help me make this socket A rig last 1 more yr!

fatcatfatcat Mizzou Icrontian
edited February 2006 in Hardware
wanting to upgrade my pc for the next year, as i dont want to go s939 with m2 coming out soon. want to make the most of my pc until this time next year when get tax refund. looking to upgrade a few components and looking for suggestions (cause short-medians rock!) current setup is in sig.

ok im looking for a new LCD monitor. 19" 20" 20.1" would be nice. im leaning towards widescreen, but dont know if i've found one i like that has a low ms rating yet, so your opinions on this would be nice. my LG has served me well, but playing games its just too small:vimp: looking for like 1600x1200 or 1680x1050 resolution. has to be DVI also. which brings me to....

video..im sticking with my socketA for now, since i dont wanna get s939 with m2 coming around, and i only need this pc to last ~1 more yr. is my 9800pro good enough for the resolutions i wanna run or should i look into a x800 or 6800 series agp video card? i play hl2, guild wars, & madden06.

ram: have 2x512mb now...wanting to go to 2x1gb of it, as you all know you can never have enough ram:thumbsup: mine runs @ 215mhz 3-3-3-11 now so i would like to at least keep those timings with new ram.

i guess thats about it. thanks for any imput in advance guys:rockon:

Comments

  • LeonardoLeonardo Wake up and smell the glaciers Eagle River, Alaska Icrontian
    edited January 2006
    If you do a lot of multitasking, or if you are Folding and consistently have memory intensive work units processing, such as QMDs, doubling your RAM would be an instant, very pleasant upgrade. I just did that a couple weeks ago with System No. 1 (signature). You don't necessarily have to buy 2 X 1GB sticks. I'm using 4 X 512MB and did not have to lower my overclock at all! You should be able to find two more 512 sticks that are the same specification as the ones you currently use.

    EDIT: OOPS - just saw that you've got an Abit NF7. Only three DIMMs. Yes, I guess you would need 2 X 1GB. Sorry.
  • fatcatfatcat Mizzou Icrontian
    edited January 2006
    its ok Leo, I know I have old technology.

    would going from a 9800pro 128mb to a 6800GT 256mb be worth or good enough power for running games @ 1600x1200?

    and how/what ms are the dell 20.1" widescreen monitors for gaming?...i know some of you have them?
  • tmh88tmh88 Pittsburgh / Athens, OH
    edited January 2006
    if your looking for a new monitor, I love my samsung 19". I went to a few computer stores (bestbuy, compusa, circuit city) and picked out the clearest one that I could find, and it just happened to be a samsung.

    http://www.bestbuy.com/site/olspage.jsp?skuId=7440726&type=product&productCategoryId=cat01011&id=1124432188195 I love it and I'd highly suggest it. Not 1 dead pixel on mine :)
  • fatcatfatcat Mizzou Icrontian
    edited January 2006
    tmh88 wrote:
    if your looking for a new monitor, I love my samsung 19". I went to a few computer stores (bestbuy, compusa, circuit city) and picked out the clearest one that I could find, and it just happened to be a samsung.

    http://www.bestbuy.com/site/olspage.jsp?skuId=7440726&type=product&productCategoryId=cat01011&id=1124432188195 I love it and I'd highly suggest it. Not 1 dead pixel on mine :)

    nice monitor...but it runs 1280x1024....i want more resolution:)
  • muddocktormuddocktor
    edited January 2006
    You will pay through the nose for more resolution than that in a 19" monitor, fatcat. 1280X1024 is the standard resolution for most 19" LCD's.

    EDIT: I just looked over at the egg and you can expect to pay a minimum ofr around $500 for a decent LCD that will display 1600X1200. They are all 20 inches or larger too.
  • fatcatfatcat Mizzou Icrontian
    edited January 2006
    muddocktor wrote:
    You will pay through the nose for more resolution than that in a 19" monitor, fatcat. 1280X1024 is the standard resolution for most 19" LCD's.

    EDIT: I just looked over at the egg and you can expect to pay a minimum ofr around $500 for a decent LCD that will display 1600X1200. They are all 20 inches or larger too.

    yea im noticing that too:grumble:

    ok guys what about memory and video card...any suggestions on those?
  • GargGarg Purveyor of Lincoln Nightmares Icrontian
    edited January 2006
    Socket M2 will be using DDR2, so I wouldn't spend lots of money on fancy RAM, if you'd just have to get rid of it later. I'd get something rather generic. Those timings you're running aren't that tight, so you shouldn't have any problem finding cheap RAM that will perform on par with what you have.

    I'd also try to make do with the card you have now, if possible. Resale value for AGP isn't going to look very good a year from now. A 9800 Pro really isn't a bad card. Better than mine, actually :D
  • QeldromaQeldroma Arid ZoneAh Member
    edited January 2006
    There are some good suggestions in the hamper already, but I'll simply tell you what I have & think and let you take it from there-

    I have the ATI X800XT- but they don't have many for sale anymore- but it does speak well of the X850XTs. It is an excellent board, but if you go 68xx nVidia cards, we're talking mostly apples and oranges. As a thought- upgrading from a 9600 to the X800 was a straightforward upgrade path. I will also say it is quite a jump in power requirement. Think dual rail or mid 20Amp or more on the +12V rail for your PSU.

    I also have a Sony 1600x1200 20.1" (SDM-S204) LCD. It is a good monitor with decent response, but it isn't as crisp as some I've seen (but too bright and crisp gives me a headache sometimes). It behaves at about 20ms though it's spec'd 25. My wifes' is a Samsung 1280x1024 19" 25ms- crisper but a LOT more ghosting. I will say this though- I LOVE 1600x1200 and would take more ... but $$$.

    Knowing then what I know now- probably This one because Samsung has consistently come out with a crisp picture and this response is pretty doggone good.
  • muddocktormuddocktor
    edited January 2006
    Qeldrama, that's the very LCD I would have chosen at the egg too. I have a Samsung 19" and while it doesn't have a dvi port, it does have an excellent picture with no noticable ghosting (for me at least, with these old eyes) while gaming. Also, the lack of the dvi input isn't a problem for me either since I am running it on a 4 port KVM switch anyways and it only feeds an analog signal out.

    EDIT: fatcat, I read the reviews on this PQI 2 GB kit at newegg here and it looks pretty good and isn't too expensive for a 2 GB kit.
  • fatcatfatcat Mizzou Icrontian
    edited January 2006
    thank you very much for the advice guys...

    yes i was very much so leaning towards a 2x1GB package of corsair or patriot ram, not the xms stuff but just to have more ram (folding/gaming/dvd encoding)

    http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=N82E16820220079

    i am also leaning towards a samsung monitor...but the one you list Qeldroma has a 16ms response time. The LCD I have now has 16ms and I notice ghosting somewhat (not enough to bother really much since its only 17", but enough to annoy that I dont want any in my next monitor)

    if you guys think a 9800pro with 128mb will run hl2 at 1600x1200 or 1680x1050 ill stick with it....but...also remember i have numerous other pc's that dont mind hand me downs from my main system ;D

    edit>> ok after spending about an hour on newegg comparing about 50 different LCD's, it looks like one with 1600x1200 is out of budget range.
    19" 1280x1024 8ms for ~$330
    20.1" 1600x1200 8ms for ~$630
    :hair: for 1.1" more i pay $300 more sheesh....
    http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=N82E16824001066
    http://www.newegg.com/product/product.asp?item=N82E16824116355
    any suggest a better monitor?
  • QeldromaQeldroma Arid ZoneAh Member
    edited January 2006
    HL2 plays wonderfully on my X800XT. But it also tests its mettle and utilizes the FULL capability of that GPU with options turned on. If you want to run at those resolutions, I think you will find your 9800 put to the extreme if you turn on any features. However, I don't think you get to really appreciate the graphics in HL2 until you do. That said, you might be OK with all the toys turned off or low.

    Cat, if you notice ghosting that much, then I think you should go for the better response too- but I think you might try some place like EBay for a better price. After reading the reviews on that Sam, there was quite a bit of dissappointment in that area- so I'm guessing you would be too. You can also find a model that you find a possibility and sneak down to a store and maybe even try it out.

    Hope it works out. :thumbsup:
  • edcentricedcentric near Milwaukee, Wisconsin Icrontian
    edited January 2006
    Hey fatcat, when you decide to part woith you r rig let me know. I love buying old stuff cheap.

    I sure wouldn't spend $200 to go from your 98p to a 800GTO.
    You could try a NV6800GS
  • fatcatfatcat Mizzou Icrontian
    edited January 2006
    these were not on newegg yesterday....very tempting!!
    http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=N82E16824001226
    http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=N82E16824001225

    SAMSUNG 204B-Silver Silver/Black 20.1" 5ms LCD Monitor 300 cd/m2 800:1 0.249mm Pixel Pitch - Retail $589.99

    edcentric...when my main rig gets an upgrade the old pieces get passed down to 2nd, 3rd, 4th, 5th pc's ;D
  • TheSmJTheSmJ
    edited January 2006
    Keep in mind that with the NF7-S, you'll be unable to reach an FSB higher than 200 with all 3 DIMM slots filled. IMO, 1 gig of ram is plenty for your system anyhow.

    The 7800GS will be released next month. Rumor has it that there will be an AGP version available. This would give you a far bigger speed boost in games than more RAM ever could.

    The ASRock 939Dual-SATA2 is upgradable to the M2 socket by way of a daughter card, and has both DDR1 and both AGP/PCIe X16 slots. I have this board and I like it a whole lot :P. Overclocks great too once you flash to one of the OCW BIOSes.
  • fatcatfatcat Mizzou Icrontian
    edited January 2006
    SmJ...I will be only running 2 dimms, just gonna do 2x1GB instead of 2x512MB.
  • muddocktormuddocktor
    edited January 2006
    The only thing I'm worried about with the 1GB dimms is the fact that I've read some posts at the PCPerspective forums in the Abit section about NF7 boards having trouble running certain brand 1GB dimms, fatcat. But I don't have any personal experience with trying it. I do have a NF7 board but don't have an extra vid card or 2 extra 1GB dimms to try it with either.
  • SmiGDigSmiGDig Albany, NY
    edited January 2006
    tmh88 wrote:
    if your looking for a new monitor, I love my samsung 19". I went to a few computer stores (bestbuy, compusa, circuit city) and picked out the clearest one that I could find, and it just happened to be a samsung.

    http://www.bestbuy.com/site/olspage.jsp?skuId=7440726&type=product&productCategoryId=cat01011&id=1124432188195 I love it and I'd highly suggest it. Not 1 dead pixel on mine :)

    I second the samsung monitor. They have had amazing quality from their CRT days with many Trinitron tubes at great prices and continue to show the same quality in their LCDs. I'm looking into getting a new one as well.

    However I like monitors with the black frame more as it makes the picture stand out more. Maybe that just me.

    Adam
  • SmiGDigSmiGDig Albany, NY
    edited January 2006
    TheSmJ wrote:
    Keep in mind that with the NF7-S, you'll be unable to reach an FSB higher than 200 with all 3 DIMM slots filled. IMO, 1 gig of ram is plenty for your system anyhow.

    Another stick of 512mb may suit you fine. Rather than ditching the other sticks.

    I have the NF7-S 2.0 and I have 2x512 in the 2nd and 3rd dimm away from the CPU. I have been running at 205x12 no problems on Corsair XMS ram since I bought it in August of 2004. (Athlon XP 1.6 35W with the best stepping out at the time.)
  • profdlpprofdlp The Holy City Of Westlake, Ohio
    edited February 2006
    SmiGDig, I'm with you all the way on advising a new monitor. Back before computers supplanted stereos as my main love I used to tell people that you own a stereo, but you listen to your speakers.

    The best computer in the world will look lousy on a poor monitor; I've seen mediocre computers look like magic with something better.
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