PC upgrading time for me too!

[Refrigerator]

I know what you're thinking. It's about time! I am now in the planning stage of upgrading my PC to something that can run modern games. :lol:

To everybody in my video card thread, sorry, forgot to tell you which video card I picked. It was the Radeon 9200SE, and I got it for 80$ (that's after shipping and handling) at atic.ca! Turns out that even that was pushing the limit on my money situation at the time! :(

Anyways, this time I'm upgrading my processor, motherboard, and buying RAM to match. The money isn't as much of a problem this time, and I want to buy something that will last for a while before becoming outdated, even if it means paying a bit more. ;)

Nothing too expensive though :huh:

This is what I'm looking at right now. What do all of you think about this?

Motherboard: nForce2 Ultra400

Processor: Athlon XP2600+

And then either two 256 sticks of DDR400 or one 512.

Does it matter whether I have 2 sticks of 256 or one of 512? They both add up to the same thing, but does the number of sticks of RAM make any difference with anything?

Thanks!

[[wcip]Angel]

Disclaimer: I know next to nothing about PCs, but will intrude in this thread with some not-needed advice:

Priority#1
I suggest getting more RAM. I've had 512 for ages, and it just isn't enough to run the latest games. I don't even know if 1024MB is enough.

Prioriy#2
If you're getting an AthlonXP2600-processor, it will be outdated come Christmas. My advice when upgrading. Look what's the best on the market and then take it one step down. That way you get a good combination of price and performance. I'd spring for a 3ghz-thingie, if I was upgrading, which I suspect I will be when HL2 comes out september 30th, 2005.

Good luck with your new computator. :)

[kandrathe]

I would echo Angel's words; think about AMD Athlon 64 3000+, ($185) and 1GB of ram ($159). You will get much more life from the system. The mobo, CPU, and memory will be the core of the performance of your system. Is $300 to $400 too much for decent performance?

[Refrigerator]

In Canada, the 2600 is about $128(plus shipping and handling etc.) at atic.ca, which is probably the only online ordering thingie I trust. The 3000+ is $225. Is it worth an extra $100?

Also, the list in my last post reached ~$350 once tax/shipping and handling were added on to it. So with the gb of RAM, which from what I see will cost ~$200 by itself... (2 sticks of 512, $100 each)
That's $425 without even the shipping and handling or the motherboard.

The motherboard, from what I can see, will probably end up being this one, because I can't find many others with socket 754. If you see a cheaper one that's good, that'd be great though.

So, $584 looks like the pre-shipping and handling and tax cost with that setup. With 15% tax, it's $671.60, plus whatever shipping and handling is. If I'm wrong and tax isn't included on online ordering things (Well, that'd be nice...) then just say I'm stupid and I'll be pretty happy. :lol:

The total from my last post would have been ($112 + $90 + $128) * 1.15 = $379.50 plus shipping and handling.

That's $292.10 difference.:blink:
Ouch :(

Do you think it'd be worth it? That's a lotta money there...

[Jim]

Hi

Why buy in the USA, buy your Hardware in CA :D

Google Results 1 - 10 of about 5,660,000 for computer hardware canada:
computer hardware canada

IF you must buy here then...> Compare Prices here: Pricewatch.com/

This is a good company in the US: http://www.tigerdirect.ca/

Consider a MB/CPU Combo or BareBones:

Asus K8V VIA Socket 754 ATX Motherboard and AMD Athlon 64 2800+ Processor
  
This bundle includes the Asus K8V Socket 754 motherboard and AMD Athlon 64 2800+ processor  

$405.99 <...Ouch !!!

MB/CPU Combo

[vor_lord]

That's $292.10 difference.:blink:&nbsp;
Ouch&nbsp; :(

Do you think it'd be worth it?&nbsp; That's a lotta money there...

My 2 cents:

Go with your original system except see if you can get more RAM. 256 is certainly not going to cut it.

The reason:

Socket 754 is going away (looks like the Athlon64 platform will be stable on socket 939--when that becomes 'one notch down from the top' it'll probably be a good investment). You will not have a significant upgrade option in the future with it. You probably have no need for 64 bit, so why pay the premium for it if it doesn't have significantly longer life? 32 bit performance of the Athlon 64 is good, but not really much better than a similarly rated Athlon XP (unless you spend even more to get server versions of the chip, which have better memory bandwidth).

If you don't mind overclocking, the best bang for the buck right now is an Athlon XP Mobile 2500+/2600+. They overclock really easily and well (my 2500+ is rated at 1.83 GHz, and is running at 2.4 GHz... I've not heard of one that couldn't do at least that, and if you are willing to spend time tweaking many people can get more).

Athlon XP, of course, has an even shorter upgrade path than socket 754, but it's likely next time you upgrade you'll be getting a new motherboard either way. That's why I'm recommending the cheaper option.

[naverone]

This deal looks like it would fit you well:

AMD Athlon® XP 2800+ Boxed CPU W/ ECS N2U400-A Mainboard

Price: $109

Link


I found this particular offer on the Slickdeals.net forums. If you're looking for computer parts they are usually a pretty good place to look to maximize your dollars.

Edit: Outpost.com is the website of Fry's Electronics which is a major electronics source on the west coast.

[Refrigerator]

@vor_lord

My 2 cents:

Go with your original system except see if you can get more RAM. 256 is certainly not going to cut it.

You mean the system I'm running right now or the one I was planning? Thanks for the advice though!



@KingJim

I am buying in Canada, I live there. The prices I listed were from atic.ca :D

[Refrigerator]

Wow, that certainly is a nice deal.

Edit: Outpost.com is the website of Fry's Electronics which is a major electronics source on the west coast.

So, they'll deliver to Canada then? This is looking very promising! Thanks! :D

[vor_lord]

@vor_lord

My 2 cents:

Go with your original system except see if you can get more RAM. 256 is certainly not going to cut it.

You mean the system I'm running right now or the one I was planning? Thanks for the advice though!

Err, I meant the one you were originally planning--that was not my best choice of wording :blink:

[Guest]

Priority#1
I suggest getting more RAM. I've had 512 for ages, and it just isn't enough to run the latest games. I don't even know if 1024MB is enough.

Unless you're running SDRam, 512 should be plenty.

Prioriy#2
If you're getting an AthlonXP2600-processor, it will be outdated come Christmas. My advice when upgrading. Look what's the best on the market and then take it one step down. That way you get a good combination of price and performance. I'd spring for a 3ghz-thingie, if I was upgrading, which I suspect I will be when HL2 comes out september 30th, 2005.

I don't know where people get this idea that HL2 is the super system hog... Far Cry and Doom 3 are both more taxing (even if HL2 requires more proccy power than Far Cry).

I don't think you should go for 64bit. These will be a necessity in a few years, but by that time, your processor will be outdated anyway. A 3200 64bit is still only 3.2 ghz, and in a few years we can expect ~7ghz proccy's. I'd reccomend a regular 3200+, non-64bit, just your standard Athlon XP.

Edit: Just in case anybody was wondering about how the AMD's work (it had me stumped for a while)

When looking at an Athlon, only look at the number with the + after it, in this case 3200+. This processor only runs at 2.2ghz, but through the Athlon's extreme efficiency, it can run programs just as fast and just like a 3.2 ghz P4 (not JUST as fast really, the FSB makes a diff since Athlons cap at 400mhz fsb). So although the 3200 may say that it runs at 2.2ghz, thats just its physical frequency, not it's actual performance.

[Taeme]

I'll be upgrading mine in about two months, and this is basically what I've outlined for my box. I'll explain why, and anyone can comment on what I'm going to get and offer suggestions. ESPECIALLY on harddrives, since I have no idea how SATA works or wtf omg he;lp

Athlon 64 3400+

The 2800 / 3000s have the best price, but I always like to go a little past the price/performance mark.

MSI Motherboard based on the VIA chipset

I like nVidia just fine but I think VIA is the way to go. The nVidia boards look a little slower, have a little more features and seem to be about the same or more for the price.

Normally I'd get an Asus board as Asus is the "premium" board but it seems like the gap between Asus/ABit and the other board manufacturers has closed. MSI has gotten really good marks on their mobos for the A64's in the reviews I've read. In fact. www.motherboards.org recommends them ahead of the others, but who knows where to stand on their words.

I'm probably going to get a K8T Neo - MSR, but I might shell out the extra money for the more feature ridden board, just in case.

nVidia GeForce 6800

But probably not an Ultra, maybe a GT. I don't know if I'll have enough money for a $600 video card. The Magic card collection can only make me SO MUCH money, heh. I have no idea what brand to get. I can't seem to find good round ups. People talk about feature sets and the blinging of some cards (no joke, the Chaintech card is bright blue and has golden trim). Anyone know what brands are now good? When I bought my old computer, I got a Creative.

They don't make those anymore.

LE SIGH!

I'd like to get an Asus but the impression I get is that most of the board makers are on the same level.

Anyone got any thoughts on those?

( http://techreport.com/reviews/2004q3/gefor...ro/index.x?pg=4 for the blinging Chaintech card zomg)

Memory

I'm just going to get Geil, Micron, Crucial or whatever DDR 400mhz RAM with the lowest CAS timings I can buy. A gig of it, too. This is one part of the computer I am absolutely blowing as much money as possible on. I might go to a 1.5 gig config. That would be kinda nutsy.

Harddrive

This is where I'm confused. I hear talk of a new interface, but I haven't really read much on it. Anyone know what that's all about? I'm going to read up on it when I can, after all, I was confused about RAM last week and now I feel confident in what I'm going to purchase. Only takes a couple articles to get a good idea.

But if anyone has any thoughts I'd love to hear them.

I'm not going to get a sound card yet, since I hear onboard audio is pretty good and sound cards are cheap enough nowaday that the don't even take up a single pay cheque, which is fine with me. I'm thinking I finally need to buy some speakers, which I've been without for four years. For no reason I can figure out. I'm getting the feeling Soundblaster is basically the only real high end option for cards.

For monitor, well, I'm just gonna read reviews on newegg.com and figure out from there. I'm thinking ... big, real big. But no LCD screens, don't see the point.

Anyway, any thoughts welcome!

[Taeme]

Unless you're running SDRam, 512 should be plenty.

I don't agree at all. More RAM is good. RAM has fallen so low in price that you really have no reason not to get at least 768 megs, if not a full gig. To go to a gig is like another $150 when buying top of the line ram, which is more than worth the jump up.

I don't think you should go for 64bit. These will be a necessity in a few years, but by that time, your processor will be outdated anyway. A 3200 64bit is still only 3.2 ghz, and in a few years we can expect ~7ghz proccy's. I'd reccomend a regular 3200+, non-64bit, just your standard Athlon XP.

There's lots of reasons to go to 64 bit, besides being the new updated Athlons that probably have better motherboards (lower revisions are less stable, but Athlon 64 isn't exactly bleeding edge) but here's the simplest.

http://www.newegg.com/app/ViewProductDesc....-103-487&depa=0

http://www.newegg.com/app/ViewProductDesc....-103-391&depa=0

I'll admit $150 for RAM is a step a lot of people aren't willing to take - But it should always be noted RAM upgrades are far and away the easiest of all upgrades. Just plug, and play. But $25 for a newer, better chip? Admittely the motherboard is bit more expensive, but still. The Athlon 64s are, from what I'm told, faster. When you can get something faster for less than $50 more it's probably going to be worth it.


As to the whole AMD labelling thing, is basically a response to the fact most computer customers are morons who were only buying based on clockrate. To manipulate this, Intel intentionally developed chips with higher clockrates but inferior performance than their clockrate implied based on the previous versions of the Pentium. That's likely not true now, but at the time, that was the intention. AMD responded by marketing their chips as 3200+ or what have you, and this way, attract the same attention the high clock rate P4's were managing. AMD was developing chips for performance, not for some cock-eyed advertising style.

[Guest]

The reason I don't really reccomend 64bit is that everybody I know who has one has had major problems (one alt-tab, and their computer crashes). Also, neither of them run it in 64bit mode, because Windows can't support it. The way I understand it, 64bit's are just hardware limiters at the moment.

[Taeme]

So why would Anandtech recommend it if they were buggy systems? I've read nothing about such problems with the Athlon 64 chips in all the hardware browsing I've done.

You know, the reason people ignore anecdotal evidence is it's often made up.

[kandrathe]

Like the The Shark Tank I've played on it, and in fact I bought the video card from him that used to be in it. And, BTW, it doesn't crash when you press ctrl-Alt anything... Bwahahaha! :)

[Munkay]

Like the The Shark Tank&nbsp; I've played on it, and in fact I bought the video card from him that used to be in it.&nbsp; And, BTW, it doesn't crash when you press ctrl-Alt anything...&nbsp; Bwahahaha!&nbsp; :)

I've actually come close to making a clear computer case. I went through a phase where I thought Lexan was gods gift to man. But soon after I realized there was no way to really secure one peice of lexan to another at a 90 degree angle, at least not with the supplies available in New Hampshire (home depot is next to worthless here). I was convinced I hit paydirt when I predilled rivet holes, only to find out rivets often crack lexan.

All in all I made a 6x6x6 inch box that has stained glass sheets and carefully placed trim to make quite an awesome glowing cube of worthlessness.

If you feel like a good laugh, and seeing some insane case modifications, check out Bling Method.

Cheers,

Munk

[kandrathe]

Yes. The lexan was a pain for him. Essentially the 90 degree corners have oblong blocks with holes counter sunk to hold the nuts. He did alot of work with a dremel to get the connections to be flush. You have to be extra careful to not over tighten.

If you feel like a good laugh, and seeing some insane case modifications, check out Bling Method.

Heh, I've seen that sight. Especially the story of finding out you turn a furby off by turning it upside down.

[Refrigerator]

Ok, I'm back from visiting relatives now and am relooking at this offer. Can anyone vouch for the safeness/security of this site? And just making sure, will they deliver to Canada?

I'm all in favor of spending less money! :)

EDIT: Argh, it's changed now. Now it's $209 and currently unavailable. :( Still, $209 isn't too bad for a motherboard AND cpu.

[Nystul]

But probably not an Ultra, maybe a GT. I don't know if I'll have enough money for a $600 video card.

Whether you can afford it or not, why throw your money down the drain? Generations of graphics cards come out so fast, it doesn't make much sense to pay a $300 or $400 premium to have the best card of today when it won't be the best card a few months from now.

I'm not going to get a sound card yet, since I hear onboard audio is pretty good and sound cards are cheap enough nowaday that the don't even take up a single pay cheque, which is fine with me. I'm thinking I finally need to buy some speakers, which I've been without for four years. For no reason I can figure out. I'm getting the feeling Soundblaster is basically the only real high end option for cards.


I wouldn't refer to the Soundblaster line as "high end options" in the world of sound cards. They do have a lot of features and the best gaming support, though. Sound quality is a bit more debatable. In any case, you'd probably be best off to invest in decent speakers and/or headphones first, before bothering with a sound card. Onboard sound has come a long way in the last few years.