Is it worth it for a new computer currently?

[Alm()nd J()y]

I keep pondering over this question, my current set up:

P4 3ghz Prescott (Socket 478 <-- way old!)
2 gigs of PC3200 (1 gig of corsair, and 2 512's <-- bad combo :/)
PNY 6600GT 128mb (AGP :x)
74GB Raptor (most valued piece)
Audigy Sound Blaster SE (AMAZING performance for a $30 card.)
ASUS P4S800D-X (Decent mobo, supports SATA)
2 case fans and a 450 watt Rosewill PSU

I currently play BF2 and source based games, I average 30 - 75 fps in both BF2 and source games, occasional lag. On top of that I don't see any games out that would make me want to buy a new PC, I want a new case and maybe a new video card, I want a silent PC!

--So here's the question--

I don't see any cool games that I would truly go to and stick with like BF2 and CSS which will not die any time soon, so I am wondering what's a decent case that will support expandability, impressive cooling, but also NOT loud? And is it a decent idea to say get a 7900GS AGP and leave it at that?

[Warhawk]

And is it a decent idea to say get a 7900GS AGP and leave it at that?

I would say just wait until you absolutely cannot stand that pc anymore and then trash it and upgrade to pci-e and all the other goodies. As far as a case goes, grab it! Cases are the easiest upgrade that won't really get outdated.

I just recently did a build with this cooler master case and I was impressed! I think it had about 7 slots total for fans and the whole thing is a mesh material leaving your case very breathable. It has a nice a tooless and is overall just a nice case to work with.

[megawhompertoo]

my p180 weighs a ton, but after refitting it with arctic cooling fans, a thermalright si-128 on the cpu, and an aftermarket hsf for my gpu, it's silent (intake fan @ 7v during winter) or very quiet (intake fan @ 12v during summer/gaming).

agp-wise, the x1950pro is currently king. they are a tad more power hungry than the 7900gs i think--450W reccommended minimum.

only problem with spending a lot on an older system is the obvious: you usually pay more for a lesser product in order to avoid having to splash out $600-$800 on a new gaming rig.

[Alm()nd J()y]

I kinda want a new vid card :/.

[Warhawk]

well hmm, you could always sell me your raptor for money for a new video card.

[=98=]

Raptors are poor, especially old ones. They are only SATA150, make a lot of noise, and save about 2 secs. Buy a nice RAID0 and get space and speed.

[Warhawk]

well I was planning on putting 2 raptors in raid 0

[Alm()nd J()y]

well hmm, you could always sell me your raptor for money for a new video card.

I love my raptor :x.

[solofowaffles]

Raptors are poor, especially old ones. They are only SATA150, make a lot of noise, and save about 2 secs. Buy a nice RAID0 and get space and speed.

sata 150,not like it makes a difference as raptors top out at about 80mb/s or slightly higher.

[=98=]

So explain how SATA300 drives are noticeably quicker than SATA150 drives if they top out at 80mb/s?

Plus, the RaptorX is SATA300.

[[MyIS]Dan]

I use to have 2x74GB Raptors in RAID0, the performance was next to nothing. At the time I had two other IDE drives, I seen hardley any performance increase. I still have my raptors, just not in RAID0 anymore. IMO my 500GB SATA drive is better than them.

Just ran HD Tach on them both, take a look:

500gb drive


Raptor

[megawhompertoo]

sata @ 3.0gb/s+ will really begin to shine when they start loading hard drives up with 10-50gb flash rom caches. pretty soon, we'll have our entire OS*, core exectubles, libraries, and frequently accessed data on some very fast rom built into the hd.

Boot sequence-->OS logo*-->2 seconds later copying and pasting your homework assignment from teh interwebs to your Wordprocessor.

...Unless your OS* of choice further evolves to throw in extra-bloated *features*, or install DRM infectionware requiring a thorough scan of all your disks to make sure you aren't watching movies you paid for, or listening to music you own.

[camper.]

Never sell hard-drives unless you actually know how to wipe them (properly) or are 100% confident no sensitive data was on there.

Most hard disks top out at 80MB/s but it's rarely sustained. In realistic scenarios, excluding copying one really large unfragmented file, such as copying 100s of small files, it's more around the 12.5MB/s range. Mine hangs from 50-80MB/s sustained but crawls to a halt if mechanics-heavy operations are done.

Solid state is the future. MRAM anyone?

[Warhawk]

does anyone have a chart of 2 regular hard drives in raid?

[i'm normal again]

yeah, hang on. Lemme grab it.