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Pages: 1
Upgrade
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Posted by: Troubled
I have been looking to upgrade to a new system and I have looked at so many things my head is just spinning.I found this setup on www.accessmicro.com and was wondering if anyone could tell me if it would make a good system for gaming.
EPOX EP-8KHAL VIA KT266A AMD SOCKET A 266 FSB
5 PCI SLOTS
1 AGP SLOT
3 DIMM DDR SLOT
ATHLON K7 1 GHZ THUNDERBIRD 266 FSB (OEM)
THERMALTAKE A1110 VOLCANO 5 BALL BEARING
128 MB DDR 266MHZ 16X64 PC 2100 NON-PARITY UNBUF DIMM 2.5V DDRAM.
This motherboard combo will cost me $223 and they assemble it and do a 24 hour burn in. It comes with a 2 year warranty and 12 month new swap warranty.
I have an Athlon 750 MHZ with EP-7KXA MOB now.
ALL FEEDBACK APPRECIATED....Thanks.
Posted by: Canis Lupus
Sounds like a decent enough system ... the price and the warranty also sounds cool ...
Posted by: The-AoD
Well, I'd go with a newer board, like the Epox 8kha+ or like mine, MSI K7T266 Pro2. The KT266a is a better chipset than any of it's predecessors and has proven stable under heavy loads.
I built a new power house including the following
MSI K7T266 Pro2
Athlon XP 1700+ 1.47GHz (OEM)
256mb PC2100 DDR (Samsung)
Future case with AMD Approved 300W PSU
All of that for only 438, and the that was with a 7.5% sales tax.  Now as for warranties, I have a 1 year no holds barred warranty on the PSU/Case, Mobo and the DDR and the standard 30 day from AMD for the OEM chip..
Prices weren't the cheapest at the show I got them at, I built it myself as well. I also have one of the better warranties, could I of built it for less, of course, but with the same warranty? No.
But that system sounds pretty good, I'd just grab up an 8kha+ or something a little newer with alot of sweet options
Posted by: Swilo
For a gaming system you may want some more RAM.
With that chipset you can always upgrade the CPU later if you want more. It will be fine for a while, though.
Posted by: The-AoD
Oops I didnt' see that sorry, that is a decent board hahah I'm kinda.. not here tonight.. But it sounds like a pretty good deal now that I see it eheheh
I thought you typed 8KX but wasn't reading correctly for some odd reason.. *Slaps self*
Someone get the dephib's!!!
Posted by: Sarc
The only thing that I'm thinking is that going from 750MHz to 1GHz isn't all that big of a upgrade. If I were you, I might check out some hotter processor options.
But, (being a Intel guy) if what Swilo said is true, you can always upgrade later.
But as it, sounds like a good deal for the price. Maybe another 128MB of RAM though.
Posted by: tkron
If all else remains the same upgrading from a 750mhz to a 1Ghz cpu will not be much of an upgrade. You normally do not notice any difference unless you have at least doubled or tripled the cpu speed.
However I am assuming that other things on that board are also upgrades like the follolwing:
ATHLON K7 1 GHZ THUNDERBIRD 266 FSB (OEM)
THERMALTAKE A1110 VOLCANO 5 BALL BEARING
128 MB DDR 266MHZ 16X64 PC 2100 NON-PARITY UNBUF DIMM 2.5V DDRAM.
I also suggest that you get as much DDR PC2100 ram as you can afford to get the most out of your setup
Also a GOOD video card is a must. Something like a Geforce2 MX400 or a GeForce3
The GeForce 4s are due out this year and when they come out the price of the Geforce3 should drop.
In no particular order the things that affect performance are:
cpu type and speed
Bus Speed supported faster is better (100/133/200/266)
Ram speed and amount of ram
Video card
Posted by: The-AoD
Well here it comes in my opinion...
From personal experiences I've come up with this list to help you upgrade.
First and foremost, the absolute minimum for a decent gaming platform..
Processor : 500Mhz or equivilent
RAM : 128mb
Video Card : At least, and I mean at least 16mb card
Now as for what you're getting...
Upgrading the thing from an Athlon K7 to an Athlon K7 Tbird with only a 250mhz difference wouldn't show too much improvement, though it would be possible to notice a difference.
Now the things to worry about first in designing your system..
Video card, Without a decent video card, the system is practically useless for gaming. I'd recommend at least a GeForce 2 MX200, but it's better if you get something with 64mb instead. The faster the card, the more performance you gain out of the system.
Second, RAM, Ram can be a very big issue with gameplay, if you only have 64mb, most of your games are going to load the hard drive and make it be used for a huge memory load, and therefore, causing a performance drain. I'd recommend at least 128, but for the best experience, get 256mb or more.
Now, for the CPU, this is where we get into a little bit more detail...
First we'll discuss the FSB (Front Side Bus). If you're lacking in this department, you're lacking a great potential from your system, anything with at least a 133Mhz FSB is a good idea, which both processors you've listed are good to go.
Second, actual frequency/speed. I'd say a 500mhz is enough for decent gameplay under most of todays games, but not at the best graphics. Now anything around 1Ghz will do decent under a big graphics load, as long as it has a decent video card to back it up.
Third, upgradability.. Socket A's have been the platform for AMD for a while, and who knows if they'll keep them around for a LONG time.. Noone knows, but if you want later on, you could easily drop an AMD XP chip down into the Socket A, as long as the Motherboard has a 266mhz chipset on it. (And the chipset supports it as well).
Thinks to remember :
1: Video cards recieve most of the load on high graphics settings, the CPU doesn't in most cases.
2: Without enough RAM for a certain game to play with, you'll get a decrease in performance.
3: If you don't have the processor speed to keep up with the video card or other parts of your system, you'll end up with a degrade in performance.
Are you saying my Idea isn't good?
No. Not in the least, I'm just saying, that type of increase in CPU speed isn't going to show you much, unless you plan in upgrading the CPU later. Especially if you're planning on keeping the Video card you have now.
So, what do you think the best idea is for me?
If you're only planning to upgrade to have a single system, you have two options that come to mind.
1 : Go with what you have selected, if you're planning to upgrade later.
2 : If you're only going for a little more speed, grab a faster chip that will fit your mobo, and save a few bucks for a better video card.
That's just my opinion, I hope it helps you in selecting what you are wanting to do.
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