My Benchmark

[davidtopham]

Ok - here's my benchmarks from PCMark 2002 and 3DMark 2003. I'm looking to improve this at a low cost (preferably <£100).

My Benchmarks are:
PCMark CPU: 5063
PCMark Memory: 3510
PCMark HDD: 855
3DMark: 1221

My system specs are:
Abit NF7-S (not version 2)
AMD AthlonXP 2100+ (Palamino core)
256Mb PC2700 Memory
Sapphire Radeon 9000Pro 64Mb gfx card
Windows 2000 SP4

As my processor is a palamino core its running at about 50 degrees idle/ 60 degrees load, so I don't think overclocking is an option.

Anybody have any ideas for software/hardware upgrades?

[conan]

I'd suggest that your graphics card is holding things up a bit. Probably better to go for 9600 or a 9600 pro if the budget will stretch to that. Depends on what you want to do with the rig though, if you're gaming then a better card would be a good idea. If not then swap out the CPU for a XP2500+, that will make a nice dent in things but not necessarily with the 3DMark test as the graphics card will still be the bottleneck.

HTH

[davidtopham]

Thanks for the help. I thought a new graphics card would be the best way (I'd like to have a 9600pro, but these are a bit expensive for me at the moment - I'm only 14).

The 2500+ Barton looks good as well, although I'm going to use this system for gaming a lot, so I think the graphics card would be better.

Any ideas on memory? Do you think I should get some more to allow for the dual channel feature on my motherboard, and if so, do you think I should just get some PC2700 like I have now, or maybe future-proof my pc with 512Mb PC3200?

[conan]

Memory would help a little but I'd save and go with the graphics card first. If your on a budget then it might be an idea to look for a second hand card off the forums. Maybe a TI4200, these are getting on a bit now but still offer good performance for the money. Maybe around the £50-£60 mark and should see a reasonable improvement over the 9000. The gain from adding more memory would be minimal, better to swap your CPU for something more modern then you can overclock it a little. Your current CPU is only running at 133fsb so if you go for a thouroughbred an XP2200 or XP2400 you've a good chance (not gauranteed) that you'll be able to up the fsb from 133 to 166 which your current memory will do. You should be able to pick one of these up around the £30 here on the forums.

[master baits]

2500 barton and a dual setup of 512mb ddr would give you the most bang for the buck add a 9600pro for dx9 benchmarking.