should i upgrade or new?

[helpmeplease]

hello all,

i was looking for some advice about a potential upgrade so here goes and i hope you can help.

got an athlon XP 1600+ with 512Meg's ram that has served me well for the last few years but the problem is that i've been doing a fair amount of multi tasking. the computer gets used as our TV, stereo/music source/DVD player as well as lotsa net surfing while listening to internet radio, some photoshop etc. seems like its getting past it's prime, was wondering if it's worth an upgrade or should i just cough up and get a new rig?? since new i've added an extra HD, usb hub(?)card and the TV card.

appreciate any input...

 

[luminaris]

Depends on your budget. By the time you price out upgrading the old rig, you might be better off buying and building a new one. I would venture to say to just go ahead and build a new rig. It more than likely will be the difference between day and night. Good luck to you

 

[helpmeplease]

thanks for the input. what's yer opinion of the dual core processors? i was thinking about one cause i've read that ther're good for mulit tasking apps. specifically thinking of the Athlon 64 X2 3800+ or would it be better to go single?

 

[linux_0]

If you have multi-threaded apps then the x2 is a good choice otherwise get the best single core AMD64 939 you can afford

Good Luck!

 

[helpmeplease]

great, narrowing things down abit then! so what difference (other than $180) would there be say from the AMD 64 3500 and the 4000? much in the way of speed or stability??

thanks for your help on this by the way...

 

[linux_0]

great, narrowing things down abit then! so what difference (other than $180) would there be say from the AMD 64 3500 and the 4000? much in the way of speed or stability??

thanks for your help on this by the way...

Stability is not an issue at all when running at stock clock.

All CPUs should be 100% stable @ stock clock.

The 4000+ has 1MB L2 cache and runs at 2.4GHz while the 3500+ has 512KB L2 cache and runs at 2.2GHz. The cache does not make a big difference in most applications. The higher clock is noticeable however.

You may be able to overclock the 3500+ to 4000+ but you will need to make sure your cooler can keep it from overheating.

 

[helpmeplease]

hmmm, if i over clocked the 3500 would it be anywhere near the 4000 stock?? also, could i overclock the 4000 no problem? and how difficult is overclocking for a somewhat novice user?

oops, just noticed i think i posted in the wrong forum

 

[linux_0]

Usually it's recommended to OC a few MHz at a time until you find the sweet spot where your machine is faster and 100% stable.

You should use the best cooler you can afford like a Zalman 9500 and the best PSU you can get.

DFI is great for overclocking. ASUS is great for stability and features at a price.

Semper Fi Linux on!