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Bioshock issues I have an older system, and my gal got me Bioshock game...well it was not up to snuff it seems. I ran the system tester from this site: srtest dot com and it gave me for the min settings a failing grade for my vid card which I knew already from the fact that there was so much not showing in the game, that it was unplayable to me. My system stats are as follows: XP PRO WITH ALL SERVICE UPDATES ASUS P4P800-E 2 GIGS RAM P4 2.80 GHZ ATI X800XL VID 256MG AUDIGY VALUE SONDCARD 200 GIG HARD DRIVE my question is this....I found this card that might fix the issue of my old card getting this report from the SYSTEM REQUIREMENTS LAB: Video RAM: Required - 128 MB , You have - 256.0 MB Video Card 3D Acceleration: Required - Yes , You have - Yes Video HW Transform & Lighting: Required - Yes , You have - Yes Vertex Shader Ver.: Required - 3.0 , You have - 2.0 Pixel Shader Ver.: Required - 3.0 , You have - 2.0 will this card listed fix my issues? or should I just give up and wait till I can get a pci system.? HIS Hightech H195PRQT512DDAN-R-V2 Radeon X1950PRO 512MB 256-bit GDDR3 AGP 8X HDCP Ready Video Card - Retail. sells for 219 or so..this is on newegg dot com what you all think? My old system did pretty well wtih the Fear game and anything else I tossed at it so far...I'm a bit disapointed but know that as time goes on, any sytem will become antiquated....:( thanks Michael |
the AGP upgrade is a temporary "patch", but in my humble opinion you can do better to switch to PCI Express, for starters, the PCI Express X1950Pro costs $100 if you search around a bit, that leaves you $100 for CPU&Motherboard, a Core Duo can be had for $60 something (E2140) and motherboard which supports DDR1/DDR2 for $40 (Asrock series), but maybe an upgrade to DDR2 (2x1gb PC2-6400 kit) isn't a bad idea either, as the Asrock AGP/PCI/DDR/DDR2 motherboard has limited PCI Express bandwidth. the X1950 Pro will give you Vertex/Pixel shader 3.0 support, but at a high cost, and the moment you order it, can you be quite sure that you'll never be able to sell it afterwards for even half the price, seeing as it's an AGP videocard. |
I fully agree with jmke here, upgrading to the X1950Pro AGP is just a temporary patch. Prices at newegg: E2160 = 76$ Asrock S775 mobo = 65$ or 53$ if you plan to buy new DDR2 ram ATI HD 2600XT (good choice for bioshock) = 109$ or NV 8600GT 109$ You will need to overclock the processor a bit to achieve optimal performance. It runs by default at 1.6Ghz, which is low, but it can run at 2.5Ghz without a hitch. If you are not into overclocking, you best choose a better one from the E6x50 series. In general, the ATI 2600XT is a little bit slower than the 8600GT, but it is better for bioshock. |
$124 for X1950 Pro PCIe, will beat both ATI HD 2600XT/8600GT with a nice margin in performance |
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Synthetic benchmarks Unreal Engine 3 (Rainbow Six:LV, bioshock) |
Ok, so say I wanted a bit better cpu so that I'm not gimping myself with only being able to barely play bioshock and any other games coming down the pike, till I can afford a better rig.... what do you folks suggest? Im way out of the loop with the dual cores and what not. |
for games it's GPU you need first, CPU is fast enough, but S478 is dated, so you'll need to upgrade mobo/cpu/vga/mem all the other semi upgrades are just "patches" |
Well gonna try to get friends and family to boost the cost of a semi new system, as its my bday on the 16th of sept....:) So any idea's? guess I'll start doing research, though it would be nice to have a few pointers on a mobo that is good compared to the crap I've already looked at....I know that its all about upgrading as you go, but all good systems start off with a strong base.... Thanks for the help that you've provided so far....given me some ideas I'd never have thought of...:) |
Gigabyte P35 or similar priced $100 Intel P35 based DDR2 motherboard E2160 with a 50% OC runs nicely, otherwise, if not into OC, E6420 or similar |
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http://www.bit-tech.net/gaming/2007/..._performance/9 |
Ok how about this setup? *************** CPU: Intel Dual-Core E2160 Allendale 1.8GHz 1MB L2 Cache LGA 775 Processor *************** CPU HEATSINK: Thermaltake / Max Orb / Multi-Socket 775/AM2/939/754 / Copper Base / CPU Cooler *************** MOBO: MSI P6N SLI Platinum LGA 775 NVIDIA nForce 650i SLI ATX Intel Motherboard I was looking at something that I could expand on over time. *************** MEM: G.SKILL 2GB (2 x 1GB) 240-Pin DDR2 SDRAM DDR2 800 (PC2 6400) Dual Channel Kit Desktop Memory *************** CASE: Thermaltake Tsunami VA3000BWA Black Aluminum ATX Mid Tower Computer Case *************** VID: UP IN THE AIR, AS I THINK THAT THE NIVIDA SLI IS ALOT BETTER THAN THE ATI SETUP CORRECT? SO WHAT NIVIDA CARD THAT CAN CUT BIOSHOCK? MINIUM? comments? |
SLI is never a budget friendly solution, ever. So I wouldn't concentrate on that at all |
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Darn! Brand new review, if I had known last week... Anyway, the X2600XT still performs better than the 8600GT in bioshock, was cheap (111euro in belgian shop) and passively cooled. Not a total waste of money, but if i had seen the review earlier I would have bought an X1950Pro. :) |
Yes SLI is not budget, but then I'm willing to wait a month or two save up to get it, as I hate to buy things that dont let me expand.....I find it stupid to get things I cannot latter on when cash is avail, expand to a better system. So what you think? look good? My friend suggested that I get a this instead of the cpu I had first picked...its a bit more cash, but he said its a good cpu, and he used to be hard core AMD, but now swears by intel...go fig that? Intel Core 2 Duo E4400 Allendale 2.0GHz 2M shared L2 Cache LGA 775 Processor It would be nice if things were cheaper, but then if your gonna pay cash for items, you might as well be able to expand latter on, wihtout paying again for a new mobo....might as well have a mobo that will let you expand right? |
the cost of one midrange card now + same midrange card later on, equals one next gen midrange card which will be quicker in all games compared to the two previous generation midrange cards in SLI |
Hmmm possibly true, but I do like that the sli mobo has the 2 ide ports and sata ports as well.... Though if I buy a midrange card today, and latter on buy that same card at half the cost....might not be to bad of a deal....:) Though I do get your point.... |
NV7600 GT new price €200 NV7600 GT price now €120 total for SLI = €320 New midrange 8800 GTS €250 http://www.dollarshops.eu/product_in...roducts_id/543 Performance gap between 8800 and 7600 is huge :) |
well if two older cards dont pair up to a newer card they do they even sell sli? How well does ATI sli work? From what I hear so far, its a hit or miss thing.... As for vid cards, I usualy buy mid range and stick with it till I cant run a game and then move onward to a new card. Like I'm doing now.... So two 8600 gts aint gonna cut newer games? |
if you buy 2x8600GTS now you pay more money than 1x8800GTS which is faster than those two ;) ATI Crossfire is pretty much the same, the only time when CF/SLI offers a performance advantage is with high end hardware, but then you are throwing price/performance balance out the window;) |
Ok I see your point with the sli no working well, there is only a slight advantage.....can you recomend a mbo that can work with the older ide hard drives but still have no bottle necks for the vid cards? |
I would just opt for a PCI ATA Card to connect IDE drives |
Hmmm maybe so....is the pci card for an ata hard drive thing as compairable in speed as hte standard motherboard port? Could you possibly recommend a step up from the ASROCK you said to get...and possiblly a mid tower as well? I was thinking of the Antect Sonata III.......It comes with a 500 watt psu. I have the Sonata II, and I love the case, though my only complaint for the new case would be no cpu tunnel fan setup.....grrrrr |
Sonata 3 I saw at Cebit, not very different from Sonata 2, not sure if it's worth the "upgrade". Mobo's are not my specialty, don't want to give you incorrect advice. I'm running 8 IDE HDDs of PCI PATA cards (2xIDE connectors on each - 4 drives on each card) and find performance to be plenty fast for my usage (file server over network), may be your usage is more demanding :) |
8 drives? Impressive. As for major preformance no, none needed....its more like my c drive is for my games mostly, surfing that crap.... My other 2 drives are for files I dont want to loose or for storage. Can you tell me which pci cards you use then? As for mobo's I'm getting lost in all the diff types...though I must say that there is alot of crap I dont need on boards, and I hate the fact that that most of the mobo's out there have very little add on capacity as far as pci slots go....grrr...sign of the times.... Also hate hate hate on board sound or video setups....find them pure chit most times as far as quality goes, besides having to mess with settings in bios to turn that crap off to avoid conflicts. Can you recomend a case then? Nothing fancy needed. Would be nice to have a psu with it that was decent, though I know from what I've seen so far, that be like asking my boss for a raise...lol...:P Thanks again for all the advice...very very helpful. |
if size is no problem, the Antec 900 is surely a nice one:) lots of room; have used PCI ATA cards of different brands, no real preference |
the case looks nice, now since it don't come with a psu, can you recomend one? I've decided on going with the HIS Hightech H195PRQT512DDN-R-V2 Radeon X1950PRO 512MB 256-bit GDDR3 PCI Express x16 HDCP Ready CrossFire Supported Video Card - Retail so what kinda of ps would I need, to run 3 hard reg ide hard drives, one dvd burner, a duo core 2 cpu and 2 gigs ram with that vid card up there? |
Seasonic 500W should offer a good price/performance ratio; |
think I found it ok how is this for a mobo? ASUS P5LD2 R2.0 LGA 775 Intel 945P ATX Intel Motherboard it has 4 sata ports and the regular 2 ide ports I'm used to seeing....:) stats: # Mfr Part Number: P5LD2 R2.0(GREEN) # CPU: Socket 775 support Intel Pentium D/ Pentium 4/ Celeron processor; Intel EM64T/ EIST/ Hyper-Threading Technology; Support Intel next generation 04B/04A & 05B/05A CPU; FSB 1066/800/533 MHz # Chipset: Intel 945P & ICH7R # Memory: 4x 240pin DDR2-667/533/400 DIMMs, Dual Channel, non-ECC/un-buffered, Max capacity 4GB # Slots: 1x PCI Express x16 slot; 3x PCI Express x1 slots; 3x PCI slots # IDE/SATA: 2x ATA-133 channel (ITE 8211F); 1x ATA-100 channel, 4x SATA2 ports support RAID 0, 1, 5, 10 (Intel ICH7R) # Audio: Realtek ALC882 8-channel High-Definition Audio CODEC # LAN: Marvell 88E8053 PCI Express Gigabit Ethernet Controller # Ports: 8x USB 2.0 ports (4 rear, 4 by headers); 2x PS/2 ports; 1x Serial port; 1x Parallel port; 1x S/PDIF Out (Coaxial+Optical); 1x RJ45 LAN port; Audio I/O jack # Form Factor: ATX, 12 x 9 inch / 30.5 x 23 cm # Package: Retail # RoHS Compliant |
also what the hell uses the PCIX1 slots? |
soundcard, network cards, etc. the 945P chipset is seriously dated, would not suggest getting one now if you can get P35 chipset mobo for ~same price |
got an idea Ok how about this..if you all had $800 to get the following, what would you pick? I'm been concentrating on intel, as my friend its the best...he has a duo core amd and is not happy with its preformance. THERE IS NO NEED TO BE COMPATABLE WITH THE IDE DRIVES OF MINE....I'VE ALREADY ADMITED DEFEAT AND KNOW I'LL JUST HAVE TO GET SATA AND TRANSFER THE DATA OVER TO ANOTHER SATA DRIVE LATTER ON... LIST: CPU CPU COOLER THERMAL COMPOUND MOBO MEMORY 2 GIGS VID CARD SATA HARD DRIVE CASE AND PSU THATS IT....SO WHAT YA THINK? I'M HALFWAY TEMPTED TO TOSS ALL MY CASH INTO THE PARTS AND LEAVE THE CASE OUT OF IT, AND JUST GET THE PSU, AND RUN MY SYSTEM THE WAY I DID TO A FRIENDS WHEN HE HAD NO CASH FOR THE CASE HE WANTED...WE JUST BUILT A WOODEN CASE TILL HE COULD AFFORD THE ONE HE WANTED...LOL...IT WAS MORE LIKE SEVERAL TEIRED SHELFS....:) ALSO THIS IS NOT YELLING...IM TIRED, JUST GOT OFF OF WORK, AND MY EYES HURT... LATTERS |
personal choice: - E6420 (nice stock speed, 4mb cache) - Scythe Mine/Arctic Cooling Freezer 7 Pro/ Coolermaster Hyper TX/... (good price/performance/noise balance) - Any P35 chipset mobo with enough features will do - PC2-6400 memory, cheapest with best warranty - casual gaming €99 8600 GT -- hardcore gaming €250 8800 GTS 320Mb - Any 500Gb HDD will do, longest warranty - Seasonic or Seasonic Build PSU for good efficieny, case... too many to choose from;) |
new build ok how about this buiild? Though I'm still unsure about the cpu cooler and the memory choices...thanks again all for your help and advice....its been a steep learning curve for me, as I've just not paid attention to whats been going on with hardware for a very long time.... &&&&&&&&&&&&&&&& CPU $175.99 http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16819115030 CPU COOLER: $45.99 http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16835106069 CPU THERMAL COMPOUND: $5.99 http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16835100007 MOTHERBOARD: $99.99 http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...pk=GA-P35-DS3L MEMORY: $111.99 http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16820220144 OR $104.00 http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16820145034 OR THIS ONE THOUGH I'M WORRIED ABOUT HIGHT CLEARANCE WITH CPU COOLER... $122.99 http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16820227231 HARD DRIVE: $119.99 http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16822152052 VIDEO CARD: short term sale....hurry on this please $155.99 http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...2E16814102067R CASE: $49.99 http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16811119106 CASE POWER SUPPLY: $129.99 http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...sair%2b52 0HX |
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