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Worth upgrading or not?

J

jmr

Weaksauce
Joined
Jan 5, 2004
Messages
90
Current system which I put together back in October '02:

P4 2.66 533MHz (overclocked to 2.9GHz - stability problems at 3.0GHz)
Abit BD7II-RAID 400/533MHz FSB
2 sticks of Corsair CMX 512-3200 C2 v1.1
Radeon 9700Pro

I was thinking of getting a new mobo with an 800MHz FSB and a C flavor P4 (maybe a 2.6C?) since I hear they overclock easily compared to my non C version which doesn't. Would I see much of a performance boost going that route compared to my current system with the 533MHz system bus? Are the gains noticeable or negligible?

Would it be best to wait for Prescott and see how that series of chips pans out? DDR2? PCI-Express?

My gut tells me just to hold off because I can play the current crop of games just fine.
 
depends what you do.

I upgraded from a p4 2.53 to a p4 2.4c and I thought it was DEFINATELY worth it. however, I do an excessive amount of video encoding and editting. Plus, I often have 3-4 cpu intensive tasking running at the same time.

The resale value on your current cpu and motherboard make the decision easy if you can afford it. I'm guessing the upgrade will cost you around $100 after you factor in selling your current setup.

In my experience, the 'c' series oc's a lot easier too. My 2.53 would barely make 2.8-2.9, while my 2.4c easily hits just below 3.2.
 
Ahhh sounds tempting.


Did you upgrade to a 800Mhz FSB motherboard when you upraded your CPU?
 
Originally posted by jmr
Ahhh sounds tempting.


Did you upgrade to a 800Mhz FSB motherboard when you upraded your CPU?
Click to expand...

Unless you have one of a select few 845 boards that do 200fsb hen you have to upgrade your board to an 865/875.
 
Originally posted by jmr
Ahhh sounds tempting.


Did you upgrade to a 800Mhz FSB motherboard when you upraded your CPU?
Click to expand...

yes, I upgraded up to a ic7.

again, there is resale value in both your motherboard and cpu. Take advantage of it while there is still demand and perform the upgrade that you want. It's goign to cost you, but having resale value will minimize the cost.
 
I would buy an 865/875 mobo, preferably an Abit or Asus, overclock the processor you have, then decide on whether you want HT or not.
 
Originally posted by MemoryInAGarden
I would buy an 865/875 mobo, preferably an Abit or Asus, overclock the processor you have, then decide on whether you want HT or not.
Click to expand...

Plus, 99.9% chance that the prescott will work in pretty much all 865/875 boards. Then you will have that option later on instead of just the P4c.
 
Originally posted by Big Worm
Plus, 99.9% chance that the prescott will work in pretty much all 865/875 boards. Then you will have that option later on instead of just the P4c.
Click to expand...

Ditto last 2 posts.

Get a new mobo & keep your current processor a little longer. You will get the benefits of dual channel DDR. And Prescotts are supposed to work in most 875/865's so you can upgrade after they come out.

Or if you want to wait until May, then you MIGHT want to buy the Prescott Socket T mobo & processor, with the new PCI-Xpress mobo's with DDR2 possibly. BUT it might be expensive!!
 
I'd like to stick with Abit and so the IC7 seems to be the logical choice.

But what about SATA? Would I have to buy new drives to take advantage of SATA?
 
well you could use the Abit's serrilel adapters. However, there are only 2 advantages of SATA, but those advantages are small!!

1. SATA bus has a little more bandwidth 150Mb/s vs 133Mb/s
2. Thinner wires

Real world = practically no difference. Unless you use the onboard SATA Raid controller and set up a Raid 0 array.

Then you're talking about SPEED! Like 2 WD 10,000RPM Raptors. (only 36GB each x 2 drives=72GB) at $120 each= $240
 
Originally posted by jmr
My gut tells me just to hold off because I can play the current crop of games just fine.
Click to expand...


You just answered your own question. You have a sweet setup that can handle all the games out there. Save your money and wait a few months for new technology to come out.
 
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