Upgrade time
By
Cade Lawson,
Posted on: 2010-01-30 18:40 in ALL ACCESS Gameplay Technical Issues Bugs
I think you are going to want to get into the 4xxx series of Radeon cards at the minimum for Ultra Mode in an ATI card or the 9800 series or higher for an nVidia card.
And only 2 Gb of memory? Seriously? That's a bit low with how the game runs now. I'd go with at least 4 Gb unless you are sticking with XP in which case I'd go with 3 Gb.
If the game spit out 20 dollar bills people would complain that they weren't sequentially numbered. If they were sequentially numbered people would complain that they weren't random enough.
Black Pebble is my new hero.
You're absolutely right on the video. I finally found the Ultra mode info (funny thing, searching for "ultimate mode" didn't find it 
), and yeah, I want to kill both birds with this stone. So I want a video card that can handle that, and it will also cover my STO needs.
To further elaborate, I'm perfectly comfortable with making hardware upgrades on my system. I've even put together more than one system from scratch, and all but one booted on the first try. (The one that didn't turned out to be a defective stick of RAM.) But those were all pretty much "kits" , with the actual pieces chosen by people that knew what they were doing.
I'm more than willing to go 3GB of ram, and yes, I'm running XP and plan to stay with it for a while yet.
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Consider the ATI 5770's. Great performance-to-price ratio. Anything beefier and you're looking at a few hundred bucks more in price.|
Originally Posted by Tripp Hazzard
You're absolutely right on the video. I finally found the Ultra mode info (funny thing, searching for "ultimate mode" didn't find it
), and yeah, I want to kill both birds with this stone. So I want a video card that can handle that, and it will also cover my STO needs.To further elaborate, I'm perfectly comfortable with making hardware upgrades on my system. I've even put together more than one system from scratch, and all but one booted on the first try. (The one that didn't turned out to be a defective stick of RAM.) But those were all pretty much "kits" , with the actual pieces chosen by people that knew what they were doing. I'm more than willing to go 3GB of ram, and yes, I'm running XP and plan to stay with it for a while yet. |
I think a little more information would go a long way here. We know what you'd like to do, but what do you have to work with (budget)? You might want to start by looking at the guides that Father XMas has in his sig ($600 and $1200 rigs) - alot of useful information there.
I would also ask if you're completely wed to the idea of an AMD core - certainly nothing wrong with it, but in the face of STO and GR:UM, you're almost certainly looking at a Pheno-II.
The video card is almost always a "what can I afford" proposition, isn't it? You tell us you can spring 1500 on a video card, someone will point you to a monster intended for video rendering ^__^
RAM is such a personal preference thing these days. Im running Corsair XMS3, but G.Skill Ripjaws have been all the rage lately. I -heard- the comparable OCZ modules weren't bad either.
The other consideration, in the face of your upgrades and intended applications, is whether or not your PSU is up to the job. What's its specs?
PSU is 420W, no worries there.
My budget's in the $300-350 range -- the tax return's not going to be as much as I'd hoped.
As mentioned, I need Mobo/CPU/Ram and Vid Card. I'll be dropping them into my existing system.
Messing around on Newegg, I've put together this package for $320:
ECS IC780M-A2 (V1.0A) AM3 AMD 770 ATX AMD Motherboard
AMD Athlon II X2 245 Regor 2.9GHz Socket AM3 65W Dual-Core Processor Model ADX245OCGQBOX
G.SKILL 4GB (2 x 2GB) 240-Pin DDR3 SDRAM DDR3 1600 (PC3 12800) Dual Channel Kit Desktop Memory
PNY XLR8 VCG98GTEE1XEB GeForce 9800 GT 1GB 256-bit GDDR3 PCI Express 2.0 x16 HDCP Ready SLI Support Video Card
I know Elite's not the best Mobo, but I've used them in the past and found them satisfactory.
I'm assuming that an Athlon II X2 is as good or better than an Athlon X2?
I also know that I won't get the full 4G with XP, but I'll live with whatever's left over after XP allocates what it needs. Heck, the vid card's going to eat a full gig of that anyway.
Suggestions? Warnings? Cautions?
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As I'm recalling, the Athlon II series is the Phenom II series minus L3 (?) cache... yep, here, from anandtech:|
Originally Posted by Tripp Hazzard
I'm assuming that an Athlon II X2 is as good or better than an Athlon X2?
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The Athlon II X2, to be specific, is a 45nm monolithic dual-core processor. While the most recent Athlon X2s are derivatives of the original Phenom architecture, the Athlon II is based on the new and improved Phenom II architecture. |
I *also* want to say you can find a quad core - not that it'll help COH - in that series for under $100, but that's going from memory. Depending on what else you want to do - well, make sure the mainboard can be upgraded. While my current (nearly complete!) build is an Intel machine, I'm also throwing more money at it over time getting it built - and AMD's good at keeping the same socket around for a while, so I"d keep an eye on being able to upgrade in the future. (It is, in point of fact, the reason I went with AMD for the current build - started with an Athlon 64 x2 4000, bumped up to a 2.9 Ghz 5600, and the MB supported up to the first generatio Phenoms (and has some Athlon IIs listed, tri-core too.)
This will give you an idea about the performance difference between an Athlon X2 and an Athlon II X2.
Father Xmas - Level 50 Ice/Ice Tanker - Victory
$725 and $1350 parts lists --- My guide to computer components
Tempus unum hominem manet
Thanks to you both.
NewEgg pulled the vid card I'd selected due to "limited or insufficient quantities", and the Mobo/CPU combo I'd selected has expired. So I'm starting over.
Father Xmas, after paring your $600 system down to the components I need, it's only $40 over my budget.
Would you be willing to elaborate on your reasons for those specific items? Do you already have a post somewhere giving that info?
Edit: Carp. That Mobo is SATA, isn't it? My drives are still IDE, and I need two IDE channels. Yes, I know IDE is outdated, but I'm trying to avoid replacing EVERYTHING.
Edit 2: Double Carp. Everything's SATA now, isn't it? So I'm going to need to upgrade my hard drives, too. And that blows me out of the water.
Guess I won't be playing STO, or seeing Ultra Mode, for a long time.
Hmmm...someone just said Ultra needs a nVidia 9800 or higher?
...I just built this rig, I thought it might be finalised for the next few years D=
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Originally Posted by Zwillinger
GG, I would tell you that "I am killing you with my mind", but I couldn't find an emoticon to properly express my sentiment.
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Originally Posted by Captain_Photon
NOTE: The Incarnate System is basically farming for IOs on a larger scale, and with more obtrusive lore.
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Yes, sadly IDE is going and on some motherboards, including some made by Intel, are totally gone. Another gotcha is if you are still using wired keyboards and mice that use a PS/2 style connector instead of USB. Some motherboards come with only one PS/2 connector and again on some Intel built motherboards, none at all.
Father Xmas - Level 50 Ice/Ice Tanker - Victory
$725 and $1350 parts lists --- My guide to computer components
Tempus unum hominem manet
Wherever you buy your parts, I would recommend TigerDirect or Insight. Myself and others have had nothing but problems with NewEgg.
Keyboard and mouse are USB, so I'm okay there.
Any experience with IDE to SATA adapters? Would that let me get by until I can replace the drives?
I have issues with TigerDirect, but I may swallow my pride and see how they do on the prices. Haven't heard of Insight, I'll see what they have.
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On the other hand, some of us have built multiple systems with parts from NewEgg and never had a problem. I've used TigerDirect a couple of times and they were good also. Not familiar with Insight.
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Originally Posted by Reddi35
Wherever you buy your parts, I would recommend TigerDirect or Insight. Myself and others have had nothing but problems with NewEgg.
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Paragon City Search And Rescue
The Mentor Project
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I've used Newegg to build my last 3 systems without any problems. I can't say the same for TigerDirect. I have ordered and been charged for items they said was in stock only to get a refund 3 weeks later because they didn't have it. I wouldn't normally be upset by that, but it's happened to me several times. I don't like having my time wasted by a company that doesn't know what they have in stock and what's sold out.
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Originally Posted by Reddi35
Wherever you buy your parts, I would recommend TigerDirect or Insight. Myself and others have had nothing but problems with NewEgg.
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�Let there be truth, happiness, and waffles�
-Vagabond, Dark Lord & Avatar of Gnarr
The Justiciars
I've bought parts from NewEgg for several years with no problems. One RMA that I can recall and NewEgg cross-shipped the RMA part and included a Return label for the bad part.
Tiger Direct ... well ... I promised several years ago that I wouldn't elaborate on my problems with them. I'll keep that promise, but I'll still avoid them at all costs.
If the game spit out 20 dollar bills people would complain that they weren't sequentially numbered. If they were sequentially numbered people would complain that they weren't random enough.
Black Pebble is my new hero.
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You know, you could get a pretty reasonably priced new drive from a manufacturer like WD. A CBLack 1TB unit cost me about $100.00CAD...how much space do you really need?|
Originally Posted by Tripp Hazzard
Keyboard and mouse are USB, so I'm okay there.
Any experience with IDE to SATA adapters? Would that let me get by until I can replace the drives? I have issues with TigerDirect, but I may swallow my pride and see how they do on the prices. Haven't heard of Insight, I'll see what they have. |
I realize it's -nice- to have your O/S and Apps on separate drives, but if you're building on a budget...
Well, no one was screaming "DON'T BUY THAT!", so I pulled the trigger. I'll have to upgrade the video to take advantage of Ultra Mode, but I should have more money to work with by then.
I appreciate everyone's input, and especially the drive and system information links. It was all actually much more helpful than it might look like just reading the thread.
Thanks, all!
Edit: being able to hold off on a video card allowed me to add a 500GB hard drive. I currently have OS/Apps on one drive, Data on another. I'll migrate both to separate partitions on the 500 to take advantage of SATA's speed, and it'll probably STILL be faster than my current setup.
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Enjoy |
Originally Posted by Tripp Hazzard
Well, no one was screaming "DON'T BUY THAT!", so I pulled the trigger. I'll have to upgrade the video to take advantage of Ultra Mode, but I should have more money to work with by then.
I appreciate everyone's input, and especially the drive and system information links. It was all actually much more helpful than it might look like just reading the thread. Thanks, all! Edit: being able to hold off on a video card allowed me to add a 500GB hard drive. I currently have OS/Apps on one drive, Data on another. I'll migrate both to separate partitions on the 500 to take advantage of SATA's speed, and it'll probably STILL be faster than my current setup. |
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/this.|
Originally Posted by Ironblade
On the other hand, some of us have built multiple systems with parts from NewEgg and never had a problem. I've used TigerDirect a couple of times and they were good also. Not familiar with Insight.
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Only complaint I've had at all with newegg comes from ordering... a battery. Where shipping cost more than the part. Of course, the total was still under $10. (I know, why didn't I get it locally - vehicle issues.)
And as anyone who's seen my other thread knows, I messed up on the video, and have to get a card anyway.
Ouch.
Oh, well, it'll be nice to have onboard graphics in case I have problems with the card.
The parts should be here Monday. I expect to install them next weekend (so I have time to swat any bugs that crop up), and I'll post an update here for those who are interested.
Between "Ultimate Mode" and Star Trek Online, it's time to upgrade my system, so I turn to the friendliest batch of tech-heads I know of.
I need to meet these specs:
* CPU: Intel E8400 Core 2 Duo or AMD Athlon X2 5600+
* Memory: 2GB RAM+
* Video: NVIDIA GeForce 8800 / ATI Radeon HD 3850+
I would prefer an AMD processor, but I'm not locked into it.
I'm assuming that combo will also run the upcoming "Ultimate" graphics mode?
I need MoBo, Processor, 2Gb of memory and vid card at as reasonable a cost as we can come up with.
Thanks in advance!