Best vid card/memory/processor for Abit NF7?

[dpapag]

What is the fastest processor, memory and vid card out right now that I can use on an Abit NF7S? This is for the comp in my sig, not the other main gaming unit I have.

Is it PC3500 DDR with a HD3850 vid card?

 

[c627627]

What is the FSB limitation of version 1.2 of your motherboard? Higher FSBs I recall seeing on v2 but with 1.2, how much higher than PC3200 default speeds would version 1.2 be able to handle...

I stopped keeping track of AGP cards, but is the question about AGP with money being no object since they even make HDMI AGP cards...

or would you want a $5 replacement for that GeForce4 that would blow it out of the water?


P.S. What did you get that T-Bred B 0250 up to stable please?

 

[Duner]

Yes the 3850 is the fasted AGP card out there.

As for processor and RAM, you're probably going to want a mobile Barton, 512KB of cache and overclocks to 2.5G+. IIRC BH5 memory overclocked quite well, or some TCCD chips would work too. Not too important with the unlocked multiplier on the mobiles. A new power supply would be needed as well. I'm not suggesting you go out and get all of that. It's much cheaper to do a full upgrade.

 

[dpapag]

What is the FSB limitation of version 1.2 of your motherboard? Higher FSBs I recall seeing on v2 but with 1.2, how much higher than PC3200 default speeds would version 1.2 be able to handle...

I stopped keeping track of AGP cards, but is the question about AGP with money being no object since they even make HDMI AGP cards...

or would you want a $5 replacement for that GeForce4 that would blow it out of the water?


P.S. What did you get that T-Bred B 0250 up to stable please?

Max FSB is 400 with the bios update. What $5 replacement did you have in mind? I got that T-Bred up to 11x233 at 1.95v, but it's no longer overclocked.

I was thinking maybe an Athlon XP 3200+ with another 2 sticks of 512 PC3200 for 1.5GB of memory should get me a 400 FSB, without overclocking @ 2.2GHZ, but after seeing that the processor goes for $90 and the ram for $50, I'm starting to wonder if it's even worth it.

What can a mobile barton 2500 be had for these days?
http://www.techtastic.ca/reviews3/mobile-barton-2500.html

 

[c627627]

I was speaking figuratively but I did see $4.99 AGP cards on sale here & there though they may or may not have been better than the old mighty GF4.


Is this a fun side project or are you looking to upgrade for main use since ultra cheap deals could be found on the internets that would by far be a wiser move than what you are contemplainting seeing as we are in mid 2009.

Do not be spending money on this system which is just fine as a secondary computer as it is. Key point is that a 2400+, 2500+ or 2600+ mobile Barton (and only those three CPUs), would be the first thing to try to find.

The video card is great for your system, it can outperform many cards that came after it but real upgrade (video card wise) honestly requires a new system so I would keep the good GF4 you have.

I would forget about upgrading to PC3500, it is unlikely you would notice significant improvement jumping a few FSB which your motherboard may not even be capable of, no you need a mobile Barton to raise your frequency, which I assume is 2.3-ish because if you're at 2.4 or 2.5, don't even bother with the CPU.



Your PSU is definitely weak for any major power hungry video cards or maybe even higher overclocks.


To summarize, this system could use a mobile Barton upgrade although frankly, if you're at 2.3 GHz, any gains are likely to be dwarfed by a modern cheap all out upgrade.


P.S. PC3200 is "400" FSB ram by default, if you can't do "400" FSB with a lower multiplier, that means your motherboard can't handle it.

 

[A-Dub]

Yes the 3850 is the fasted AGP card out there.

How does that compare to the 4650?
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814125281

 

[Duner]

How does that compare to the 4650?
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814125281

They both have 320 SP's, the 3850 has a higher core clock and a 256bit memory interface (vs 128), and higher clocked GDDR3 memory vs GDDR2. The 3850 will be faster.

 

[dpapag]

I was speaking figuratively but I did see $4.99 AGP cards on sale here & there though they may or may not have been better than the old mighty GF4.


Is this a fun side project or are you looking to upgrade for main use since ultra cheap deals could be found on the internets that would by far be a wiser move than what you are contemplainting seeing as we are in mid 2009.

Do not be spending money on this system which is just fine as a secondary computer as it is. Key point is that a 2400+, 2500+ or 2600+ mobile Barton (and only those three CPUs), would be the first thing to try to find.

The video card is great for your system, it can outperform many cards that came after it but real upgrade (video card wise) honestly requires a new system so I would keep the good GF4 you have.

I would forget about upgrading to PC3500, it is unlikely you would notice significant improvement jumping a few FSB which your motherboard may not even be capable of, no you need a mobile Barton to raise your frequency, which I assume is 2.3-ish because if you're at 2.4 or 2.5, don't even bother with the CPU.



Your PSU is definitely weak for any major power hungry video cards or maybe even higher overclocks.


To summarize, this system could use a mobile Barton upgrade although frankly, if you're at 2.3 GHz, any gains are likely to be dwarfed by a modern cheap all out upgrade.


P.S. PC3200 is "400" FSB ram by default, if you can't do "400" FSB with a lower multiplier, that means your motherboard can't handle it.

This is just a fun side project to run wow on. Right now the system can't handle it, so I figured I could upgrade this old mobo to the best stuff for cheap. As it turns out, the stuff is more costly than I thought!

I can't seem to find a mobile barton 2500, but would this be comperable:?

http://cgi.ebay.com/AMD-Athlon-XP-B...66:2|39:1|72:1240|240:1318|301:1|293:1|294:50

I can also get another 2 sticks of PC3200 corsair XMS for $30. Will I be able to fully utilize the 1.5gb on this system? It's been awhile since I played around with this stuff.

So were looking at $180 (vid card/processor/1 GB of memory) + the cost of the power supply to upgrade this Mobo to it's fullest potential I guess. Doesn't sound like it's worth it.

What would I need to do to this system to be able to play world of warcraft on it at an awesome FPS at the highest resolution my Samsung Syncmaster 226bw monitor can handle on the cheapo?