We will start with one quick question...

[Slammy]

What do you guys think about changing/upgrading from a 2.4c 800mhz fsb P4 OCed to 3.3ghz 1100fsb on a ABIT AI7 i865pe mobo and a PNY 6800 GT AGP to say a AMD 3500+ venice core on a nforce 4 mobo either a DFI or a ABIT, and a leadtek 6800gt PCI express. Gonna attempt and run the same memory cause i cant afford new memory right now so i hope i dont have any major problems. I have 1 gig total, 2 sticks of 256mb Corsair XMS DDR433 and 2 sticks of 256mb Kingston Hyper X DDR433. I run this memory right now just fine at 440mhz in my intel setup with timings of 2-7-3-2. My current setup honestly runs extremely well considering i built it 2 years ago originally. I am just looking to see if you guys think the jump in performance, if any , will be that noticeable or am i wasting my money?

[Kabouter]

Wasting money, wait a little longer I say. Video card still the largest factor. That rig you have 'll last you another year for sure.

[Lithan]

You'll see a performance boost. But going from 6800gt agp to 6800gt pci-e is really inefficient. I'd wait until you're looking to upgrade your video anyway and get a 7800 or whatever is modern at the time. Since you seem happy with performance now, might as well hold off. Both amd and Intel are releasing new sockets and stronger dual core chips over the next couple years, so buying for the sake of a tech upgrade now is a bad move.

[Z3NiTH]

...bit of a waste IMO.
I was in a similar situation 6 months ago... upgraded from P4 2.8E (@ 4.3) + 6800nu to 3200+ + 6600GT SLI. New rig actually felt slower with the 3200+ @ 2.8gig... :( only with the FX55 did I really feel/see a marked improvement.

So if you want to upgrade right now you should consider either an FX or X2 and at least an x850 or 7800. ;)

[Slammy]

Well first off im not looking for ANY improvement from the PCI express video card over AGP. I know that PCI express is no better than AGP at the moment and im going with PCI express soley so i can use a nforce 4 chipset cause i will not use a VIA chipset and to allow me to have some upgradeabilty in the future. I will only use Intel/Nvidia chipsets, seen too many problems over the years with cheap chipsets. Thats the reason i went with intel in the first place back when i got my first socket 423 rambus p4 setup instead of a AMD, cause the chipsets. So figured if i was gonna get a new mobo AND i really wanted a Nforce 4 chipset, why not PCI-e? I have already sold my AGP 6800gt today for $250. So my main concern is with the cpu. For years ive always heard about how much better AMD was when it comes to games and thats what i wanna know about. This all started cause i was gonna be spending $300+ for 2gb of memory for my intel system so i can play BF2 and newer games maxed out, then i thought that a new cpu/mobo combo would be a better investment. I cant afford to get a X2 or a faster cpu than the 3500+, that is WAY more than i am looking to spend. I looked at gettin a san diego 3700+ but cant afford that right now even since i just quit my job. We are talking $675 max for video card, cpu and mobo. I could wait 3 years for 6ghz cpus to come out but i wanna know about the here and now. I have had this computer for over 2 years now and figured there has to be something better in my price range. I plan to OC this new setup as much as i possibly can and im sure that is what is gonna make the difference but from what you guys are saying, is that im not gonna see much if any improvement. Thats not sounding good to me at all, cause that means my 2 year old lowly 2.4 p4 is able to keep with most average peoples computers? I mean sure when i built this comp it was pretty awesome but by now it should be easily outclassed by something in the price range it was in when i bought it. Intel doesnt have crap for the future and besides their expensive edition all the prescott cpus are boiling hot pieces of crap, which id never in a million years spend 1000 just on a cpu. Just seems AMD is the one with a brighter future as far as performance is concerned. So you guys are honestly telling me to stick with Intel?

[Z3NiTH]

Stick with Intel? Not at all...

The reason the 3200+ felt slower for me is because I do a lot of development and other tasks on the rig as well, with gaming not being the main priority. The Prescott's HT helped in this case to make the rig feel more responsive. The brutal speed of the FX makes up for this though. The X2 seems to be a good mix...

If gaming is your main concern go with a 3000+ Venice and a top end graphics card. Most of these cpu's can overclock to respectable levels on air so that's good value for money. The graphics card is the most important factor so spend what you save on the CPU on this to make it more future proof if possible.

[Slammy]

Yea i am concerned with losing HT on my intel system. My buddy runs a AMD 3200+ socket 754 x800xl setup and my computer feels more responsive on the desktop and stuff. I can also beat his 3dmark05 score by over a 2000 points. As far as the video card, i really cant afford anything more high end than the 6800gt, theres not anything thats a worth while upgrade short of a 7800gtx and theres no way i could afford that and a mobo and cpu. I am looking to keep my video card at the same level of performance except hoping that maybe a faster cpu that can keep up with it will remove some of the cpu bottleneck these newer video cards supposedly have. I consider the 6800gt to be plenty powerful for most people when you look at the features it has over a ATI part. I dont see how gettin a supposedly more powerful x850xt then sticking it with a slower cpu than my current cpu as being a upgrade. I think i have plenty of video power and that i am lacking when it comes to cpu power for games. Unless this whole deal about AMD being leaps and bounds better than Intel in games is a myth? I am ow looking at gettin a 3700+ san diego AMD 64 and a DFI NF4 ultra mobo, i know the san diego is very little performance diff than the venice but im looking for whatever improvement i can get. So you guys think spending 300+ just on memory is a smarter choice? If i were to keep this setup i will be gettin 2gb of memory no matter what. I dont think spening that kinda money on just memory is gonna be my best bet for upgradrabilty since socket 478 is already dead. I did look at gettin a x2 3800+, the only way i could get one would be to downgrade my video card to like a 6600gt or that new x800gt thats coming out. I have a problem with that cause i dont think the 6600gt is gonna like my usual reso of 1280x960 that i game with using AA and AF. So i think i am gonna have to get a 6800gt or im not gonna be happy. If i could sell my current 2.4c p4 and mobo id have enough to get what i needed no problem. Anyone want a cpu and mobo for around 250-200 bucks? hehe

[Slammy]

ok guys, what about this setup. A 7800gtx, ABIT nForce 4 AN8 and a 3500+ venice amd 64? I might be able to do this setup if i can secure some cash.

[Z3NiTH]

ok guys, what about this setup. A 7800gtx, ABIT nForce 4 AN8 and a 3500+ venice amd 64? I might be able to do this setup if i can secure some cash.
Sounds like the right stuff! :D
...just not sure how ABIT board compares to the DFI nF4 Ultra's.

[Slammy]

hehe figured you guys would like that. As far as the mobo, i know ive read tons about how great the DFI nf4 ultra is and its overcloking ability is supposed to be unmatched. I just have had alot of luck with ABIT and really liked their boards and they havent done me wrong yet. The rep DFI has though is pretty awesome however. I supposed you guys think i should run teh DFI board? You mind reading up on a ABIT AN8- ultra and see what ya think and gettin back to me? I really appeciate the advice and im really looking forward to this new setup, should be just what i am looking for i think!

[Kabouter]

DFI all the way

[Slammy]

well my dfi nf4 ultra d, venny 3500+ and asus 7800gtx should be here wednesday. Im really concerned about this memory working cause after this its gonna be awhile before i can afford new memory.