Upgrade or Buy New

[Guest]

I am using a P3 650 MHz with 256MB SDRAM Memory, and a Rage 128 Pro Video Card. I have decided I need to either upgrade or buy a new system. I use a lot of scenery with my Flight Sim like the Simflyers Scenery. I also use a lot of add on aircraft like the POKSY Aircraft, plus panels, and sound unique to each aircraft.I am looking to get a good frames rate in my airports and smoother operations and enjoy some new eye candy.What I have come up with is upgrading the memory to 768MB SDRAM (I can't do DDR because of comp issues), buying an new Video Card like G Force 3 with 64MB or 128MB Memory, and Windows 2000 or XP because Im using Windows 98 which doesn't recognize over 512MB Memory.Should I do this or just buy a new system ? Thanks,Jim Martinjhuntermartin@SoftHome.net

[Guest georgi55]

How about getting new CPU&Mabo Combo? 1800+ XP comes out to $200, 256DDR comes to $50,and if you wait till June GF4 ti4200 will be out, so GF3 Ti500 will be under $150. Most of games, including FS2002 cannot really take advantage of 128MB so 64MB is just right for the moment, and I would say at least 1 year from now.Oh, before new Mabo and CPU, be sure to check if your current mabo uses ATX(one big cable wtih one plug connects to mother board)or older type that has 2 connectors next to eachother conecting to Mabo.Get XP, home or Pro, whichever one you can afford.Edit: 1800+ XP comes out to $200 means AMD althong Xp 1800+ and mabo together for $200.

[Guest]

Upping your RAM will help a little. FS likes processor power and processor to RAM bandwidth. I personally don't recomend DDR ram. If you buy this solution you will be stuck. Any future upgrades will require yet another MB upgrade. I suggest a MB with the Intel 850 chipset, any P4 processor you can afford, and RDRAM (rambus). This config will cover you right up to 2.4Gb P4 processors. This will cost a bit more than the AMD solution, but you will get what you pay for either way. To avoid the AMD and Intel flame war, I will just suggest you do your home work before making a choice. Money should not be the deciding factor.Good luck with what ever you choose...

[Guest]

Good advice, (I've got a P4/RAMBUS combo) but why do you suggest he would do poorly buying an AMD? In my opinion, and that of many others, an AMD XP PC is every bit as good as a P4, and with DDR 2700 available, pretty darn close in memory I/O.Enquiring minds wanna know,

[Guest]

Sorry for the "grey area". Not that he would do poorly, but would be better off by spending the extra $$ for a P4/850. AMD is at the mercy of 3rd party chip makers, and it seems that they are not talking to eachother. Intel built the P4 and the 850, aside from the inherent stability that this provides, the P4/850 runs faster, and has the needed bandwidth to run heavy apps like FS2K2. The AMD solution is already "maxed" on the MB running DDR, where the P4/850 has more head room past where AMD is stopped. AMD is totaly reliant on DDR RAM, which was not designed to compete with RDRAM, but rather give a less costly option to budget minded PC users, at the cost of performance. AMD is "ok". They need to get the chipset makers on board though. This is what is killing them. They also need to do something about the heat and voltage issue.I was just trying to point out that "the" best solution (budget aside) would be a P4/850/RDRAM. The soon to be released RIMM4200 (RAMBUS) incorporates two 2.1GB-per-second memory channels to transfer data at a combined rate of up to 4.2GB per second The current Rambus RIMM, the 1600, uses only one channel and offers rates of 1.6GB per second--though many PCs use dual-channel configurations like the 850 chipset that pair modules to deliver rates of up to 3.2GB per second. DDR SDRAM now runs at speeds of up to 333MHz and offers data rates of up to 2.7GB per second. But most PC makers offer the technology at 200MHz and 266MHz, where it offers data rates of 1.6GB and 2.1GB per second, respectively. Now, even at it's current standard, DDR through put is at 2.1GBsCompare that to the P4 / 850 getting 3.2GBs. That is a big difference of 1.1GBs.Hope this clears it up a bit...

[Guest]

Thank you for that founded explanation. Why I don't agree totally with you, I agree for the most part. We only part ways at the rating we put on the issue of AMD/DDR vs. Intel/Rambus. Though I don't think we differ that much in that respect, as I would be a hypocrite to deny I purchased a P4/Rambus combo to gain RIMM performance and Nvidia compatibility, though not necessarily in that order. I must also fully agree with you on the issue of stability. This P4/Intel 850 Asus P4B is the most stable computer I've owned, and I've owned a lot.Its also a Socket 423, grrrrrrr Intel :-fumeAll the best and thanks for all your valuable contributions here in the forum.Cheers,

[Guest]

Hey, any time. Cool, agree to disagree...although I don't see what we are disagreeing on? So be it...I'm pretty much running the same thing... P4-TE w/850 and a 1.8aGHz (it has 512k cache)Have a good one, buddy!