What more can I do for games?

Fred wrote:
So I have the P4 1.6, 512 megs of DDR, geforce 4600ti, and a nice
soundblaster PCI something-or-rather.

What more can I do that will allow me to set everything to highest for
games (ie Medal of Honor)? Get a XEON?

The Xeon is a 64-bit server CPU and will not run on an ordinary motherboard.
If you have that much money to throw around, then you can afford to purchase
a top-of-the-range P4.

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need to upgrade processor, 3.2ghz is availabe,


"Fred" wrote in message
...
So I have the P4 1.6, 512 megs of DDR, geforce 4600ti, and a nice
soundblaster PCI something-or-rather.

What more can I do that will allow me to set everything to highest for
games (ie Medal of Honor)? Get a XEON?

Sean wrote:
need to upgrade processor, 3.2ghz is availabe,

But his motherboard probably wouldn't take it - and with another motherboard
comes new RAM, might as well purchase an entirely new system. And, AFAIK,
Intel haven't produced a 3.2GHz yet.


--�
Cassandra
Card carrying member of the Fresh Start Club 'The Undead Are People Too!'

Reply address is fake. Please send all praise, abuse, insults, bequests
of £1million to cassandra (at) craigy34 (dot) freeserve (dot) co (dot)
uk. Change the obvious to the obvious.
Private requests for assistance will not be acknowledged. Please post all
correspondence to the group so that all may benefit. Thank you.

"Amethyst" wrote in message ...
snip
The Xeon is a 64-bit server CPU and will not run on an ordinary motherboard.

^^^^^^

Really ?

Andy

Fred wrote:

So I have the P4 1.6, 512 megs of DDR, geforce 4600ti, and a nice
soundblaster PCI something-or-rather.

What more can I do that will allow me to set everything to highest for
games (ie Medal of Honor)? Get a XEON?


Spend about $250 and get a fast AMD chip/board/DDR ram setup. The old P4's
weren't very good performers, a newer P4 (the good ones) won't fit and for
games an AMD works great. A 4600Ti is a waste on that old board.
--

Stacey

Stacey wrote in
:

Fred wrote:

So I have the P4 1.6, 512 megs of DDR, geforce 4600ti, and a nice
soundblaster PCI something-or-rather.

What more can I do that will allow me to set everything to highest
for games (ie Medal of Honor)? Get a XEON?


Spend about $250 and get a fast AMD chip/board/DDR ram setup. The old
P4's weren't very good performers, a newer P4 (the good ones) won't
fit and for games an AMD works great. A 4600Ti is a waste on that old
board.

Thanks for the responses. BTW, the XEON thing was a joke. A couple more
questions... responses are much appreciated:

For the AMD board and chips, what speed chip, and for the board, what
specifically in terms of brand would you recommend? What type of fan,
power supply, etc.? Where to order/buy? Would I have to reinstall XP or
clean format with a new board/chip, or would it "hot" recognize like,
for instance, when you add new RAM?

Additionally, I have DDR PC2100 and most new boards take DDR PC2700.
Since they both use 184 pins, would I be able to use my old 2100 on a
board that takes 2700? I know that question sounds funny considering I
asked what would take gaming to a new level...

Thanks again,
D.

Fred wrote:
reply inline
Thanks for the responses. BTW, the XEON thing was a joke. A couple
more questions... responses are much appreciated:

For the AMD board and chips, what speed chip, and for the board, what
specifically in terms of brand would you recommend? What type of fan,
power supply, etc.? Where to order/buy? Would I have to reinstall XP
or clean format with a new board/chip, or would it "hot" recognize
like, for instance, when you add new RAM?

The Nforce2 chipset is currently the favourite for AMD processors.
Motherboards like the Gigabyte GA-7N400Pro, Asus A7N8X Deluxe and the Abit
NF7-S are all very good. As for a CPU, the faster, the better. The Barton
core XP2500+ strikes a good balance between cost and performance. I'd buy
the retail version and use the provided heatsink and fan. Of course, faster
is ever better. As for a power supply, a good quality 400W ATX12V unit is a
good idea, especially with a new CPU and your 4600Ti. Enermax, Sparkle, and
Antec are good products. Myself, I'd do a clean format, but a "Repair" or
"In place install" should also do the trick. You'll need to reinstall any
Windows updates afterward. http://michaelstevenstech.com/XPrepairinstall.htm

Do this after changing your hardware, but before booting into Windows for
the first time. Popular and reputable US vendors are Mwave.com,
Googlegear.com and Newegg.com. See Resellerratings.com for more.


Additionally, I have DDR PC2100 and most new boards take DDR PC2700.
Since they both use 184 pins, would I be able to use my old 2100 on a
board that takes 2700? I know that question sounds funny considering I
asked what would take gaming to a new level...

You could reuse your current RAM, though you will be limited to 133MHz. The
Nforce2 chipset performs best when the FSB and RAM speed are the same, in
sync. That would be 133MHz in the case of PC2100, 166MHz in the case of
PC2700 and 200MHz in the case of PC3200.

--
If you pick up a starving dog and make him prosperous, he will not bite
you. This is the principle difference between a dog and a man. -Samuel
L. Clemens

Fred wrote:

Stacey wrote in
:

Fred wrote:

So I have the P4 1.6, 512 megs of DDR, geforce 4600ti, and a nice
soundblaster PCI something-or-rather.

What more can I do that will allow me to set everything to highest
for games (ie Medal of Honor)? Get a XEON?


Spend about $250 and get a fast AMD chip/board/DDR ram setup. The old
P4's weren't very good performers, a newer P4 (the good ones) won't
fit and for games an AMD works great. A 4600Ti is a waste on that old
board.

Thanks for the responses. BTW, the XEON thing was a joke. A couple more
questions... responses are much appreciated:

For the AMD board and chips, what speed chip, and for the board, what
specifically in terms of brand would you recommend?

Depends on your budget. A XP 2400 and up chip on an SIS board would be a
cheap upgrade. Since these run at 2X133/266 FSB (check to be sure your
choice does), your PC2100 ram would work fine. The nforce2 boards are hot
right now but not real cheap. If you go with a newer 166FSB chip, you
should use PC2700 ram.

I've used the A7S333-E board, it's stable and only $65 right now. An XP2400
OEM is only $85 and includes a HSF. Given it's got a higher clock speed
than a barton 2500, for games it might be a better option? Also with the
2400 you can reuse the ram you have to keep costs down and will work with
the older/cheaper boards. Also it might oclock some so that is always an
option. That asus board allows oclocking.

What type of fan,
power supply, etc.?

The stock fan works OK and you get a warranty using it. It's reasonably
quiet which some of the aftermarket ones aren't. I've found a GOOD 300W PSU
is fine.


Where to order/buy?

www.newegg.com

Would I have to reinstall XP or
clean format with a new board/chip, or would it "hot" recognize like,
for instance, when you add new RAM?


A clean install is best as you'll have to call M$ anyway. But you can "hot
install" and see how it works.
--

Stacey

Stacey wrote:



I've used the A7S333-E board, it's stable and only $65 right now. An
XP2400
OEM is only $85 and includes a HSF.

Whoops meant retail not OEM..

--

Stacey

LOL! Available at what price? Around $700 for the processor, and
perhaps $200+ for a decent dual ddr motherboard for it, plus the cost
of new ram. An Athlon XP3000+ 400 at around $260 or an Athlon
XP2800+ 333 at around $165 (or an XP2600+ 333 at around $95)
plus an Asus A7n8X Deluxe rev 2 motherboard and PC3200 ddr ram
would make much more sense. Perhaps the best idea might be to buy
an XP2800+ 333 or XP2600+333 now, and upgrade to an Athlon64
when several nice 64 bit games are available?

Sean wrote:

need to upgrade processor, 3.2ghz is availabe,

"Fred" wrote in message
...
So I have the P4 1.6, 512 megs of DDR, geforce 4600ti, and a nice
soundblaster PCI something-or-rather.

What more can I do that will allow me to set everything to highest for
games (ie Medal of Honor)? Get a XEON?