Hardware price and Upgrade

[AF]

OK recently I've been noticing quite a few things.

First of all I realised that if my CPU and ram where working at infinite amounts and speeds then my geforce fx 5200 ultra running on a 4x agp slot would have no problem handling the graphics I ask it to render.

So, I've decided to upgrade my CPU and motherboard, however I am not going to be going for stuff like opterons and core 2 duos, because I do not want to splash out till the CPU market settles.

What I'm thinking is bargain!

I'm talking semprons and celerons and CPU motherboard combinations that're better than what i currently have but can be bought cheaply.

So I provide you with a budget of £70 and http://www.ebuyer.co.UK. Find me something that will improve on what I currently have, and extra marks for spending as little money as possible.

I currently have a 32 bit 2.4Ghz celeron, and a motherboard with a 4x agp card and 2.1 integrated sound and rubbish directx9 compatible integrated graphics (I don't care about integrated graphics). +marks for cooling and overclocking to save money.

Let the bargain hunt commence.

[BvDorp]

There's a much easier way: take off around 10% of the time you spend on the internet and this forum, and get a job. That way, you'll have a kick-ass pc in just a few weeks. Imagine that..

[SinbadEV]

I'm not gonna shop for you, but you would be probably better off with a slower clock speed processor and get a proper P4 or whatever instead of the craperons...

[AF]

BvDorp, I have already said I am not looking for top of the range untill the processor market settles regardless of wether I can afford it or not. Right now I simply dont need it. My computer is fine for most things however theres that final issue with cpu and motherboard being crappy when I got this comp off of my parents, and I want to replace them.

I dont want a supercomputer and I dont mind having substandard parts, I dont need the latest and greatest to have supersmooth computer play.

However I have already stated clearly that I am considering a bigger more expensive upgrade when the cpu market settles and DX10 cards are here.

And thankyou Sinbad, I'm not to aware of how the cpus in these price ranges perform and how good an option is, just that 99% of them are better than what i currently have.

[Peet]

I dont want a supercomputer

Those thoughts will change when you see the specs on this mofo http://www.cray.com/products/x1e/specifications.html


...On a more serious note, I would strongly advise that you do not get a Celeron. I find mine to be quite inefficient despite its decent clock speed (2.4 GHz)...There's an Athlon at 1 GHz (plus a 5% OC) that I've worked on, that seems to run faster, despite that rig having half as much memory as my celery.

[PK Maximoo]

£90ish would get you that Intel processor that overclocks to around 4GHz with air cooling and still runs stable... plus a bit more for a good motherboard and, if you need it, a hefty, sturdy PSU. A bit over £150 at most, maybe?

£70 is most likely worth saving; you'll barely get ANY improvement from that little expenditure over what you already have. I'm in a similar situation, except I'm giving myself about £300 to play with, so I've got a few more options - but then I won't be touching anything again for a couple years.

[AF]

The problem is my cpu is crap, and my motherboard is crap as hell, they're the weakest parts of my otherwise OK computer.

I want at least an 8x AGP slot for my graphics card.

And yah I have £180 in the bank but I need £90 of that for something else.

I dont want pretty sfx and uber realistic graphics, I just want smooth framerates at low settings, aka functionality and quality of use.

Although I agree sort of with the celeron thing, I've always preferred AMD cpu's, but I didnt have a choice when this computer got bought for me.

As an example: http://www.ebuyer.com/UK/product/105274

That motherboard would move me from 2.1 to 5.1 surroundsound and double the throughput of my graphics card, for £29.

[AF]

£64.69

http://www.ebuyer.com/UK/product/55012
http://www.ebuyer.com/UK/product/94647

Anyone see anything better for similar or less cost??

[PK Maximoo]

As you said yourself, the graphics card and its slot speed is not the limiting factor here.

You aren't likely to see a huge advantage from that processor, since it's barely faster (if at all) and the fact that it's 64bit only makes a difference in some, not all, situations.

(Or I could be talking out of my backside. It sometimes happens.)

[Mugslugs]

http://www.overclockers.co.uk/acatalog/ ... s_640.html
http://www.ebuyer.com/UK/product/112239
AMD 64 pwns sempr0ns
BTW those 3000+ go up to about 3600+ speeds from what I have heard

[AF]

perhaps but mugslugs, that means I have to replaced my AGP with a PCI-E, and I have to buy a much more expensive cpu, all of which quickly breaks the £100 barrier.

£126.16 with a cheap PCI Express card (geforce 6200 li 128MB), or £90 with no card

[Mugslugs]

now was just thinking because well the fx series of cards was a flaming pile of shit partly thanks to M$ partly due to nvidias design wouldnt a mobo with an integrated gf 6 series still win out i'm gonna look for benchies but this would not break the £90 barrier and would leave you with the possibility or gradually upgrading. http://www.overclockers.co.uk/acatalog/ ... 9_480.html
Abit NF95 GeForce 6100 Micro ATX first one

[AF]

ah, I see, I wasnt sure a 6100 using shared system memory would be better than an overclocked 5200 ultra with 128MB dedicated

[AF]

http://www.ebuyer.com/UK/product/109994

There's that last motherboard at ebuyer for slightly less

[Drone_Fragger]

It really isn't worth getting semperon or Celeron. They suck.

And don't get AGP, You'll have a hard time trying to upgrade later, As no more cards are being made for AGP (the last one was the 7200GTX). If you go AGP, Its pratically a waste of money...

[AF]

Well, when I next upgrade I'll be doing a full system upgrade with a much bigger budget. But the point of this particular upgrade is to bring my system into balance and allow me to run spring smoothly on minimum settings and get rid fo that last bit of lag I get running certain programs liek netbeans and trillian.

[Mugslugs]

Well from what I have seen of the benchmarks the 6100 generally performs better than a 5200.
However I'm gonna look for a cheaper board with it.
Edit found a better mobo with a 6150 for £32 incl vat
http://www.morecomputers.co.uk/textra.asp?pn=A8V-VM
Also Cheaper version of the processor
http://www.advancetec.co.uk/acatalog/AMD_64_BIT.html
Not much less but it gives you a bit more power i couldnt find a 3000+ as you can see its out of stock there.

[SwiftSpear]

I realize you aren't looking to buy a supercomputer here, but you aren't buying for value if you get a celeron. A cheap Pentium will preform better then the celeron in the same pricerange. The 180 some odd $ core duo will out value anything at all. A celeron for half that price would be less then a quarter the performance capability. Since you're working with low price points I highly encourage you to go for a high value point.

[AF]

core 2 duos will be obsolete by christmas, they're sole purpose is to lure your money out of your wallet just before they bring out a new set fo cores to take away just as much money again.

If you spend money you've saved on a core 2 duo now you'll be kicking yourself in 3-4 months time.

[SwiftSpear]

If you spend money on anything now you will be kicking yourself later. If you absolutely HAVE to spend money on something now get the best value for your money you absolutely can so your need to kick yourself will be lessened. The cheap core duo is quite literally the best value chip on the market right now.