Looking for an upgrade

[lerxster]

System atm:

 

Opteron 146

2gb cheap ram

ATI x1900XTX

 

1280x1024 anti aliasing 4x antiscopic filtering 8x

 

Everything high apart from vis rng and shadows. Looking to upgrade one of these to get vis rng to high without getting 6fps :(. ATM I get 10 fps over towns and as a ground pounder this is clearly unacceptable. Reducing the resolution isn't an option either. Probably looking at replacing the cpu. Any advice more than welcome.

[britgliderpilot]

You could probably reduce the AA and AF a bit at 1280*1024 without noticing much difference, for a bit of help.

 

Not much wrong with the graphics card, or the RAM - Google says the Opteron 146 is roughly equivalent to 3.2Ghz or 3200+ so that's where you'd be looking.

 

 

Unfortunately, that'll also be requiring a new motherboard and hence a new install of Windows.

 

Look around at the prices for the dual-core Athlon 64s and Core 2 Duos.

[lerxster]

Thanks for that...think I'll go for a new motherboard and cpu then... looks like I need to save up too ...:doh:

[51GRIZZLY]

Hold on there ....... The Opteron chip is extremely easy to overclock.

Im running my 146 at 2.8Ghz. on stock woltage 1,42 and stock cooler at max 40C. wich is equal to the FX 57 chip. I would suggest to invest in some good fast RAM who can take some OC.instead.

Im running my Nvidia 7900gt.1280x1024 on 2Q AA and 8XAF with all settings on High exept Vis range and Water on medium ( mirrors on ), and the game runs like a charm.

Ill advice not to crank up AA too much cause it will inflict on the visibility of distant objects/bandits.

[Pilotasso]

Upgrading a machine like that just for some extra miles of terrain, in this time of the year is a bit insane. Any hardware in demand will just increase in prices as they already started to do.

[3Sqn_Fudd]

Yeh Lerxster.... you've got some pretty good core components so you'e in a real wierd upgrade spot. Tell us what you're running that Opteron 146 at and then a real discussion can take place of what you need to do.

 

But if you're just now starting to save...depending on how long that takes...then I think your plan needs to include and Intel Quad Core or soemthing else... It's all about your timeframe

[Kuky]

your video card is just fine, if you really want to upgrade I'd suggest going for a Core 2 duo chips, easily overclocked with right RAM and Motherboard... err and good PSU.

 

Mind you though, don't expect to run lock-on even with best setup out there today, on absolutely highest settings! Graphics wise, yes, it is surely possible to run this sim at high resolution and AA / AF but just the sheer high number of objects the CPU has to render and track in this sim, can get really overwhelming.

[lerxster]

Thanks for your replys...I would like to upgrade the motherboard so I can overclock the opteron...and I was looking at a crossfire board, but no idea which one. I am a bit anxious at overclocking...mainly cos I have zero experience!

 

I suppose I was being a little lazy and thinking I could just buy a newer cpu instead :smilewink:

 

Running opteron at stock speed!

[51GRIZZLY]

Running opteron at stock speed!

 

Now thats a terrible waste of CPU power m8 :smilewink:

What motherboard are you running ... Im asking cause most MOBO's can be OC'ed to some extend.

[lerxster]

Asus A8V-E Deluxe I think... was looking at getting a DFI LanParty UT NF4 Ultra-D (MB-014-DF). Doh! Thats SLI!

 

or this one Asus A8R32-MVP Deluxe Crossfire.

 

or this one MSI K9A Platinum Crossfire.

 

Oh and my memory is cheap value corsair pc3200 DDR.

[3Sqn_Fudd]

Lerxster... You're kind of a wierd spot in terms of upgrades

 

Here's what I would do... (First determine what motherboard you have for sure)

 

Determine if you can overclock with what you have... (Read this article and look for a better bios revision)

 

http://www.xbitlabs.com/articles/mainboards/display/asus-a8ve-deluxe_12.html

 

Try to bust 2.4 Ghz but if you buy a nice mother board (I reccomend DFI always for s939) and you're already close to buying a Core 2 Duo E6300...

 

Here's a nice noob guide to OCing... http://eclipseoc.com/index.php?id=6,9,0,0,1,0

 

It's up to you, but I would first try OCing that thing with what you have first... Lomac is just a bitch to run! lol

[lerxster]

I think you're right about trying to overclock first. Will try that and see how I get on. Thanks for the heads up on the noob guide.

 

DFI MB's dont support Opterons...which sucks!

[Pilotasso]

But if you're just now starting to save...depending on how long that takes...then I think your plan needs to include and Intel Quad Core or soemthing else... It's all about your timeframe

 

I have such a plan. Unfortunatly will have to wait untill the ninitial premium prices drop. AMD should have launched theirs by them prompting another price war. :)

[walternowi]

I think you're right about trying to overclock first. Will try that and see how I get on. Thanks for the heads up on the noob guide.

 

DFI MB's dont support Opterons...which sucks!

 

They do support Opertons. My Ultra-D and Opteron 146 work well together. If I were to get a crossfire board, my choice would be the DFI CFX3200.

 

Like the others said, running the Opteron at stock is a waste of CPU power. I am currently running mine at 2.5 GHz at 1.35 V. Good luck with your overclock.

[3Sqn_Fudd]

They do support Opertons. My Ultra-D and Opteron 146 work well together.

 

I'll second that... They just say that to cover their asses, but check people sigs at DFI Street... MOST are opterons

 

Here are my specs

 

DFI LANPARTY UT nF4 Ultra-D (623-3)

AMD Opteron 165 (CCBWE 0547TPMW) s939 (w/Thermalright si-120 and 120mm Panaflo fan)

2x1gig Mushkin eXtreme Perf. PC-4000 (3-4-3-8)

BFG Nvidia 7800GT @ 500x1200

Creative X-fi Platinum

Seagate ST 3160023A 160gb IDE HD

Lite-On DVD-DL 165h6s16x

CD-Rom ASUS CD-S480/AH (CD 48x Rd)

ENERMAX Liberty ELT500AWT 500W Power Supply

Gateway FPD2185W 21in LCD

Saitek X-52

Windows XP Home SP2

Norton Corporate Virus Software

[lerxster]

Gah! I bought a DFI lanparty UT RDX200 and it hated my Opty.

 

Motherboard is Asus A8V-E SE getting 2.2 out of it atm...but had lock ups at 2.3 so must buy better memory....!

 

What you running the 165 at Fudd?

[3Sqn_Fudd]

Gah! I bought a DFI lanparty UT RDX200 and it hated my Opty.

 

Motherboard is Asus A8V-E SE getting 2.2 out of it atm...but had lock ups at 2.3 so must buy better memory....!

 

What you running the 165 at Fudd?

 

How are you getting to 2.2? Through that auto Overclock Function on the board? That's what may be limiting you....

 

I'm inexperienced at Overclocking... I have essentially done it once with the kit above (good stuff) and I have never had any slower stuff like your PC3200... My quick jab at getting above 2.2 is that your ram is failing and you need to put it on a divider (see the OC guide.) Other than that the only advice I can give you is to make sure the RIGHT bios options are enabled... This usually means taking things off of "Auto" and making manual settings.

 

"Let your finger do the walking" ... google your motherboard and look for sceenshots of your boards bios. ANy question you have has been asked by someone else, its all a matter of using the correct search terms

 

Other thoughts... get together your full and complete specs and lay them out like I have done, Power supplies come into effect here to a great extent... If there's one thing that can screw stability its a power supply that drops below needed volatage or is constantly changing.

 

We'll be waiting for an answer but please allow me to be blunt as you learn more and more...

 

1) If you're OCing using the imbedded Bios "auto" options, stop doing so and look for the manual options

 

2) Use the steps outlined in that guide, Isolate cpu, fsb and ram,...then find the best mix...this does the work for you >>> http://math.gogar.com/athlon64.cgi

 

3) get all your specs together

 

4) Remember... getting your 200$ chip to safely perform like 1000$ one is worth the effort...at least it is for me

 

 

Oh yes.... and my Opteron 165 maxes out at 2.7... I have crappy steppings and its the best that could be done on air cooling