Is amd and one GPU worth it any more?

[ki9090]

im trying to build a very very low budget PC for gaming, and was wondering is it still worth it to buy something like a 3200+ and then in like 3-4 months time upgrading to a say 4600+

I see alot of PC's on here and every one seems to be using things such as Quad SLI (which im guessing is 4 GPUs!!)

And i want to know, will one graphics card (like a current one) and a AMD64 with 2-4 gigs of ram still cut it at max/high settings?

Also the mother board im getting has Nforce4 chipset? Is that good or bad now?

The mobo im talking about specifically is this one http://www.tigerdirect.ca/applications/SearchTools/item-details.asp?EdpNo=2486988&CatId=0

 

[TheEnd187]

problaly a dual core amd or core 2 right now and wait a month for G80 or a 7900GTO will do ya for current games

 

[ki9090]

problaly a dual core amd or core 2 right now and wait a month for G80 or a 7900GTO will do ya for current games

Thats what i was thinking, but is the duel core worth it? Cause i thought most games didnt support duel core???

Also the mother baord above has a front side bus speed of 1000mhz and all the CPU's i have seen have one of 2000mhz, how is this gonna effect performance.

I dont want to waste money on this stuff as a base (amd s939 and nforce4 chipset) for it to be a waste and have to scrap the mobo and everything 6 months down the road.

 

[Nitestick]

i don't know about max settings in the future but top end GPU's like the x1950 have no problems with max settings now (except for at high resolution and high AA/AF). i wouldn't say many people here have crossfire or SLI at all. mostly it's the people with money to burn that do. for the most part here people prefer a powerful single GPU to multiple GPUs but wouldn't turn their nose up at it if they could afford it .

the NF4 chipset in my mind is probably the single best chipset made for a given platform. so i guess that answers that question

CPU power has never really mattered all that much to gaming. the only time you'll notice significant differences in frame rates is at low resolutions. 2gb of memory should be more than sufficient.

my final piece of advice is that if you are planning on buying a cpu that you will upgrade soon you should get the lowest end one available, in this case the venice 3000+. no point spending more money on something that is only to tide you over

 

[ki9090]

i don't know about max settings in the future but top end GPU's like the x1950 have no problems with max settings now (except for at high resolution and high AA/AF). i wouldn't say many people here have crossfire or SLI at all. mostly it's the people with money to burn that do. for the most part here people prefer a powerful single GPU to multiple GPUs but wouldn't turn their nose up at it if they could afford it .

the NF4 chipset in my mind is probably the single best chipset made for a given platform. so i guess that answers that question

CPU power has never really mattered all that much to gaming. the only time you'll notice significant differences in frame rates is at low resolutions. 2gb of memory should be more than sufficient.

my final piece of advice is that if you are planning on buying a cpu that you will upgrade soon you should get the lowest end one available, in this case the venice 3000+. no point spending more money on something that is only to tide you over

Ya i see your point. Will the 3000+ be fine for todays games like F.E.A.R battle feild 2, and all the stuff out now and aournd christmas (medival total war 2) The comp the guy offered me has a 3000 but i was wondering if i needed higher. Also he offered me a EVGA 7600GT.

Im just trying to future proof my new comp, i know its close to impossible to totally future proof a comp, but i dont want to be stuffed in 6 months by not being able to get a graphics card or CPU becouse of my chipset or the fact that im using s939.
Becouse i saw alot of the socket AM2 have Nforce 5 chip sets.

 

[Nitestick]

well remember there is always the second hand market available. the 3000+ is enough for any game out now. like i said, the only significant difference in frame rates etc you will notice is at low resolutions. if you have a problem with it then you can always overclock as most NF4 boards tend to have reasonable overclocking features because it is an enthusiasts chipset. the 3000+ has been known to get up as far as about 2.7GHz on stock volts and cooler i think.

 

[TheEnd187]

I knowwhatyou mean but as many people say computer technology has been changing rapidly i remember when the Geforce 6 series came out i was like whoa and i got it and when Gddr33 came out i was like i just bought this card, and theres something better? THen i got a 6800 Ultra and i thought i was so cool. then the 7 series came out, then sli,crossfire etc..

This always happens even if you get a high end processor righ now intel and amd are releasing new ones so youd already be second rate also with that vid card u mentioned get it now, in a month obselete because of G80

 

[ki9090]

well remember there is always the second hand market available. the 3000+ is enough for any game out now. like i said, the only significant difference in frame rates etc you will notice is at low resolutions. if you have a problem with it then you can always overclock as most NF4 boards tend to have reasonable overclocking features because it is an enthusiasts chipset. the 3000+ has been known to get up as far as about 2.7GHz on stock volts and cooler i think.

Sorry to take more time off your hand for some more questions (but i have a hard time trusting most computer salesmen i rather know exactly what i want before i ask them whats good or not)

But i was thinking, this mobo is only 50 bucks more than the current one

http://www.tigerdirect.ca/applications/SearchTools/item-details.asp?EdpNo=2219335&CatId=2333

That uses the Nforce 570 chipset, AM2, ans can have up to 8gbs of ram. Now am i better off sticking with the cheaper s939 and nforce 4 or going for the nforce 5 570 and am2???

Im also scared to over clock since i dont want to screw anything

 

[Nitestick]

that can't be true, 4GB of memory is the limit for the A64 IMC as far as i know. overclocking has a very low chance of damaging components. in fact it is quite hard to damage components. you would have to do something extraordinarily stupid or deliberately try to fry something to actually do so. an example is i accidentally ran my X2 at over 1.8v and the processor is made to run at 1.35v. it's still running fine though, i'll never make a miscalculation like that again.

that motherboard looks alright, the NF570 is basically a revised NF4. going AM2 will give you more upgradeability

 

[HAVOC]

I'm sorry to have to say this, but "cheap" and "gaming PC" just don't mesh well for me.

If you're a gamer and on a tight budget, don't waste $600-$800 on a cheap PC. Instead spend that money on a PS3 or XBOX 360. Those two consoles are about 20 times more powerful then a lame budget gaming PC.