to wait, or not?

[lawrenceku]

right now, i am building a new system that i hope would last me a few years.

currently, i have a intel p4 1.6ghz processor. ugh.

do you guys think i should get a cheap athlon 64 like a 3000+ and wait till the x2 line has a bigger price drop and then buy an x2, or should i just go for the x2 right now?

thanks.

 

[xalar]

All depends on the amount of money you have devoted to the new machine, your usage priorities [gaming, multitasking, schoolwork?], and your exact definition of a "few years" [2,3,4?]. Guys will post telling you to buy the cheapest stuff and overclock it to higher spec, others will tell you that you really should spend thousands on that FX-57 and dual GTX's and whatnot, and still others will tell you to wait for that new technology [Crossfire, some new CPU, whatever]. My advice is to build a machine that you'll be pleased with when you first boot it up. If you can overclock it, then that's a nice bonus, but I wouldn't buy anything counting on an overclock.

And to your specific query, personally I'd just go for the nicest single core A64/FX you can afford if gaming is your priority. X2 is certainly nice, but you're simply not going to see any super performance gains for the money unless you're like encoding DVDs or something whilst gaming.

 

[lawrenceku]

ok: i have the money to buy a 4200+ and a decent gfx card (6600gt)

how about a system that will last 4 years with maybe some upgrades.. i was wondering if i should buy the 3000+ and then upgrade the processor when dual-core becomes mainstream

 

[xalar]

Originally posted by: lawrenceku
ok: i have the money to buy a 4200+ and a decent gfx card (6600gt)

how about a system that will last 4 years with maybe some upgrades.. i was wondering if i should buy the 3000+ and then upgrade the processor when dual-core becomes mainstream

If it were my money, instead of the 4200+ [2.2ghz x2] and a 6600GT, I'd buy a 3500+ [2.2ghz x1] and put the $270 savings into a 7800GTX. I guarentee you'll perform much better in games than the X2/6600GT.

Four years seems like an unlikely time for a gaming machine to last without upgrades. If you're that concerned about being left without dual-core support, then your plan seems reasonable.

 

[Viditor]

What do you do with your computer...that's the key question.

 

[lawrenceku]

Originally posted by: xalar

Originally posted by: lawrenceku
ok: i have the money to buy a 4200+ and a decent gfx card (6600gt)

how about a system that will last 4 years with maybe some upgrades.. i was wondering if i should buy the 3000+ and then upgrade the processor when dual-core becomes mainstream

If it were my money, instead of the 4200+ [2.2ghz x2] and a 6600GT, I'd buy a 3500+ [2.2ghz x1] and put the $270 savings into a 7800GTX. I guarentee you'll perform much better in games than the X2/6600GT.

Four years seems like an unlikely time for a gaming machine to last without upgrades. If you're that concerned about being left without dual-core support, then your plan seems reasonable.

ah, but i dont play many games, so a 7800gtx isn't necessary. i do more multitasking, so that is why i was considering the 4200+

 

[Viditor]

Originally posted by: lawrenceku

ah, but i dont play many games, so a 7800gtx isn't necessary. i do more multitasking, so that is why i was considering the 4200+

I would suggest the X2 3800, and put more money into a top quality mobo, Ram, and PSU for your system. That would be a better move towards longevity.

 

[lawrenceku]

i have a budget of around 1500 dollars.

mobo: asus a8n-sli deluxe
ram: asked about in another thread.

 

[Viditor]

Why an SLI board if you don't play games? You should probably get the A8N-E instead...and don't forget a top quality PSU!
If you don't play games but you multitask a lot, what about getting 2GB of Ram?

 

[lawrenceku]

ah, but i can't find a board at frys that isn't sli that i am comfortable with, unless you could make a recommendation for me by going to http://www.outpost.com

 

[Viditor]

If Fry's is your source, then I agree with your choice (unless you plan on overclocking). It is a fairly limited list, you're right.

 

[lawrenceku]

yeah, i have to go in store to buy all my stuff. cant order online

what if i plan on overclocking (because i do)?

 

[Duvie]

NOTHING IS GOING TO LAST 4 YEARS!!!

However an X2 or dual core will offer the better longevity simply cause it has that second core in the waiting that will begin to take more advantage as all programs start to shift to more multithreaded....

Get a 3800+ X2 (380-400) range with a decent sckt 939 mobo (80-120) and you are set.....

i wouldn't wait for the M2and DDR2 (what a waste!!, the amd doesn't even use the bandwidth it has now).....

I say get that above...it will be good for 1-2 years easy and then if that isnt enough OC it to 2.4-2.5ghz range and last another year....


Gamers cant go 4 years cause the cards have been so rapidly advancing.....though games dont appear to always take advantage of them, the top line games do...who know DX10, new pixel shaders, opengl3, all sorts of onboard physic units, and video encoders and decoders will likely be needed...


I think it is realistic that a decent 939 mobo with SATA and DDR cound keep you uptodate in those terms for 2-3 years....

 

[lawrenceku]

so 2-3 years is decent?

then i guess i will go for a athlon x2. is the extra 512kb of cache worth it for upgrading to a 4400+?

 

[Duvie]

Originally posted by: lawrenceku
so 2-3 years is decent?

then i guess i will go for a athlon x2. is the extra 512kb of cache worth it for upgrading to a 4400+?

really depends on your uses....

I haven't noticed in encoding any advantage, or in cadd rendering...however in gaming a decent advantage with the more cache as well as I belive certain math applications...you may want to research this a bit, but from current pricing I would say it is not worth the current premium....

The 3800+ is what I would get....who knows if there will be a 4000+ 2ghz 1mb cache per core model....otherwise you are paying about 160-200 bucks to bump up to the 4400+ model....

 

[lawrenceku]

ok, thanks for your advice

now, if i were to get a asus a8n-sli deluxe mobo, i know it would not let me overclock that well.

however, if i have to stick with that motherboard (cuz i can only buy in store, so i can't go newegg), what is a good choice for 2x 512 mb ram? could you take a look here:
http://forums.anandtech.com/messageview...atid=28&threadid=1656179&enterthread=y

 

[Ranulf]

2-3 years is decent, you can get 3 if you buy a high end vid card easy, just don't expect uber speeds on the newest games in the system's 3rd year. I'm currently debating a 3800 X2 or a 3700 SD single core myself. I dont really need dual cores but since I don't want to upgrade my cpu for at least 2 years (my 2100 is at 2.5 years now) Im leaning towards it. I suppose a 3000+ overclocked some and waiting 8-12 months for price drops is a possibility. $375-400 now for a 3800X2 vs a $146 3000+ now plus $250 X2 down the road.

 

[lawrenceku]

yeah, that is what i was thinking. my computer is pretty bad, too. a 1.6 ghz p4 processor. and the ram is amazingly a pc2100 !