I'm on the brink of upgrading my TbredA/Via KT333 system. My main contender right now is a swap to:
XP-M 2500+
Biostar mATX nForce2 mb
My goals are (in no particular ranking):
Spend as little as possible
Get as close to current system performance as possible
mATX for factor for future swap to smaller case
ability to underclock/low total system power usage
The XP-M system seems to fit 3 of the 4 goals perfectly. My only question is a funny feeling about "upgrading" to a platform that is no longer being made.
On the other hand, the total cost for this upgrade would be about C$210. I'm thinking a socket 754 system would run closer to $320, and a 939 at least $400. I'm not sure it would be worth the difference for me. The only things I do that require much performance are very occasional gaming (I'd like to upgrade video in the near future), and GIS software. Any real experiences of the difference in performace between these platforms? I don't care at all about synthetic benchmarks or irrelevant frame rates, just a usable system that won't hold me back too much in the next 18-24 months.
Basically, I'm a reluctant consumer looking for someone to hold my hand while I take the plunge. Any thoughts?
XP-M vs s754 vs s939
Moderators: NeilBlanchard, Ralf Hutter, sthayashi, Lawrence Lee
Socket 754 seems the best alternative to me right now:
Which cpu and mb did you consider for a total of 300$?
For example this Gigabyte matx board: 73$
http://www.newegg.com/app/ViewProductDe ... 203&depa=1
and the Athlon 64 2800+ 119$
http://www.newegg.com/app/ViewProductDe ... 450&depa=1
would make 192$.
And I guess it should perform better than the XP-M 2500? Just trying to say that s754 isn't that much more expensive than socket A, and probably performs a lot better.
Just my 2c...
Which cpu and mb did you consider for a total of 300$?
For example this Gigabyte matx board: 73$
http://www.newegg.com/app/ViewProductDe ... 203&depa=1
and the Athlon 64 2800+ 119$
http://www.newegg.com/app/ViewProductDe ... 450&depa=1
would make 192$.
And I guess it should perform better than the XP-M 2500? Just trying to say that s754 isn't that much more expensive than socket A, and probably performs a lot better.
Just my 2c...
Well, I'm shopping in Canada, so Newegg prices aren't that comparable.
I was just going on the fact that I can get a mobile 2500+ for about $120, and the cheapest s754 starts around $160. I haven't looked into s754 mATX boards yet, so I was estimating they'd be a little more than $90, probably closer to $140. I also need something that undervolts and overclocks well, as I'm hoping to use it for demanding tasks occasionally, but keep the speed and heat down for everyday use.
If I could find a comparable mATX system for around the same price, I'd go for it. The thing is, for s754, I know I'm not likely to upgrade in the future, so there would need to be a compelling (for me at least >30%) performance difference in standard apps.
Basically, s754 doesn't seem to offer much more "future proofing" than socket A right now, just a bit more top end performance.
I was just going on the fact that I can get a mobile 2500+ for about $120, and the cheapest s754 starts around $160. I haven't looked into s754 mATX boards yet, so I was estimating they'd be a little more than $90, probably closer to $140. I also need something that undervolts and overclocks well, as I'm hoping to use it for demanding tasks occasionally, but keep the speed and heat down for everyday use.
If I could find a comparable mATX system for around the same price, I'd go for it. The thing is, for s754, I know I'm not likely to upgrade in the future, so there would need to be a compelling (for me at least >30%) performance difference in standard apps.
Basically, s754 doesn't seem to offer much more "future proofing" than socket A right now, just a bit more top end performance.
mATX selection for S939 is essentially non-existant. mATX selection for S754 is slowly getting better.
How much and what speed RAM do you have now? With either upgrade you'll probably want to go to PC3200 (at least) to see the greatest performance increase. Getting a gig of the stuff will probably eat up most of your budget.
The easiest choice would be if you only had 256MB of PC2700, an unlocked TBred, and an O/C friendly board. If that were the case, I'd say just buy a GB of PC3200 (I'd say spend more and get a single stick), drop the multiplier, and up the FSB to 200. If you current board could handle that, you'd see a fairly large performance increase. The RAM would fit well with a later upgrade to a S754 board when you had more money to spend on an upgrade.
If you already have a lot of PC3200, try hunting down a nice S754 board. If you can find one, get it and go that route. Your limited mobo selection will probably make your choice a lot easier.
How much and what speed RAM do you have now? With either upgrade you'll probably want to go to PC3200 (at least) to see the greatest performance increase. Getting a gig of the stuff will probably eat up most of your budget.
The easiest choice would be if you only had 256MB of PC2700, an unlocked TBred, and an O/C friendly board. If that were the case, I'd say just buy a GB of PC3200 (I'd say spend more and get a single stick), drop the multiplier, and up the FSB to 200. If you current board could handle that, you'd see a fairly large performance increase. The RAM would fit well with a later upgrade to a S754 board when you had more money to spend on an upgrade.
If you already have a lot of PC3200, try hunting down a nice S754 board. If you can find one, get it and go that route. Your limited mobo selection will probably make your choice a lot easier.
I do have 256Mb of PC2700, but my Tbred is an A revision, so it tops out at about 1900Mhz and needs a slight overvolt to get there. My board is a VIA KT333 chipset, so it may make 200Mhz FSB, but I've never had the RAM or CPU to try. I think it would be a waste to try to get much more out of this MB.
I figure whatever choice I make, I'll be using my current RAM for about another 3 months. All signs point to softening RAM prices, and seasonally, it's generally cheapest around March/April in a normal year. I should be able to pick up PC3200 for at least 30% less if I just hold out a little longer.
I figure whatever choice I make, I'll be using my current RAM for about another 3 months. All signs point to softening RAM prices, and seasonally, it's generally cheapest around March/April in a normal year. I should be able to pick up PC3200 for at least 30% less if I just hold out a little longer.