Pretty soon, I'm going to be doing a big upgrade, including cpu, ram, and mobo. Anyway, i'm still confused about which mobo to go with (but of the couple i chose they are all nforce2). But I have some questions about the other components:
CPU
I've decided on a barton2500, because of the 512kb cache NewEgg, retail). Anyway, the AthlonXP 2600+ can be had for $99 (NewEgg). This runs at 2.08GHz, while the 2500 runs at 1.83GHz. So what my question is, what is faster? 2.08GHz with 256kb cache, or 1.83GHz with 512kb cache? The $11 price difference isn't a factor.
RAM
This is the biggest delemma. First of all, I'm not going to overclock. Second, is it worth it to me, a mandrake linux user (and winXP on the side), who doesn't do much gaming (GTA Vice City, UT2K03), to have "top" quality ram (to me anyway lol) such as Kingston HyperX/HyperZ? Or can I just use the cheap "whatever-is-on-sale-at-compusa" stuff? What I mean is that for the money I save, is the performance/stabilty hit (if any) worth it? One last thing. Amount. First, is that "Dual Channel" (I think its called, but its the thing where having 2 sticks is faster than 1) thing worth it? For example, I plan on having 1GB of ram, sooner or later, but Im gonna start out with 512MB. I wanna just get 1 stick of 512 now, then in like a year (or whenever funds allow) get another stick of 512. During that year or whatever that I run with one stick, will i see a noticable performance hit?
PSU
Right now I have an L&C 350W ATX psu, which is P4 compliant, and comes with the little 12V jack, which came with a case I bought from electroseller.com. Now this is what you would call a generic PSU. For my Pentium 3 500MHz, 1 agp card, 4pci cards, 1hdd, 2 optical drives, and 4 fans (not including psu), it works fine, and has since I bought it a year ago. Now I understand that a much powerful system will put a strain on it, but how long do you think it will last? Should I wait till I have enough $$$ to purchase a new one? I usually run the system from 2PM-10/11PM, but every once and a while i run it all night (2PM - 7/8AM).
HSF
OK this is the last question. From the prices I've seen on newegg, its usually cheaper (or sometimes like a $1 or 2 more) to get the retail cpu, which comes with a HSF. Is this good enough? I don't plan to overclock, and am just worried about noise. Is this one pretty quiet? I'm gonna use AS3. I really don't want to have to spend another $20-30, but if I have to I will.
Sorry for the extra long post, but I want to get all my questions answered. Thanks in advance!
-Josh S.
EDIT: Fixed Links.
CPU
I've decided on a barton2500, because of the 512kb cache NewEgg, retail). Anyway, the AthlonXP 2600+ can be had for $99 (NewEgg). This runs at 2.08GHz, while the 2500 runs at 1.83GHz. So what my question is, what is faster? 2.08GHz with 256kb cache, or 1.83GHz with 512kb cache? The $11 price difference isn't a factor.
RAM
This is the biggest delemma. First of all, I'm not going to overclock. Second, is it worth it to me, a mandrake linux user (and winXP on the side), who doesn't do much gaming (GTA Vice City, UT2K03), to have "top" quality ram (to me anyway lol) such as Kingston HyperX/HyperZ? Or can I just use the cheap "whatever-is-on-sale-at-compusa" stuff? What I mean is that for the money I save, is the performance/stabilty hit (if any) worth it? One last thing. Amount. First, is that "Dual Channel" (I think its called, but its the thing where having 2 sticks is faster than 1) thing worth it? For example, I plan on having 1GB of ram, sooner or later, but Im gonna start out with 512MB. I wanna just get 1 stick of 512 now, then in like a year (or whenever funds allow) get another stick of 512. During that year or whatever that I run with one stick, will i see a noticable performance hit?
PSU
Right now I have an L&C 350W ATX psu, which is P4 compliant, and comes with the little 12V jack, which came with a case I bought from electroseller.com. Now this is what you would call a generic PSU. For my Pentium 3 500MHz, 1 agp card, 4pci cards, 1hdd, 2 optical drives, and 4 fans (not including psu), it works fine, and has since I bought it a year ago. Now I understand that a much powerful system will put a strain on it, but how long do you think it will last? Should I wait till I have enough $$$ to purchase a new one? I usually run the system from 2PM-10/11PM, but every once and a while i run it all night (2PM - 7/8AM).
HSF
OK this is the last question. From the prices I've seen on newegg, its usually cheaper (or sometimes like a $1 or 2 more) to get the retail cpu, which comes with a HSF. Is this good enough? I don't plan to overclock, and am just worried about noise. Is this one pretty quiet? I'm gonna use AS3. I really don't want to have to spend another $20-30, but if I have to I will.
Sorry for the extra long post, but I want to get all my questions answered. Thanks in advance!
-Josh S.
EDIT: Fixed Links.