Out of the loop & a little frustrated

[digittalutah4400]

Hey fellow computer enthusiasts,
I'm a guy who spends a lot of time behind his computer. Currently I own a hand-me-down put together:

PIII 550
Abit BE6 mobo
128MB ram (YES I KNOW!)
WD80 gig, 7200 pata
Quantum 32 gig, 7200 pata
Diamond V770

I know I NEED more memory, but I don't feel it's justified.

I do a great deal of multi-tasking. Use CAD and other graphic intensive applications. I really am tired of waiting on my pc, so I want to upgrade, but with the arrival of M2, I question as to whether it's a good time to do so. I'd like to use as many of the components I currently have, like the video card. My research tells me that I'll have to take a step back from current products if I want to continue to use AGP. Is this right?

I don't need the latest and greatest. And lets be honest, just about anything would be a huge improvement to what I have. My preference is a NForce system. NForce 4 is prob where I should go.

I've been looking at ASUS, Gigabyte, and abit.
Any suggestions as to a direction and what to get?

Z

 

[apache_lives]

may as well get a pci express system cause thats going to be round for years to come, and yeah - AMD Athlon64 system (3200 or faster), yes ASUS/Gigabyte/ABit (if it was me no way in hell MSI), 1gb+ of ram, hdd... if 80gb (and the other) is sufficent use them and save a few $$$ for other things, a new PSU and Case and a cheap but effective PCIe video card (ATi or Nvidia, cheapest PCIe model maybe) and yeah - a new system.

As for selecting components, i live in Australia so i dont know whats available your way, maybe others can sugest things and you list what your looking at and ask for more ideas.

 

[g-paw]

If you do a lot of multitasking, you should consider an AMD Dual Core CPU, probably the 3800. The Biostar TForce 6100 MOBO gets pretty good reviews and has onboard video, which would save quite a bit. You can always add a video card later. If you have enough money for a sepatate video card now, probably better to get a board with without on board video.

 

[PCcashCow]

I don't need the latest and greatest. And lets be honest, just about anything would be a huge improvement to what I have. My preference is a NForce system. NForce 4 is prob where I should go.

I've been looking at ASUS, Gigabyte, and abit.
Any suggestions as to a direction and what to get?

Z

Hey digital, I know what you mean when you just want a little better. What kind of budget are you looking at? What do you want to spend? Upgrading is tuff when trying to use old parts. If you dont want a huge upgrade try getting a barebones kit from any manufaturer. What OS do you usewant?

I would go in the pci-x direction and maybe if your looking for the cheap route get a 745 socket (amd) if you dont care that much about future upgrades, as 939 is the mainstream.. ... this board is fun, just lay down want you want to spend and the suggestions will pour in.

 

[Human1]

I'm with CashCow. We need a general budget number before we can tell you what to get. If it's only $300-400, then you might be best of just buying a premade from a local store.
BTW, if you're in SLC, you'll want to look up ebccomputers. I deal with them a lot, never had a problem.

 

[baracuda73]

Not a lot of point in waiting for the M2 sockets to come out unless you wanna spend extra money on DDR2. The 3800+ dual core would be great for multi tasking. Dont go with onboard video for CAD, even short term you would have problems. PCI-E video cards are slightly cheap than their AGP versions and perfrom better. Get 2 GB of RAM for CAD and multitasking. things will run much smoother. You can reuse your HD to save some bucks then can upgrade to SATA as your budget allows.

 

[EllisD420]

1 thing that i can suggest would possibly going to a good A64 processor with an ASrock 939dual-SATAII mobo. With the 939Dual you would be able to still use your old video card ( im pretty sure its a 1.5volt card, be sure to double check this though ) and when the time comes that you have a bit more money, you still have the option of upgrading to a PCI-E card. You would need new ram too though. So your possibly looking at about $100 for 1 gig of decent ram, $100 for the mobo and an AMD64 3200+ is about $225. From the point that you are at now, i wouldnt suggest using more than your HDD's and maybe your video card in your upgrade. Just a thought though.

[EDIT] I live in canada so all prices are in canadian dollars.

 

[digittalutah4400]

Sure appreciate your advise thus far.
Here's some additional information:

Lots of bang for the buck. I want a system I can upgrade in the future.
I've been looking at the 3700+ & various motherboards that also accept the 64X2. I figured I'd get quite a bit of benefit from the larger L2 cache of the 3700+. I'm sure however that the 3700+ will last for quite some time.

Price is tricky, cause I may need to get a laptop for grad school soon, however there are very few laptops on the market that are sufficient for my needs (w/out paying several thousand dollars). I'd say $500 - 700 is my budget. I'd love to get one of those little cubes, I think from shuttle, so small, quiet, etc, but 600 for the case and PS alone is ridiculous!

thanks again. Z

 

[blue68f100]

Hate to burst your bubble, but there are a few thing you may be for getting.

If you are planing on reusing your OS, my guess Win98se by the age of your computer. The MB mfg do not make drivers (chipset/inf) to work with the older OS's. You may also have to upgrade your software too.

 

[apache_lives]

CPU - anything S939 so later you can get any X2/FX cpu workin.

any PCIe video card (aslong as its nvidia or ATi branded, anything!)

Board - why bother with "PCIe AND AGP"? get a cheap PCIe card!!!!!!!!

 

[avatar3k]

are you willing to oc (even if its just a bit)? if money is an issue, consider the 3200+ venice instead of the 3700, perhaps an 800gto, gig of corsair valueselect, a good cheap mobo (perhaps asrock). 3200 should run 180, ~100 for mobo, ~85 for ram, ~180 for vid, giving u just under $600. it'll be a big improvement over your current system, and some good ocing will make this a terrific system... id go for an opty 165/170 if ur considering dual core.

 

[digittalutah4400]

I have a legit license for XP.

 

[TabrisDarkPeace]

Note: Any prices I mention would be in AU$ (Australian Dollars)

Stock Q1 2006 PC recommended spec :
CPU: AMD Athlon64 3700+ (1 MB cache, Socket 939 model)
=======================================================
Mainboard: Foxconn 6150K8MA-8EKRS
http://www.foxconnchannel.com/products_motherboard_2.cfm?pName=6150K8MA-8EKRS
Avoid the '6100' variet though.... performance and spec wise isn't as nice.
A decent nForce 4 based mainboard for the $125 price tag IMHO.

Video: GeForce 6150 integrated, or use a PCIe x16 (such as: GeForce 6800 GT / Radeon X800 XL or higher on the board.)
(No negative side effects when video is upgraded via PCIe x16, performance is excellent. The GeForce 6150 is more like a freebie [] )
=======================================================

RAM: 2 x 1 GB PC3200 (Geil, Kingston, Kingmax, Corsair, etc).
(The Geil is cheap, well spec'd and has headspreader, which reduces chance of EMI / ESD at the very least during installation)

HDD: Samsung 160 GB (7200 rpm, 8mb cache, SATA with NCQ, etc) (Currently well priced)

Case: Antec TX635 (beige) or Antec TX640B (black) (350 / 400 watt PSU respective, well ventilated)
http://www.antec.com/us/pro_en_perfTX.html
The cases are also stylish and meet the Chassis Air Guide 1.1 spec, unlike others.
(Has vent for correct ongoing functionality of video card, and also CPU. In short the 'proper cooling solution' that most cheap PCs lack)

SOUND: Integraded (most onboard sound now supports hardware acclerated sound these days)
Alternative: Creative Audigy 2 ZS or Value.

LAN: Integrated LAN these days is pretty good, can get Yukon Marvell Gigabit, Intel PRO 1000, Boradcom and others right on the mainboard.

OS: Choice of Windows XP Home, Pro or x64 Edition, all are supported on the above platform.

Total Cost: $ Varies, (esp outside of Australia for example) but cheaper than alternatives. Unless you want to go for a more expensive mainboard for SLI or other particular features.

Regards,
Tabris.DarkPeace


EDIT: Removed reference to "Asrock 939Dual-SATA2" above, as the onboard GeForce 6150 of the Foxconn board will actually outperform the Diamond Viper v770 (TNT2 Pro/Ultra with 128 bit, but not DDR, SDRAM). It can then be upgraded if desired.

I suggest Googling: "Asrock 939Dual-SATA2" and "Foxconn 6150K8MA-8EKRS" - http://www.google.com - and making up your own mind. If you really want good AGP and PCIe x16 support in one board the 939Dual-SATA2 is worth looking at, but for a TNT2 Ultra card I wouldn't bother getting an AGP slot.

In fact boards with AGP 8x/4x support (but 1.5v only) slots may burn out / be incompatible with the TNT2 Pro/Ultra video card you are using (3.3v by the looks of it for Viper v770). So don't bother trying it unless you know the card supports 1.5v operation. (Most people forget, and assume 'if it fits, it'll work', then try to claim warranty replacement.