Want to upgrade from a 64 x2 3200+ to a 64 x2 4800+, is it worth $198?

[jessica23]

I'm building a new PC with a Core i7, but want to beef up the speed of my current work PC. Right now it has:

ASUS A8R-MVP
64 x2 3200+
ATI X800 GT
OCZ 2 x 512MB PC 3200 Dual CH Premier Series
Maxtor 320gb
and some 24bit sound blaster card

Old stuff I know. But I figure, all I'm gonna do is work on the machine...Office, surf the net, view some large, LARGE pdf files....I look at construction landscape plans and bid on the landscaping...so sometimes I'll have as many as fifteen 20MB pdf files opened with a pdf markup and takeoff program, while having office running, outlook running, excel running, firefox running too. Needless to say, I can bring my pc to a crawl.

SO, will this new cpu and maybe 2 new 1GB sticks of ram help out? Should I maybe even buy a newer video card?

 

[jennyh]

No that's not worth $200. However, just try a simple RAM increase to 4gb and that will solve most of your issues.

 

[joefriday]

What's an X2 3200???

 

[jennyh]

It's an AMD 3200+ dual core.

 

[ubernoobie]

4gb of ddr ram will be crazy expensive, around 150 dollars so just get a 70 dollar 2x1gb ddr ram and keep that x2, u couldn't get a good 3800+x2 for a good price for 939

 

[jessica23]

Yeah, I think I'm gonna get some more ram.

Yall don't think a newer video card might help with all the open pdf files?

I'd say I could just overclock, but 1) I've never overclocked and have little idea where to start. 2) From what I've read around the web, my A8R-MVP motherboard isn't the best for overclocking anyway.

Well, if I can find the cpu for around $70 i might bite on it. Now to search for Ram.

 

[obsidian86]

this is good for 200 http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16819103688 $60 plus http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813186165 $70 2 of these http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820231143 $36 plus http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817341020 $40 thats all for $206

 

[DiscoDuck]

if you have an amd 3200, its not dual core. lowest dual core A64 they make is the 3800.

 

[DiscoDuck]

and no its not worth 200 to upgrade that machine, you can get a cpu, mobo and ram combo for that price running around 2.8g stock & 4g ram.

 

[rockyjohn]

If you are considering obsidian's upgrade option, I recommend considering a combo deal that is $10 cheaper and provides a better 785 based board. It also has a faster on-board graphics chip. You might also try it before investing in a faster graphics card - or at least compare it with your existing one. Also - try to borrow a faster graphics card and test it with your work and all those PDF files open to see if investing in a graphics card will have any real return for 2D only work.

http://www.newegg.com/Product/ComboDealDetails.aspx?ItemList=Combo.254104

 

[joefriday]

It's an AMD 3200+ dual core.

FAIL. lol

 

[joefriday]

if you have an amd 3200, its not dual core. lowest dual core A64 they make is the 3800.

3600, I believe you mean.

 

[Guest]

Just buy or build a new computer lmao

 

[buzznut]

That was my first thought, get a 780G or 790gx board for around 70-80, a AMD dual core for 60-70 and 4 gigs ram for $50. $200 and I think it would prolly blow away the current setup.

 

[jj463rd]

I agree with rockyjohn.If you look closely right now newegg has most of their Athlon II's and Phenom II's in a combo deal with a gigabyte 785g (uses DDR2 memory) board with $20 off.
Just dirt cheap and powerful combos.
Here is one such combo deal for CPU and Motherboard under $120.
I'll start with the Athlon II series and the gigabyte 785g board.
Oop's Edit rockyjohn listed this first one combo deal.

http://www.newegg.com/Product/ComboDealDetails.aspx?ItemList=Combo.254104

Here are the other ones

http://www.newegg.com/Product/ComboDealDetails.aspx?ItemList=Combo.254103

This one is the costliest of the Athlon II's.I think that it would be better to either get the cheaper ones or else opt for the Phenom II 545 instead.
http://www.newegg.com/Product/ComboDealDetails.aspx?ItemList=Combo.254102

The Phenom II's and gigabyte 785g motherboard combos.Note I have heard that with these motherboards you can sometimes unlock the extra 2 cores on the Phenom II's giving you a quad CPU if the unlocked cores are not defective.If you don't do this these CPU's are still very powerful and more potent than the Athlon II series.

http://www.newegg.com/Product/ComboDealDetails.aspx?ItemList=Combo.254105

The last one is a little more costly but well worth it.With 4 gigabytes of DDR 2 memory it will be slightly over $200 however with just 2 gigabytes of DDR 2 RAM it will be under $200 for this CPU+ Motherboard+ RAM.

http://www.newegg.com/Product/ComboDealDetails.aspx?ItemList=Combo.254101

Building another budget custom PC would be far more worthwhile than wasting a lot of money on upgrading your old system.It's just not worth it.

 

[Onus]

I've got an old s939 board with a 3200+ on it that will likely go to some recycler; it isn't worth putting it in a system. To echo what everyone else has been saying, it makes a lot more sense in this case to rebuild with modern parts.

 

[jessica23]

I've gone with the collective intelligent recomendations and decided to build a semi-new PC.

I like this set up:
http://www.newegg.com/Product/ComboDealDetails.aspx?ItemList=Combo.254101

with 4gigs of ram and WHAT THE HECK, I might as well play the occational game, so I suppose I'll buy a $100 - $150 ati card.

Dang, I went from spending about $190 to a possible $300!

PC's,...e more prices go down, the more money I end up spending!

 

[rockyjohn]

But look at how much more power your getting