Taff107

Right guys, looking to spend a couple of hundred quid on upgrading for HL2 etc. What shall I go for - new chip + M/board (currently XP2000 and A7V333 / 512mb pc2700 DDR) or Radeon 9800 pro (currently 9600 pro @ 4x AGP)?

Mr.Cookie

Go for the Radeon your puters not that slow on any other parts in my opinion, then if you do want to just shove a barton cored XP on that mobo

Si
Ps My specs
XP2500 (barton core)
A7V333 mobo
512mb XMS3500 corsair
9700 pro

And i don't think HL2 will give me many worries

Taff107

The only thing is that the A7V333 will only give 4x AGP as oppased to 8x. Is it worth lashing out on a new board etc just for that? I was after a 9700 pro but they stopped stocking as I was looking for them. I think that ATi realised how much of a bargain they were! Is there much difference with the Barton core, Mr Cookie?

Mr.Cookie

I ran a XP2100 before switching to the barton, there wasn't a great deal of difference to be honest except this barton clocks like a bitch although it's running standard at mo, don't see the point until i need it

IIRC i got a 500-1000 point increase in 3dmarks2001se and no difference in 2003, temps are a lot better though

Si

what would scooby do

Yup - I "accidentally" clocked my barton 2500+ to be a 3200+ and it worked ok until I tried to play call of duty.. I just need to play around a bit more to get it reliable but it looks promising

Daz34

I would keep the A7V333. There isn't much difference between 4x & 8x AGP. Get yourself an Athlon XP2500+ & oc it
With the other cash get an ATI 9800 or 9800Pro.
I wouldn't spend too much money on a really expensive mobo or processor as in 12 months time you will probably wanna move onto a 64bit solution.

I have an A7V333, XP2400+ clocked at 2.33ghz (XP2900 ) & an ATI 9800Pro & am very happy & don't see much better out there unless you are talking silly money.

Darren

Taff107

So you think that it is worth swapping the 9600 pro for the 9800 pro?

Mr.Cookie

nope, i think that'll handle HL2 okay

Mr.Cookie

on a side note when is HL2 coming out now, i can't seem to find a thing

Taff107

Apparently, it is due for release in April 2004. Mmmm.........I'll believe it when it is in my mitts....