Worth ditching my laptop?

[jayb59874]

Hi all, been a long time since I posted but was wondering if I can get some advice since the last time I was looking at upgrading was before core duo and AM2 etc.

Basically back then I decided against upgrading as I wanted to see how the new techs would affect the market and how they would stack up with a bit of time/experience against them. Now when I look around people seem to be saying hold out until vista/dx10 land so I seem to be back in the waiting game.

I was thinking of spending around 600/700 dollars building a base unit but trying to work out whether I can build a machine that would be superior to my laptop that I play games on now. i do not play anything too intensive, generally WoW, EQ, Civ4 that kind of thing.

Laptop Spec:

Dell Inspiron 9100

P4 3.2 cpu
2 gig ram
100 Gb Hd
Radeon 9800 256Mb portable graphics card
DVD RW

If I spent the money on a new machine I am guessing I would be looking at an AMD around 3800+ with maybe a gig of ram and not sure about the graphics card.Is there anything that would fit in to my budget that would make it worth the time/effort building a rig?

All advice is really appreciated as I also know absolutely nothing concerning the new Pentium chips but they seem to be popular for builders on this forum, thanks

 

[ArbY]

600/700 is very tight if you're hoping to squeeze a complete build out of that.
Here's what I came up with for an Intel configuration. Final price without shipping & mail-in rebates applied: $783.05

CPU ---> Intel Core 2 Duo E6300 ($189.00) - Link
Mobo --> Gigabyte GA-965P-DS3 ($139.99) - Link
RAM ---> pqi Turbo 1GB (2 x 512MB) DDR2-533 PC4200 ($109.99) - Link
Video --> eVGA GeForce 7600GT 256MB 128-bit ($159.99) - Link
HDD ---> Seagate Barracuda 160GB 7200.9rpm SATA 3.0GB/s ($56.99) - Link
DVD-ROM --> LG Black E-IDE/ATAPI 16X DVDROM 52X CDROM ($16.69) - Link
CD/DVD-RW --> Samsung Combo Drive Black IDE ($22.39) - Link
Case --> Antec LifeStyle SONATA II Piano Black Steel ATX Mid Tower w/ 450W SmartPower ($89.99) - Link

In my opinion, the above build wouldn't qualify an upgrade over what you currently have. Better performance out of that rig would require an aftermarket CPU cooler and faster RAM to accomodate an overclock. The Intel 965 chipset has a grim future as I've been reading that the new line of Intel CPUs will operate on the 975X chipset.

Here's an AMD build. Total cost without shipping and mail-in rebates applied: $725.04

CPU ---> AMD Athlon 64 X2 3800+ Windsor 2.0GHz ($152.00) - Link
Mobo --> ASUS M2N-E Socket AM2 ($92.99) - Link
RAM ---> Corsair XMS2 1GB (2 x 512MB) DDR2-800 PC6400 ($134.00) - Link
Video --> eVGA GeForce 7600GT 256MB 128-bit ($159.99) - Link
HDD ---> Seagate Barracuda 160GB 7200.9rpm SATA 3.0GB/s ($56.99) - Link
DVD-ROM --> LG Black E-IDE/ATAPI 16X DVDROM 52X CDROM ($16.69) - Link
CD/DVD-RW --> Samsung Combo Drive Black IDE ($22.39) - Link
Case --> Antec LifeStyle SONATA II Piano Black Steel ATX Mid Tower w/ 450W SmartPower ($89.99) - Link

The only things I changed were the CPU, mobo, and RAM. As basically all the other components are budget anyway.
You'd save $58 by going with the AMD build. You'd also leave room for future upgradeability as the AM3 line of CPUs are said to fit in the current line of socket AM2 motherboards.

Still, in my opinion, these upgrades over your current system aren't worth it. If you could dedicate $1200 or so to a new system, then I'd say go for it. But it's my advice that you keep what you have as it isn't all that bad. You would get a bit of a performance boost in your games with either of these systems over your laptop, but the gain would be minor.

Good luck.


ArbY

 

[4745454b]

With respect to Arby, I disagree. Either of the systems he produced would be better then the laptop. If your lucky, the harddrive in the laptop is a 5400RPM model, but seeing as its a "bigger" model, it might even be a 4200RPM. In either case, a desktops 7200RPM drive will make things faster. A 9800pro "portable graphics card" would be slower clocked then a real 9800pro, which can't even begin to touch a 7600GT. Throw in support for better shaders, and you can start to appreciate either system. Depending on your laptop, this also doesn't include faster optical drives, ethernet, sound, etc.

If your heavy into gaming, grab the AM2 build, and put the saved $58 into a better video card. Try to get a 7900GT, x1800xt, or x1900gt. Any of these will provide more FPS then the 7600GT.

 

[ArbY]

I understand that both systems I put together would outperform his current laptop. However, I think the overall "strength" of the sytem(s) wouldn't warrant an upgrade on such a low budget. If he saved a bit more money, I could definitely see more of a reason to upgrade.

I could've recommended the AMD Athlon 64 3800+ 2.4GHz at $109, but it is a single core chip. For reasons of practicality, it just wouldn't make as much sense right now to upgrade and select all low budget components when technology is in the process of going through a virtual face-lift. The performance gain might be a bit better than what he has now, but he'll be forced to upgrade further if his needs or wishes fall upon future software (i.e., Vista).

Here's a system I'd say would be worth upgrading over your current laptop:

CPU ---> AMD Athlon 64 X2 4600+ Windsor 2.4GHz ($253.00) - Link
Mobo --> ABIT KN9 ULTRA Socket AM2 NVIDIA nForce 570 Ultra ($109.99) - Link
RAM ---> CORSAIR XMS2 2GB (2 x 1GB) DDR2-800 PC6400C4 ($309.00) - Link
Video --> ATI Radeon X1900XTX 512MB 256-bit ($379.99) - Link
HDD ---> Seagate Barracuda 320GB 7200.10rpm SATA 3.0GB/s ($94.99) - Link
PSU ---> Antec NeoPower NeoHE 550W ($118.99) - Link
Total = $1265.96

Obviously well above the budget range you listed. But it's an example of a system that would merit an upgrade over your current.


In conclusion ....
He asked, "Is there anything that would fit in to my budget that would make it worth the time/effort building a rig?" My answer would be No.

 

[jayb59874]

Thank you both very much, I have just got back from work and it is 4am but when I wake I will try and digest what you both wrote....

 

[4745454b]

I understand what you said, and can ALMOST see your point. I believe he'd see more then "a bit better than what he has now."

Right now he has a slow laptop harddrive, a slow for gaming Intel CPU, and a slow video card. He stated in his first post that he wanted to play his "WoW, EQ, Civ4 that kind of thing." better. I believe that if he bought the AM2 system and threw the extra $58 ($218 total) into a better video card, he would have a system that was much faster then his laptop.

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=N82E16814130055
This is a 7900GS, faster then a 7600GT, and comes with a free copy of hitman. Becuase its a new card, heres a review with benchies.
http://www.anandtech.com/video/showdoc.aspx?i=2827&p=1

Can a laptop with a 9800 mobile video edition play current games at 1280x1024? No, but the 7900GS can. Rather then waiting for the next thing, which the OP seems to be doing, he can jump in now and upgrade again when he sees fit. That alone to me makes it worth it.