Upgrades, Upgrades, Upgrades...

Skindeepuk

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Feb 26, 2004
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Hi,
I'm new to this forum, so don't rip me apart just yet. I'm planning to upgrade my CPU, MoBo and RAM. My ideas at the moment are:
<font color=red> Athlon XP 3200+ <b>£150</b>
Asus A7n8x-E Deluxe <b>£82</b>
Crucial pc3200 (2x 512) <b>£110</b> </font color=red>

Or I'm considering an A64 3000, but I don't really want to pay more than I've budgeted for, and haven't done my homework on 64bit technology. :redface:

Any helpful pointers you lot want to offer on either keeping the Athlon idea or moving on to a 64, and if so can you tell me which (good) MoBo's and RAM I could get for an A64 within a low(ish) price-range?

My PC's used mainly for gaming and multi-media, no video compression or anythin as exciting as that. :smile:

Oh yeah, would an A64 make full use of pc3200 RAM, seeing as the stated FSB is only 200mhz???

cheers
<font color=blue><i><b>Skin</b></i></font color=blue>
 

david__t

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Feb 2, 2003
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You could do with reading up a bit on the speed matching and other stuff + you need to read more about the AMD 64 which is not solely 64bit and therefore would not restrict you in any way if you bought it. But you can find all of that on old Toms articles.

But putting that aside, now is not a very good time to upgrade at all with PCI express around the corner and changing CPU sockets - I would wait until later on in the year - maybe sept / oct.

Having said that if you are keeping to a budget then get a cheaper CPU and "only" 2x256MB RAM - this will save you a fair bit and will let you upgrade without much pain in the near future. 1024MB of Ram is really of no advantage - especially for gaming and normal desktop stuff.

If you do decide on the Athlon 64 then make sure you choose the right memory.

It is true that you can always say "don't buy now cause there is something better around the corner" but in this case I really think it is worth waiting - especially if you already have a machine at the moment. Since the changes coming are big ones.

This reply is a bit jumbled but as far as brands - you cannot go wrong with ASUS for the mobo and Corsair for the memory.

4.77MHz to 4.0GHz in 10 years. Imagine the space year 2020 :)
 

TheRod

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XP 3200+ is not a good choice here, it's slower than P4 2.8GHz and A64 3000+.

I would buy the A64 3000+ (206$US on pricewatch against 194$US for the XP 3200+). And if you only do gaming, internet... You can save by buying only 512 Megs of RAM, and buy another 512Megs later as needed.

NOTE : the A64 3000+ are not dual-channel enabled, so it's not necessary to get 2 sticks of DDR.

THIS WOULD BE MY RECOMENDATION :
CPU : A64 3000+
RAM : 1x512 Megs DDR400
MB : ECS 755-A (for a cheap, reliable and not so bad MB) or any A64 MB with a VIA chipset.

--
Would you buy a GPS enabled soap bar?<P ID="edit"><FONT SIZE=-1><EM>Edited by TheRod on 02/26/04 08:59 AM.</EM></FONT></P>
 

hartski

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I agree with david about waiting. The changes are indeed big! Well, big for those who are meaning to keep their new PCs for 2+ years before they upgrade again. PCI-express, Dual Channel DDR2 and more future-proof socket to name a few. Don't worry about the high prices for recently AMD and Intel releases budget versions of their new CPUs which performs very well nonetheless (i.e. A64 3000+).

I also suggest going for the A64 3000+. This CPU is too cheap and too strong in performance to pass up. It's really fortunate for us that we get to have cheap yet valuable CPUs based on new technologies :)
 

Crashman

Polypheme
Former Staff
You'd might as well save a bit more money and get the XP2500+, since most of these will hit 3200+ speed simply by increasing the FSB from 166 to 200MHz clock rate, and adding a slight increase in vCore.

<font color=blue>Only a place as big as the internet could be home to a hero as big as Crashman!</font color=blue>
<font color=red>Only a place as big as the internet could be home to an ego as large as Crashman's!</font color=red>
 

TheRod

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Another wise move!

But, it would be better for foture to get the A64 platform even if the socket will change, he would still have the opportunity to get a A64 3700+. If he buys an Athlon XP based system, he will be stuck with it... With no room for CPU upgrade.

--
Would you buy a GPS enabled soap bar?
 

Crashman

Polypheme
Former Staff
Nah, by the time he wants to upgrade his CPU, PCI-Express, DDR2, and all the new stuff will be out. So by the time he wants to replace his CPU he'll want a new board too. That's why I'm recommending people go with todays best performance values for todays new system builds, everything in motherboards changes later this year.

<font color=blue>Only a place as big as the internet could be home to a hero as big as Crashman!</font color=blue>
<font color=red>Only a place as big as the internet could be home to an ego as large as Crashman's!</font color=red>
 

Skindeepuk

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Feb 26, 2004
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Actually I'd prefer not to have to overclock as I'm a bit wary of frying any new components I get.

What would you lot recommend that requires no O/C'ing (maybe with the option when I learn a bit more) but is still a good performer?
I'm thinking maybe an A64 3000+ thanks to you guys, is this O/C'able? Just incase I get the balls for it at some point :smile:

Still I want to keep my costs down (below £300 would be great)

I use 2 sites to source my gear from:

<A HREF="http://www.aria.co.uk" target="_new"><b>Site 1</b></A>
and
<A HREF="http://www.ebuyer.com" target="_new"><b>Site 2</b></A>

If any of you would like to browse these sites and recommend any decent setups within my price-range, I'd be totally grateful.

cheers
<font color=blue><b><i>Skin</i></b></font color=blue>