Upgrade? How much $$?

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Limp Gawd
Joined
Jan 8, 2005
Messages
405
sorry if this is in the wrong section::;;;;;..

Hi,

I have been thinking about upgrading video cards.

the whole agp->pci-e trend is getting me thinking about upgrading to a pci-e capable computer, so that i can upgrade video cards now for less money, and also in the future.

Anyways, my computer now is certainly far from being obsolete, so i was wondering how much do you think i could sell it for on eBay? i looked already and saw comparable systems priced around $600, which is actually more than i payed for mine new =). so that would be cool if you think i would be able to get that much.

Shuttle ST61G4B
Pentium 4 3.0 GHz 800 FSB (Northwood)
Mushkin 1024 MB PC3200 Dual Channel
Western Digital 80 GB 7200 RPM
Lite-ON 52x32x52x16 CD-RW/DVD-ROM
Audigy SoundBlaster Live! 24-Bit 7.1
MSI GeForce FX 5200.

i figure, i could get one of these: shuttle SB85G3
http://www.newegg.com/app/ViewProdu...101-456R&depa=1
http://www.newegg.com/app/ViewProductDesc.asp?description=56-101-456&depa=0
one of these: p4 530 or 530J (J only has that one thing? which runs cooler?)
http://www.newegg.com/app/ViewProdu...-116-200&depa=1
some of this: 1gb pc3200 corsair valueselect
http://www.newegg.com/app/viewprodu...-145-440&DEPA=1
one of these: cd-rw/dvd-rom
http://www.newegg.com/app/ViewProdu...-106-572&depa=1

and be at around the same price i payed originally, but with a slightly faster and much more upgradeable (and cooler looking!) system ($550ish shipped and taxed)

to this i would add a 30 dollar 80gb WD HDD from bestbuy and an x800xl probably
 
I highly advise you opt for a Shuttle with Socket 939 and nForce4. This platform is far faster and more expandable into the future-- newer P4s will require a new mainboard and socket and render your Shuttle impossible to upgrade.. Socket 939 will be host to AMD's newest chips, even Dual-Core ones, well into 2007, so your machine will stay VERY expandable. You also get PCI-Express, of course. :)

An Athlon 64 will also outperform a P4 in most tasks, blow it away in most games (especially Half-Life 2, Doom 3 and Far Cry), and emit HALF as much heat or LESS. Very important if you run a Shuttle! They run so cool you can usually achieve 200-500 MHz overclocks on the stock cooler-- you should be able to achieve a sizable overclock even in a shuttle.

Shuttle:
http://www.newegg.com/app/ViewProductDesc.asp?description=56-101-468&depa=0

I'd couple it with this CPU:
http://www.newegg.com/app/ViewProductDesc.asp?description=19-103-502&depa=1

.. This DDR400/PC3200 RAM:
http://www.newegg.com/app/ViewProductDesc.asp?description=20-145-440&depa=1

.. and this hard disk (quieter and cooler than a WD):
http://www.newegg.com/app/ViewProductDesc.asp?description=22-148-021&depa=1

.. and this Double layer DVD+/-RW drive, a mere $50 and the most quiet and reliable drive I know of:
http://www.newegg.com/app/ViewProductDesc.asp?description=27-152-040&depa=1

.. Also, do you intend to much gaming? A GeForce 5200 behaves like a GeForce *2* from years ago, and is absolutely abysmal for any kind of modern gaming outside of things like The Sims 2. If you are serious about gaming, grab this 6600GT:
http://www.newegg.com/app/ViewProductDesc.asp?description=14-130-214&depa=1

.. or this X800XL for ~$130 more.
http://www.newegg.com/app/ViewProductDesc.asp?description=14-102-509&depa=1

Enjoy the machine! :)
 
thankyou for the advice!

i see your point that it is probably a good idea to spend the extra 100 on the nf4 platform shuttle.

i have never used amd before and wouldnt mind switching to amd, but i am concerned with the smoothness outside of games. i do game somewhat (not really hardcore but not light either) and that is why i would be getting the x800xl, but most of my time is spent using common stuff like office and the internet, and occasionaly photoshop 7 and 3dsmax7. I have heard that intel is better at multitasking.

also, is the sn25p shown there at MSRP? that still seems somewhat expensive.... but then again, given the nf4 mobo, 350w psu, and the barebones chassis, i guess it is reasonable.

one more thing, i like the look of the G5 chassis alot better, is there going to be a nf4 platform shuttle with the G5 rather than the P?

edit: nm, i see there are rumors of a "sn20g5" model shuttle floating around. maybe i will just wait for that. also, what about the "st20g5" model. Its not the nf4 chipset, its an ati chipset but it still has pci-e x16 gfx and s939.
 
G5 ... a Mac? No, Shuttle only makes PC's. Talk to Apple about that. :)

It's a bit expensive as it's new and popular, and well worth it. As for performance outside of games, A64s beat out P4s in most tests, and the speed gains from multithreading on the P4 are not very dramatic at all. Especially in dynamic work like content creation in Photoshop, will the A64 win out the most, and will be very competitive in 3DSMax.
 
Epicenter said:
G5 ... a Mac? No, Shuttle only makes PC's. Talk to Apple about that. :)

It's a bit expensive as it's new and popular, and well worth it. As for performance outside of games, A64s beat out P4s in most tests, and the speed gains from multithreading on the P4 are not very dramatic at all. Especially in dynamic work like content creation in Photoshop, will the A64 win out the most, and will be very competitive in 3DSMax.
Click to expand...
I don't want to get the thread off topic, however I noticed a huge performance drop going from my P4 to my Athlon64 when running multiple applications. So much so, that my A64 has been for sale a week after I got it - I am immediately moving back to Intel. I often have multiple programs open, this includes Photoshop, OpenOffice Calc, and multiple other programs for work - my laptop (Dothan) seems so much faster than my A64, and my wifes P4 machine (3.2Ghz) feels even faster.
 
Then something is wrong with the machine. Dothans don't even SUPPORT Hyperthreading, it is not a feature innate to all Intel machines. What else was in this system? Either you had a giant RAM bottleneck, a bad motherboard, a failing PSU or some other bizarre deficiency or malfunction or you are mispercieving things. AMD64 systems by and large outperform P4s very easily (unless you compared the lowest-end A64 with a high-end P4!), and Pentium-Ms get their asses handed to them, even Dothans. Compare the numbers.

http://www.anandtech.com/cpuchipsets/showdoc.aspx?i=2353&p=11
 
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