Where's my weak spot

[staticblue]

Where's my weak spot?


CPU: Single Core AMD 1.8g 64 bit 800mhz bus (bottleneck on mobo, old mobo)
OS: XP 64
RAM 1.5 400mhz bus
V Card: AGP x8 Winfast Leadtek A400 Nvidia 6800 128m

I have an old HD too. May not even be 10k rpm. Dunno much about HDs. Still using old cable.

I was going to buy a 2.4g AMD 64 single core for 100 bucks and a mobo with a 2000mhz CPU bus, 400mhz ram bus, 1 16x PCIe slot and an ATI chipset for 58 bucks. Then next month buy an ATI video card. This would be a temp rig till DX10 has been out and cards are abundant.

My main goal is to get the closest to the highest setting with the least money possible. From reading some dev posts earlier my card should run the game at medium settings.

So what is my weakest link. I only know what the parts are and what they do. Really not sure on how different areas compare in speeds.

Thanks in advance for any advice.

[Julianr]

It will make it easier for people to give advice, if you give a dollar number on how much you plan to spend.

[staticblue]

Well like I said. I was going to spend 100 bucks on a processor and 58 on the board. I figured it was implied that that was around the range I was looking to spend.

Besides. I just want to know where my weakest point is. I can take it from there. I can figure out what cards are better than mine or CPUs.

I just don't know how the different areas compare in the area of speed. Wait didn't I already say this. :P lol

[Giftmacher]

Hmmm, cheap and cheerful? Does it have to be now?

See I'd be more inclined to save up for DDR2 RAM and a mobo that'll handle it (I assume what you have now is DDR). Otherwise the HT bus coming in at 2000Mhz is going to be bottlenecked by your RAM. You'll be a bit out of dirt cheap territory then, but what you have will be a bit more upgradable.

Or that's my thoughts on it anyway.

Gift.

[staticblue]

Hmmm, cheap and cheerful? Does it have to be now?

See I'd be more inclined to save up for DDR2 RAM and a mobo that'll handle it (I assume what you have now is DDR). Otherwise the HT bus coming in at 2000Mhz is going to be bottlenecked by your RAM. You'll be a bit out of dirt cheap territory then, but what you have will be a bit more upgradable.

Or that's my thoughts on it anyway.

Gift.


Yea I built it when 64 bit was just starting. Its an old board. Though like I said I am waiting till DX10 is up and been kickin for awhile before go all out and spend a few grand.

What I am really wanting to know is what part of my existing rig is its weakest point.

I am not trying to build a new rig. Thats easy. Please read what i am asking carefully. I just want to know what I can do with what I have. Is it my mobos bus speed or maybe the RAMs. Would a faster CPU increase my framerate. Yea know, where's my bottleneck.

[xi0nic]

Well, this was a tough call mate. In my opinion, if you want to increase your graphical/gaming performance, upgrade that motherboard to something with PCIe on it, and get a 7600/7800 series Nvidia card. You'll be spending a bit of money for both components, but that will leave you with a solid foundation to upgrade with later on. Also, the cards I mentioned should play most recent games at decent resolutions.

To answer your question as straight as I can, I'd say that your mobo would be the bottleneck of that system. That said, if you're going to upgrade the motherboard, you should get one that you can upgrade with later on.

[Fozzik]

I think maybe the reason folks are having trouble telling you ONE weekest link in your system is because the system you listed is pretty well balanced. It isn't that one part of it is slower and a single component upgrade would give a big boost...it's that the whole thing is getting old and will soon be ready to be completely replaced (you seem to know that already).

In the meantime, before you replace the whole thing... a new mobo, CPU, and video card seems a little like overkill (because you are spending a decent chunk of change when it's all said and done...and probably only going to use the upgraded machine for a short time (less than a year).

If you are planning to have two gaming rigs (like to give one away or have a second for friend/family member), then I could see upgrading the current system. If you are planning on a completely new rig in less than a year and just scrapping or selling off the current one...I'd say just stick with it the way it is and do the major upgrade a little sooner (like this summer).

It isn't realistic to talk about trying to get close to max settings while spending as little money as possible. That rig is fairly well-balanced, but if you started upgrading single components, like the CPU or the video card, you would start to run into bottlenecks.

If you want to get close to max settings on Vanguard...wait. Try the game and see if you like it. Watch for the DX10 cards (as you were planning to do). Then decide what you want and upgrade the whole system. It's the smartest way to spend your money if you are planning on running a single computer.

[Giftmacher]

I think maybe the reason folks are having trouble telling you ONE weekest link in your system is because the system you listed is pretty well balanced. It isn't that one part of it is slower and a single component upgrade would give a big boost...it's that the whole thing is getting old and will soon be ready to be completely replaced (you seem to know that already).

My thoughts exactly, without moving to a dual core platform any system built will be long out of date. A decent PCIe card would be hamstrung in an older mobo, and probably visa versa. I'd really just save up, the $100 or so on a mini-upgrade would probably be generate more bang per buck on the big upgrade you have planned for later on.

Gift.