Processor or memory upgrade

[Freshmixture]

Alright mates, I need yor help. The cost of upgrading my memory from 768mb to 1.5 GB or upgrading my P4 from a 2.0/400 FSB to a 2.8/400FSB. is about the same.

Which would be more beneficial to upgrade. My current tower setup is:

Windows XP

P4 2.0G at 400FSB

768 memory RDRAM

128mb Nvidia 6800 vid card

Thank you all in advance, getting prepped for GRAW....

Cheers!

Fresh

[NurFACE]

I would wait until game is installed to see how it runs on your current system. The cpu, memory and graphic card would make things easier after some game play. I do believe though you would get better performance if you ran your memory in pairs meaning if you have 512 stick pair it with identical 512 stick. The performance of your front side bus would be improved if memory sticks are paired. You should also list your motherboard.

[CR6]

Alright mates, I need yor help.  The cost of upgrading my memory from 768mb to 1.5 GB or upgrading my P4 from a 2.0/400 FSB to a 2.8/400FSB. is about the same.

Which would be more beneficial to upgrade.

←

My advice is that you play GRAW on your current setup BEFORE you decide to upgrade.

The reason is if you really like GRAW and want to play it at high settings, you basically need to upgrade to a brand-new motherboard/cpu/ram.

You will NOT be able to find a new P4/400MHz FSB Socket 478 CPU that will run on your motherboard easily these days as they are out of production. You can get a used one, but the highest speed your RDRAM mobo will support is 2.6GHz/400FSB which is not fast enough for GRAW with all the eye candy turned up. (If you can show me a link to a P4/400MHz FSB Socket 478 CPU at 2.8GHz then great, but Intel didn't officially produce these)

PC800 RDRAM is ridiculously expensive now, and it is legacy. Also, you likely don't have any more slots because RDRAM MUST be run in pairs, so I'm guessing that you have 2x128 + 2x256MB RIMMs right?

And if you upgrade your cpu/mobo/ram and still want to use your AGP card, you will need to get a Intel 865PE motherboard that supports AGP, dual-channel DDR400 RAM, and the newer P4s that use the LGA775 socket. (Or an equivalent AMD AGP system)

So like I said, save your money for now until you see how you enjoy GRAW with your currents specs.

[Foxtrot360]

Well, usually id just say buy the RAM, but i agree, id wait. Actually, you can probably run it, but if you want everything on high and all that (which is pretty pointless to me, seeing all the cash youd have to throw on it).

Otherwise, it will work, just not as great as you most likely want it to (actually, its more of how you like your graphics, like me, i like high, but i can due with medium and high/medium mixed settings.

But you still may want to upgrade your proccessor to something over 2 GHz (2.40 or more). Might wanna see about getting a new AMD IF you can, the newer AMDs are better than the P4, although the older ones arent really all that much better (atleast imho).

Edited April 7, 2006 by Foxtrot23

[Cpl Ledanek]

Ditto with CR6. Get GR:AW then see how you do with game.

Also try the System Test, just select GR:AW from the drop down menu and see how you do.

Then post your results in this forum so players who have the same specs can see how it will do. Not only will you find out, but other ppl too.

[agentkay]

You need a faster CPU for sure. 2Ghz just don´t cut it anymore with games that have lots of physics and AI. Memory isn´t such a big issue if you don´t mind lower texture settings (textures eat up most memory). It seems you want to stay with Intel? I don´t know much about Intel but if you upgrade, make sure you reach "at least" the 3Ghz for the recommended specs. If you overclock the 2.8 to 3Ghz, or buy a "stock" 3Ghz, thats your choice, I´d do the former, because I like OCing.

After you have your new CPU, and everything is running well, just ebay your old CPU and use that money to buy another 512MB stick, or whatever you want to buy. 1GB are recommended specs, probably not for highest texture settings (you´ll need probably 1.5GB - 2GB for that setting), but medium for sure.

Edited April 9, 2006 by agentkay

[CR6]

I´d do the former, because I like OCing.

←

If you like OCing, you would know it's not that easy with just any CPU and you have to do some research first about the mobo and RAM as well. His motherboard doesn't support CPU's running faster than 2.6 GHz, and you can't easily OC with RDRAM.

[Foxtrot360]

Well, not many games use as much proccessor as RAM. If i were you id buy a new proccessor, as yours is only 2 GHz. 2.40 or 2.80 to 3 GHz are the best to have. But if you get that settled, id definently get more RAM, as it will make a LOT of difference, not only in games, but in windows boot up time, etc. But having a 2 GHz proccessor must be a bottleneck in your PC, with that big video card. "Its better to have an even PC than to focus on one part."

Games these days, easily eat up you 7xx mb RAM at peak, if you get 1 GB you should probably have atleast another 300 MB available, and even more if not on high. Of course you dont need too much ram, getting over 2 GB of RAM is currently overkill unless you love your arcade games (BF2).

[agentkay]

@CR6, I said that I don´t know much about Intels, didn´t I. My OC experience is based on AMDs and video cards.