AMD upgrade

On Mon, 18 Oct 2004 11:21:36 GMT, me!!
<pwrberry.RemoveThis@yahoo.co.uk> wrote:

 >Hi at the moment i have the following:
 >
 >Athlon xp 3200+ cpu
 >768mb ddr 400 ram
 >asus a7n8x-e deluxe mobo
 >geforce 6800nu gfx
 >plextor dvdrw
 >hdds etc
 >
 >Is it going to be worth it for me to replace the xp3200+ and the
 >motherboard with another asus amd64 motherboard ( not sure which one
 >yet ) and either a amd64 2800+ or a 3000+. Would i notice much of a
 >difference in speed to my current setup, bearing in mind that the +
 >ratings are both less than my present xp chip? also if i get the 3000+
 >should it get the socket 754 version or 939 version?
 >
 >thanks
 >
 >paul

If you're the type of person that HAS to upgrade whole box
every year, maybe it's "time", but otherwise the performance
difference isn't worthwhile _enough_, better to wait for
nForce4 to mature a bit.<!-- ~MESSAGE_AFTER~ -->
 >> Stay informed about: AMD upgrade 

"JK" <JK9821 RemoveThis @netscape.net> wrote in message
news:4173B84A.70E09128@netscape.net...

" For many games, an Athlon 64 3000+ will show a tremendous performance
improvement over an Athlon XP3200+. That is especially true since you have a
good video card. "


The skt754 Athlon64 2800+ and 3000+ might out-perform the XP 3200+ a little
in Doom3, but they will be a little slower in some other benchmarks. I
don't think it's worth the effort upgrading to skt754, now that the skt939
3000+, 3200+ and 3400+ have been released. Compatible CPUs will probably go
no further than the 3700+ for skt754.

On the other hand, skt939 will have a much longer roadmap than skt754, and,
unlike skt754, the chipsets support dual-channel memory control. I'd
recommend waiting for these new CPUs to arrive on UK shores, and then
upgrade to a skt939 system.

The Nforce4 chipsets are due to be announced on 19th October, with support
for PCI-E. Lots of people building completely new systems are being advised
to wait for these motherboards. Seeing as you already have an AGP 6800,
perhaps it's best to wait a little while. Most people are reluctant to
abandon their AGP cards, and the manufacturers know this, so there should
hopefully be some option based on these new chipsets for you.

You state that you have 768MB PC3200. What's that made up of? Is it
top-quality stuff? If you have money burning a hole in your pocket, perhaps
it would be better spent on a really good low-latency dual-channel set (2x
512MB). These would give you a little performance boost now, and would go
right into a skt939 system in the near future. Sell your existing RAM at
www.ebay.co.uk and it won't cost too much at all to do this. Then you can
wait for the skt939 3000+, 3200+ and 3400+ to arrive, and look at upgrading
the motherboard and CPU then.
 >> Stay informed about: AMD upgrade 

Cuzman wrote:

 > "JK" <JK9821.TakeThisOut@netscape.net> wrote in message
 > news:4173B84A.70E09128@netscape.net...
 >
 > " For many games, an Athlon 64 3000+ will show a tremendous performance
 > improvement over an Athlon XP3200+. That is especially true since you have a
 > good video card. "
 >
 > The skt754 Athlon64 2800+ and 3000+ might out-perform the XP 3200+ a little

A little? LOL! The difference is huge! It takes an $815 Pentium 4 3.2 ghz EE
to come close to the performance of a $150 Athlon 64 3000+ socket 754
running Doom 3.

<a style='text-decoration: underline;' href="http://www.anandtech.com/cpuchipsets/showdoc.aspx?i=2149&p=7" target="_blank">http://www.anandtech.com/cpuchipsets/showdoc.aspx?i=2149&p=7</a>

 >
 > in Doom3, but they will be a little slower in some other benchmarks.

Can you show me even one example where an Athlon XP3200+ is faster
than an Athlon 64 3000+? I doubt you can. For some business software
they may be close though.

 > I
 > don't think it's worth the effort upgrading to skt754, now that the skt939
 > 3000+, 3200+ and 3400+ have been released. Compatible CPUs will probably go
 > no further than the 3700+ for skt754.

I like the idea of changing the motherboard when changing the cpu. A
socked 939 Athlon 64 3000+ costs more than a socket 754 one,
and a socket 939 motherboard also costs more than a socket 754
one. This cost savings by going with socket 754 now, will probably
be enough to pay for a new motherboard when you are ready to
to upgrade the cpu. The socket 754 Athlon 64 3000+ and 3200+
are bargains now.

 >
 >
 > On the other hand, skt939 will have a much longer roadmap than skt754, and,
 > unlike skt754, the chipsets support dual-channel memory control. I'd
 > recommend waiting for these new CPUs to arrive on UK shores, and then
 > upgrade to a skt939 system.
 >
 > The Nforce4 chipsets are due to be announced on 19th October, with support
 > for PCI-E. Lots of people building completely new systems are being advised
 > to wait for these motherboards. Seeing as you already have an AGP 6800,
 > perhaps it's best to wait a little while. Most people are reluctant to
 > abandon their AGP cards, and the manufacturers know this, so there should
 > hopefully be some option based on these new chipsets for you.
 >
 > You state that you have 768MB PC3200. What's that made up of? Is it
 > top-quality stuff? If you have money burning a hole in your pocket, perhaps
 > it would be better spent on a really good low-latency dual-channel set (2x
 > 512MB). These would give you a little performance boost now, and would go
 > right into a skt939 system in the near future. Sell your existing RAM at
 > <a style='text-decoration: underline;' href="http://www.ebay.co.uk" target="_blank">www.ebay.co.uk</a> and it won't cost too much at all to do this. Then you can
 > wait for the skt939 3000+, 3200+ and 3400+ to arrive, and look at upgrading
 > the motherboard and CPU then.<!-- ~MESSAGE_AFTER~ -->
 >> Stay informed about: AMD upgrade 

"JK" <JK9821 RemoveThis @netscape.net> wrote in message
news:4173C667.A9C80F26@netscape.net...

" A little? LOL! The difference is huge! It takes an $815 Pentium 4 3.2
ghz EE to come close to the performance of a $150 Athlon 64 3000+ socket 754
running Doom 3. "



Forget Intel, as he's not upgrading from, or considering buying one. Let's
look at the relevant difference you claim is so big:

sktA Athlon XP 3200+ 68 fps
skt754 Athlon64 2800+ 78.8 fps
skt754 Athlon64 3000+ 85.3 fps

That's hardly a 'huge' difference, is it?
 >> Stay informed about: AMD upgrade 

On Mon, 18 Oct 2004 17:40:16 +0100, "Cuzman"
<cuzNOSPAM.RemoveThis@supanet.com> wrote:

 >"JK" <JK9821.RemoveThis@netscape.net> wrote in message
 >news:4173C667.A9C80F26@netscape.net...
 >
 >" A little? LOL! The difference is huge! It takes an $815 Pentium 4 3.2
 >ghz EE to come close to the performance of a $150 Athlon 64 3000+ socket 754
 >running Doom 3. "
 >
 >
 >
 >Forget Intel, as he's not upgrading from, or considering buying one. Let's
 >look at the relevant difference you claim is so big:
 >
 >sktA Athlon XP 3200+ 68 fps
 >skt754 Athlon64 2800+ 78.8 fps
 >skt754 Athlon64 3000+ 85.3 fps
 >
 >That's hardly a 'huge' difference, is it?
 >
 >


Not huge but consider how graphically demanding Doom3 is,
that there should be larger difference on a game with lesser
video demands.<!-- ~MESSAGE_AFTER~ -->
 >> Stay informed about: AMD upgrade 

Cuzman wrote:

 > "JK" <JK9821 DeleteThis @netscape.net> wrote in message
 > news:4173C667.A9C80F26@netscape.net...
 >
 > " A little? LOL! The difference is huge! It takes an $815 Pentium 4 3.2
 > ghz EE to come close to the performance of a $150 Athlon 64 3000+ socket 754
 > running Doom 3. "
 >
 > Forget Intel, as he's not upgrading from, or considering buying one. Let's
 > look at the relevant difference you claim is so big:
 >
 > sktA Athlon XP 3200+ 68 fps
 > skt754 Athlon64 2800+ 78.8 fps
 > skt754 Athlon64 3000+ 85.3 fps
 >
 > That's hardly a 'huge' difference, is it?

Of course it is huge. Think about the alternative ways of getting those 17.3 fps
without using an Athlon 64. They are probably extremely expensive!<!-- ~MESSAGE_AFTER~ -->
 >> Stay informed about: AMD upgrade 

Thanks for the advice and to be honest im upgrading because i have a
bit of spare cash and ive gone a sfar as i can with this mobo/cpu
setup.

The memory is made up of 3x 256mb kingston pc3200 sticks. I do play
lots of games and doom 3 is a particular favourie along with ut2004,
which is why i got the 6800nu.

Im also getting £70 for my current mobo/cpu when ive done the upgrade.
So it shouldnt cost me more than £100 overall for the whole upgrade. (
£70ish for the mobo and £100 for a 64 2800+.

Cheers all

paul
 >> Stay informed about: AMD upgrade 

Why an Athlon 64 2800+ though? The 3000+ is only around $20 more than the
2800+, and the 3200+ is only around $35 more than the 3000+. I would
at least choose the 3000+ rather than the 2800+.

"me!!" wrote:

 > Thanks for the advice and to be honest im upgrading because i have a
 > bit of spare cash and ive gone a sfar as i can with this mobo/cpu
 > setup.
 >
 > The memory is made up of 3x 256mb kingston pc3200 sticks. I do play
 > lots of games and doom 3 is a particular favourie along with ut2004,
 > which is why i got the 6800nu.
 >
 > Im also getting £70 for my current mobo/cpu when ive done the upgrade.
 > So it shouldnt cost me more than £100 overall for the whole upgrade. (
 > £70ish for the mobo and £100 for a 64 2800+.
 >
 > Cheers all
 >
 > paul<!-- ~MESSAGE_AFTER~ -->
 >> Stay informed about: AMD upgrade 

On Mon, 18 Oct 2004 14:00:35 -0400, JK <JK9821 DeleteThis @netscape.net> wrote:

 >Why an Athlon 64 2800+ though? The 3000+ is only around $20 more than the
 >2800+, and the 3200+ is only around $35 more than the 3000+. I would
 >at least choose the 3000+ rather than the 2800+.
 >
Fair point. I had considered the 3000+ which is why i asked the 754 or
939 question. Next choice is the chipset. nforce3 or the via chipset<!-- ~MESSAGE_AFTER~ -->
 >> Stay informed about: AMD upgrade 

Cuzman:

 > "JK" <JK9821.TakeThisOut@netscape.net> wrote in message
 > " A little? LOL! The difference is huge!

 > Let's look at the relevant difference you claim is so big:
 >
 > sktA Athlon XP 3200+ 68 fps
 > skt754 Athlon64 2800+ 78.8 fps
 > skt754 Athlon64 3000+ 85.3 fps
 >
 > That's hardly a 'huge' difference, is it?

A 16% & 25% increase respectively, not worth upgrading for but I would
call it significant.


--
Mac Cool<!-- ~MESSAGE_AFTER~ -->
 >> Stay informed about: AMD upgrade 

In article <gtv7n0tqjftfi71tgigfvb1iqs5ru3e8qv DeleteThis @4ax.com>,=20
pwrberry DeleteThis @yahoo.co.uk says...
 > Thanks for the advice and to be honest im upgrading because i have a
 > bit of spare cash and ive gone a sfar as i can with this mobo/cpu
 > setup.

Save the cash for another year, I don't think you're=20
going to get enough of a performance boost to make it=20
worth it. If anything, I'd say this is a good year to=20
examine your CRT/LCD and upgrade to a better display.

You'll be able to buy a good bit more CPU for the pound=20
this time next year. Plus, there's a lot of talk about=20
dual-core Opterons coming in the (near) future.

 > The memory is made up of 3x 256mb kingston pc3200 sticks. I do play
 > lots of games and doom 3 is a particular favourie along with ut2004,
 > which is why i got the 6800nu.

If the money is really burning a hole in your pocket,=20
replace one or two of those sticks with 1GB PC3200. =20
Since you have 3 sticks, you're probably not running in=20
DDR mode anyway, AFAIK. More memory is always a good=20
thing.

 > Im also getting =A370 for my current mobo/cpu when ive done the upgrade.
 > So it shouldnt cost me more than =A3100 overall for the whole upgrade. (
 > =A370ish for the mobo and =A3100 for a 64 2800+.<!-- ~MESSAGE_AFTER~ -->
 >> Stay informed about: AMD upgrade