I'll get straight down to business... I'm gonna upgrade my computer in the near future (months?) and I'm really not sure what to get. My original idea was: XP2200 GF4 Ti4600 512Mb DDR etc. etc but now, with the release of the Radeon 9700 and the XP 2700 I thought about getting them. Ok, so now I hear that the new NVidia card is coming out next year, and also the Athlon64.... aaaarrrrgghhh! I guess this is really a question about the Athlon64, is it worth getting straight away? I mean, there's not much that's gonna run in 64bit mode is there? And IMO it's gonna take a few years before it's commonplace. I just don't want to spend stupid amounts of money on a system thats not being used to it's full potential...if you see what I mean? What does everyone think? Also, if anyone could give me a guesstimate as to how much the following would cost that'd be great: Athlon64 (whatever speed) 64bit Mobo NV30 (128Mb?) 512Mb DDR 120Gb HDD I think that's all I need...the other bit's I'll be getting soon (ie, new case, new CD-RW, decent soundcard etc etc) and I already got me a BIG monitor (Cornerstone 21" - £80 eBay bargain!) Cheers guys (and gals)
well from what I understand about the Athlon 64 command set is it will support legacy 32 bit applications as well as future 64 bit ones.. so you got that goin' for you. I guess it all depends on your budget and how long you can wait. I think realistically on the GeForceFX is Febuary and the Athlon will be probably around the same time. It is my practice to wait for the next generation to be released pushing the previous kit down to an "affordable" price. But my budget my not reflect yours. As a matter of fact (to prove my point) AMD just lowered the prices on the 2200 and lower CPU's. If it were me, I would buy that setup but wait til they release the Athlon 64 and the GeForceFX to make sure you don't buy the kit and then have them do a signifigant price drop on ya.
There's a report on the front page of [H] that says that the GF FX probably won't be around until March/April time. The Feb date is when Nvidia will have the card ready. They then have to give the chips to the card makers who need to produce boards, which all adds to the time. It also says that the first batch of FX cards may not be the all singing all dancing cards that everyone is expecting them to be. Personally I'd buy something a bit lower spec now so that not too much money is lost when the new toys get released.
I've got till about next August to upgrade - just before I go back to uni... I can wait, and I will wait if it means getting better equipment...don't really want to upgrade now, and then upgrade again in 6/7 months (ish) - would rather just wait until all that new gear is released My current setup aint bad (T-Bird 1Ghz @ 1.4, 640Mb Ram, 40gig HDD, 64Mb Kyro II etc etc) - it does what I want it to - but the upgrade would be mainly for Doom III (and any other hardware pushing games), 3D animation, and also just to show off ! I estimate I should hopefully have around £1000 - £1200 to spend...should be enough right? I bloody hope so! [EDIT] The money is JUST for the items listed in the fist post - ie, CPU, mobo, RAM, HDD and Grapchis card - Hdd's arn't too bad price wise at the moment, gonna get me a WD Caviar, hopefully the price will drop a bit by next year [/EDIT] another thing - is 64bit gonna be a HUGE leap when it's fully supported? What kind of gains could you expect from 64bit software/applications? Thanks again - knew I could count on the Bit-Tech forums
Well, from what I have read (and details are sketchy) about Doom III, is the 9700 pro is a bare minimum on that game . Other cards will run it but probably at frustrating refresh rates and disappointing resolutions (I think the 9700 ran DoomIII at 800x600 at the E3 demo). So I would look at the 9700 or the GeForceFX either one will take a chunk out of your budget. But if games/graphics/bragging rights are the agenda, that is where the lion's share of your money should go to anyway (that and RAM). If it came down to a choice between the GeforceFX and the 9700, I would definately go with the nVidia card. If your going to spend $300+ on a card, might as well be one that gives you the longest milage IMHO
That's assuming the FX is running up to scratch by then. An alternative is the new all-in-wonder 9700. Unlike the 8500AI which was a toned down version of the 8500 with lower gaming performance, the AIW 9700 is exactly the same as the 9700 pro plus features. Now, as you mentioned that you are off to UNI, I think the added features of the AIW would be very useful. The added features include enhanced DVD and TV playback as well as dual TV tuners and a remote control for your pc to act like a tv while also controlling pc applications. The full spec is here ::HERE:: Keep your eye out as I've heard rumours of a minor upgrade from the R300 core to the R350 which may be out sooner than you think. Either way, I would not make a decision until around June, given the trouble nVidia are having. There was a review of the AIW9700Pro. I will try and find it for a bit more info. Will post later 8-ball
You might want to bear in mind that having a tv tuner in your computer as a student will make you liable to pay £104 per year TV license, unless you're living in a house where it is already paid.
hmmm, the AIW seems to do more that I need to be honest. and as for a tv card, I'm getting a Haupaugge (sp?) Nova-T for crimbo... Cheers for the info guys
