I am facing an upgrade complicated problem.Please Help me.

[Dead_Kennedy]

First of all, thx for spending some time to help me out.

These are my system specs:

CPU:Intel Pentium 4 1,7GHz (System Bus running at 400)
Motherboard:MSI-845 Pro (82845 Intel Chipset)
RAM:512MB SDRAM(stupid motherboard doesnt support DDR)
VideoCard:GeForce4 MX 440 (Detonator Drivers 45.23)
OS:Win XP Home

OK.So here's the deal.

The videocard sucks big time,and I need to change it.I was thinking of GeForce4 Ti,but all the money I will spent will not make for their value,'cause my motherboard doesnt support GeForce4 Ti 's AGPx8.

So,I also thought about changing the motherboard as well(how expensive could that be?),so as to get the most out of the GForce4 Ti.

BUT,only motherboards with FSB800 can support AGPx8,or at least that's what the local retailer told me.The problem is that FSB800 motherboards DO NOT support my CPU.So I thought about changing that too.

That goes too far though,and I cant afford it(unless I start bank robbery)

a)Do I really have to change all that to get a powerful videocard?

b)If the answer to that is "yes",then could you possibly suggest a decent VideoCard,that will work fine with my current hardware specifications,and will not dissapoint me when games like Max Payne 2,DOOM III,Half-Life II start popping out?Because so far,the GeForce4 has been a complete let-down.

c)If there is no such card,then could you suggest any tweaking so as to get something more out of my GeForce4 MX 440?RivaTuner hasnt been very helpful.

Thx in advance,
Nikos,
Greece.

 

[devlish96]

your mobo is 4x,...8x will run on that board( but 4x card should not be placed on an 8x mobo)...the thing is...it'll only run at 4x...so you may not get the optimum performance of the card.

if you're planning to upgrade the mobo,..may i suggest that you also get a new processor too. gettting a new mobo just to accommodate that new card may not be the way to go.

 

[devlish96]

note that getting an 8x ti card,..will increase gaming performance,.

you'll also see improvements in games you mentioned,..with just upgrading the card.

 

[Dead_Kennedy]

So,if I understand this correctly,what you mean is that:

installing the GeForce4 Ti,although it will run in AGPx4 and not AGPx8(because of the stupid motherboard),will still be good value for money?

One more thing:

The hardware specs of the Albatron GeForce4 Ti I had in mind,say something about a 2nd VGA support.Does this mean that I get to keep my current video card(GeForce4 MX 440) and accumulate the 3d capabilities of both cards?

Thx.

 

[Lostman]

Yes. That is correct. And whoever told you that you need to have an 800mhz fsb to get 8x AGP support is an idiot.

Get a Ti4600 and you'll be set for a while. The price is right and it will play what you need it to.


BTW, Dead Kennedy's kick ass!

 

[Dead_Kennedy]

Once again,I am in desperate need of some advice,since the first thing I'm going to do tomorrow morning is purchase the video card upgrade I've been thinking for so long.

There are a few questions/problems though:

a)I asked a local retailer about the GeForce4 Ti 4600,and he told me that it is an old card,and he cant find it any longer.If I go for an nVidia card after all,what should I do? Pick the GeForce Ti 4800SE,that according to most sites isnt so good, OR settle for 64MB and purchase the GeForce4 Ti 4200?

b)I got some suggestions about buying the ATI Radeon 9600 PRO (that is supposed to be a DX9.0 card, unlike the GeForce Ti which is a DX8.1 card). I liked this idea,and I scooped around the net some more,only to find out that the Radeon 9600 PRO appears to have glitches in certain games(that require amongst others motherboard BIOS upgrade and other troublesome activities).
Also,most sites said that the Ti 4600 is better than the Radeon 9600 PRO (something to do with a thingy called 'quad-pipe').

I honestly dont mind if one card scores 63 in 3D Benchmark,and the other scores 63.2. After all,after 60Frames Per Second, you cant understand any difference.

What I REALLY REALLY want, is a 3d card that will allow me to play DOOM III,Half-Life II and all the great 3D games coming our way,without the choppy framerate of the card I own now(GeForce4 MX 440),or without reducing resolution to 640x480 and turning all eye-candy off.

So,can you please help me select between GeForce Ti series and ATI Radeon 9600 PRO?

Here are my system specs again,so as to help you give me the proper advice (i.e avoid bottle-necking the videocard I will get).

CPU:Intel Pentium 4 1,7GHz (System Bus running at 400)
Motherboard:MSI-845 Pro (82845 Intel Chipset)
RAM:512MB SDRAM(stupid motherboard doesnt support DDR)
VideoCard:GeForce4 MX 440 (Detonator Drivers 45.23)
OS:Win XP Home

Once again,thx a lot in advance.

Nikos,
Greece.

Dead Kennedys kick ass in deed.

 

[Lostman]

you have to stop asking your local retailer questions. go to www.pricewatch.com and you'll see the Ti4600 is alive and kicking.