Computer Upgrade / Updates

[Nick Koan]

Originally Posted by cody

With dual core, does the 667 Mhz FSB speed offer similar performance to a single core with a 1334 FSB?

Did you forget a smiley there?

Originally Posted by cody

Is the 1600MHz the FSB speed? That's pretty cool right?

Ah, you edited

Yeah, thats the FSB speed. And yeah, that's as good as it gets right now (I think, I don't keep up on specific hardware numbers).

[cody]

Originally Posted by Nick Koan

Did you forget a smiley there?

No, I'm just confused.

Ah, you edited

Yeah, thats the FSB speed. And yeah, that's as good as it gets right now (I think, I don't keep up on specific hardware numbers).

I just went by the price and all the awesome reviews. I realize that YMMV depending on the full system so I didn't really do much research before pulling the trigger on it.

[Nick Koan]

Originally Posted by cody

No, I'm just confused.

Okay, well... the answer is no. Higher bus speeds are always faster. Doesn't matter how many cores are putting stuff onto the bus.

[cody]

Yah, I was being silly and looking at the RAM speed and assuming it was the same as the CPU FSB speed, but alas, that doesn't work with dual core.

[NevadaSTi]

http://computers.pricegrabber.com/pr...ox/m/33306260/

This looks like a good upgrade!! Obviously I would have to update some other things too. But, if I spread things out over the next ten months or so, I should be fine.

[sperry]

Originally Posted by NevadaSTi

http://computers.pricegrabber.com/pr...ox/m/33306260/

This looks like a good upgrade!! Obviously I would have to update some other things too. But, if I spread things out over the next ten months or so, I should be fine.

You'd get way more for your money if you just saved for 10 months then bought everything at once. Anything you buy now will be obsolete in 10 months.

[Dean]

Originally Posted by sperry

You'd get way more for your money if you just saved for 10 months then bought everything at once. Anything you buy now will be obsolete in 10 months.

That's what I said back on post #4,#6, #23!

[Nick Koan]

Originally Posted by Dean

That's what I said back on post #23!

And that's what I've been meaning to re-affirm every post since, but keep forgetting.

[sperry]

Originally Posted by Dean

That's what I said back on post #23!

Yeah, but Brian didn't seem to notice, so I thought it needed to be said again.

[NevadaSTi]

Originally Posted by sperry

You'd get way more for your money if you just saved for 10 months then bought everything at once. Anything you buy now will be obsolete in 10 months.

I know it would be obsolete. But I am not going to get into the tech race. I just want to upgrade / update my current pc to last me a couple more years. At that point, hopefully I will be able to purchase a new pc.

[sperry]

Originally Posted by NevadaSTi

I know it would be obsolete. But I am not going to get into the tech race. I just want to upgrade / update my current pc to last me a couple more years. At that point, hopefully I will be able to purchase a new pc.

Okay, then buy the same stuff you were going to buy now in 10 months and save yourself 80% of the cost.

[NevadaSTi]

Originally Posted by Dean

That's what I said back on post #4,#6, #23!

Yes, I read everyone of them. I even checked out the linked Alianware on post 23. That is what lead to me looking up that AMD processor. Sheesh!!!

[NevadaSTi]

Originally Posted by sperry

Okay, then buy the same stuff you were going to buy now in 10 months and save yourself 80% of the cost.

Yes, I agree. But the only thing I am going to do right now is order another gig of RAM. I mean, $20!!! Plus, it WILL help out my PC to where I am not getting frustrated with it over the next 10 months.

[Dean]

Originally Posted by NevadaSTi

I know it would be obsolete. But I am not going to get into the tech race. I just want to upgrade / update my current pc to last me a couple more years. At that point, hopefully I will be able to purchase a new pc.

We are not suggesting you get into the race, only that the returns on upgrading a 3 year old system may be minimal. Optimizing what you have and spending the whole $800 10 months from now will get you a much better system than upgrading your existing system piecemeal. It still won't be the state of the art by a long shot, just substantially better than spending money on the existing system.

[NevadaSTi]

Makes sense.

[Dean]

Originally Posted by NevadaSTi

Yes, I agree. But the only thing I am going to do right now is order another gig of RAM. I mean, $20!!! Plus, it WILL help out my PC to where I am not getting frustrated with it over the next 10 months.

RAM will only help if you are actually running out. You also want to make sure you buy it in pairs and that you have slots available for it. 1Gb on XP is pretty damn good though.

Getting rid of crap on your system and defragmenting your HD may add far more performance than RAM.

Just defragmenting your swap file alone can make the machine feel new again in some cases. And yes, the swap file gets used even if you have enough RAM.

If you have a second 7200RPM SATA HD of any size lying around, putting the swap file on that will also improve performance.

[doubleurx]

For Graphics work you need a decent video card. The two you are looking at are fine, but there are better (more$$) out there that are 512 or higher cards. Run as much ram as you can for graphics. I run 4G.

Also on Dell - if you can qualify for the small business leases - do it! They have a 30 month, $1 buy out that is at like 3.5%. I just ordered the wife a new Optiplex 755 ultra small factor tower for $1310. It includes;

4550 dual core processor
2G ram
CDR/DVD RWR
22" HD LCD
250G drive
Bluetooth wireless mouse and keyboard

It is a pretty bomber machine for the money. I am getting a new machine for my home work that will be similar except for upgrading the video car, more ram and a 6550 processor. That brings the price up to $1650.

The big advantage with the small business units is that they include the 3 year on site warranty. The lease payment on my wife's machine is like $61/month. Now if you can't right it off, then it is not worth it to lease as Dell has a purchase program right now of 12 months no interest.

[doubleurx]

Or if you search Ebay, you might be able to find one of these screaming machines!

[sperry]

To be fair, that 386 *was* a BEAST in 1989.

[ScottyS]

So, the biggest thing you do at home is gaming?

Immediate fixes for that involve 1 more gb of ram, a better video card, and a faster hard drive.

Your CPU/MB/RAM combo, while without the larger caches, more efficient processing, and incrementally-faster FSB's, is more than adequate for playing.

While I have all you 1334 peeps here, does anyone have a Molex-to-PCI-E power cable adapter? Looks like this:

[Dean]

Originally Posted by ScottyS

While I have all you 1334 peeps here, does anyone have a Molex-to-PCI-X power cable adapter?

Didn't I post this question and get my ass chewed for being a cheap bastard?

I have one. Coming to the meet?
I lied, I can't find it. I know it is here somewhere and will keep looking, but it is not where it belongs

They have them at PC-Club around the corner to the left from CompUSA in the same strip mall.

[sperry]

Originally Posted by Dean

Didn't I post this question and get my ass chewed for being a cheap bastard?

I have one. Coming to the meet?

They have them at PC-Club around the corner to the left from CompUSA in the same strip mall.

Once you have a rifle collection and the skill to hit a woodchuck sized object from 3/4 of a mile away, we'll stop chewing your ass for being cheap too.

[ScottyS]

Originally Posted by Dean

Didn't I post this question and get my ass chewed for being a cheap bastard?

I have one. Coming to the meet?

They have them at PC-Club around the corner to the left from CompUSA in the same strip mall.

Ha, I missed that thread. I'll be at the meet, if you have one it will be awesome. Otherwise I'm left with busting out the soldering iron if I want to be running Friday night....

[NevadaSTi]

Originally Posted by ScottyS

So, the biggest thing you do at home is gaming?

Yes, I don't have a TV, and I can only reload ammo and search the internet before that becomes boring. Originally, I used the PC for Architectural Drafting. But that has dried up. So, it is now more or less a fulltime gaming rig!

[NevadaSTi]

Originally Posted by sperry

Once you have a rifle collection and the skill to hit a woodchuck sized object from 3/4 of a mile away, we'll stop chewing your ass for being cheap too.

Quote of the Day right there!