mario114 Posted March 23, 2006 Posted March 23, 2006 I'm looking to upgrade my pc, can anyone advise what componants would be best, I'm looking at spending under £300, are these any good: (pc world online) # Part Number: ADA3800BVBOX # Athlon 64 3800 DUAL CORE Processor # Socket Size 939 # 2000MHz Core Speed # 2000MHz System Bus # 128Kb Level 1 Cache # 512Kb Level 2 Cache # 90 Nanometer # Cool n Quiet Technology # AMD Enhanced Virus Protection price inc vat £229.99 Value 1GB PC3200 DDR Memory - 400 MHz Memory Speed - 184 pin Module Configuration - Non-ECC Specification for this VALUE PC3200 Bus Clock Rate 400 mhz ECC/nonECC Non-ECC Module Configuration 184 p £58.99 Would I be able to just plug them in, or would I need to pay someone who knows what they are doing to do the upgrade? My graphics card is only a ati 9800 128mb, would it be worth getting the other stuff done up before I think about getting it changed? Thanks in advance.
Bogbas Posted March 23, 2006 Posted March 23, 2006 Check if your motherboard supports that processor. And check that for the memory also. Though I think that any reasonably modern computer can handle that memory. It's the processor that I'm not so sure about. And probably the best performance improvement would be from spending the 300£ on a new graphics card. And you can plug them in yourself, but do read the instructions carefully. And what's your setup like now?
mario114 Posted March 23, 2006 Author Posted March 23, 2006 At the moment: windows xp athlon xp 2000+ 1.24 Ghz 512 mb ram Hard drive is 160GB ati 9800, 128mb
Bogbas Posted March 23, 2006 Posted March 23, 2006 That means that you'll need a new motherboard for the processor as the athlon xp isn't compatible with athlon 64. And if you want to continue using the radeon 9800 make sure that the mobo has an AGP slot. Then again it would be better for the future to get a new mobo with PCI-E and a PCI-E graphics card. And if you alreaydy have 512Mb memory you could save some money by just getting another 512Mb.
Andrew Posted March 23, 2006 Posted March 23, 2006 Instead of the Athlon64, get an AMD Opteron (they are still skt 939) from scan.co.uk and get a zalman copper heatsink too. http://www.scan.co.uk/Products/Products.ASP?CatID=11&FilterCategories=252&Thumbnails=yes If you're after dual-core, choose one with a Denmark Core instead of Venus. For the memory, I'd go for Corsair 2x512mb (dual channel).
Bogbas Posted March 23, 2006 Posted March 23, 2006 For the memory, I'd go for Corsair 2x512mb (dual channel). Why should he spend money for an overclockers memory? Imo that would be money wasted... And a boxed processor (meaning that there is a heatsink and fan bundled with the cpu) is better than one without heatsink/fan. As it used to be that amd cpu's had 3year warranty if it was used with the bundled heatsink/fan. And only one year if used with a third party heatsink/fan. And if you're refering by the copper heatsink to the, well, fan model, using it revokes the warranty of the cpu. I just weights more than a heatsink should by amd's specification. The heatsink is great though, worked wonders for my cpu's temp, it dropped from almost 60´C to a healthy 40-45´C. And aren't opterons socket 940? Because I can't seem to find a socket 939 mobo which supports opteron... edit: Opterons are for servers, so it would be advisable to get a x2 athlon for a home computer as their prices have dropped to a reasonable level.
Jon Posted March 23, 2006 Posted March 23, 2006 If he is not OC he should just stick to budget corsair value memory.
Andrew Posted March 23, 2006 Posted March 23, 2006 Bogbas - Did you click the link in my previous posts? All those 1-way Opterons are Skt 939 and fully compatible with any Skt 939 motherboard. They are not just server chips, they are ideal for overclockers because of their low temperatures and voltage tolerance. Also, they will perform better due to having a 1mb L2 cache instead of just 512kb (which most Athlon64 San Diego's have IIRC). I would also advise against stock AMD heatsink fans because they are high rpm and so often have noisey bearings. If he is not OC he should just stick to budget corsair value memory.I was on about the budget memory... I'm just saying the dual channel memory will perform better than a single 1gb module, as long as the motherboard does dual channel. Anyway, I'm just slightly obsessive with opteron overclocking, but for the normal gamer an X2 probably is the best option anyway.
Bogbas Posted March 23, 2006 Posted March 23, 2006 Bogbas - Did you click the link in my previous posts? All those 1-way Opterons are Skt 939 and fully compatible with any Skt 939 motherboard. Ok, it just is that on every mobo manufacturer site I visited the opteron was only socket 940. They are quite similar though, the opteron having only one more pin.
Jon Posted March 23, 2006 Posted March 23, 2006 Ok, it just is that on every mobo manufacturer site I visited the opteron was only socket 940. They are quite similar though, the opteron having only one more pin. Thats the old style opties, the newish ones are a lot more desktop friendly, plus the OC like a whore.
mario114 Posted March 23, 2006 Author Posted March 23, 2006 Thanks for you help, though i have to admit i am confussed on certain parts, i'll probaly ring the guy who i got to upgrade my pc last time, he charges about £30 for his labour, which isn't to bad, and ask him about the opteron/athlon 64.
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