New build, which path to take?

[lightvader]

I have a problem. I'm wanting to upgrade my system, but am not really sure what path to take. I have a lowly xp 2200, which is getting long in the tooth, and i want something with a bit more power.

I dont play games, but i do mess with video editing, and word, Internet, music etc.. So really im not sure what i want. I would like to spend as little as possible, but with the dual cores being released i was thinking maybe of upgrading now, and keeping it for 3/4 years. The other alternative is to get a P4 with HT, but i dont know much about the performance on them, so it may be a waste of money. Are they any good?

What is the performance on the semprons like when compared to A64 and P4? I have looked for some benchmarks, but have not been very successful. To be honest, im not sure what path to take. If anyone can offer help, or ask more questions hopefully i can move it on a bit. Thanks

 

[imported_Kensai]

AMD X2 3800+ hands down.

 

[Hacp]

I think you would want to wait 6 months. By then, dual cores should be down to 200 dollars, and you can upgrade and get your 3-4 years of use just fine.

 

[lightvader]

The X2 looks good, but i dont want to spend that much on a processor. I could wait, but i want to do the upgrade asap, as i have said i will donate the one i have now, so dont want to keep it for too long.

 

[Shimmishim]

nice.

which way you wanna go though. intel or amd?

also, you gonna want to use your agp card still or pci-e?

lots of things to consider. you need to first know or have some things in mind in terms of what you want to do before we can recommend anything.

 

[imported_Kensai]

A64 3000+

 

[lightvader]

Well, in a nutshell i want something that will whup what i have now. How do the 754 semprons compare to the xp's?

 

[Viditor]

Originally posted by: lightvader
Well, in a nutshell i want something that will whup what i have now. How do the 754 semprons compare to the xp's?

They will do better, but they won't "whup" what you have now...
A few questions...

1. What kind of editing do you do? (cuts only, or dissolves and effects)?
2. Do you want to surf while your editing?
3. What do you want the extra power for?

 

[lightvader]

Editing wise, basically just cutting films, adding extras...nothing too heavy, but using quite big files. Surfing while editing would be good, i would prefer to be able to use the comp whilst doing other things. Extra power to speed up general usage. Like i said games are not a concern, so its probably possible to get a powerful proc for cheap? Would an A64 outperform an xp? And by how much?

 

[Viditor]

I would probably avoid the Semprons in your case...not enough cache.

For AMD, I would go with an X2 3800 and an Asus A8N-E mobo...$496 for the 2 at Monarch. That combo should be plenty for your needs and won't leave you suffering in a couple of years.

 

[Ka12na]

Go for a 3000+ Venice, there are lots of people that are happy with those, and if you OC, you can get them to at least 2.4GHz, I haven't heard of anything lower than that.

 

[wetcoastguy]

The 3000+ will not have enough jam for video editing. X2-3800 is your sensible choice.
If you can wait 6 months the prices will fall. (somewhat)

 

[lightvader]

Ok, i have read quite a bit and am thinking maybe i can pick up an old P4. What i would like to know is how good HT is. Compared to two physical cores, how well will the fare?

 

[Shimmishim]

2 physical cores will outperform a p4 with HT.

if intel is th eway to go, the best to get is the 2.4C. cheap and good performance. pair that up with an asus p4p800 or p4c800 and you should be good.

 

[lightvader]

2.4C.. What is the difference between that and the newer models? Does that support HT?

 

[Hacp]

2.4C is not in production anymore. The cheapest he can go is 2.8C.....

 

[HDTVdesignteam]

I guess I'm in the same boat, but willing to spend a bit more money. My choice so far is the X2 4200 on a Asus A8N SLI Premium with 2G of OCE RAM (need some help here with 2 X1 sticks. Titanium too expensive). Two NEC ND 3540A's, three/or four 250G Baracudas and Matrox Parhelia APVe video card. Tsunami case and either Antec or OCE 500w+ PS.
I am not a gamer, but do a lot of Photoshop and Premier editing. Not planning on OC cpu, just need the stability.
I'll ask for comments too.
Thanks,
George

This is for home use. At work I network Avid Nitris DS for HD edit suites.

 

[anandtechrocks]

For AMD I think the 3000 or 3200+ would be great. I've got a 3200+ Vience and I am very happy with it. Runs extremely fast and still stays cool. I don't know much about the Sempron series, but when a 3000+ Vience can be had for less than $120, that seems like a much better alternative. Like everyone else has already pointed out, if you can affort an X2 3800+ that seems like the best price/performance chip available.

On the Intel side, from personal experience I find HT does help when you are doing more than one CPU intensive task. I'd choose a Northwood w/HT or a socket 478 Prescott. I don't know why but the 478's seem to run a lot cooler than the 500 series on the LGA 775 socket. The PC I built for my parents has a 3.2 GHz with a Asus P4P800-E and it runs ~42C idle and ~50C load. Also, I just built a PC with a 820 Pentium D as a value dual core system for someone and it is also very nice. With everything (PD 820, 1 GB DDR2, Asus MB, NEC 3520, case and power supply, 160 GB) it only costed me ~$650.

Hope this helps you!

 

[Viditor]

Originally posted by: lightvader
Ok, i have read quite a bit and am thinking maybe i can pick up an old P4. What i would like to know is how good HT is. Compared to two physical cores, how well will the fare?

They do two entirely different things.
HT basically allows you to bypass the Windows scheduler...if you think of a road with 2 lanes that merge into one, that's HT. it will make the traffic flow smoother than 1 lane, but it may slow things down at the merging without the proper software (like drivers who get stupid when lanes merge)
Dual core is a 2 lane highway...

 

[BlingBlingArsch]

if u have a xp2200+ an old P4 wont make a real upgrade. Go for Socket 939, or even 754 if u wanna squeeze out everything from ur dollar and dont need dualchannel. Overclocking is not difficult and saves money too. Id suggest a S754 board (MSI or Abit 50-70$, or S939 (gigabyte or DFI, 70-80$) + A64 3000+. Sure not the best of the best but imo the best alternative to overpriced X2 and ugly Intels.

 

[thecoolnessrune]

Originally posted by: HDTVdesignteam
I guess I'm in the same boat, but willing to spend a bit more money. My choice so far is the X2 4200 on a Asus A8N SLI Premium with 2G of OCE RAM (need some help here with 2 X1 sticks. Titanium too expensive). Two NEC ND 3540A's, three/or four 250G Baracudas and Matrox Parhelia APVe video card. Tsunami case and either Antec or OCE 500w+ PS.
I am not a gamer, but do a lot of Photoshop and Premier editing. Not planning on OC cpu, just need the stability.
I'll ask for comments too.
Thanks,
George

This is for home use. At work I network Avid Nitris DS for HD edit suites.

Dude have some manners! Create a new post then someone will help you.