Need some help here(CPU chat)

[Freak]

Ok, Spec's

P4 2.4C (Northwood) 800FSB(HyperThreading)
Stock Cooler
512 MB PC2700 DDR Ram
Motherboard:
Mainboard Manufacturer : Seanix
MP Support : 2 Processor(s)
MPS Version : 1.40
Model : 8IG1000MK(Gigabyte)
System BIOS : 05/05/2003-i865G-6A79AG0CC-00
Chipset : Intel 865/848 (Springdale)

I got a ATI X800XL(AGP) coming for Xmas
Going to switch to 1GB Corsair ram(PC 3200)

I want to upgrade and I'm stuck on something.

1. If I just upgrade the CPU, I could go up to a
INTEL PENTIUM 4 3.2E GHZ S478 1MB CACHE 800FSB?


2. Or do a complete swap and go to a
AMD ATHLON 64 3200+ PROCESSOR S939

3. Or, stick with me existing processor and O/C it with a HSF?



Which brings me to a second question.
How much of a Performance increase would I get if I went to a P4 3.2E?
Is it worth upgrading to that, or just O/C my 2.4 and reach those speeds with my Northwood.



Also a 2.4C Northwood O/C to a 3.2 VS P4 3.2E

Would it be the same performance, or does the 3.2E, being newer have some tricks up it's sleeve.




Thanks for the help.

[icq3800846]

I had a 2.4 Northwood and I upgraded to a 3.0 P4 630 with a new motherboard on the LGA775 format, and to be fair, whilst I might get more marks if I benchmarked, in real life applications like games and video editing I didn't notice all that much difference.

Having said that, at the time I had a GeForce 3 video card and I think that maybe both a P4 2.4 and a 3.0 could either supply THAT old graphics card with all it could handle. The biggest ever system boost I have ever seen was when I finally stumped up for a decent 7800GTX graphics card. Gone were the days of LOW DETAIL and 800 x 600 games playing.

My point is, I am a firm believer that the powerhouse of a modern PC is most reliant on both a relatively modern CPU and the best graphics card you can afford.

In your particular case, you're running on a relatively old chipset which only has an AGP slot for graphics.

A problem with upgrading to an LGA775, or a modern AMD motherboard is that quiet often you need to replace the motherboard, processor, memory AND graphics card, which is a huge outlay in money all at one go.

As we're nearly in November, in my opinion, if I were you I would ask for a PCI-Express version of your Christmas present and plump for buying an AMD motherboard and processor, the combination of which would at least give you the option of doing a massive upgrade over watching Wizzard of Oz.

This would give you the benefit of a better processor and a modern advanced motherboard with a PCI-E slot which looks like it will be around for some time.

I am no expert on AMD systems, and hopefully someone else will verify this, but as the AMD boards use DDR memory, you might be able to re-use your existing PC2700. You will need to check this.

[icq3800846]

Oh and I dread to ask, but were you up late or did you get up early? lol

[Freak]

Oh and I dread to ask, but were you up late or did you get up early? lol

Late
I'm in Newfoundland Canada.

The X800XL AGP is here to stay, they already purchased it and the store where she got it only has a low end card with PCI express.

So, factor in that I'm stuck with the AGP and go from there.
Thanks

[icq3800846]

Aha! Neewfoundland eh? Perhaps you can pop over for a coffee to discuss this? It's only about a trillion billion miles away!

Another alternative for you might be to look at some of the 915 chipset motherboards. These have an LGA775 socket so you can upgrade to one of the newer P4 chips, in fact all the way up to a 3.8GHz one if you can afford it.

Some 915 chipset boards have both DDR and DDR2 memory slots (you can use one or the other but not both at the same time) and some also have both AGP AND PCI-E slots.

I have an unused on in my cupboard, made by Foxconn that has DDR and DDR2 as well as AGP and PCI-E.

This would allow you to utilise your old memory, your new AGP graphics card, and to go for a newer processor from a Celeron up to a 3.8GHz P4.

The only drawback is that they are yesterdays chipset..... they were succeeded a few months ago by 945/955X and also, they will not support the latest dual core pentiums either.

This is all relative if you decide to go Intel again. I don't know a lot about AMD processors/motherboards but I feel in my mind that a lot of modern socket 939 AMD solutions will probably be either PCI-E or even SLI, but I am sure some AMD afficionado out there would be happy to let you know a good socket 939 with an AGP slot.

Whilst I have always had Intel chips, right from my very first 8086 (Yeah, honest... circa 1984) I readily admit that AMD are the cutting edge processors, unless you really have a thing about video editing, in which case Intel are slightly better.

[icq3800846]

Oh forgot to mention, using a 915 based motherboard would allow you to also replace your memory, when funds are good enough... with the newer DDR2 memory.

You can use your old DDR memory for now, and when you're bank balance allows and you feel inclined to do so, you can swap it out with some nice new DDR2 memory, and maybe in a years time or something you could also sell off this years Christmas present and maybe buy a PCI-E card by which time a really good one like a 7800GT or GTX should be quiet cheap.

The 915 chipset boards are quiet inexpensive and the right one can offer a very good staggered upgrade path. When you're got all the latest bits, DDR2, PCI-E etc..... you can think about replacing the 915 with a 955 or whatever is current then.

There are no guarantees in computing, especially with Intel, but I would assume that DDR2 is going to be "current" for maybe the next couple of years.

And on that note, always also bear in mind Intel seem quiet keen on changing memory and chipset requirements for each family of processors that come out. AMD have, in my humble opinion, earned a great deal of respect by upgrading their processors and doing it in a way that you can keep your existing motherboard and memory.

[Freak]

Ok, so.....are there new chipset motherboards, which are good, but have both AGP and PCI-E?

Maybe the Motherboard has a AGP adapter that plugs into a PCI-E slot.


Something like that, so I can upgrade just the Video card, if need to.

[Freak]

How about this one....

ASRock 775DUAL-880 Pro ATX LGA775 PT800 Pro DDR DDR2 AGP PCI-E16 4PCI SATA Sound LAN Motherboard

[Freak]

Here's a review for it.

http://www.phoronix.com/scan.php?pag...item=245&num=1

[Freak]

Or this one for the AMD.

http://forum.ncix.com/forums/index.p...id=0#msg948221

[Clstrphbc_donut]

I'd overclock it personally.

3GHz on that chip needs 250FSB and theres a signifcant performance increase by going to just 3GHz. 3.2 & over 250 FSB will beat 200FSB & 3.2GHz, as your ram will be working faster also. This also saves you some money to buy some higher spec ram, and a better HS/F incase you decide you want to go that little bit further.

My chip crapped out at about 3.37GHz and that takes around 270 odd FSB. Its now happily running 3.2 with PC4000 RAM.

[Freak]

I'd overclock it personally.

3GHz on that chip needs 250FSB and theres a signifcant performance increase by going to just 3GHz. 3.2 & over 250 FSB will beat 200FSB & 3.2GHz, as your ram will be working faster also. This also saves you some money to buy some higher spec ram, and a better HS/F incase you decide you want to go that little bit further.

My chip crapped out at about 3.37GHz and that takes around 270 odd FSB. Its now happily running 3.2 with PC4000 RAM.

So, just to make sure...

You would rather I O/C my 2.4C 800FSB Northwood(HT) to 3Ghz and stick with PC3200 DDR ram

It would be faster than a 3.0E P4 800FSB because my O/C P4 would have my ram running faster.


Correct?

[Clstrphbc_donut]

Yep.

My 2.4 maxxed out at 3.35ghz....http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v2...t/fa92bfe4.jpg

[Freak]

Yep.

My 2.4 maxxed out at 3.35ghz....http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v2...t/fa92bfe4.jpg

'


My God man, that's insaine lol

PLease tell me what did you have cooling it.
Oh and what Software did you use to O/C it.
Easy Tune 4 is garbage IMO.

[Freak]

Ok and how would this combo stack up with todays computers.

P4 2.4C 800FSB (HT) Overclocked to 3.2 using a ZALMAN CNPS7700ALCU (775/478/754/939/940) CPU FAN
CORSAIR 2GB DUAL CHANNEL PC3200 KIT
NSPIRE PENTIUM IV 450W ATX 1.3 POWER SUPPLY
ATI X800XL 256 AGP
120 GB Hitachi HD

Will this be able to handle High end games?
EG: Quake 4

[kempez]

Ok and how would this combo stack up with todays computers.

P4 2.4C 800FSB (HT) Overclocked to 3.2 using a ZALMAN CNPS7700ALCU (775/478/754/939/940) CPU FAN
CORSAIR 2GB DUAL CHANNEL PC3200 KIT
NSPIRE PENTIUM IV 450W ATX 1.3 POWER SUPPLY
ATI X800XL 256 AGP
120 GB Hitachi HD

Will this be able to handle High end games?
EG: Quake 4

Yep should dealio with most of the games pretty nicely