Upgradeing for WAR

[gwield]

With warhammer being released soon , i figure now would be a good time to look at upgrdaeing my comp and need to know what needs to be considered replaced my budget would be 200 euros and here is my my system information

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System Information
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Time of this report: 4/15/2007, 13:51:15
Machine name: DOUGLAS
Operating System: Windows XP Home Edition (5.1, Build 2600) Service Pack 2 (2600.xpsp_sp2_gdr.070227-2254)
Language: English (Regional Setting: English)
System Manufacturer: System manufacturer
System Model: System Product Name
BIOS: Rev 1.00
Processor: Intel(R) Celeron(R) D CPU 3.06GHz
Memory: 1024MB RAM
Page File: 245MB used, 2216MB available
Windows Dir: C:\WINDOWS
DirectX Version: DirectX 9.0c (4.09.0000.0904)
DX Setup Parameters: Not found
DxDiag Version: 5.03.2600.2180 32bit Unicode


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Display Devices
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Card name: RADEON 9250/9200 SERIES
Manufacturer: ATI Technologies Inc.
Chip type: RADEON 9250/9200 Series AGP (0x5962)
DAC type: Internal DAC(400MHz)
Device Key: Enum\PCI\VEN_1002&DEV_5962&SUBSYS_0192174B&REV_01
Display Memory: 256.0 MB
Current Mode: 1024 x 768 (32 bit) (72Hz)
Monitor: Plug and Play Monitor
Monitor Max Res: 1600,1200
Driver Name: ati2dvag.dll
Driver Version: 6.14.0010.6614 (English)
DDI Version: 9 (or higher)
Driver Attributes: Final Retail
Driver Date/Size: 5/3/2006 12:51:00, 258048 bytes
WHQL Logo'd: Yes
WHQL Date Stamp: n/a
VDD: n/a
Mini VDD: ati2mtag.sys
Mini VDD Date: 5/3/2006 12:50:42, 1540608 bytes
Device Identifier: {D7B71EE2-1A22-11CF-2D6D-9821A0C2CB35}
Vendor ID: 0x1002
Device ID: 0x5962
SubSys ID: 0x0192174B
Revision ID: 0x0001
Revision ID: 0x0001
Video Accel: ModeMPEG2_C ModeMPEG2_D
Deinterlace Caps: {6E8329FF-B642-418B-BCF0-BCB6591E255F}: Format(In/Out)=(YUY2,YUY2) Frames(Prev/Fwd/Back)=(0,0,1) Caps=VideoProcess_YUV2RGB VideoProcess_StretchX VideoProcess_StretchY DeinterlaceTech_PixelAdaptive
{335AA36E-7884-43A4-9C91-7F87FAF3E37E}: Format(In/Out)=(YUY2,YUY2) Frames(Prev/Fwd/Back)=(0,0,0) Caps=VideoProcess_YUV2RGB VideoProcess_StretchX VideoProcess_StretchY DeinterlaceTech_BOBLineReplicate
{6E8329FF-B642-418B-BCF0-BCB6591E255F}: Format(In/Out)=(UYVY,UYVY) Frames(Prev/Fwd/Back)=(0,0,1) Caps=VideoProcess_YUV2RGB VideoProcess_StretchX VideoProcess_StretchY DeinterlaceTech_PixelAdaptive
{335AA36E-7884-43A4-9C91-7F87FAF3E37E}: Format(In/Out)=(UYVY,UYVY) Frames(Prev/Fwd/Back)=(0,0,0) Caps=VideoProcess_YUV2RGB VideoProcess_StretchX VideoProcess_StretchY DeinterlaceTech_BOBVerticalStretch
{552C0DAD-CCBC-420B-83C8-74943CF9F1A6}: Format(In/Out)=(YV12,0x32315659) Frames(Prev/Fwd/Back)=(0,0,2) Caps=VideoProcess_YUV2RGB VideoProcess_StretchX VideoProcess_StretchY DeinterlaceTech_PixelAdaptive
{6E8329FF-B642-418B-BCF0-BCB6591E255F}: Format(In/Out)=(YV12,0x32315659) Frames(Prev/Fwd/Back)=(0,0,1) Caps=VideoProcess_YUV2RGB VideoProcess_StretchX VideoProcess_StretchY DeinterlaceTech_PixelAdaptive
{335AA36E-7884-43A4-9C91-7F87FAF3E37E}: Format(In/Out)=(YV12,0x32315659) Frames(Prev/Fwd/Back)=(0,0,0) Caps=VideoProcess_YUV2RGB VideoProcess_StretchX VideoProcess_StretchY DeinterlaceTech_BOBVerticalStretch
Registry: OK
DDraw Status: Enabled
D3D Status: Enabled
AGP Status: Enabled
DDraw Test Result: Not run
D3D7 Test Result: Not run
D3D8 Test Result: Not run
D3D9 Test Result: Not run

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Sound Devices
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Description: SoundMAX Digital Audio
Default Sound Playback: Yes
Default Voice Playback: Yes
Hardware ID: PCI\VEN_8086&DEV_24D5&SUBSYS_82271043&REV_02
Manufacturer ID: 65535
Product ID: 65535
Type: WDM
Driver Name: smwdm.sys
Driver Version: 5.12.0001.5410 (English)
Driver Attributes: Final Retail
WHQL Logo'd: Yes
Date and Size: 3/28/2005 09:19:38, 220992 bytes
Other Files:
Driver Provider: Analog Devices
HW Accel Level: Full
Cap Flags: 0xF5F
Min/Max Sample Rate: 100, 192000
Static/Strm HW Mix Bufs: 33, 32
Static/Strm HW 3D Bufs: 33, 32
HW Memory: 0
Voice Management: Yes
EAX(tm) 2.0 Listen/Src: Yes, Yes
I3DL2(tm) Listen/Src: Yes, Yes
Sensaura(tm) ZoomFX(tm): Yes
Registry: OK
Sound Test Result: Not run

 

[Yeke]

Only things that report shows is the cpu the gfx card and the amount of RAM need more info than that.

Also WAR is a minimum of 6 months away upgrading now for no other reason than WAR would be a waste as your money will get you more in 6 months than it will now.

 

[Gahn]

U'll need to upgrade your Processor 1st of all to a Dual Core for sure, that means (depending on age of your comp) that u need to change MotherBoard (and case more prolly), Ram (cause yours it's too slow compared to speed u can achieve nowadays), surely your Graphic Card (get a PCI-e 256/512 Ram), since u are at it u could want to get a quicker HD, migrating to a SATA solution. Shortly .. save yer money till October and buy a new one imo.

 

[Kuhan]

if you wait 10 days or so when the ATI R600 Series comes out the Nivida's will drop in price.

 

[Ballard]

U'll need to upgrade your Processor 1st of all to a Dual Core for sure, that means (depending on age of your comp) that u need to change MotherBoard (and case more prolly), Ram (cause yours it's too slow compared to speed u can achieve nowadays), surely your Graphic Card (get a PCI-e 256/512 Ram), since u are at it u could want to get a quicker HD, migrating to a SATA solution. Shortly .. save yer money till October and buy a new one imo.

To be honest I wouldnt really agree with that. 3.0 ghz celeron D is fine for the vast majority of games out there and should be able to handle WAR. Despite what various marketing departments might feed us RAM speed has very little affect on performance except in overclocking situations. Overall I would be very surprised if that set up couldnt handle WAR after a decent GPU upgrade.

To fit within your budget 200 euros could cover a 7900 GS or 1950pro (both have AGP variants avaliable). If you want to spend less while still getting great performance (or cant find the above at a reasonable price) the new X1650 XT or 7600GT are great options for breathing new life into old AGP systems.

Most people would be very surprised how fast an older system can perform with a decent GPU. Especially if you are prepared to format the drive and get windows back to peak operating efficency

 

[Gahn]

To be honest I wouldnt really agree with that. 3.0 ghz celeron D is fine for the vast majority of games out there and should be able to handle WAR. Despite what various marketing departments might feed us RAM speed has very little affect on performance except in overclocking situations. Overall I would be very surprised if that set up couldnt handle WAR after a decent GPU upgrade.

To fit within your budget 200 euros could cover a 7900 GS or 1950pro (both have AGP variants avaliable). If you want to spend less while still getting great performance (or cant find the above at a reasonable price) the new X1650 XT or 7600GT are great options for breathing new life into old AGP systems.

Most people would be very surprised how fast an older system can perform with a decent GPU. Especially if you are prepared to format the drive and get windows back to peak operating efficency

Tend not to agree with ya tbh, especially in busy areas, but that's my opinion ofc

 

[gwield]

thank you for your recommendations , from the looks of things i'll most likely be upgradeing to a new mb with pci-e slot and that can support my current cpu as well as handle ddr 2 memory or possibly rambus .

Also i know war is ways from being released so fyi i prolly won't be upgradeing until fall at the earliest and thanks again for everyone's recommendations

 

[Bahumat]

Your computer is called Douglas, that needs to be changed to Gamah for Extreme Performance Boost

 

[SkarIronfist]

Ok Memory makes a big difference.

But

A. Don't upgrade now, you have 6 months, just wait.

B. 2 GB memory for now. The more memory you have the less your PC has to go to hard disk for textures. Which can be a real pain if you have crappy disk drives. Since I assume that you aren't running WD Raptors.

C. 512 MB on the gfx card ideally. Its been shown that with high texture games texture swapping has an impact. Sometimes in the region of 6 - 10 frames a second. But that really depends on the resolution you intend to run the game at.

I would be looking a core 2 duo or the new AMD socket AM2+ (Not sure if that will hold the Quad core ones). For good motherboards at a cheap price look at the ASROCK ones. They may be a pain due location of bits and pieces.

There are some nice ATI cards x1950XT at about £135 mark (the 48 pixel pipelines ones, the PROs have 36 pipelines). There may be some movement downwards. But odler gfx cards don't tend to move down that much, they just disappear and get replaced by more powerful ones but at the same price point. It would be worth comparing on the 14th May the new ATI ones against benchmarks for the older cards at decide what performance point you want to jump in.

I personally would spend the next 6 months saving a resonable sum of money and replace CPU/Memory/MB and GFX. Sometimes its just not worth arsing around replacing a couple of parts. Its like have a mini engine in a rocket, its got the aero parts to really shift, just lacks the grunt.