Yet another computer thread

If you are looking at just upgrading your current computer, then you will need to buy a processor that uses the same socket as the Athlon 2100+ (I assume it is an Athlon XP), which should be socket A (462). The Pentium D uses LGA 775.


jfl.

Hey man,

Good to hear your upgrading, that system is old!

I would recommend not going with Pentium D's. As far as dual core CPUs' go they just aren't up to par with AMD Athlon 64 X2's and Core 2 duo's. Unfortunately Core 2 duo's are still fairly expensive for a nice one. In your position right now I you should go with an AMD Athlon 64 X2. AMD's latest socket is AM2 (the last one was socket 939, try to avoid that). One of the main advantages of socket AM2 is the ability to use DDR2 RAM. I think something more like this(link)

It doesn't have as high of a clock speed, but will still perform better than the Pentium D.

Quote:

Original post by lethalhamster Hey man, Good to hear your upgrading, that system is old! I would recommend not going with Pentium D's. As far as dual core CPUs' go they just aren't up to par with AMD Athlon 64 X2's and Core 2 duo's. Unfortunately Core 2 duo's are still fairly expensive for a nice one. In your position right now I you should go with an AMD Athlon 64 X2. AMD's latest socket is AM2 (the last one was socket 939, try to avoid that). One of the main advantages of socket AM2 is the ability to use DDR2 RAM. I think something more like this(link) It doesn't have as high of a clock speed, but will still perform better than the Pentium D.

Well if your motherboard supports it you could just upgrade you CPU and Video Card. There are Mucho faster Video cards out there and you can bump in slightly faster CPU as mentioned above and get some impressive gains withough spending much money. Of course brand spankin' new is a nice option if you are willing to spend a little to a lot more. No matter what you can make a nice jump.

Oops! I mean, I'm upgrading my CPU, Motherboard, and RAM. Ok I'll look into the Athlon 64 X2 and see what they offer.

Currently, a friend and I agreed that we'd each pay half for it (because he needs a fast computer as well, and doesn't have much money as well)

Our budget is up to 300 dollars, which means up to 600 dollars in total. Currently, I'm planning on saving up for a new video card AFTER we've gotten those three.

For your info, I'm using an ATX case with 350 watts, will I have to buy a new power supply?

The Geforce 4 MX is 4x AGP I think. So I guess I won't be able to use it when I upgrade to a motherboard with 16x PCI Express (I don't really want to use the AGP slot, so don't worry about that)

Ok, here's what I have since so far:

Geforce 7600 GT 256MB $139.99

AMD Athlon 64 X2 4600+ $119.99

2GB (2 x 1GB) 240 pin DDR2 $173.99

MSI K9N SLI Platinum Socket AM2 $124.99

Total: $558.96

Are those good within that budget? Thanks again!

Looks good to me! You will need a new power supply though. I recommend 500W. it should all fit in any average ATX case so only upgrade that if you want.

Quote:

Original post by lethalhamster Looks good to me! You will need a new power supply though. I recommend 500W. it should all fit in any average ATX case so only upgrade that if you want.

Thanks for your help! I'd have rated you up more, but alas, I've already rated you ... (imaginary ratings++) :)

One more question, I have Windows XP Pro, and I think it's the 32 bit version (since I'm running an old system) do I have to upgrade to the 64 bit version? I know it can run 32 bit software, but I bet that it wouldn't utilitize the 64-bit cpu to the full capacity, right?