I've got this upgrade dilemma here...
Whilst my dad is in Hong Kong he saw this great deal at dell.com.hk on the 9400, approx.USD1400 all up with a (1.83Ghz, 2GB RAM and 7900GS). I already own a reasonably capable 9300 which I recently upgraded with a hot 7800GTX. I've spend reasonable $$$ on the upgrades (added 1GB ram + 130W PSU +Firewire PCMCIA) but I've got this bad "itch" to upgrade as I'm beginning to notice my PM760 does sometimes choke a bit whilst doing video encoding and watching HDTV. Gaming remains great as expected of the 7800GTX
My questions are:
1. Is the Core Duo very much SIGNIFICANTLY faster than the PM in multitasking (e.g. HDTV and video encoding +/- CDwriting simultaneously)... is the speed comparable even to the desktop P4? (I also a desktop with a P4@3.5Ghz and multitasking is noticeably faster than the 9300).
2. Is it now a bad time to upgrade as Merom is coming SOO close? Should I just leave this deal for better deals on Merom-based 9400/9500 when they come out?
3. How good is the 7900GS compared to the 7800GTX? I've read through the thread on 3dmark benchies but those were scores after some SERIOUS overclocking with voltmods. I don't really wanna have my card clocked too high as I really would like my machine to be stable when I game (mostly BF2, Guildwars, Oblivion). Currently my 7800GTX is only mildly overclocked (see sig) and it still performs well. Will I be getting at least similar performance with the 7900GS, if not better?
4. Will the 7900GS be able to run the 3007FPW LCD i.e. does it have dual-link dvi capability?
5. Is the 7900GS that comes with the 9400 likely to be single-piped or dual-piped?
My sister is offering to buy off my 9300 for her own use (likely very much overkill as she doesn't even game). I'm gonna sell it cheap to her as a half-present (probably ~$800USD). So for this upgrade I'm only gonna be paying about $600. The big question is whether the performance increase in multitasking will justify the $$ and potential performance loss in gaming.
Sorry for the long post. Need some advice before the deal closes on the 26/6/06. I've got a feeling that I should remain content with my trusty 9300 till Merom arrives.....but the temptation to get core duo is so hard to resist
Whilst my dad is in Hong Kong he saw this great deal at dell.com.hk on the 9400, approx.USD1400 all up with a (1.83Ghz, 2GB RAM and 7900GS). I already own a reasonably capable 9300 which I recently upgraded with a hot 7800GTX. I've spend reasonable $$$ on the upgrades (added 1GB ram + 130W PSU +Firewire PCMCIA) but I've got this bad "itch" to upgrade as I'm beginning to notice my PM760 does sometimes choke a bit whilst doing video encoding and watching HDTV. Gaming remains great as expected of the 7800GTX
My questions are:
1. Is the Core Duo very much SIGNIFICANTLY faster than the PM in multitasking (e.g. HDTV and video encoding +/- CDwriting simultaneously)... is the speed comparable even to the desktop P4? (I also a desktop with a P4@3.5Ghz and multitasking is noticeably faster than the 9300).
2. Is it now a bad time to upgrade as Merom is coming SOO close? Should I just leave this deal for better deals on Merom-based 9400/9500 when they come out?
3. How good is the 7900GS compared to the 7800GTX? I've read through the thread on 3dmark benchies but those were scores after some SERIOUS overclocking with voltmods. I don't really wanna have my card clocked too high as I really would like my machine to be stable when I game (mostly BF2, Guildwars, Oblivion). Currently my 7800GTX is only mildly overclocked (see sig) and it still performs well. Will I be getting at least similar performance with the 7900GS, if not better?
4. Will the 7900GS be able to run the 3007FPW LCD i.e. does it have dual-link dvi capability?
5. Is the 7900GS that comes with the 9400 likely to be single-piped or dual-piped?
My sister is offering to buy off my 9300 for her own use (likely very much overkill as she doesn't even game). I'm gonna sell it cheap to her as a half-present (probably ~$800USD). So for this upgrade I'm only gonna be paying about $600. The big question is whether the performance increase in multitasking will justify the $$ and potential performance loss in gaming.
Sorry for the long post. Need some advice before the deal closes on the 26/6/06. I've got a feeling that I should remain content with my trusty 9300 till Merom arrives.....but the temptation to get core duo is so hard to resist
