Hey, welcome to the forum! You can put in your system specs here so we can see what all you are running.

You will be very close to bottle necking, if not for sure with that card. It won't be horrible, but definitely noticeable.

 

Dx 10 is good if you have a performant system. If I were you I'd prefer to play with dx9 with higher settings the dx10 with low res

 

It probably will bottleneck, but you would be surpised how much you can OC those processors with water, they just ran hot is all.

If anything, at least install your 9800 gt, see how it goes, and if you arent satisfied with the performance, then think about upgrading.

I wouldnt upgrade to vista considering with that machine, you probably only have 2 gig's at the most, and you want 4 gb for vista.

 

I appreciate the extremely fast responses.

Yes, I only have 2gb ram. I will stick to XP based on your responses.

Also, I planned on trying the new GFX card first, and seeing what type of performance I get and am crossing my fingers that I won't have to upgrade the mother board and processor because I've never done that and have no clue how to check compatibility, which could lead to having to buy new RAM, a new Case, and also making sure it will all fit in the case, and then I'm looking at a price range I simply can't afford right now.

I looked extensively into overclocking my processor, but my BIOS is locked so that leaves me with only software OC's, and I tried ClockGen and SoftFSB but its not compatible with either.

If I do end up purchasing the deal listed in my above post, would that be a solid choice for a budget gaming rig, and would it be able to OC nicely?

 

That combo you posted isn't that big of a step up from your current setup.

 

I just ordered this guy like an hour ago

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16819115132

I also picked up a mobo but it's on the cheaper side and I'm not sure how well its going to run.

Whats your budget for this upgrade/build?

 

Quote:

Originally Posted by Heavy Light 117 That combo you posted isn't that big of a step up from your current setup.

Oh, I would have thought any Dual Core processor would blow away my 4yr old Single core stock processor. Would anybody have any suggestion on a processor and mobo? I'm looking at about $150 price range for both, and don't know what to look. I have no preference in brand, performance is all I care about.

Edit: How can I tell if that processor you linked would be compatible with my motherboard/RAM etc..?

 

Quote:

Originally Posted by Korrect Method Oh, I would have thought any Dual Core processor would blow away my 4yr old Single core stock processor. Would anybody have any suggestion on a processor and mobo? I'm looking at about $150 price range for both, and don't know what to look. I have no preference in brand, performance is all I care about. Edit: How can I tell if that processor you linked would be compatible with my motherboard/RAM etc..?

It will be faster then your P4 and it will be a significant gain in performance. However, this guy selling point is its low power usage. I know a lot people like it for HTPC's because they are quite and don't suck that much power.

If you are going dual core I would recommend an Intel Core2Duo.

edit: I'm going to do some research and see what type of combos I can come up with brb...

 

Quote:

Originally Posted by Korrect Method Edit: How can I tell if that processor you linked would be compatible with my motherboard/RAM etc..?

Yeah I'm looking up your mobo to see what you can reuse.

edit: Is this your motherboard here? http://support.gateway.com/s/MOTHERB...103390nv.shtml

 

Quote:

Originally Posted by Heavy Light 117 It will be faster then your P4 and it will be a significant gain in performance. However, this guy selling point is its low power usage. I know a lot people like it for HTPC's because they are quite and don't suck that much power. If you are going dual core I would recommend an Intel Core2Duo. edit: I'm going to do some research and see what type of combos I can come up with brb...

I def. want to go dual core.

I just found out that my motherboard is not compatible. (At least I'm pretty sure.)
The socket is ok (LGA 775), but it says the FSB is only 800 or 533 mhz, and the processor you linked is 1066mhz.
The RAM compatibility is severely out-of-date on the motherboard to, "Support for DDR 400 MHz and DDR 333 MHz"

So it looks like I'll be upgrading motherboard and processor within the next few weeks *if* I am not happy with the performance of my new xfx 9800gt.

Thanks for the continued help!!!

 

Can you give me the model number to your computer. This will help us narrow down what we still use.

edit: and no problem about me helping... I like helping whenever I can.

 

Quote:

Originally Posted by Heavy Light 117 Yeah I'm looking up your mobo to see what you can reuse. edit: Is this your motherboard here? http://support.gateway.com/s/MOTHERB...103390nv.shtml

Yes. Sadly.
model number is Gateway 507gr.

 

Quote:

Originally Posted by Korrect Method Yes. Sadly. model number is Gateway 507gr.

No worries

I found the specs of your mobo here http://support.gateway.com/s/PC/R/4658/4658sp3.shtml

You've must have done some upgrades to your ram because this guy originally came with 512mb.

But as I feared, we wouldn't be able to use your ram if we were to get you a new mobo that supports the C2D's. Your ram is ddr where as the newer ram is ddr2.

The only things we would be able to reuse would be the hard drive, maybe power supply (if it has the right amount of pins), dvd/cd burner, and maybe the case if you didn't want to get a new one.

We would pretty much have to build you a new rig

Let me be the first to say that you picked a real good time if you are going to build your own computer. Prices of DDR2 mem are super low.

 

I've found a few mediocre parts that I could live with off newegg. How does this look, it seems to be all compatible.

Processor:
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16819115132 (Thanks to you)

Mother Board:
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16813186145

RAM:
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16820134635

I'm def. no where near picking the best items I can find, but I think these would turn out a significant upgrade to what I have now. What do you think? Comes out to only $184, which I would gladly pay.

Edit:
I have upgraded the RAM to 2 gigs, and the power supply to a 500watt that I'm sure would be compatible with any mobo.

 

did you also upgrade your psu?

edit: just read your top post.

 

Sorry, It gets kind of confusing trying to do this over a forum. I end up doing a lot of editing. >.<

 

Quote:

Originally Posted by Korrect Method I've found a few mediocre parts that I could live with off newegg. How does this look, it seems to be all compatible. Processor: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16819115132 (Thanks to you) Mother Board: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16813186145 RAM: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16820134635 I'm def. no where near picking the best items I can find, but I think these would turn out a significant upgrade to what I have now. What do you think? Comes out to only $184, which I would gladly pay. Edit: I have upgraded the RAM to 2 gigs, and the power supply to a 500watt that I'm sure would be compatible with any mobo.

This works well. Like I said before, not even 5hrs ago I bought the same CPU but with a different mobo. Its almost the same price as yours but different brand. The only reason I got that one as opposed the one you have selected is because of the luck I've had with Asus boards. Nevertheless Foxconn makes good boards and this will be a good board for your first build.

Ram, Board, and CPU all look good.

Good thing you selected that board too. Your current board is a micro-atx board (this is the size of the board). That Foxconn board is also a micro-atx.

 

Here's the order I made earlier.

Attachment 90901

 

Quote:

Originally Posted by Heavy Light 117 This works well. Like I said before, not even 5hrs ago I bought the same CPU but with a different mobo. Its almost the same price as yours but different brand. The only reason I got that one as opposed the one you have selected is because of the luck I've had with Asus boards. Nevertheless Foxconn makes good boards and this will be a good board for your first build. Ram, Board, and CPU all look good. Good thing you selected that board too. Your current board is a micro-atx board (this is the size of the board). That Foxconn board is also a micro-atx.

Oh nice, I didn't even notice the board size. Nice!! I may just return the video card, buy all of this instead, and buy the video card later. The performance overall would probably be worth it, and still loads better than what I have now.

I can't thank you enough for your help, I was clueless a few hours ago when I posted this, (didn't know where to start), and now I have the full rig ready to buy.

+rep to you sir.
Thanks again!!!!!

 

just a thought before you even consider buying the card. Is your motherboard PCI-E or AGP? I would assume it is AGP given its age.

 

Yeah no problem. I remember I built my current computer exactly one year ago. It was nerve wrecking because I also didn't know where to start. But let my tell you, if you take your time and research the components its a very rewarding feeling once you are all done.

You might want to look up some cases if you want to go all the way with this build. Mid Tower is what most builders use. Full tower are a little bit bigger and offer more room to work with but are also more cumbersome.

 

Quote:

Originally Posted by Harobi just a thought before you even consider buying the card. Is your motherboard PCI-E or AGP? I would assume it is AGP given its age.

no its pci-e 16x. (not 2.0 though)

Another thought I had though about installation, would I simply put it all together first, install Vista, get all the driver updates, then take it apart and install the new processor and get the bios updates for that? or how does that work.

 

Quote:

Originally Posted by Harobi just a thought before you even consider buying the card. Is your motherboard PCI-E or AGP? I would assume it is AGP given its age.

Its PCI-E believe it or not. I was surprised. His Mobo has a 775 socket but only supports up 800mhz. It also has pci-e but only uses ddr. Its a special machine in many ways.

 

Quote:

Originally Posted by Korrect Method no its pci-e 16x. (not 2.0 though) Another thought I had though about installation, would I simply put it all together first, install Vista, get all the driver updates, then take it apart and install the new processor and get the bios updates for that? or how does that work.

At first it will seem a little overwhelming but its not that hard to tell you the truth. (I wish someone would have coached me back when I was building my guy

)

Once you have all your components you start by making sure it posts. A post is when you first start the computer and see the motherboard's menu before xp or vista even loads. This step will only consist of your Ram, Mobo, and Videocard. This pretty much insures that you are getting power to these main components.

Once you see that it posts you add your hard drive and optical drive. After that you install your xp/vista. Drivers get installed right after you have fully installed the OS.

There some things in between like connecting fans, the on and off button, the reset button, hard drive led light, but all this is pretty simple, tedious but simple.

 

Quote:

Originally Posted by Heavy Light 117 Its PCI-E believe it or not. I was surprised. His Mobo has a 775 socket but only supports up 800mhz. It also has pci-e but only uses ddr. Its a special machine in many ways.

Yea, haha, This machine has served me well these past few years, still works perfectly fine, still runs fast, but is just simply out-dated now for the games I want to play. I beat the original Crysis on this rig on low/med settings, but decided I'd wait to play warhead until I had a rig that I could truly enjoy the visuals on. Besides Counter-Strike Source (30-50FPS on max), I play Age of Conan, I get decent FPS, but its mostly low graphics. So, I must move on. :'(

Damn I can't wait to order this and get it all set-up and running!
My 7600gt will continue its lifespan for a couple of months until I can afford the 9800gt which I will return so I can afford to buy the mobo/processor/ram.

My 7600gt is OC'd from 580/750 clocks to about 725/825. I haven't seen a higher OC for the card yet.