Upgrade now? Or wait?

[Shadowness]

Hi, I'm currently running an Athlon XP3000, and it's feeling very dated now!
I am thinking of upgrading to the Core 2 duo. I know what the performance is like coz ive seen an E6400 running, and it was amazingly fast in comparison to mine. I thinking of getting this rig:
Intel E6600
Gigabyte P965-DS4
GeIL 2GB PC6400 Ultra low latency
WD 250GB SATA-II
BFG 7900 GS OC 256MB GDDR3

Any comments or suggestions? Graphics isnt too important, as Im not as much of a gamer as I used to be. I run a lot of demanding office type apps ie. Photoshop CS2, RAW converters. AND I multitask like hell!

My main worry is I'll get the above computer and i'll regret it. Iknow the Quadcores are coming soon, but I dont see that im going to need all that power (I will clock the E6600 a lot, as I run a watercooling kit). Are there any other major technological advances coming out in the next few months?
Thanks

 

[m25]

If you're looking for quad cores and don't have the budget for an intermediate dual core step, just stick with your XP 3000+ for another year, it's not the end of the world. Meanwhile you can make your life with the XP easier by adding a 1G stick of RAM for now.
I use Photoshop and other graphics tools too and it's much more about RAM than CPU; you can't feel comfortable unless you have AT LEAST 2G of it.

 

[Shadowness]

Money isnt really an issue, I could order the new stuff straight away. Its just whether or not I want to do it lol! Its extremely tempting!

 

[1Tanker]

Hi, I'm currently running an Athlon XP3000, and it's feeling very dated now!
I am thinking of upgrading to the Core 2 duo. I know what the performance is like coz ive seen an E6400 running, and it was amazingly fast in comparison to mine. I thinking of getting this rig:
Intel E6600
Gigabyte P965-DS4
GeIL 2GB PC6400 Ultra low latency
WD 250GB SATA-II
BFG 7900 GS OC 256MB GDDR3

Any comments or suggestions? Graphics isnt too important, as Im not as much of a gamer as I used to be. I run a lot of demanding office type apps ie. Photoshop CS2, RAW converters. AND I multitask like hell!

My main worry is I'll get the above computer and i'll regret it. Iknow the Quadcores are coming soon, but I dont see that im going to need all that power (I will clock the E6600 a lot, as I run a watercooling kit). Are there any other major technological advances coming out in the next few months?
Thanks

I think you should take the plunge. The E6600 will give you all the performance you'll need. Quad-core will likely have it's share of problems, and not all apps can utilize the 4 cores(though they will..especially the ones you're using). GL

 

[Shadowness]

I have a question concerning motherboards? Should I stick with the P965-DS4, OR upgrade to the DQ6, OR get the Asus P5W DH Deluxe.

 

[m25]

Money isnt really an issue, I could order the new stuff straight away. Its just whether or not I want to do it lol! Its extremely tempting!

Well, I understand. However, in your case, I'd find more tempting the challenge to make my existing platform perform better; I had OCed my 2GHz celeron to 2.67 and sent it's RAM to 1G before giving it to someone else.

 

[1Tanker]

I have a question concerning motherboards? Should I stick with the P965-DS4, OR upgrade to the DQ6, OR get the Asus P5W DH Deluxe.

I would opt for an i975x chipset for a Conroe(4MB Cache), and an i965x chipset for the Allendale(2MB Cache), as the 965x chipsets seem to be able to reach the insane FSB's needed to realize Allendale's full potential(through overclocking). The Gigabyte boards are good mobo's though, so don't fret.