MoBo/Processor Suggestions

[wenog]

Over the weekend my fan died and I think it killed my motherboard/processor. It was a 1.2ghz Athlon, so I think it's time to upgrade. I'm going to be using it mostly for dvd ripping/burning and development running sql server and vs.net. My old system was really slow ripping dvd's, usually like 2 hours. So my question is what type of system should I get? Athlon XP? Is it worth the money to get an Athlon 64 chip? I don't really play too many games, but I might in the future, but that's not a major concern. I'd like to spend between 350 - 400 but I'd spend more if its really worth it. I'm going to be getting ammotherboard/processor and hopefulyl 1 gig of ram. Any suggestions?

 

[xeenrecoil]

Heya Wenog;

For ripping, encoding, compressing, and tasks of that nature i would recommend an Pentium, for gaming i would recommend an A64, it all depends on which you are going to be doing more of. If you are wanting to just upgrade your Core and use your other exsisting Hardware then the following solution would fit your needs.

Pentium 4 - 3Ghz w/800Mhz FSB, Abit IS7 Motherboard, 1GB Crucial PC3200 2x512MB, ALL retail box.

This will meet your price requirements, and will be Extremely fast.
You can also build the AMD equivillent for around the same amount.
<A HREF="http://www.pricewatch.com" target="_new"> Pricewatch </A>

 

[wenog]

Thanks for the advice... I was pricing out an AMD 64 route on newegg, this is what I had...

MSI nForce3 250 Chipset Motherboard K8N Neo Platinum $124.00

AMD Athlon 64 3200+, 512k L2 Cache $218.00

Corsair Value Select Dual Channel Kit 184 Pin 1G(512MBx2) DDR PC-3200 - OEM $159.00

Total - $501

Or what you suggested ...

ABIT IS7 $93
Intel Pentium 4/ 3.0C GHz 800MHz FSB, 512K Cache, Hyper Threading Technology - OEM 214
1 gig (2 512 mb) Corsair 159

total 466

The price difference is pretty much negligable. What do you thik would be a better system?

 

[xeenrecoil]

Heya Wenog;

You can get that Abit IS7 for less money at another online store, about $10 less. Also you can get the Retail boxed CPU for the same price at another online store, and i strongly recommend you get the Crucial Ram instead, Crucial garuntees compatability if you use their compatability selector. Also i would steer far away from MSI they have been having alot of problems as of late.