Advice on best upgrade strategy

[jfri 42]

I'm planning to upgrade my system. My current system isAthlon XP 2400+ 1 Gb RAM ATI Radeon 9800Pro 128M AGP 4x Soltek SL-75DRV5 VIA Apollo KT333 MB. A 17" six year old CRT screen which I use at 1024*768.My preliminary plan is to getAthlon 64 3000 or 3200, Asus A8V Deluxe AGP 8x Wifi-G K800ProA new 19" (maybe 17") TFT screenCan't get both at once. Which is best to get first?I have problem with the first part. I have been told that it will be necessary to reinstall Win XP. Can this be done without erasing the whole drive (soft install)?Is it maybe a good idea to get Win 64?If I go for the TFT first will I have a performence problem by raising resolution to 1280*1024*32? Actually I have heard that I could instead get a performence boost. Can this be true?Could an alternative be to keep my current CPU and MB and get a new graphics card? If so could you give me a recommendation of a card that would significantly boost performence over ATI Radeon 9800 Pro 128M?

[Guest Ken_Salter]

Before going the 64 bit route, do some research and make sure you can get drivers. On my system, I use a Wi-Fi NIC by Dlink, and they do not have as yet 64 bit drivers. Therefore, I do not use 64 bit for Flight Sim (I like to get weather via Active Sky). I do use it to play FarCry or Doom III. As soon as Dlink supplies drivers, I will be moving to XP 64 bit full time while leaving XP 32 bit as a back up just in case (dual boot config).My old system was a Pentium 4 3.0 Ghz with the ATI Radeon 9800 Pro. The Radeon is an excellent card for Flight Sim. So I would say go for a new CPU.As to reinstall XP on your new system, I always advise this instead of just moving the hard drives over. If you want to, you can move the hard drives, then boot the XP CD and install a clean copy, but not format the drives. Then manually copy your files over. Tedious, but a clean install is always the best IMHO.

[jfri 42]

>Before going the 64 bit route, do some research and make sure>you can get drivers. On my system, I use a Wi-Fi NIC by>Dlink, and they do not have as yet 64 bit drivers. Therefore,>I do not use 64 bit for Flight Sim (I like to get weather via>Active Sky). Can't you just use the ordinary RJ45 ethernet connector on the MB?>My old system was a Pentium 4 3.0 Ghz with the ATI Radeon 9800>Pro. The Radeon is an excellent card for Flight Sim. So I>would say go for a new CPU.>Is this also true even when compared to PCI express graphics card.>As to reinstall XP on your new system, I always advise this>instead of just moving the hard drives over. If you want to,>you can move the hard drives, then boot the XP CD and install>a clean copy, but not format the drives. Then manually copy>your files over. Tedious, but a clean install is always the>best IMHO.But why should it be necessary. Why not just replace the old VIA drivers with new 800PRO? I have got contradictory answers on this issue.

[Guest SoarPics]

"But why should it be necessary. Why not just replace the old VIA drivers with new 800PRO?"It has to do with system architecture. For instance, your curent system uses an on board memory controller, while the AMD64 has the controller on die. The CPU architecture is totally different as well. There will be so much different that your current OS install may croak trying to figure out what (and why... afterall, it's just a dumb computer) so much has changed. While the new system will most likely boot into your current Windows install OK, you will most likely see problems arise in the area of stability. Me thinks the sim (as demanding of a system as it is) will tell you rather quickly.Always best to do a clean, formatted Windows install after changing motherboard/CPU/memory combo.Greg

[Guest Ken_Salter]

"Can't you just use the ordinary RJ45 ethernet connector on the MB?"I could, but my game computer is located some 100 feet away from my router in a different room."Is this also true even when compared to PCI express graphics card."No. I have a X700 PCIE card in my new computer, and it is much better than the 9800. However, to use the card, you would need a new motherboard.I was just saying between a CPU (not counting motherboard) and the video card, the 9800 is perfectly adequate to do the job, so I would focus more on the CPU.

[Guest DNelson]

>> But why should it be necessary. Why not just replace the old VIA drivers with new 800PRO?Simple. When WinXP is first installed, it sniffs around your hardware in great detail. It determines the chipsets in use, memory controller, processor, memory configuration, power management support, and other stuff. Then as it is installed, it configures itself accordingly. If you don't reinstall, I assure you that you'll get a gazillion "new hardware found" screens the first time you start Windows. It may eventually sort everything out and start normally, or it may not. It's pretty much a crap shoot. Like I mentioned in another thread, people occasionally get lucky and succeed, but it's best by far to reinstall from scratch.

[gregger 0]

Are we talking about an AMD64 or the 64-bit Windows? Cuz if it's the 64 processor running 32-bit Windows XP, I don't think there'll be any difference in drivers. As for reinstalling Windows, when you plunk in the new mobo and cpu and start up for the first time, boot off your Windows CD. In setup, choose Intall (as opposed to the recovery console), and when setup detects your existing windows installation, just hit "R" for repair. That'll fix your windows up to work with your new mobo. From there, you'll install all the drivers for your new gear. I just went from a AMD 2400XP to a AMD 64 3200 and it was simple, relatively painless, and makes quite a difference to the sim.Good luck,Greghttp://ca.geocities.com/gmoffatt@rogers.co...20_BigO_new.jpg

[jfri 42]

Thank you for all the feedback. What about this issue,If I go for the TFT first will I have a performence problem by raising resolution to 1280*1024*32? Actually I have heard that I could instead get a performence boost. Can this be true?Does someone know about that also?

[jfri 42]

>Are we talking about an AMD64 or the 64-bit Windows? Cuz ifAMD64 Athlon64 3200+.>As for reinstalling Windows, when you plunk in the new mobo>and cpu and start up for the first time, boot off your Windows>CD. In setup, choose Intall (as opposed to the recovery>console), and when setup detects your existing windows>installation, just hit "R" for repair. That'll fix your>windows up to work with your new mobo. From there, you'llHave you done this yourself so you know it works?