It's not the Pro. I was going to leave the 9800 where it is for now in the Dell. I only need something respectable for the intermediate build I'm doing now. I'm no big gamer. Later, the AGP I get would stay in my backup PC and the Dell will be a hand me down to the kids. Irregardless of what I build, I suspect a top end graphics card will be on the low priority list. I have a problem with paying more for a graphics card than the processor and mobo.
brobear It's only worth it if you play games, that's why I buy a really good card but never the top models. Good quality mid class cards in a fast system play better than 90% of all games.
I said I'd like to have an X850, but it was cost prohibitive. I think we see the situation much the same. Even the X800 is a bit more than I want to spend. I'm no gamer and as I know, and you pointed out, a good mid range card is all I need. The ATI Radeon 9800 is doing everything I need. Speaking of mid-range cards, what is your favorite for the AGP slot? I've shopped around and looked at so many different ones, they're starting to look alike. I've had good experience with the ATI Radeon cards.
brobear It's hard to say what I would get now if I was still using AGP. The 9800 Pro is considerably more powerful than the straight 9800 (8 pixel pipelines versus 4). The version that I had was a highly modified card that was designed for overclockig. You're not totaly limited by what you choose sine there is such a thing as a PCIE to AGP adapter. But if you just want more speed without going over the top then a pro version of what you have will increase your speed significantly for a few dollars and it will play most if not all of the games that I play. And yes play some games can be quite a bit of fun and downright addicting. http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=N82E16814102477R Maybe you can find this card for less somewhere else but this is a good low budget way to get more speed. BTW, two years ago this card sold for $350.
I would like to title this little post as "When Memory Goes Wild." I would have called this a fluke but I'm getting consistantly high scores.
Brobear, It's the same price at Newegg, $309. The all in wonder is $299, a $10 difference. Both of them have 16 Pixel Pipelines. We will see what prices are like when I am ready to buy. Chances are that the first one offered on sale for $189 gets my business. Here's the link. http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=N82E16814150131 And for the Ati. http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=N82E16814102492 To be fair, the Ati offers a TV Tuner and Vivo. The 7800 should be a little faster but since I don't game very much, it doesn't really matter! I love the original doom and I may set up a dual boot with 98 because it won't play properly on XP Pro. For that fact neither does my P.G.A. Golf. I do plan a lot of Auto-Cad work and the faster video will help there, especially when doing performance simulations in real time. Happy Computering, theonejrs
Well true to form, all of my stuff from newegg has arrived right on time. However I have to confess that the copy of XP Pro that I ordered on Ebay and that ordered that same evening arrived on Tuesday.
brobear Follow the link and play the Installation movie at the top right and then take note of how they recommend that the thermal paste be applied. http://www.zalman.co.kr/product/cooler/7700-754-939-940MBlist_eng.htm
I'm ahead of you. I saw that some time ago. Looks like everyone has a different idea. As long as it's good coverage, I don't think it matters. Like I said before, I prefer spreading mine on the way they show in the Zalman clip. I don't see the need to spread the paste on both the heatsink and CPU unless there might be some surface flaws on the heatsink.
Sophocles, I have a question for you. If I get the same MB you have, do I need to get a different power supply? My power connector has 20 pins. All the SLI boards I've seen have a 24 pin (20+4?) female plug. If I do need a different one, what do you recomend in the 450 to 500 watt range? I have a 480 now and it just clears the cooler by about 1/4 inch! You are absolutely right about the 175 Opteron. Newegg has both the boxed (with cooler) and the OEM (no cooler) for the same price $504 (USD). Talk about supply and demand! Happy Computering, theonejrs
theonejrs No, it will work with a 20 pin connection too it will leave 4 pins open to the south of the plug. Then there is a 4 pin connector at about 11 oclock of your CPU and a 4 pin molex plug at about 7 oclock. That should do it.
Sophocles, Thanks for the quick response. Speaking of SLI, I found this combo on Newegg! http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=N82E16814130277 I don't know much about eVGA but they sell a lot of the 7800GT PCIe x16s. Seems to be a pretty good deal for $349 for a socket 939 SLI motherboard and the 7800GT. The MB goes for $129 (USD) by itself. That would make the 7800GT $220. The MB seems to have decent specs! Happy computering, theonejrs
Theonejrs, since you mentioned you're a doom fan (original), as am I, download Risen3D with all it's high-res packs, it's damn awesome looking, plays well, and best of all works on XP! In addition try the doomwadstation - put that in a www.com I'm not affiliated (so I'm not advertising! ) but have a look at it. Not really on topic but this thread seems to have been abandoned...ish. Lasted long!
