Getting more out of my graphics card?

[zEphyr]

Hi. I recently bought a Sapphire Radeon 9700 Pro, and I'd like to get even MORE kick out of it. I currently have a 1.2ghz Athlon T-bird (w/ 512 ram) and motherboard that allows a processor speed of up to 2.0ghz, but which only supports up to 4x AGP. Should I: a) Just buy a faster processor chip, b) get a whole new mobo, or c) leave it as it is? I'm also wondering how much of a performance boost a faster processor and/or AGP 8x would cause. Any advice would be appreciated. Thanks.

 

[Hudson]

AGP 8X is a lot betetr then 4X, especially at higher reses

 

[zEphyr]

So, what are some nice motherboards with 8x AGP you could recommend? - (Most likely going to want to have Athlon)

 

[Hudson]

probably most new mobos can support 8X, im not really sure, not a mobo whore, more of a gfx card whore :cheese:

 

[dawdler]

Dont listen to him
8x AGP difference is minimal, you'll gain 1 or 2 percent. There is no application that stresses the bus that much its needed.

If you dont want to spend much money, I'd say just get a 2ghz.
Buying a new motherboard often means you have to buy both new CPU and ram, so thats more expensive... So it all depends on what you want to spend

 

[zEphyr]

Would 1.2ghz to 2.0ghz make much of a difference, or should I just wait until winter to consider a larger upgrade? I wouldn't mind spending some cash on motherboard + cpu + ram, but I'm wondering if there's any point in doing so at the moment.

 

[SpuD]

Just get a mobo that supports your current type of RAM, i have pc2100 in this computer *points to computer* im gonna upgrade mobos soon and ill make sure it supportrs 2100-3200

 

[zEphyr]

Might newer motherboards w/ 8x AGP not support PC1600 and PC2100 DDR Ram, which is what my current mobo supports? I've noticed that quite a few newer boards don't have "PC1600" in their specs.

 

[A.A]

Originally posted by dawdler
Dont listen to him
8x AGP difference is minimal, you'll gain 1 or 2 percent. There is no application that stresses the bus that much its needed.

If you dont want to spend much money, I'd say just get a 2ghz.
Buying a new motherboard often means you have to buy both new CPU and ram, so thats more expensive... So it all depends on what you want to spend

It's an even lower differences, it's just a marketing thing.

I agree.

 

[Doobz]

true, you won't be seeing games even begin to saturate the 8x AGP interface for at LEAST a year and a half

most games today don't even come close to saturating the 4x AGP interface

 

[crabcakes66]

Originally posted by |CC|Hudson
AGP 8X is a lot betetr then 4X, especially at higher reses

another person who has no idea what they are talking about :cheers:

 

[SidewinderX]

You *Might* get 2 more 3D03Marks using 8X AGP. If you'r lucky.