Upgrading, AMD vs Intel?

[Stormshift]

I am currently using this PC: Sony VAIO PCV-RS320 specs and Desktop specifications - CNET Reviews

I have this spare PC downstairs:
eMachines T2865 Product Information

I also have spare ram for both computers, creative X-fi sound card, & radeon HD 512mb AGP 8x video card.

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Basically what I'm trying to do is build the best gaming PC with parts from either computer.

I've read that AMD's(vs Intel single-cores) are generally better for gaming and that the AMD 2800+ can easily perform on a 2.8 P4 level. I've also been told that the Hyper-Threading on my 2.6Ghz P4 is great for multi-tasking but doesn't really do much for performance in games.

My current PC isn't the best for high-end gaming, but it does give me a good graphics:fps ratio. One of the things that has always bothered me is how it chokes in video games. I am able to maintain a constant framerate of 30-100 depending on the game, but anytime something pops up it chokes and I get a half second lag spike. I do take care of my computer with monthly "Spring Cleanings".

I wanted to get a few opinions from people before I went cleaning & gutting computers for something that could be a waste of time. Even if it doesn't give me a dramatic FPS improvement, just improving the overall smoothness would be great.

 

[Trotter]

With those two, the Athlon will be your best bet, especially since you want to play games. The socket A kicked the feces out of the P4's.

The eMachines motherboard will only support 1 gig of RAM, so that will be your biggest limiting factor... besides it being a few generations old, of course. Still, a gig will be great with XP.

 

[Puddle Jumper]

Of those two processors I would say the AMD is the fastest. That said neither of them are very fast compared to even the cheapest dual cores.

What games are you wanting to play?


I don't recommend putting much money into upgrading either system at this point since the older components compatible with them will cost as much as newer ones that are significantly faster. You could build a new compute for $500 that would blow either of those away regardless of how much you spent on upgrades.

With the parts you have I recommend putting as much ram as possible and the agp graphics card into the amd system

 

[Stormshift]

Thanks guys, I appreciate the feedback.

I'm mostly playing older computer games, but my current build does let me play a lot of newer one. I can run Crysis on high settings w/ 10~fps, or low settings w/ 50~fps, but I think that is because of the engine itself. I am able to play Warhammer Online with high settings but I have to turn them down whenever I PVP. I range from old games like Counter-Strike to more recent ones, and I'm surprised I am even able to run them.

I only have 1.5 Gigs of ram in my current tower, my two 512 sticks are pretty good and are compatible with the other motherboard. Sucks that I'll lose half a gig, but I guess it's worth it for the processing power itself.

Luckily none of this costs me anything but time. I'm hoping to have this hold me over till I move in January, then I'll be building a few grand gaming rig, and I'm sure I'll be asking you guys for some opinions

Hopefully I'll have this project done over the weekend, and I'll let you guys know my results.

 

[BongWizard]

the reason you cant run Crysis well is the fact that its graphics engine is very bloated, but mainly that you havent got the newest GPU (ie integrated sux)... you'll need a new GPU to play newer games, as that is your major bottleneck here

But yeah... that Athlon will probably perform about equally as any single core Pentium

 

[Stormshift]

I kind of noticed something that sort of bugs me...

My AMD Tower is a eMachines T2865, which I posted the specs for at the top.
The stickers, manuals, and computer information all state that the model is T2865 with a AMD Athlon XP 2800+ Processor.

The web states that it should be running at 2.083Ghz, but "My Computer" says:

eMachines
T2865
AMD Athlon(tm)
1.25 Ghz, 512 MB of RAM


What gives?

Here's a SS of CPU-Z:

 

[Redmo0n]

Thats probably some sort of cool and quite or speedstep type of technology that turns your cpu speed down when its not being used so it can save power and produce less heat.

Btw- I'm amazed you can have Warhammer on high, i have mine on low (can run on high) but my limiting factor is the huge ram usage.

 

[Stormshift]

So you're telling me the processor itself is doing that on purpose?
I've never heard of that before.

I'm just trying to figure out if the computer actually has a Athlon XP 2800+ or not.

I can have Warhammer on high but it's not playable if I'm PVPing.

 

[~Tofu~]

my suggestion is to up grade your RAM cause i had the same problem before like you. I was playing this online shooter game. Every first game i will run around so that my computer would remember every corner of the map so that i would not lag next round when i see something different. After i got my 1.521Gb RAM (previously it was 512mb) it significantly increased my laggyness.

My second upgrade was the Video card and i realised that this piece of hard ware increased more performance then the RAM

So depending on your budget if you have enough money go get the Video card first, if not Go get 1Gb of ram

 

[Hussein19891]

With like ~120$ USD you can get a 4670 along with a Gig of Ram. Which should be able to handle ANY online game out right now.

That is if you have a PCI-E slot.