Wait for Nehalem Chips?

[Dopekitten]

So I'm looking to upgrade my computer, (full upgrade) because right now it's pretty much sucking. Got this computer awhile back, about 5 years old, and it's prebuilt dell. I do not know the motherboard as such.
However, i know some of my parts:

P4 3.0ghz Prescott
Nvidia 6800
140g HDD (not sure what type)
370 Watt PSU
2gb DRR2 533 RAM

Yea, so it pretty much sucks, although granted my video card seems to fare ok, i've overclocked it quite a bit, and it runs ilde at about 52 C ><, and under load about 80-90 C. (Thats ok with me, because i really couldn't care less if it died.

So, my question is, should i keep this computer until my birthday, in mid July, when ill be able to upgrade (And hopefully get the GT200 chips) or should i keep it till the end of the year when the new Nehalem CPU chips are supposed to come out. I mean, i wouldn't mind buying a Q9300/9450 right now and then upgrading a litttle later if Intel wasn't going to ditch the 775 socket.

Also, this is what i currently have planned for a new rig, assuming i would get it today

Intel Q9450
Asus Ramapge Formula Mobo
Antec 900 (or 1200 if it drops in price)
Nvidia 8800GTS (G92) <--not really sure what i want to get here, because as far as i can tell, the 9xxx gfx cards suck
OCZ700GXSSLI 700W ATX12V PSU
WD Caviar 500GB
TRUE
4gb Gskill DDR2 1000 RAM

Thoughts?

 

[Reynod]

Good choices.

Also ... keep the old box and lower he clock on the Prescott to make a good leech box or server ... I assume it is AGP. Just chuck some big HDD's in it.

The new build looks sound - any good 800 or 1066 ram will do - the lower the latency the better. Buying top end expensive ram does stuff all on a core2 box in terms of performance ... except for winrar and encoding ... so don't waste the money on it. THG did a recent article on RAM and performance ... take a look.

I wouldn't wait for Nehalem unless AMD pulls a rabbit out of the hat sometime soon ... that would be the only reason Intel would rush it to market.

I bet they will delay it ... it won't be cheap either.

You should enjoy a good improvement with the new rig ...

Cheers,

 

[aznguy0028]

^ i agree with reynod, even if by some miracle intel released nehalem dis year, it won't be a long while till its' mainstream and prices go down.

 

[Andrius]

The rig is you picked is good (it would last you 2-3 years if overclocked).
Aside from that it's up to you. If you "need" a new computer buy now, there's no point in waiting. If you are content with your current hardware buy when you won't be.

Some thoughts :
The 8800GTS is still the sweetspot of value right now but in July things might be different. Since you went with the RAMPAGE (supports CrossFire not SLI) I guess SLI is not a real interest. You might want to go with a cheap card and upgrade later (GF9900xxx HD48x0 if it's any good).

I'd get a PC Power and Cooling 750W Silencer over the OCZ700GXSSLI
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817341011
I don't think you need that much power but it's a great PSU.

WD6400AAKS (a bit faster then the 500GB version for ~$20 more).
For the RAMPAGE and Q9450 I'd get 1066MHz RAM (maybe the Dominator 2x2GB kit).
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820145197 at least at this pricepoint.

 

[JAYDEEJOHN]

The Nehalem chip and G280 (also known as G200) arent out yet, so no one really knows their respective performance. Ill say this from speculation and rumor only, if youre planning on your rig lasting another 5 years, or a duration of time, both of these componants would be a good idea. The reason I say this is this. Currently, unless you over clock your cpu to over 3 Ghz, youll see some bottlenecks from your cpu (Q9450) on your GTS512. Thats today, what we know. The speculation of the G280 is that itll be up to 2x as fast as the GTS512, meaning that no known cpu will keep up with the potential of this card. So, if speculation is correct about the Nehalem, its supposed to have a much higher IPC (quiker per Ghz) it may be the only thing that can really see that potential. And if gaming brings out newer more demanding games (duh), then its a good option for a future purchase

 

[Dopekitten]

Ok, sounds like its not worth it to wait for the next gen intel CPU, so i guess that's off the table.

Andrius, the RAM you linked is fine, however, it's timing are the same, and i dont' need the extra mhz b/c im not planning on OC'ing the CPU above 4ghz for sure, i really doubt i'd get it there, so i'd end up underclocking the RAM anyway (to get a FSB:RAM speed ratio of 1:1), and its about 30 USD more, im not sure its worth it, uneless im missing something.

I may end up going with ATI if the HD 4870 comes out when i want to buy because i've seen for the most part that ATI tends to price more competitively (i would guess because their chips really can't compete, although i can't say anything really about the next-gen chips, im simply basing this off past experience)

If all of the new gfx cards suck, i might just take a 790i board and sli two 8800GTS because they should be real cheap by then

Also, i know that the intel "X" mobo chipsets are for gaming, but would it be better to go with a X38/48 (from what i hear there is no difference except for DDR3/higher FSB support) or to go with the new P45, which should come out soon.

 

[JAYDEEJOHN]

Again, speculation, the 4870 is supposedly to be faster than the GTS 512 and cheaper in price, plus itll be DX10.1 compliant

 

[Dopekitten]

I am planning on overclocking my CPU, otherwise i wouldn't be getting a TRUE, (and most likely above 3.0ghz, unless i get a crap chip). So my CPU might still be a bottleneck for the GT200 chips, but i not as much, and i doubt that it will be a problem for the next few years because as long as they keep optimizing games for multi-core CPU's, any quad core shouldn't pose a problem, and the new gfx cards shouldn't either.

 

[JAYDEEJOHN]

Like I said, today at 3Ghz, cpus cam keep up with the current gpus. If the G200 is twice as fast? But then again youd need a game that can push the gpu too

 

[Ycon]

Wait for Nehalem.

Core 2 has been on the market for almost 2 years now, so it only gets cheaper, which means that you will not have any financial disadvantages while waiting for Nehalem.

 

[San Pedro]

Wait until your birthday. Current gen quads are plenty quick and O/C like mad. Once your birthday rolls around you'll be looking at the new video cards, which will probably be worth the wait, even if you can't afford top end nvidia cards the ATI should be great cards for the price (a little bit o' speculation on my part).

 

[spoonboy]

So I'm looking to upgrade my computer, (full upgrade) because right now it's pretty much sucking. Got this computer awhile back, about 5 years old, and it's prebuilt dell. I do not know the motherboard as such.
However, i know some of my parts:

P4 3.0ghz Prescott
Nvidia 6800
140g HDD (not sure what type)
370 Watt PSU
2gb DRR2 533 RAM

Yea, so it pretty much sucks, although granted my video card seems to fare ok, i've overclocked it quite a bit, and it runs ilde at about 52 C ><, and under load about 80-90 C. (Thats ok with me, because i really couldn't care less if it died.

So, my question is, should i keep this computer until my birthday, in mid July, when ill be able to upgrade (And hopefully get the GT200 chips) or should i keep it till the end of the year when the new Nehalem CPU chips are supposed to come out. I mean, i wouldn't mind buying a Q9300/9450 right now and then upgrading a litttle later if Intel wasn't going to ditch the 775 socket.

Also, this is what i currently have planned for a new rig, assuming i would get it today

Intel Q9450
Asus Ramapge Formula Mobo
Antec 900 (or 1200 if it drops in price)
Nvidia 8800GTS (G92) <--not really sure what i want to get here, because as far as i can tell, the 9xxx gfx cards suck
OCZ700GXSSLI 700W ATX12V PSU
WD Caviar 500GB
TRUE
4gb Gskill DDR2 1000 RAM

Thoughts?

Get that rig, but hold off on buying a graphics card till the next ati and nvidia cards come out. Waiting for nehalem is a huge folly, your looking at 9-12 months until an affodable one comes out. Seeing as youve held onto to your pc for that long im assuming your not looking to lay down mega bucks on the first nehalems. Get a current intel quad rig, you wont regret it and it'll be unbelieveably faster than your current dell lump of coal. ...unless you dont mind having a clockwork dell box for the next, ..year or so.

 

[Andrius]

Andrius, the RAM you linked is fine, however, it's timing are the same, and i dont' need the extra mhz b/c im not planning on OC'ing the CPU above 4ghz for sure, i really doubt i'd get it there, so i'd end up underclocking the RAM anyway (to get a FSB:RAM speed ratio of 1:1), and its about 30 USD more, im not sure its worth it, uneless im missing something.

You are not missing anything. I've had a positive experience with those RAMs on that board. A 333MHz to 466MHz overclock on a Q9300 with 8GB and 4-4-4-12 timings at 466MHz so I recommended them. 466-475MHZ FSB would put you at about 3728-3800MHz on a Q9450.

X38/X48(it's the same thing) is currently the best chip for Intel. It's also much easier to overclock than P35. P45 will probably be easier(than P35) to overclock and will likely hit as high as the X38/X48. The board you picked is about as good as it gets, but going for a cheaper X38 might not limit you that much either. As P35 is slowly dying I will not recommend it but the P45 might be a good choice from first previews. DDR3 should be avoided for now as it's greatly overpriced for it's value.

 

[Vertigon]

It's all respective to what your going to do with it. Nehalem has a 4 and 8 core variety with either an 8 or 16 thread cycle. I have a QX9650 that I use for CAD and basically unless I am rendering something cannot load all 4 cores to 100% even with the most complex models. Having said that the trick with technoology is to wait for as long as you can because there will always be something better/cheaper later. Something will come out better than Nehalem in time and then better again. So ask yourself what your going to do exactly and how long you can wait.

 

[lockdownx1x]

I'm in the same boat but mine PC was bought same time as yours but.......well see the specs:

2.0GHz P4 (I know takes forever to encode movies to put on my iPod)
256 DDR AT A BLAZING 133MHz
40 GB HDD Maxtor Drive
130 Watt Power Supply
Intergrated Graphics


The only real thing I can do on this thing is do homework and play Sims or Roller Coaster Tycoon (The only games my PC can run)

I have been telling myself if I should just buy now or wait.

Opinion? Comment?

 

[JAYDEEJOHN]

Id wait, if it gets to 20 years itll be considered an antique, and surely go up in value

 

[Vertigon]

One thing most people don't consider is an intermediate second hand computer. Have a look on ebay for some great bargains, HP workstations can sometimes be a bargain as well as custom spec pc's. If your at the P4 stage you might want to consider a cheap dual core unit because even when Nehalem does arrive, the only things that will get cheaper are the standard quad's.

 

[Reynod]

What's that about the Prescott CPU ??

Actually the last few of the XP Athlons were hot little biatches ... overclocking them pushed the power envelope over 100 Watts.

Gave me a few swollen capacitors and burn marks around the voltage regulators pushing any of them past 2.6 Ghz.

Helps with a refrigerated water chiller running into the water pump from outside ... ( @ 2 degrees) the missus didn't like it standing next to the desk in the lounge room .... plus she couldn't understand why the tap on top didn't work.

Condensation killed a couple of video cards so it was retired.

All that phase change stuff isn't viable past the bragging rights ... unless you get super serious with insulation.

Didn't want to turn the rig into a mummy ...

 

[Andrius]

Scary. My Volcano7 cooled Athlon was below 50C at all times. Even when running SETI@Home. The two 120mm low RPM fans mounted on the sidepanel above the motherboard really made the difference in 2000-2005 Then the ABIT capacitors gave it a RIP banner.

 

[Andrius]

Give it some CPR. A few notches of voltage in BIOS might give it a new spurt of life. It's probably starving for some voltage by now.