What to Upgrade

Forum for all the AMD (Previously ATI) video cards from the past, present and future!
Post Reply
gyster
Legit User
Legit User
Posts: 5
Joined: Fri Feb 02, 2007 9:34 am

What to Upgrade

Post by gyster »

Sorry if this post is not in the right section: I'm currently running an e6600 on an Asus WDGWS2-Pro, 2gb pc3200, fireGL V5200, 1x 80gb 10k rpm sata hd, 1x 500gb 7200 rpm sata hd, win xp pro system (alpha cool cooling sys.) I mainly use it for 3D modeling/rendering, and I'm wondering what would make the most sense to upgrade to reduce render times. I put it together last year, and it has been very stable, so I am generally happy with it. I'd just like to squeeze a little more performance out of it without spending a lot of cash. I was considering maybe a crossfire setup, but I have not been able to determine whether or not the MB and FireGL are crossfire ready/compatible. Any suggestions are welcome and appreciated.

guy
User avatar
werty316
Legit Extremist
Legit Extremist
Posts: 532
Joined: Tue Sep 27, 2005 10:35 am

Re: What to Upgrade

Post by werty316 »

A quadcore along with more memory could help.
There is no theory of evolution. Just a list of animals Chuck Norris allows to live.
User avatar
martini161
Mr Awesome
Mr Awesome
Posts: 3183
Joined: Sat Sep 08, 2007 8:27 pm
Location: Cherry Hill, New Jersey

Re: What to Upgrade

Post by martini161 »

A Q6600 and some pc 6400 or higher memory would help. i would recomend this kit
http://www.newegg.com/product/product.a ... 6820145176
prozac26
Legit Fanatic
Legit Fanatic
Posts: 137
Joined: Fri Jul 21, 2006 8:00 pm
Location: Toronto, Ontario, Canada

Re: What to Upgrade

Post by prozac26 »

I agree with the two previous posts.

A quad core and more RAM would help more than a graphic card.
User avatar
liqnit
Legit Extremist
Legit Extremist
Posts: 281
Joined: Wed Feb 22, 2006 9:10 am

Re: What to Upgrade

Post by liqnit »

regarding CrossFire
I didnt see any mention of that in the card page http://ati.amd.com/products/fireglv5200/index.html

Also as i remember previuos generation of crossfire needed a master / Slave version of cards
i dont see any cf connection on the card image.

beside i do agree with the others regardinbg QuadCore and Memory
gyster
Legit User
Legit User
Posts: 5
Joined: Fri Feb 02, 2007 9:34 am

Re: What to Upgrade

Post by gyster »

Then it's unanimous! :) Regarding the memory, I have not put in any more because I have read that the 32bit version of XP doesn't benefit much from anything over 2gigs. Is there anything to this? And so, would it be better to add more pc3200 or replace what I have with 2 (or more) gigs of PC6400? Thanks again for all the replies.

guy
prozac26
Legit Fanatic
Legit Fanatic
Posts: 137
Joined: Fri Jul 21, 2006 8:00 pm
Location: Toronto, Ontario, Canada

Re: What to Upgrade

Post by prozac26 »

gyster wrote:Then it's unanimous! :) Regarding the memory, I have not put in any more because I have read that the 32bit version of XP doesn't benefit much from anything over 2gigs. Is there anything to this? And so, would it be better to add more pc3200 or replace what I have with 2 (or more) gigs of PC6400? Thanks again for all the replies.

guy
Well, since you have PC3200, which is DDR, you can't upgrade to PC6400 (which is DDR2).

I would suggest, if it fits your budget, to get a new motherboard, which support DDR2 (at least, and DDR3 not worth it yet IMO). If it doesn;t fit your budget, then you can get 2GB more of the same RAM you currently have.

Regarding 32bit XP, I would recommend getting the 64bit version of XP, or Vista. Not sure about Vista and 3D rendering/modelling.
User avatar
skier
Moderator
Moderator
Posts: 4450
Joined: Mon Mar 26, 2007 3:29 pm
Location: Maine
Contact:

Re: What to Upgrade

Post by skier »

there is PC2 3200,(DDR2) but if you have that now i bet you still cant get 6400 but probably 4200, but i dont know what that board supports
-Austin
Image
Screamin' BCLK: Image
775 System (Overclocking Platform): Q8400/Q8300/E8400/E7400/E7500 - GA-EP45-UD3R v1.1 - 4GB (2x2) OCZ Reaper HPC DDR2 1066 CL5 2.1v Corsair TX-750w
Gamer: Asrock Z77 Extreme4, i7 3770K @4.6GHz, ThermalTake Armor A90 modded, 2x4GB GSKILL RipjawsX DDR3 2133 CL9, Corsair HX-750w, MSI GTX660 Twin Frozr
Server2012: Q9300 - 8GB DDR2 - Asus P5QL Pro - Corsair CX430 - Mirrored 2TB Seagate's with 2TB WD cav for fileshare backups, 1TB WD for OS backups
gyster
Legit User
Legit User
Posts: 5
Joined: Fri Feb 02, 2007 9:34 am

Post by gyster »

My bad...I yanked out one of the memory modules and googled the numbers...here's what I have for memory:
1GB, Ballistix Tracer 240-pin DIMM (with LEDs), DDR2 PC2-6400 memory module x 2

I was really surprised by the price of the Q6600. (Only around $250). As I started looking into a new processor, I very quickly became completely lost! Is price any reflection of performance? Looks like I should've started this thread in the Intel area, but since we've already started here...I did a search on pricewatch for lga-775 and it seems there are processors ranging from $41 to over $1000. I wonder where the price/performance "sweet spot" might be for these processors.

Also, should I be concerned about functionality of any programs or peripherals if I go to a 64bit OS?

Thanks again guys, for taking the time to reply, I truly appreciate you making the effort,

guy
User avatar
liqnit
Legit Extremist
Legit Extremist
Posts: 281
Joined: Wed Feb 22, 2006 9:10 am

Re:

Post by liqnit »

gyster wrote:My bad...I yanked out one of the memory modules and googled the numbers...here's what I have for memory:
1GB, Ballistix Tracer 240-pin DIMM (with LEDs), DDR2 PC2-6400 memory module x 2

I was really surprised by the price of the Q6600. (Only around $250). As I started looking into a new processor, I very quickly became completely lost! Is price any reflection of performance? Looks like I should've started this thread in the Intel area, but since we've already started here...I did a search on pricewatch for lga-775 and it seems there are processors ranging from $41 to over $1000. I wonder where the price/performance "sweet spot" might be for these processors.

Also, should I be concerned about functionality of any programs or peripherals if I go to a 64bit OS?

Thanks again guys, for taking the time to reply, I truly appreciate you making the effort,

guy
Regarding 64Bit - most programs will work OK if you have some specific one you wish to work with you need to check or ask.
here is a list of games on VISTA64 http://www.vistax64.com/vista-games/734 ... post538405

I think the move to 64Bit is good
prozac26
Legit Fanatic
Legit Fanatic
Posts: 137
Joined: Fri Jul 21, 2006 8:00 pm
Location: Toronto, Ontario, Canada

Re:

Post by prozac26 »

gyster wrote:My bad...I yanked out one of the memory modules and googled the numbers...here's what I have for memory:
1GB, Ballistix Tracer 240-pin DIMM (with LEDs), DDR2 PC2-6400 memory module x 2
OK, that's good then.

Get another 2gb of the same model if you can, it'll work the best, unless you get 4GB of completely new RAM, which is a waste IMO.

Good luck.
gyster
Legit User
Legit User
Posts: 5
Joined: Fri Feb 02, 2007 9:34 am

Re: What to Upgrade

Post by gyster »

Cool, that'll be fairly inexpensive. I've been searching the net for information on LGA-775 CPUs to try and help me decide what would be best when considering price vs performance, and haven't had a lot of luck. It seems the competing chips are the Core 2 Duo, Core 2 Quad, and the Extreme, but I can't seem to get a good read on what would be a 'smart' buy right now. The guys here have kind of favored the Q6600 Core 2 Quad. I wonder how it stacks up against some of the higher frequency 2 core cpus. I'll do some more research this evening, but if anyone would like to share their experience, I'd be glad to hear about it.

Thanks much,
guy
Post Reply