Processor or Graphics?

Moonwraith

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I've almost reached the decision stage on my upgrades (thanks to many people on here) but i've got one more question:

Which is more important; graphics or processor?

I'm thinking either AMD 64bit 4000+ or the fx55 (on a push) - meanwhile debating whether to go for the 6800gt with the 4000+ or if i could afford it a Radeon x800xt P.E. with the fx55.
But I'm not sure whether to go higher graphics with the cheaper processor or vice versa with my budget!

(hope that makes sense) :)

Thanks a lot
 
honestly... wait...

the next processor is likely the one to go with... and both ati and nvidia should be launching (or at least demo'ing) refresh's to their high-end parts...

looking @ the performance of the boards that are upcoming it might be prudent to make your next purchase based off of a pci-E board (and the related graphics cards)
 
honestly... wait...

i agree that swhat im doing. I will have 2200 in a month for a rig but i think im gona sit on it for 3-4 months...

the reall question is get a lap top for 2200 or a build new rig... i just cant make up my mind hehe.
 
I am gonna have to wait to sell my PC so I can upgrade.


But from what I have seen, wait on the next jump.
 
Personally... Wait. Since Ati is releasing their X850's soon, which would automatically make the X800XT-PE an older card. AMD will be releasing Dual core within the next 3-4 months I believe. That's if they stick with their time frame. And NF4 should be out by then and possibly some of the bugs fixed. So there's a lot happening soon.

Although, at the rate things are going. As soon as this stuff is released, there will be other things that are being conceptualized that sound even better. And then people will say to wait again.

It's a vicious cycle of upgrading. It really is.
I just recently purchased an AMD64 3200 939, MSI K8N Neo2 platinum, and an Ati X800Pro Vivo which I OCed easily to XT-PE speeds. So if you chose to go with an X800 now, go with the pro and just overclock it and save yourself about $150-200
 
shep... have you unlocked the extra quad to make your card a proper XT? or have you just oc'd it?
 
Well the way it's going, I wont be able to afford any of the new stuff coming out (I can't afford to chase technology lol It's a chase that can't be won) - but it'll at least knock the prices of this stuff down - that'll be a bonus. So with the current technology would you say; max more on graphics or processor?

(cheers shep, if i knew anything about OCing i'd look into that lol, might do depending on funds)
 
I unlocked the extra 4 pipes to make it truly an XT-PE, not just overclocked it.
 
It's going to sound really n00bish of me, but how hard/easy is it to OC and unlock the pipes from a x800 pro to the x800xt PE standards?
 
It's not hard at all, you can use either the Omega Drivers or use RivaTuner to unlock them. That's about it.
 
Moonwraith watever you do dont go for the a64 4000+, its nothing but a rebranded fx-53. get an fx-53 as it comes with an unlocked multiplier so it can be overclocked real easy.

as for dual core, i dont think dual core will do anything to improve gaming experience, maybe just to get lower temps and all but thats about it........
 
Dual core would offer parallel processing.
Shading and lighting
Transform and texture.
antialiasing and whatever

Dual cores would be nice, but only if the software is written for it. Kinda like HT for gaming. In theory it is great, but in teh real world the game executable only gets to use ONE of teh logical processors. So a 3.4 becomes a 1.7 with a 400 Mhz FSB.
 
Moonwraith said:
It's going to sound really n00bish of me, but how hard/easy is it to OC and unlock the pipes from a x800 pro to the x800xt PE standards?

there are no guarantees... you may or not be able to...

best bet is a VIVO x800pro since pretty much all of them can be unclocked...

alternatively just purchase a 6800GT or an x800XT
 
Depends on what you will be using this computer for. If its games, will they use the maximum capabilities of the video card? If it's applications, do they require significant cpu resources? The most important component is the mobo since you can always upgrade the cpu or video card, but upgrading mobo's is more tedious and potentially troublesome. I'm liking the reviews for the next generation nforce SLI boards as they allow for an affordable graphics upgrade path.
 
SLI 6600GTs total around $700-$800, SLI 6800GTs total around $1000, and for Ultras? you're looking at around $1200+
 
Ahhhhh I knew they were trying to get rid of the FX53 in favour of the 4000+, but it's not worth buying one over the fx53? [noted]

Overclocking isn't something i was planning on doing but i'll take everything onboard :D

I've already bought a XFX 6800gt which turned up DOA so not had much fun with the 6800gt :( S'why I was looking towards Radeon for a change! The PC will mainly be used for gaming/surviving Uni i spose, so it's gotta last a while heh

(Cheers everyone)
 
That's some amazing stuff, never heard/seen anything about SLi before this heh - shame I haven't got enough for 2 6800 Ultras :p In fact, I've not got the money for one :rolleyes: So that's not really a viable option, seeing as the prices of the new mobos seem a little too high for me too. I'll stick without PCI-E

I'm thinking either the 6800gt/X800XT or 6800 U/X800XT P.E.

[edit] Does every PCI-E nvidia graphics card allow SLI? [/edit]
[edit.. again] Oki doki, it's not actually going to do amazing things for me (I'm running a 15" TFT monitor (READ: Max res. of 1024x768) and the benchmarks show it doesn't make much difference between 1 and 2 at lower res [/edit.. again]
 

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