Hello, I've got the following PC:

MSI K8N NEO4 Platinum (Nforce 4 Ultra)
A64 Venice 3000+ (@ 2300 MHz)
Alligator 1200+ Heatsink
SevenTeam 420W
HD SATA II 320 GB Samsung (16MB Buffer)
2GB Ram DDR Samsung TCCC Dual Channel (2 x 1GB @ 440MHz - 1T)
Geforce 6800GS CO SE eVGA 256MB (500/1200) PCI-E

I run LFS on a 19" LCD Widescreen at 1440x900 without any problems.
4xAA 8xAF, "maximum details", etc.

I get pretty good FPS with it.

Now, I'm after a 22" LCD display (1680x1050) and I think I should update my old-ass PC just a little bit to go with it.
I was thinking on upgrading my VGA to a 9600GT and upgrading my CPU to a X2 4000+ (apparently the best my mainboard supports).

So... would it be enough to keep my FPS on LFS with the same settings (only the resolution changed, of course) as it is today with those two new parts?
I know that the 9600GT is far superior than my 6800GS but I think that LFS is a lot more hungry on CPU than GPU, am I right?

I've got a pretty old processor on that A64 but it's running rock solid at 2300mhz for years now and since LFS only supports one core... would it make a noticeable difference from my old overclocked 3000+ to this "new" X2 4000+ (I guess both run similar clocks)?

Thanks for any advice!!

The question is if the money isn´t wasted on the new processor put into the old socket 939.

If you want to stick to your mainboard I´d suggest getting a single core as 3700+ or 3800+ for little money. I´ve overclocked my 3700+ San Diego from 2.2 to 2.8 Ghz and it´s running LFS fine at 1680x1050, 8x AA, 16x AF using a 8800 GT which I would prefer instead of a 9600 GT, if you want to use AA.

In additon to that other games run fine at full quality and 1680x1050, 4x AA, 16x AF like CoD4, Rainbox Six Vegas, GTR2, Kane and Lynch...

The x2 4200+ runs at 2.2 Ghz and will give you almost the same performance as your current cpu.

A 4400+ will be hellishly expensive (although I actually just took one out of a mobo that my Dad has no use for) as it's s939. A 9600GT is also a waste, imo...

If all your using is LFS, then a 7600GT would be fine - a 7900GS would also be good and nice n' cheap.

No real point in upgrading your graphics card (unless you play FPS). Maybe a faster single core proc like the 3500+ or 3700+ might be an idea, other than that your rig is fast enough.

If your comfortable with overclocking, find a good stepping 3700 - if you get a good 'un they'll do 3 GHz.

I sold my 3.07 GHz Stable 3700 for £35 over a year ago

Well, I've changed my A64 3000+ (@2300mhz) for a X2 4200+ (@2800mhz).
Kept the mainboard.

Still haven't changed my 19" display (1440x900 - I'm going to change it for a 22" 1680x1050) cause the VGA (8800GT Superclocked) did not arrive yet.

But I'm led to believe that the VGA will not make a difference at all.
That LFS is quite "cpu-bound" and that a stronger processor would make more difference.

Now I've got 500mhz more (I know LFS doesn't take advantage of multiple cores) and all I've got (on the very same settings and test I did before on my old processor) are whoopin' 4-5 fps!!!

Is that it?
With a much stronger processor and VGA on a higher resolution I will just have to deal with a lot worser fps? :/

Man that's depressing.

Have you reinstalled the whole system? Maybe that helps. With better config you can't get worse FPS...

try the new Y22 patch. Everyone is getting better frames with it

Quote from Töki (HUN) :

Have you reinstalled the whole system? Maybe that helps. With better config you can't get worse FPS...

Yup.

In fact I've got a little improvement (4-5fps) with a better processor.
And I've got a new VGA incoming but that should not help at all (from what I read around here).

I"ll only get inferior performance cause I"ll be using a higher resolution than I used to sport. Of couse I've gained a (little) performance boost with the upgrade.
The situations is that since I only gained 4-5fps I'm pretty sure that with a massive resolution change like this (from 1440x900 to 1680x1050) those 4-5gps will be gone and some more.

THAT's how I"ll probably be getting less FPS, even with a considerable better PC :/

Quote from Kniebeejs :

try the new Y22 patch. Everyone is getting better frames with it

Yeah, I'm using the Y22.
I was using it before the upgrade.

But I'm not talking about FPS "per se".
I'm talking about my "new fps with the new pc (on a new resolution)" compared to the "old fps with the old pc (and the old resolution)".

Are those figures right?
Should I be having such a small improvement (on the same old resolution) with my upgrade and will I lose that much FPS (even with the upgrade) changing my resolution from 1440x900 to 1680x1050? :/

Changing from 1440x900 to 1680x1050 is a 26 % step (1296000 pixels to 1764000). Since LFS is higly cpu limited you shouldn´t have problems getting stable 60 FPS with your system. Be sure to limit the FPS to 62 and keep vsync on to avoid jumping FPS. Your CPU should be able to give at least 50 FPS in full field online and mostly 60.

Normally the CPU is responsible for your minimum frame rates (full grids etc), but with a better graphics card you will get a higher maximum frame rate (on your own etc).

I'm running lfs with a 3200+ Amd (at 2.5ghz OC) and a 7600GT
It runs at 1680x1050 with AAx8 AFx16 and i get 40-60fps
Maybe this will help you make a decision

Edit: This is also with 2048x2048 car skins and the high res texture pack etc.