchase the AMD 64 4000, or the AMD X2 3800? And, which mobo should I purchase. I want to keep the mobo and the cpu under $425. Should I return my VGA card (Radeon X800XL) and get something better?

My hardrive right now is a Seagate Ultra ATA/100?

What brand of RAM should I purchase?

IF you will please help me out I would really appreciate.
Also, should I purchase a sound card, if so which one?

I have logitech Z300 speakers and its sucks, does anyone recommend something better?

I hope I gave all the information that I know of. Again, I appreciate all your help.........

Thanks.........

NIck

I own an AMD Athlon64 3400+, 1GB, MSI K8T, Nvidia 6600GT and an Dual Athlon 2400+, 1GB, Gigabyte GA-7DPX, ATI 9700pro.. I think I already have some "bragging rights" :) But if I wanted to build a new system I'd look for something with an PCI-Express bus on it.. Seems the way to go and it should solve some of the performance bottlenecks that plague the "old" PCI/AGP systems..

Most RAM is fine. Looks for teh rband that come with lifetime warranties.

Kingston, Crucial, OCZ, Corsair. Never had a single problem using those brands. Avoid the generic bargain basement RAM. IT's probably fine for a budget office machine but if your going to push it hard and possibly play with a bit of overclocking it could give you problems.

SirDice is goiving sound advice regarding VGA cards. If you buy an expensive AGP card right now when you upgrade in the future it might not fit your new PCI-E mobo.

Price out what you would really like. If you can't afford it you could just wait and save until you can afford what you want, the prices of the kit will always come down as it becomes less shiny and new.

You could also look to see what you could buy now to improve your current system which would still work with your new machine. This does look like precious little however.

Best not to rush out and buy second best, hang on until you can get what you really want. There are always the January sales.

hi Mavro,
Having ferrari doesnt means your will be the fastest or first.
Gaming is something i do 5-6 hours every day ( i know guys but didnt have many toys when i was small:)))
Getting back to first sentence , the latest cpu or the latest fastest pc doesnt mean you will be master of games.
gaming depend of lot of things including how fast is your connection for a start.
I had same pc or very similar like yours when i started 3 years ago and since then only old part left is floppy drive.
I would recomend to invest in nice Case.I havent seen anyone mention it but heating of Amd could bring you some problems.
There are some pretty cool cases around.(my termaltake has 6 fans plus nice one on cpu.)
I have been seriously thinking to upgrade last few months.My parts would come close to 1800 in aussie dollars building it bymyself and that doesnt include case and power supply.
Once you get hooked on gaming or in pc in general upgrading is on your mind every day .better faster and most of us will go along with it if is not for budget and speed how fast this system become old.
Its like following fasion.
Every season something new.
I would go as guys suggested with asus motherboard 939 amd 64 1 mg ram for a start and power supply (no cheap ones), awsome case and then we talk much more money.
A guys sugested look into toms hardware they are very good and have nice rewiews.www.tomshardware.com
Look www.asus.com they have nice reviews of all motherboard sand specifications of all of them and in specs you can see wich memory match motherboards, which cpu can have and how far after you can upgrade.
I wish you luck in building gaming case.Have a good study what you can build and what you can add after on you excisting hardware.
Your friends bragg but i am sure majority of tham hack or cheat little bit in games or they play for a few yesrs already.
Practise makes perfect

FWIW I've played many FPS games.. I love them :)

And I've been beaten to pulp by guys/girls with less hardware/framerates/connectionspeeds than mine... It doesn't seem to bother them and they play like the best of them.. Getting bigger, badder hardware will not improve your gameplay.. Playing for hours on end will..

just as invi$ible said. there is nothing like gaming (i got the spelling right this time). its fun, it keeps you occupied more than tv or movies, and one can drool over all that awesome graphics(which people in the industry put months to make).

and best of all it makes one think. thus improving brain power.

and another one- it improves your hand to eye coordination.