Yay or Nay: Dilemma between A64 and P4 3.2..splurge or save?

[DotheDamnTHing]

I have a dell poweredge 400sc with p4 3.2HT 512 ram 120gb ide HD ati 9600xt etc etc and now i have the option to buy a A64 3200 clawhammer with 2 x 160GB SATA HD in raid, 512 ram, nforce 3 150 chipset Compaq Presaio 8000 workstation for 500$ CAD...i dont what to do, should i spend the 500 and teh get the a64 but then ill have a perfectly good usuable dell just sitting there or let this deal go by? i need the anandtech opinion splurge or save?

much appreciated

please excuse grammar and syntax errors, just came home from work

 

[Hellfyre]

Originally posted by: DotheDamnTHing
I have a dell poweredge 400sc with p4 3.2HT 512 ram 120gb ide HD ati 9600xt etc etc and now i have the option to buy a A64 3200 clawhammer with 2 x 160GB SATA HD in raid, 512 ram, nforce 3 150 chipset Compaq Presaio 8000 workstation for 500$ CAD...i dont what to do, should i spend the 500 and teh get the a64 but then ill have a perfectly good usuable dell just sitting there or let this deal go by? i need the anandtech opinion splurge or save?

much appreciated

please excuse grammar and syntax errors, just came home from work

I personally wouldn't buy anything Compaq. You should save and go for an Athlon 64, but certainly not from a company like Compaq which will lag down your machine with pointless ads, programs and other software.

You know you can build a computer yourself for just about the same price?

Go look around at www.newegg.com

 

[dennisjai215]

keep the intel and buy a better video card

or pick up the a64 and sell the intel parts and get a new video card

 

[3chordcharlie]

Buy the A64 then use it only for F@H.

It's the only logical choice.

 

[imported_michaelpatrick33]

Let the deal go by unless you think possibly upgrading to 64bit in 6months is worth it. How much ram do you have in your Dell? If you have 512 or more than you are really going sideways as far as performance unless you are a major gamer. If you multitask a lot stay with the P4. You would basically be paying 500 for the seagate hardrive. Not a great bargain! My 2cents

 

[HeroOfPellinor]

Keep the Intel. Come on now.

 

[DotheDamnTHing]

well ill format the compaq and load xp 64bit beta (drivers may be a problem)....i forgot to mention that the HDs are seagates...in canada, just the cpu costs 400$

 

[Cerb]

Splurge on a X800/6800. Forget the 3200+ deal.

 

[jpeyton]

I'd buy it in a heartbeat.

Tell me where you all those components for $380 USD? Even if you didn't want a Compaq, it has incredible ebayability, both as a unit or as parts.

Guys, he said $500 CAD. That's for a A64 3200+, NF3150 mobo, 2 160GB SATA HD, 512MB RAM, and a Case/PSU.

If you don't want it, hook me up! I'll buy it.

 

[gotensan01]

Also, I heard that AMD will stop producing(maybe supporting) the socket 754 chips by the end of this year. The 3200+ clawhammer is a s754chip. Maybe this will help your decision.

 

[DotheDamnTHing]

in terms of usuage, i do a fair bit of encoding and thus, which of the two would be the better option/

 

[DotheDamnTHing]

well i wouldnt plan on upgrading the chip

 

[HeroOfPellinor]

It's a terrible time to be getting into 64 bit. You can certainly afford to wait till next year. If it's a great bargain at that price, though, then buy it, strip it, and sell the parts.

 

[n7]

Originally posted by: jpeyton
I'd buy it in a heartbeat.

Tell me where you all those components for $380 USD? Even if you didn't want a Compaq, it has incredible ebayability, both as a unit or as parts.

Guys, he said $500 CAD. That's for a A64 3200+, NF3150 mobo, 2 160GB SATA HD, 512MB RAM, and a Case/PSU.

If you don't want it, hook me up! I'll buy it.

Good lord, that's money in your pocket no matter how you look at it!

Yes, in a Compaq, that's crappy, but you can swap components.

Or, sell it!

You can make some seriously good money off this whether you sell your P4 or this A64!

 

[stickybytes]

Originally posted by: HeroOfPellinor
It's a terrible time to be getting into 64 bit. You can certainly afford to wait till next year. If it's a great bargain at that price, though, then buy it, strip it, and sell the parts.

and how so is it a terrible time to get into 64 bit?

a amd 3200+, a mainstream chip costs ~280 and you'll be getting performance that's near the best (save amd 64 fx series).

 

[DotheDamnTHing]

i still havent come to a decision although im leaning towards picking it up...anyother opinions are most welcome

im a bit surprised that so many people are saying that 64bit is not worth since almost every other post that asks for a build recommendation is shown the a64

 

[KingofFah]

buy a new video card if your current system is not giving what you need
If you want to overclock, there is a problem.
if you have enough patience, the 64's in 2005 on the new process with most likely have more headroom. For this reason, I might end up conserving for now.
On the other hand, I want an fx-53

Seriously, go with a new video card (6800gt imo)

 

[Sunner]

I'd buy it in a second, that's dirt cheap.
Even if you don't use it, you could probably sell it at a far higher price.

 

[n0cmonkey]

Buy the AMD and use them both. Multiple machines are great for educatig yourself.

 

[CraigRT]

I'd just keep what you have... realistically it's plenty fast.
OR buy them both as n0cmonkey suggests

 

[imported_jediknight]

A64 3200, 2x160GB SATA.. for $500??!
Dude! Hook me up!
Considering it costs $400 just to get the processor, I say.. go for it!

 

[DotheDamnTHing]

the machine comes with a nforce 3 150 board and a promise FastTrak S150 TX2plus...are these any good?