How much improvement will I get if I upgrade CPU/Mboard?...

Archived from groups: alt.comp.hardware.homebuilt (More info?)

You say you are waiting for the PC to catchup...
o If that is I/O then WD 10k-rpm Raptor exist
---- very fast sustained data-transfer, very low latency
---- for photo & video editing those parameters are important
o If that is CPU, then you're nearing law of diminishing returns
---- yes there are faster CPUs, but at escalating price
---- vis., a good CPU upgrade is 2x-4x faster

If it's "interactivity" a dual-CPU setup is generally popular:
o Dual Athlon MP boards still exist, and at a good price point
o However, dual high-speed MP CPUs are not exactly cheap

One area perhaps omitted at first glance is memory:
o Yes, you have 1GB of ram
o However, how big is your data-set?

Photoshop is memory hungry, but memory available to it from an
upgrade is somewhat "non-linear" as you near 4GB for example.
If you are using lots of big film-scans (negatives etc) then your
image file is likely to be very large - but less so if target is video.

If you are constantly editing streaming video, the HDs may be the
bottleneck - if it's MPEG compression then it could be the CPU,
the P4 is generally accepted to be quickest at that application.

Dual-Xeon offers you the P4 core re MPEG & better "interactivity"
of dual CPUs - but that is more a commercial solution re high cost.
The Xeon is also relatively old in the tooth & somewhat pricey.

Memory technology isn't that big a bottleneck - it's hard to tell the
difference in reality between say DDR266 & DDR400 for example,
whereas benchmarks may suggest a more noticeable difference.

You need to identify which bit is causing the wait :-)
--
Dorothy Bradbury
www.stores.ebay.co.uk/panaflofan for quiet Panaflo fans & other items
www.dorothybradbury.co.uk (free delivery)