Upgrading for Battlefield 2142

[liquid_zombie]

I am looking to upgrade my pc while spending the minimum amount of money to run battlefield 2142. At the moment i have the following:

Cpu: Pentium 4 2.6GHz NON HT enabled socket 478
Ram: 512MB DDR PC2700
GPU: AGP 4* Radeon 9200 128MB

I know its ancient but somehow it ran Battlefield 2 so I didn't complain. I want to get it up and running quickly but with the ability to upgrade when the time comes or more precisely the money. I saw this motherboard
Asrock Conroe enabled sk 775 ddr/ddr2 agp/PCI-express
for £36.88
It has a socket 775 so I can put a Conroe in when i have the money but right now I only want somthing that it will run with and leave money for the GPU. I need a new CPU as its Socket 775 and i have a 478 core. I was thinking this to get me started Pentium 4 3.06GHZ 1MB L2 Cache at £50
As for the GPU this seems the most likely choice for me
7300GT DDR3 1400MHz 500MHz Core
I have £135 to spend so this kit puts me £1 over budget but i think i can handle that. Does anyone have any advice on anything i should change or should i wait and get another £50-100 and get extra equipment?
Thanks for reading.

 

[Law]

IMO, I wouldn't trust that motherboard to run a Conroe even if it says it supports 1066 FSB. I think you should spend a little more for a brand name. WTF is Asrock?

The thing only has 2GB max for memory, only up to DDR2 667. AGP port and PCI x16, you only need PCI x16 anyways.

CPU, if you want a P4 with HT, get the 6xx series that supports 64bit with 800FSB. Else save your money for Conroe, it'll go down in price. The cheapest one is the E6300 at $180 American dollars

That video card should be able to play your game at mid to high.

 

[Law]

Also at the site about your video card, doesn't give any spec info. But I believe the 7300GT has only about 350 to 400Mhz core clock and a max 800Mhz memory clock of up to 256M GDDR2. 128bit Memory interface with 8 pixelpipelines, which is highest price I see on newegg at $90 American dollars.

Oh I see you were referring to this one
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=N82E16814122008

 

[Max2559]

In reply to "WTF is asrock" ...

a commonly used brand of motherboard.

In reply to the original qustion regarding BF2142... id have to say just wait a bit longer till you have some more money and get some serious components. Id recommend e6300 and a ATI 1900xt with geil ddr2 ram 800mz / 4,4,4,12 (overclockers.co.uk do this). Perhaps a gigabyte ds3 (good for o/c)

i know its more money... but do you want to be able to just about play the game.... or really really enjoy playing the game.

Plus with these components... the next generation of games will be playable...

its up to you... but having been in a similar position i am glad i spent a bit more. GTA San Andreas is a totally different game!

Hope you sort it.
max

 

[Law]

LOL I know what it is, I was just joking about the brand.

Anyways, I suggest you go with a better motherboard, you don't want to settle for less on the motherboard, it's the piece of hardware that determines if you could upgrade to the latest technology. You want something that would suit you for 2 or more years to come. ItÂ’s the most important investment you can make.

 

[Max2559]

Ah sarcasm... its a beautiful thing! ... Sorry Mr modirator...

 

[liquid_zombie]

thanks guys

Right thanks for the advice guys, I've decided to save until I have another £100 or there abouts and get a conroe prob the 6300 or as far as the 6400 if possible.
About the GPU it is this EXACT model Inno 3D 7300GT I was aiming to get that motherboard to avoid a costly upgrade of RAM, CPU, and GPU however I did not plan on keeping the motherboard longer than 4-6 months. Mainly this computer is to tide me over until DX10 comes out and possibly as far as DDR3 RAM. Then upgrade mobo RAM and then GPU last. I've taken your advice Law to go for the 800MHz bus speed for obvious reasons.

 

[jolancer]

since your just using this upgrade to hold you over till DX10 and next gen hardware/games...

besides the fact the 7300GT will not run any modern game without lag.
theres a mis print on the Inno 3D site you linked to. the card on the Left Spec list says "7300GT", were as it should say "7600GT".

the 7300GT stock is
128bit | 8pipline | 350mhz core | 333(666mhz) effective mem
the Inno card is just OCed from 350 to 400mhz core... doesnt matter though, because its still only near stock 6600 specs.(NOT GT) dont be fooled by the 'GT' in the 7300s name... its not a gaming card.

a stock 6600GT would probably struggle to run BF2142 on Low, so the 6600 or 7300GT would most likely lagg no matter what on all modern games.
------------------------------------------

instead of buyin crappy Intel parts to hold you over.... since you say youl just use these parts till you can afford next Gen hardware....

A much better desision is for you to go with AMD. i dont know of anything but USD prices, but AMD put massive price cuts on there Dual Core 3800+/etc CPUs b4... doesnt matter witch socket either, 939 or AM2. only diff is AM2 usess DDR2(doesnt help though in games).(go with witchever type of board that the ram is cheaper for).

and use at a minimum something like a 7600GS or GT, or higher.

 

[baronvongogo]

bf2142 isnt like a whole new game it uses the bf2 engine odds are you could even play it with the comp you have now. Although if you want to have a half decent upgrade a 7600GS would do. If your really pushed buy a 6600 as someone mentioned.

GPU's (7600GS):
http://www.overclockers.co.uk/acatalog/7600_Series.html
http://www.komplett.co.uk/k/ki.asp?sku=319666

 

[liquid_zombie]

Ok I know you all have doubts about the 7300GT but theres no misprints unless its been misreviewed by other external sites as well for example 7300GT 7300GT SLI
The problem i have with AMD is ill have to buy DDR2 Ram which I may have to in the future but I was aiming to push DDR until DDR3 comes out next year, if not I'll have the opertunity and money to upgrade to 2GB or so off DDR2 later.
This system is jus to allow me to run Battlefield 2 just now as im gettin a whole new system when Vista, DX10 and quad cores have been out for a few months.