A little upgrade help please...

|DFA|Lemming · 10-13-2006, 11:23 AM

I'm astonished. In a move that has left me baffled, my wife is going to let me upgrade my computer. I guess all of my whining about how I won't be able to run UT2k7 has really gotten to her. I will be paying attention to see how she plans to make me "Pay" for this in the future.

I need some advice because I really haven't been keeping up with what's good. Right now, I have an AMD Sempron with 2GB of DDR Ram. I have two SATA RAID hard drives. One has Windows, UT, UT2k3 and UT2k4. The other has everything else.

I want to upgrade to either AMD64 Athlon or INTEL Core2 Duo with DDR2. Which is better? Also, should I run my video with SLI or just one super duper video card... nvidia or ATI or Radeon? Are they all the same? I plan to keep my hard drives the same. Any help will be much appreciated.

I use my computer primarily for 3D animation and modeling. I run 3DSmax and Maya 6. I would also like to have a kick *** gaming setup so I can beat |DFA|Rafur in Deathmatch and Anti-Shockwhore |DFA|Loodicris. I would also be cool to hear |DFA|Demon crying "that's BS!!!" but he already does that with my current crappy setup.

Soul · 10-13-2006, 12:27 PM

I am willing to bet that Chem will say you should go with the Intel Core Dou and an ATI card (I think the 1900 or some such thing) but will also depend on when you are going to build.

I would wait for Chem to chime in as he keeps up with all of what is going on out there and what is coming up.

Mac · 10-13-2006, 01:14 PM

nope... Chem is going to tell him to wait until DX 10 is out then get a graphic card... and Computer upgrade!!!

ChemicalWarrior · 10-13-2006, 03:44 PM

THe next Nvidia card is coming out the first week or two of November, so you should certainly wait and see what that shapes up to be.

As for SLI/Crossfire: I tend to not recommend these, and right now I'd say hold off on buying another card. You should certainly NEVER though think two lower end cards will equal one high end. That is not something SLI/Crossfire is good for. SLI/Crossfire are for those who are ready to spend $1000 just on their video card setup, its not for those spending $500 or less.

Right now I'm just going to say wait for Vista to come out, by then we can see what ATi has planned for their DirectX 10 video card, and a much more clear picture about Quad Core processors.

|DFA|Lemming · 10-13-2006, 03:57 PM

But I don't want to wait. What if she changes her mind? lol

I have heard others say they don't recommend SLI. I was thinking it would be good because my computer gets frizzy when I'm manipulating high poly models in 3dsmax. I want that program to run a lot smoother because it gets to be a big pain. Is that something SLI can fix... with 2 high end cards?

ChemicalWarrior · 10-13-2006, 04:05 PM

Well, if you were serious about 3D modeling you'd want to go with a professional card, but those costs thousands for even the low end ones.

The program must be supported by SLI, there is also greater chance for errors with SLI, and the increase in performance is never 2x. You're simply much better off buying the single highest end card you can get instead of two others.

Also, the video card has nothing at all to do with the actual rendering either, that's the CPUs job.

|DFA|Lemming · 10-13-2006, 05:34 PM

Thanks for the explanation Chem. I'll be going with a single super duper bad arse card per your suggestion. I'll just have to wait for Vista.

I assume INTEL Core 2 Duo is the way to go as well.

{OF}GreyGhost · 10-13-2006, 06:39 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by |DFA|Lemming

Thanks for the explanation Chem. I'll be going with a single super duper bad arse card per your suggestion. I'll just have to wait for Vista.

I assume INTEL Core 2 Duo is the way to go as well.

I would say go with the AMD 64 dual core. As for a vid card, if you are doing any kind of 3D design/graphics like AutoDesk, Pro-E, Microstation or SolidWorks, I would highly suggest getting an ATI FireGL or the nVidia Quadro in a 256mb PCIe x16. These cards will double as gaming cards without a problem and are strong enough to render the most complex 3D designs you can throw at them.

ChemicalWarrior · 10-13-2006, 06:56 PM

A64 Dual Cores are fairly slower compared to their Intel counterparts right now. They draw a bit more power also, not sure if that's a concern for you, but overall the Core 2 Duo is better than the A64 X2.

As for Quadro and FireGL cards, I really do not think they are needed unless you are doing professional level work that you NEED pixel precise accuracy. The FireGL and Quadro are the same exact cards as the consumer counterparts, they simply have special drivers that have absoluty no software optimization that could cause missing pixels, etc, and they are better for professional level programs.

{OF}GreyGhost · 10-13-2006, 07:02 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by ChemicalWarrior

A64 Dual Cores are fairly slower compared to their Intel counterparts right now. They draw a bit more power also, not sure if that's a concern for you, but overall the Core 2 Duo is better than the A64 X2.

As for Quadro and FireGL cards, I really do not think they are needed unless you are doing professional level work that you NEED pixel precise accuracy. The FireGL and Quadro are the same exact cards as the consumer counterparts, they simply have special drivers that have absoluty no software optimization that could cause missing pixels, etc, and they are better for professional level programs.

Chem, he is doing 3D animation and modeling.