TeuS

just had a nice chat with RB, and made my mind up. current setup:
KR7A
1700+ JIUHB, does 2100 mhz on 1.75 vcore
GF2Pro
256MB XMS Corsair PC3500 CL2
80GB HDD
48x CDRW
Koolance w/ 350W Enermax PSU
WC for vidcard, chipsets, HDD and CPU perhaps
budget: 300-500 euro

plan #1:
Asus Nforce² (old mainboard then for backup rig): 80€
other ram: I'll sell my Corsair and get 2 sticks of 256MB
vidcard: Thinking of an R9000@Funcomp, 9100 or 9200. it will be a lot better then my GF2, and I'll wait and save my money for an affordable vidcard that can run DoomIII decently

plan #2: get a decent vidcard NOW, and save little money

plan #3:
keep my KR7A, sell XMS mem, buy 512Mb Twinmos. my FSB will be limited to 190 (170 if i want to watch movies ), the speed difference with the nforce² won't be huge and I'll save my cash; no possibility for a backup rig either.
but I'll be able to afford a killer vidcard like an R9800

Thx a lot to Rich Bastard, but I'd always like to have a 2nd opinion
I'm actually thinking to follow plan #1: I can order the vidcard rightaway with the last bucks on my bank account, but I don't know if I should choose the 64Mb 9000 over the 128mb 9200

what do you think?

Vulk

Your mobo is still fast enough imo. Better look for an ti4200 and mayb a barton2500+.

quarantaine

well the first option seems the best (if you don't buy twinx corsair )
i only doubt it that the 9000pro will make that big difference with the GF2pro, in my humble opinion you better keep the geforce 2 and buy a decent videocard when its needed.
but an abit or epox looks better to me (and cheaper)
don't like ASUS verry much.

and the idea for a killer videocard, wait till doom3 passes and then buy a videocard , it will be 1) cheaper and 2) there will be new "techniques" then so you're pc will flawlessy run the modern games.
but thats just my opinion

or as Vulkaantje says, buy everything secondhanded: will be much cheaper.

TeuS

the 9000 would be a lot faster



8500 <> 5400

in any case, I won't keep my GF2Pro in this rig... what other vidcard also gives good performance (and perhaps good overclocking) at a low price?

Vulk

As said, ti4200.

Da_BoKa

i would go for #1, but in stead of buying asus buy something else where you can get an good oc with ( asus isn't the best for that )

greetz

CCW

The ASUS board doesnt like high FSBs, the Abit and the Epox are much better boards, especially the Abit NF7-S Rev2.0.

Craig

RichBa5tard

My third 8rda+ just died for no obvious reason... i wouldn't recommend EpoS any more unless you don't mind getting a new one every 3 months.

This just leaves the excellent Abit NF7-S and the budget Asys A7N8X-X.

Because money is a big issue, i'd recommend the asus. It doesn't overclock as well, it doesn't have S-ATA, and it's with the budget NF2-4000 chipset (single channel), but in the end you don't notice the performance difference unless you push it to the max.

I recommended a 900Pro, because it's bottom price (70 eur) and decent performance.

__________________
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Development (mac osx): Macbook | Core 2 2.0Ghz | 4GB DDR2 | 250GB HD
Games (win xp): E2160 @ 2.4Ghz | HD3850 OC | Asrock 4coredual-vsta | 2GB DDR2

TerAngreal

just bought myself a 9000pro 3 days ago - the AIW version, that is - and the difference between this one and a GF2 (even a Pro) is quite noticeable ... it would be a shame if it weren't, right?

it's quite a good budget card (the non-AIW), but my Ti4200 got me higher 3dmarks

TeuS

TA, 3dmark scores from those cards?
I'll get a R9000 new, or a ti4200/9600 2nd handed

mainboard: Abit NF-7. I'm very satisfied with my KR7A-R so I'll stick to abit