CPU/Mobo Is this config good enough for a futureproof gaming rig??

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deathdemon89

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Hey im plannin to buy myself a new GFX card soon,and im interested in the X1800 XT in particular.I want this one cuz i can dual it with another one in the future with that awesome new Crossfire technology :ohyeah: So i was wondering if a 2.4 Ghz processor with 768 MB of DDR RAM (my current config) would bottleneck the card.I sure think so,so i was wondering whether a 3.2 Ghz processor(AMD,64 bit.I wanna shift to Vista as soon as its released :P) with 512 MB of DDR2 RAM and the X1800 XT is good enough to last me for another year and a half...This config couldnt possibly bottleneck it right???
 
You re so wrong!!!

AMD's fastest is 2.8Ghz whichis the FX-57... costs above 45K only for the processor. Mobo extra... maybe around 10K.

And even 1 GB of RAM would bottleneck it. You need at least 2 GB of high quality RAM like Crucial Ballistix.

And AMD have not yet shiofted ot DDR2. U need standar DDR 1 RAM.
 
Really?? O then AMD is out of the question,i guess...:annoyed: :cry: so what config do u think should be suitable? Does Intel have a 3.2 Ghz 64 bit processor with a mobo that supports DDR2 RAM and is compatible with the X1800 XT?
 
jeez.... why r you obsessed with DDR2?? DDR2 on Intel platforms make no difference whatsoever.

I suggest you go for an AMD X2 4800+, 2 GB Crucial Ballistix, X1800XT and a nice mobo.

Dont be stuck on DDR2. That is being damn stooopid.

And AMD s waaaaaaaaaaay better than Intelfor gaming inspite of the clock speed being somewha slow. Dont be such a ghz freak. :P
 
FX-57 is 66K as what i have heard.[correct me]
IMHO get a San Deigo Core and OC it to 2.8Ghz.

The 3700 is the cheapest SD and runs at 2.2Ghz [correct me]
Cost 18K approx.

AMD running at 2.0 Ghz can beat an Intel 3Ghz easily when it comes to gamming.

Dont go by clock speeds AMD is rich on features.
One such feature is onchip DDR Controller which provided more memory bandwidth than AMD.

Also the Hyper Trasnport Bus.
 
First off, nvidia allows SLI as well . So you are not purely restricted to ATI for using dual gfx cards. Its not that i'm recommending nvidia, i'm just saying that you have your options. Make sure you choose the correct motherboard platform for the gfx card you choose i.e. nForce4 SLI for nVidia cards and Crossfire for ATI cards.

Next, AMD Athlon64 procs are undoubtedly the *best* for any form of gaming. So if gaming is your target, AMD Athlon 64's have to be on your wishlist. In case you dont know, AMD never has followed the "higher clock speed is better" theory that Intel does, as a result they have slower clocked processors that still perform equivalently/better than higher-clocked Intel processors.

For example, an Athlon64 3000+ has a clock speed of 1.8Ghz , but has a "3000+" rating indicating that it is equivalent/better in performance than a 3.0Ghz Pentium 4 processor, an Athlon64 3200+ would be equivalent to a 3.2Ghz Pentium 4 processor. There are Athlon 64 processors rated for 3000+, 3200+... so on to 4000+. Please specify your budget so we can suggest what would fit you best !

Nikhil is right, games these days are very demanding on your RAM. 1GB (512MB x 2) is the bare minimum, however games like Battlefield 2 have tipped the scales in favour of 2GB of RAM (1GB x 2). Hence the recommendation for 2 x 1GB mem sticks.
 
As usual, Sir Crazy_Eddy to the rescue!!:)
@DeathDemon-And when i read your post on the GHz thing, i wanted to post what Eddy did!!
But saw his post and said- when it comes to PC issues- Thank God and the TE MOD!!:hap2:
Me a noob but all MODs here and other TE guys will give you so much info, you don't need to check anywhere else!!
I personally need to OC my Brain to assimilate all thats posted here!!:rofl:
But everyone here will do the analysis and conclusion for you!!:clap:
YOU JUST NEED TO PICK THE FINAL THING!!
OOOh OOh OOh OOH!! THE SWEETEST THING!!:rofl:
 
lol ur right BIKeINSTEIN they're really helpful.I always thought clockspeeds were the be-all-and-end-all when it came to processors...This has been quite enlightening.I've decided to buy an AMD cuz my main purpose for the upgrade is gaming.Unfortunately,im not very good at OCing so i would always prefer a stock processor.I dont wanna take any chances.Which stock AMD would be best? My budget is 20k.
 
I just checked the slashed prices for AMD processors.The 3800+ seems to fit my bill.But do dual-core processors really help in gaming? Or could i settle for a non-dual core 64 bit?
 
Yep, at the moment most games are designed for single-core processors, so you will not see any improvement with a dual-core. This is evident from the fact that AMD's top gaming processor - the FX-57 is still a single core running at 2.8Ghz.

However with the advent of dual-core, future games are bound to be designed to take advantage of multiple cores. With a dual-core, multi-tasking will get a tremendous boost. For example, you could play Quake4 on one core, and run a virus scan on the other core - without slowing down your Q4 !

If you are planning for a dual-core, consider the speed of each core on the dual-core proc to get an idea of what equivalent performance you will get. For example, an X2 3800+ has 2 cores running at 2.0Ghz each. So, apps designed for single-core will show performance equivalent to a 2.0Ghz single core processor i.e. an Athlon 64 3200+.
 
AFAIK it will be a while till games are optimised for dual cores, as they aldready have a lot of optimisations to do on the gpu end...

Also do not look at International prices and availibity unless you are planning to buy from abroad. A64 X2 3800+ might not even be available in the market. Sure one or two ppl may find it, but it will be tough to rocure one, even if you do get one it will be at a premium, Afaik for the best VFM right now get a 3200+ and overclcok it slightly should be more then enough.

Crossfire boards are not availble in India, and are rare abroad also, stik with Nforce 4 tech rt now, SLI is just money well wasted technology which will have a bragging 3dmark score. Stick with one card right now, in any case high end cards from Nvidia as well as ATI can handle all the games with eye candy to maximum.
 
yea thats what im plannin to do..im just gonna buy a single card right now,the X1800,im not plannin to dual it with another as of yet...no game needs that much power right now....and the processor thing makes sense too...yea,i guess ill go for the 3200+ with 2 gigs of RAM,then...but it wouldn't bottleneck the card would it?? And is the X1800 compatible only with Crossfire motherboards? Cuz I wasn't planning to buy one right now..I was thinking of changing the motherboard when i felt the need to dual my card and use an ordinary mobo for now...
 
Yep, I forgot to mention, X2's are somewhat of a rarity here. The only X2 model somewhat easily available in India is the X2 4200+.

In that case, you could even get a 3000+ and easily overclock it to 2.4Ghz speeds (i.e. 3800+ rating).

The X1800 isnt compatible only with Crossfire boards, it will work fine on any motherboard with a PCI-Express graphics slot. An nForce4 board would be your best bet, these are as cheap as 6.4K for the Asus A8N-E. For using it in Crossfire mode, you will obviously need the Crossfire board.
 
that an X2 3200+ or wot??:huh:

As far as DDR2 goes i think u know that they r at 533/667MHZ and only when stick with around 1K Mhz appear willthey show significant boost in performance!! They expensive too for now!! but they support higher density per stick!! earlier i was disappointed with AMD not going DDR2 but its cool for now!!:)

Yeah , i hope ordinary as in inexpensive but good mobo!!:bleh:

And if you plan well, make good use of the X2, else stick to the SD3700+, OC it and buy some good cooling as Quad suggested!! Even the Bachchu 3000+ is used at 2.4G by almost everyone here!!

Guys, Freaky said 0523EPAW similar to 0517EPAW!!:clap:
i searched 2 weeks for the 0517 and then settled for 0521!! DAMN!!:@
Should i get that for my friend!!:hap2:

And since you r from Pune, maybe the OC Master, Sir Darklord will help you with it!! If you show due Respect and Admiration for his skills that is!!:)

All the best!! May the best Proccy for you Win!!:rofl:
 
Wow.I was totally unaware of all this :ashamed: So lets say I manage to get my hands on an X2.Crazy_Eddy,u said a 3200+ would be equivalent to a 3.2 Ghz processor right? So would an X2 3800+ mean it has the power of a 3.8 Ghz processor?? If so,would that be the power of a single core or of both cores combined?
 
Wow.I was totally unaware of all this So lets say I manage to get my hands on an X2.Crazy_Eddy,u said a 3200+ would be equivalent to a 3.2 Ghz processor right? So would an X2 3800+ mean it has the power of a 3.8 Ghz processor?? If so,would that be the power of a single core or of both cores combined?

X2 3800+ is a 2ghz * 2 proccy with 512 kb L2 cache. Tech report has a nice review of the same :

http://techreport.com/reviews/2005q3/athlon64-x2-3800/index.x?pg=1
 
X2 3800 will perform better than its Intel Counterpart Pentium D 820.

Although, i have no complaints with my Pentium D.

X2 4400 is the least id go for as it has 2 * 1 MB L2 Cache, while the X2 3800 4200 and 4600 have 2 * 512KB L2 Cache. :).

Though a X2 3800 is very good.

It mathes upto the performance of the 3200+ and its future proof too.

Id say go for the X2 with 2 GB Ram and a 7800GTX 512MB(as it releases).
 
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