Budget A64 or AXP?

[puddle]

My current rig is such a shit. C333@550, 256 PC133, GF2 MX(400?). Anyway to save a mouse or midget, I'm looking for an upgrade. No definite budget, but keeping it way cheap is definitely a plus! I do not have NewEgg so it's a little hard to compare prices, but it wouldn't hurt if you quote any.

I am trying to buy what I need and not what I drool and dream of, so I hope to get some opinions.I play the occasional game (college sucks), not a [H]ardcore FPS player, just want to enjoy the games. Being able to play any RTS, FPS... new and from recent years at decent settings decent responsiveness will be pretty enough. I spend more time surfing, coding, fooling about with Photoshop, P2P, the basic office works. I'm a multitasking junkie.

I starting thinking of a P4 2.4/2.8/3.0 Prescott/Northwood w/ HT. After catching up with the AMD scene, hehe I believe I can put my money to better use. I will still enjoy good multitasking even without HT, no?

A64 2800+
Abit KV8 Pro
Corsair ValueSelect PC3200 512MB
Antec SP 350W
HSF?

Is this good bang for bucks for my needs, or will I be better off with a Barton (2500+, 2600+, 2800+?). Any $$ shaved is good, since it can go towards 1GB RAM in the future, or a better video card. Thought about future proofing, but I have a hunch most of us change both processor+mobo+ram every major upgrade anyway, yeah?

I'm not totally in touch with AMD developments. Are VIA chipsets and nForce chipsets of equivalent stability? I wouldn't be overclocking anytime soon, as casing ventilation is nothing terrific.

Is 350W sufficient? I only have 1 other Maxtor DX760? 40GB and TDK 48/24/48 to power. Perhaps add a 160 and DVD writer in the future. Also, my AGP card now has 3 segment connector so it should be a 1.5v that will work on the new boards?

Sorry about a long post, thanks man.

 

[ichbingottderliebe]

the a64 will perform better then axp

350w should be enough as long as its a decent psu

 

[Snobok]

Trust me, get the A64; it will perform better. And the 350w, PSU that shoudl be fine provided it is not the crappy kind you get with a cheapie (usually crappy) comuter case. Since the PSU is an Antec, I would assume its pretty good. I hear very few bad things about Antec PSUs.

The P4s will have arguably better multitasking I think. My A64 slows down slightly when try to do too much (open firefox and 300 tabs), but I don't think it would be too much difference.

 

[sabrewolf732]

I would go sempron 3100, save you some more $ and equally fast as the 2800+ just no 64bit. Also what video card you getting?

 

[puddle]

Video is for the future upgrade. Since I do not game as heavily, I guess it should be ok. Gives me more to spend on the processor and mobo.

Thanks for the opinions so far!

 

[darktiger]

A64 all the way.....