Since I don't wanna hijack any other threads..

I need your opinion and suggestion to which graphic card to buy for me to play BF2142 smoothly, with a little eye-candy.

Current rig:

AMD XP 1800+ .. ATI 9550 SE(AGP), 512 MB ram.. and that's about it. (not my rig either )

Should I upgrade all 3?

Do you think upgrading one section would help improve framerates and load times?

I'm thinking of getting a new GPU, and a set of 512 ram.. Does processor speed play a very big role? Or do you think 1800mhz is about enough?
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If so, which card? I'm looking for something budget priced, not TOO budgets, but good enough to run the game smoothly.

Wow, no-one got suggestion meh?

I was thinking of something under 1k..

ATI X1600 XT 590/690 @ RM500

ATI X1650 PRO 600/700 @ RM540

ATI X1600 PRO 500/400 @ RM400

I'm still on AGP.

I'm on AMD XP 2100+ ATI 9600Pro.. online play is still choppy. I suggest you upgrade your CPU+ add another 512 ram.



This post has been edited by scaygoo: Oct 19 2006, 11:16 AM

So you think the 3d card is not the problem?

The first time I saw the clock timings I was horrified.

Infact, I was using a 9600 pro on my other comp till it broke down

Thanks for the reply, will consider upgrade on CPU.

better prepare RM1.5k+ to upgrade whole set

You could get a decent AMD 939 (or AM2) for about 250+; then 300+ for the mobo. The remaining RM1k could be used to get the RAM (1GB for RM400+) and GC (RM500+).

Should at least gives you decent FPS..

I think in the mean time, u should upgrade your ram to 1gb first. Then save enuff funds to get a new pc.

Thanks for the info.

Infact, I'm ready to spend and hold-out on purchasing the Wii and 360 now, for BF2142

I have been out from CPU hardware a long time, so please navigate me in the right direction

You mean to say that I should change to PCI-e mobo now and upgrade the processor?

I think RAM I may be able to manage.. Just simply pick one lah

Which GC do you recommend? From the ones I selected in my previous post, X1650 Xt/PRO seems the most suitable for me.

[Edit]

@ Redbull: Aiyak, new PC ka?! I'm not rich wei! Terpaksa sell my DS phat now, anybody?!

This post has been edited by sihumchai: Oct 19 2006, 11:34 AM

X1600XT shud gives you decent performance, although its better if you can forked out a little more to get 7600GT

IMO, I think you shud really upgrade to PCI-E and if possible; to DDR2 as well. But if you want to save your RAM money, upgrading to AMD 939 is good enuff.

What exactly is a 939.. I'm using a XP Sempron IINM.

If you were me, and had RM1500 to spend on upgrade, what would you get in order to run BF2142 properly?

You suggested XT1600/1650 and I agreed.

But what about mobo proc.? What speed/type?

Sorry, but I have not educated myself in hardware for awhile, so I appreciate you guys help

[Edit] 7600 GT, prices a little higher, but seems that over-all performance is better. I'm an AMD/ATI supporter, but don't mind changing wagons now.

This post has been edited by sihumchai: Oct 19 2006, 11:54 AM

939 is the socket type for AMD64 (newer than your current AMD XP )

Well, last time I also spent liao RM1.5k to upgrade my P4 to AMD64.

CPU : AMD64 939 1800+
mobo : Asus mobo
RAM: 2x512MB Kingston DDR400
GC: Sapphire ATI Radeon X1600XT 256MB

With the above setting, I could play FEAR with moderate setting smoothly without any problems.

As for now, I think its best you go to lowyat and get the latest pricelist. Price shud be around the same; although I think the RAM price is getting higher and higher >_> Better get your new RAM before the RAM price hitting the roof

This post has been edited by Cyrus2k: Oct 19 2006, 11:59 AM

If you're going to upgrade to PCIE, may as well get a whole PC.
Your current processor is a big bottleneck though.

u can run most of the game u find but you may experience a very low framerates even the game graphical settings are set to Low .
if i were u , i'll get a
AMD X2 3600+ / 3800+ and ( make sure its socket AM2 , why ? 939 procs
already stop production its lucky if u can find one )

any mobo that supports either SLi or crossfire

2 gigs of rams if possible , even BF2 runs slower with 1gb compare to 2gb
another reason for choosing 2gb coz sooner or later u will need it , why not getting it now .

VGA , if you want a mid range vga card : ati 1650 series or 7600gt

unfortunately you are at the junction.

If you gonna get new processor, the new board will have PCI-e which will force you to buy new GC.

If you buy new agp GC, you cant use it when you upgrade to new processor as newer board using pic-e. also agp now cost more expensive then pci-e.

simply not worth it to get an old tech by buying new processor or GC.

@ sihuchai

respect bro... apart fromt hat u also having problem with ur jaring wireless right, since u cant really get a good ping in GA, but u still willing to play eh... well i hope u can join us last nite in GA.

My connection ain't much of a prob, only the servers kick me out because of ping over 300 When I'm used with 350-500 ping, it's no problem.
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On-topic: From the info gathered here, I have decided that all 3 must go.

This setup looks great. Maybe 2gb RAM if I have the extra cash. But you're comparing FEAR and BF. Doesn't big maps require extra horsepower and ram in order to run smoothly? (faster calculations)

What's the difference between AM2 and AM2 X2? I'm looking at compuzone price list.

My target:

CPU: AM2/X2 2.0++ (most likely 2.2) @ RM330
Mobo: Something that runs the CPU (M2N4-SLi @ RM430?)
RAM: Some 1gb RAM or 2x512.. Kingston eh? @ RM400+
GPU: Either X1600XT, X1650 Pro, or 7600GT @ RM450-750

Rough expense: RM1800 (TRYING to target RM1500..)

SLI mobo means can do Crossfire also right?

Another note: I'm just getting mid-range stuff 'just to play' BF2142.. I was planning for a high-end rig by mid 2007, when Vista and DX10 cards to come out. So this means that I'm not looking for a SUPER CPU to run Huxley, Alan Wake, or UT2k7 for that matter. Just BF2142.

Many thanks guys!! I'm still very open to suggestions, and objections.

for all intents and purposes if u want to get smooth gameplay under full load of a 64 player server with decent graphics, get 1GB RAM. But keep in mind you won't be able to get full settings. 1.5 to 2 GB RAM is a must if u want to push to max.

My rig

AMD64 3500
Nvidia Geforce 7800GT
2X512 RAM Kingston (Dual Channel)
Asus Motherboard.

even this I could only run smooth with DL off, AA off, DS medium, Geometric detail high, texture high. effects medium. and still laggy on titans.

well hopefuly, the singapore server will be up, so then u cna play in lower ping, but the be honest, u will enjoy the game even more.

hehehe..

X2 is dual-core

Well, your target rig is nice enuff but I would suggest the following : (price taken from Viewnet)
CPU: AMD64 AM2 3000+ @ 1.8GHz = RM254
Mobo: Biostar TF550 = RM329 (My current mobo as well )
RAM : 2x512MB Kingston (dual-channel) DDR2-667 = RM224 x 2 = RM448
GPU: HIS X1600XT = RM539 or XFX 7600GT = RM609

Total = RM1570 (ATI) or RM1640 (nVidia)

The reason I choose AM2 3000+ are because you could overclock your CPU to 2.4GHz+ easily with the biostar TF550 mobo. You could take a look at the Overclockers forum and see many people OC AM2 3000+ and get super nice results. Its a very worth for its price.

Well, since I'm not much of a CPU OC'er, should I be getting a faster processor? Or should I learn to OC it to 2.4ghz?

Nice, this is excellent; And I shall now base my purchases on this set-up.

But my sempron 1800+ vs. AM2 1800+ .. AM2 wins by large margin? Because I feel like I'm buying the same speed Should I not at least get something like double that speed? I see no-one here recommending a faster processor.

get a nvidia sli capable card as you getting sli mboard. at least in future you can buy another nvidia card to do sli. unless you go sli now.

i am using 6800gs and the performance is quit good, but no sli option as i am using agp.

hmm, I don't know too much technical details, but AM2 3000+ (its AM2 3000+, not 1800+ ) definately a lot better than your current sempron 1800+. I believe its not running at the same speed (well, it just like comparing a Celeron with Pentium)

I guess you could say AM2 3000+ is running just like Pentium4 3.0GHz


And it is really advisable to OC it, since its the best bang of bucks you could ever find elsewhere. But if you're not that fond of OC, you could just opt for 3200+ or 3400+. Then again, with AM2 3000+ you could easily OC to the same speed of 3200+/3400+

This post has been edited by Cyrus2k: Oct 19 2006, 04:39 PM

I'm confused with AMD's advertisement of speed, that's why I needed to ask.

Like my proc is "Some AMD 3000+", but in brackets "1800+".. and in System Controls, it states "1800+"..

Anyways, like I said, I'm gonna base my purchase on the specs you gave, approve? Because when I get my pay, I'm gonna try to get it all ASAP

haha.. why you need my approval?

Well, its your money, if you think my suggestion is acceptable then go ahead and get it Thats the best setup I could think for RM1.5k

You could get GPU cheaper from Bulk, but I assume you're in hurry to upgrade your rig to play BF2142?

Well to add some more to the confusion, the Intel latest Core 2 Duo E6300 processor is only 1.86Ghz but alot faster than PentiumD 3Ghz.

I'm on an AMD Athlon 2500(barton) proc. << overclocked to 1.9 instead of 1.8GHz
1GB RAM
ATi Radeon 9600Pro which is overclocked.

Runs fine on low but online plays lags due to our ISP.

1. Well, yours and everyone elses too Since everyone seems to agree with the high-mid-range GPU's and also processor

2. Not wanting the best setup for RM1.5.. Wanting a comfortable session with BF2142, lol Like I said, I'm not aiming for any other future games, because I'm gonna jump onto the console bandwagon, it's cheaper

3. I could, but you're absolutely correct! I need to get to the battlefield to aid my teammates
___________________________________________________________________

Btw, I'm glad to hear that you're an ET player too. There should be a thread for it, but too late, BF2142 is out, and Quake Wars: Enemy Territory is coming next year Hope my new setup will be able to tahan Quake Wars.. Tho my CPU runs Quake 4 quite well with low settings. Still enjoyable

Thank you

u need more ram.. my setup can put up all high with 4xAA with the 1600x1200 resolution. runs just nice.

@threadstarter, get a sc939 athlon 64 3000+ and above, 1gb ram if possible go for 2 gb. and a 6600gt (can manage edi).

lol

My Laptop

Pentium M 1.6
128mb Geforce Go6200
512mb DDr2 SoDimm


Quite smooth...a bit spiky but acceptable for a laptop

All low setting ya'll

ACtually, I'm quited confused with my specs. now.

It's an AMD Athlon 64 2800+ @ 1.81ghz.. With a R9550 SE AGP8x card.

I'm actually confused to why my CPU ain't PCI-e mobo.

Can I just change the mobo, add rams, and a new card?

You could. Your PCI-e depends on the mobo not the proc. Get a PCI-e mobo but socket 939 if you want to keep your current proc.

But i'm guessing that sihumchai's proc is S754 instead of S939. If so, then there's currently no PCI-e mobos for S754 . Even if they do, it's very rare.

thanks for the advice, my monitor can only support 1024 X 768 and yet stutters at the worst possible moment. imagine having a tense 1-1 firefight and your rifle ran out of bullets, ur health and his drop to 10 and ur attacker 10 feet away from you and he ran out of bullets too, you both switch to guns and jump around and then u stuttered and got knifed.

OH THE PAIN

oh, is there any difference between DDR200 and DDR400? my mobo can only let my RAM stick run at the slowest of the two sticks. one stick is DDR200 and the other DDR400, I plan to get another stick of DDR400. If can I want to avoid the trouble to sell off my RAM and get 2X1GB DDR RAM.

other than that I hope the upgrade solves the lag in titan as well.

This post has been edited by slickz: Oct 20 2006, 12:27 PM

This option suits me more, save money somemore. Can put to RAM instead.

How can you tell? Have to go BIOS setup?

[Edit]

@ Redbull: From compuzone price list, I can see mobo for Athlon 64 SC754, Asus K8N4-E SE NFORC4 1600 D1/PCI-e / SL @ RM230

So if my proc. is a SC754, should I get just the mobo instead? RAMs + GPU of course.

This post has been edited by sihumchai: Oct 20 2006, 01:06 PM

Well, if you're really tight on budget, then just change the mobo and get RAM+GPU. The upgrades on RAM and GPU would definately helps to improve your FPS, but the proc would be your bottleneck.

If you ask me, I would definately upgrade the whole system to make it become a truly mid-end rig Using a newer socket mobo (939 or AM2) would be easier for me to upgrade my proc only in the future

@slickz
Definately big difference. Especially when you could do a dual-channel DDR400; it would fasten up your loading time between programs which in theoritically, helps to reduce the lags (although proc and GPU also play their roles).

So:

Will AM2 (and not X2) proc. be efficient enough? Or would you recommend X2?

If non-X2: Athlon AM2 3200+ 2.0ghz @ RM300
If X2: Athlon AM2 X2 3600+ 2.0ghz @ RM450

Mobo?

By recommendation: Bioforce TForce 550 PCI-E x 1 @ RM310

GPU? Which brand?

7600GT: EVGA @ RM699, Gigabyte @ RM650
X1650 Pro: GeCube @ RM530, Gigabyte @ RM560
1650 Pro: HIS DDR2 @ RM420 (587/800mhz), HIS DDR3 @ 540 (625/1400mhz)

RAM.. This one I most jakun.. So I'm going to tembak

KINGSTON PC 4200/5300 DDR2 1GB @ RM415/425

Again, rough cost = RM1715 +\-

HElp! Gaji coming!

Hmm... buying a PCI-E S754 seems like a waste in the long run. Maybe if you're tight on a budget, why not just buy an AGP card and add more ram? There's some good AGP cards in bulk section here. The X800XT is good enuff, even the 7600GS is as good. I'd suggest u to get the 7600GS AGP card since it supports the latest pixel shader 3.0.

You can say I'm tight on budget. I'm even sacrificing this money for the Wii and 360 I was planning to buy

So your suggestion is that I:

Get a new AGP card, some hardcore RAM, and I'm ready to go? Better for my wallet I guess.
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Currently I'm playing with low settings, no lightings at all, AAX2 Ani X2.. Runs quite good actually.. For me, I can still tahan.. With the added ram, and new GPU, I could get better framerates with medium settings, and faster loading.
_____________________________________________________

Btw, you'd rather recommend X800XT/7600GS over X1650/7600GT?

Need opinions from everyone if possible! Thanks!

well... u cant really say much on titan... u will have the lag in titan 48 or 64 map, coz this is still a bug from the game it self.

I would still prefer 7600GT over X1650 anyday. Anyway, there is a 7600GT AGP, saw it in czone's pricelist at RM710 or so. I'd suggest the 7600GS earlier coz if u spent too much on gfx but the system can't keep up then a bit waste also. Just to keep a balance btwn all subsystem.

Oh? Where did you hear about this?

i'm pretty sure EA is trying iron out all the problems, awaiting patches

So the 7600GS will be sufficient to run at medium/high details? If so, that's good.

But when you said about "keeping up".. I was just thinking about Huxley, and Quake Wars, which I want to play. I really have to ponder on this for awhile.. But I'm pretty much sure, and ready to get a new GPU for the sake of BF2142.

Another thing: So my current processor is ok? I hope the new RAM will give tremendous results, I just might go 2gb instead.

[Edit] lol, I'm repeating myself over and over again Sorry for asking many questions, but you guys have been a great help. hopefully by the end of the month, I'll be able to make my purchases, and props to y'all!

This post has been edited by sihumchai: Oct 20 2006, 06:02 PM

Well, if this is a FINAL upgrades for your current rig, then just go upgrade the appropriate parts of the system (RAM, GPU or mobo). If you're still planning to upgrade it in the future; changing the whole set is much more better

Getting the single core would be sufficient, since you will be using the Biostar mobo to OC it to achieve higher speed As for the GPU, even though I had been fans for ATI, 7600GT definately better than X1600XT. So go get 7600GT if you still got the money And the Kingston RAM should be enuff for normal/gaming usage; high performance RAMs are mostly for OC/benchmarking

EDIT: Not sure if your current proc ok or not, but if you say its acceptable during the game, then I guess can gua Don't expect to get tremendous result from just your RAM, you will need the whole system to boost your gaming experience

btw, I cannot tahan liao, will go to Ikano to get my copy of BF2142 later

This post has been edited by Cyrus2k: Oct 20 2006, 06:14 PM

I do not think I'm gonna upgrade in future.. Still need to buy Wii and 360 lol.

Based on you(Cyrus): Upgrading the whole rig is better. (Costly, but much better)

Redbull: GPU and RAM enough. (Cheaper, enough to do the job)

Hmmm.. I'll see if I can manage to pull out cash first. Cash = Option 1, else Option 2.

But I'm in for the 7600GT, tho I'm ATI fan.. I'm a sucker for better cards

I want to say thanks to you because now I managed to run my RAM @ FSB 200Mhz and my god there's all the difference in the world! I first added the two new sticks I bought and added it to a total of 3GB in my setup, playtest ran without anymore frustrating stutters, but framerates are only 25-35 fps, with tense firefights dipping into 16 fps minimum.

I took out my old RAM and just ran the new ones @ 200MHz FSB, for a total of 2GB RAM and my framerates shot up to 60-70 fps, outdoor firefights 40 fps, entering quiet titan 50 fps, when inside titan under attack 25-30fps, with the worst I can push it is 19fps for 1sec.

finally!

This post has been edited by slickz: Oct 22 2006, 04:06 PM

get a C2D everything solved