Upgrade Suggestions Please!!

[alceon]

Hello.
New Forum Member, Long-time TG reader.

I have a custom system now that I want to upgrade, but I am not sure which would be the wisest choice. I am hoping the members here can help.

Current system:
AMD Athlon 64 X2 3800+ Manchester (socket 939)
MSI K8N Diamond Plus motherboard w/ 2GB of DDR400.

Upgrade Options:
1. new mobo+cpu+mem: Kentsfield QX6700 and an eVGA 680i motherboard
2. keep the format I have now and upgrade cpu to AMD Opteron 185 (Denmark core, 2.6GHz)
3. something else?

I know which one will be faster and more expensive, but I am looking for opinions not on performance, but a) priceerformance gain; b)is kentsfield still too expensive for now; etc....


Hope someone can help me make a decision.

 

[jackxlj]

i would go with the latest intel board...would even suggest waiting for bearlake, and then getting the q6600...it can overclock well,and the price performance surely beats the qx6700, much as the price/performance of the e6600 beats the x6800

 

[dragonsprayer]

get a fx-60 from tiger for $300 - will 3ghz give you more zoom zoom?

or ebay your system and start over with intel. i sell systems - so for me i build my son a new system twice a year - then i ebay them

in my humble opinion buying an op-to-tron is dumb its old school server tech totally useless for home users - unless you run a server?

i have never been a fan of server systems for home users waste of money.

if you plan on going intel get a c2d low end chip and ebay it a few months then pick up the a quad core

 

[endyen]

Tiger wants $349.99 for that chip. Just the same, spending an extra $15 for the unlocked multiplier seems like a good deal.

To the OP. You will have to tell us what kind of progs you run if you want an informed price/perf evaluation. For most people the quad cores are just barely worth an extra $20.
It looks to me like you can get high end perf for $350 with the opteron/FX60, or you can get about 20% more for an extra $1000.
I dont see the value, but I'm sure some would.

 

[alceon]

I use the system mainly for CAD and 3D rendering.
autocad, revit, 3dsmax and Viz, vectorworks.
the GPU is a Quadro FX560. some occasional video-editing and audio-production.

i wouldn't upgrade the whole system, just cpu or just cpu/mobo/mem (intel convert).

i have been looking for benchmarks that compare the fx60 to opteron, but with no luck.

unless....someone can help me in overclocking my 3800+? It's being cooled (at stock) by a zalman 9700.

 

[RandMcnally]

I use the system mainly for CAD and 3D rendering.
autocad, revit, 3dsmax and Viz, vectorworks.
the GPU is a Quadro FX560. some occasional video-editing and audio-production.

i wouldn't upgrade the whole system, just cpu or just cpu/mobo/mem (intel convert).

i have been looking for benchmarks that compare the fx60 to opteron, but with no luck.

unless....someone can help me in overclocking my 3800+? It's being cooled (at stock) by a zalman 9700.

Don't listen to Dragon Sprayer, sorry, but he's clueless. I would suggest staying with an opteron. For price to performance. Overclock it, or get the fx-60 and overclock it. The fx-60's advantage is an unlocked multiplier, but you could probably get them both to the same speed Ghz wise. Opteron is a great buy, and 3d rendering is not a big improvement for Core 2 from AMD at stock speeds(based on price/performance). AMD systems in the same price range are better at 3d rendering, and worse at encoding. For a big upgrade, I'd wait to see what Barcelona can do, if you're not in any hurry to upgrade. There is a rumor of benchmarks on Monday.

 

[endyen]

If you are in a position to do a tax writedown on your computer's depreciation, go the Intel route. If there is no advantage to the tax writeoff, just get the opteron.
THGC has a forum for overclocking. If you want to try it, check in there for help. Most people with workstations avoid OCing for good reason. If you have any work that you can not afford to loose, dont OC.

 

[croc]

Now, THAT's good advice....

 

[alceon]

your advice is well appreciated. my work is all student-related, if that puts things more in perspective. no tax writeoff is available that i know of, and overclocking sits well with me, i just have not been successful overclocking my current 3800+ setup (but i may be doing something wrong).
the opteron is unlocked or the fx-60 is unlocked?
newegg offers the opteron at $335, but one of the reviews says the 185 will not work with the K8N Diamond Plus (which is the board i have) and recommends the 180 instead.
tigerdirect offers the fx-60 at $350 with a free copy of vista.

 

[dragonsprayer]

they move the price around alot - plus if you get a package deal its lower - it was $300 for half of last week - i would keep checking.

typically when tiger does this (massive promotion) prices raise after there stock runs out - and never go that low again - since amd stock making socket 939 chips i would expect prices to rise.

 

[jackxlj]

the fx60 is not worth buying, in almost every benchmark,the e6300 outperforms it, and is half the cost...how is that a good deal on any level?

 

[eregular]

because its cheaper for him to keep his mobo and memory then upgrade everything at once

fx-60 is still a good performer for sometime to come....will run vista!

 

[m25]

I know you might get tempted to upgrade but I'd just wait; In mid. 2007 Barcelona will be out to raise performance to another level, just like Core2 did so the situation will be:
1-wider quad core choice (and probably higher performance chips)
2-price drops on higher end CPUs
3-possibly better boards for both AMD and Intel with new chipsets.

But I'd not do anything radical now; AMD's imminent release of Barcelona and Intel waiting on them to precede their own next move, will just burn every large upgrade you can make now.

 

[ajfink]

the fx60 is not worth buying, in almost every benchmark,the e6300 outperforms it, and is half the cost...how is that a good deal on any level?

Because the cost of a new motherboard and RAM would have to be factored in. The FX-60 easily outperforms the E6400 in some benchmarks and trades blows with it in others, so it would do even better against the E6300. With the FX-60 at 3.0Ghz the E6300 would be even another notch down.

I'd say grab a lower priced Opteron and take it to 3.0Ghz, though.

 

[halbhh]

and Windows will force you to buy a new license for a new motherboard now I read somewhere, but on the other hand OEM XP is well below $100

 

[alceon]

well i won't be doing a complete overhaul just yet.
the choices are down to Opteron 185 or FX-60. And I am leaning towards the FX-60 option because of the unlocked multi.
I am going to upgrade the cpu and add another 2GB of memory and i think i'll be happy for a little while longer.