Advice? cpu/mobo/mem upgrade

[illusionm8]

i need an upgrade. right now im running a p3 700@933 in an abit be6-II motherboard and 512 pc133.

i was really keen on just getting one of those slot-t adapters and running an tualatin 1.3, 1.4ghz celeron. this is the cheapest for me (~$80), since i would be able to still use my current motherboard and memory.

if i decided to go with a p4 or athlon, aside from the cpu, i would need a new motherboard, and some DDR ram.

if i do upgade the big three, im not looking to spend too much.. maybe $250 at most. so, does anyone have any ideas or opinions on what i could get in this price range?

edit/ forgot, i think i would need a new power supply as well?

 

[jswjimmy]

you can stick with the pc133 and buy a mobo with both sdram and ddr(60$)xp 1800(60$) 300w psu (30-40$) then upgrade the memory later.

 

[jswjimmy]

about 150$ and a hell of a lot faster (jest dont try to run pc133 and ddr at the same time, it dont work)

 

[techwanabe]

Yep, you would need a minimum 300W P/S if you wanted to jump up to an Athlon XP or P4 platforum. When I upgraded from my 550E@733, I wanted a cheap upgrade... they didn't have the slot-T adapters at the time and the Powerleaps costed as much as a new mobo... so last summer I spent $131 total and got a Tualy 1.0A and Abit ST-6... I changed the FSB to 133 and that set my CPU to 1.33 ghz at stock voltage. Been running like that ever since. I could probalby get it up to 1.4 or maybe even 1.5 ghz... but my memory is standard PC133... not sure how high it would go.

Anyway, I think the general philosphy would be to try to double your speed for a good upgrade. If you want to stay cheap, just to the Tualy. The goal with them is to try to get a good combo between memory bandwidth and CPU speed. That means get a Tualy which you can run the FSB at 133 or higher and get your CPU up to 1.4 or 1.5 ghz. Oldfart usually recommended the 1.0A or the 1.1A for this. If you get the 1.3 or 1.4, you may not be able to get your FSB up to 133 before the CPU maxes out.

Of course, the next step, which I just finally took, is to get a new P/S, DDR mem, and Athlon XP or P4 CPU, and mobo. That will take you to the next level. My choice for a cheap upgrade was a XP 2500+, Epox 8RDA+, Buffalo PC3200 512 mb, and a GF4-Ti4200.

 

[Corporate Thug]

1700+:65 (0310 from excaliber)
8rda+: 83 (newegg)
buffalo pc3200: 89 (newegg)

$237 + tax, prolly will get you to 2.4 Ghz

 

[techwanabe]

When I looked up the 8RDA+ at newegg, it showed as $79 ... even better!

 

[illusionm8]

thanks guys! ill check these out. right now i have a 330w antec that came with my case.. i just thought i remember reading something that new cpus (p4 especially) needed a special psu different from previous models. dunno..

 

[techwanabe]

Originally posted by: illusionm8
thanks guys! ill check these out. right now i have a 330w antec that came with my case.. i just thought i remember reading something that new cpus (p4 especially) needed a special psu different from previous models. dunno..

You may be ok with your current power supply. Usually P4's and XP's need a 300W minimum. The newer 300W supply's do have an extra connector... see if you have that... I think it is a 4 pin, but it may not be necessary...

I built a P4 at work and it didn't have any special connectors... just needs the juice!

 

[WarCon]

Don't forget a good heatsink/fan combo if you want to see those high OC's with that 1700+.

 

[McArra]

Originally posted by: shady06
1700+:65 (0310 from excaliber)
8rda+: 83 (newegg)
buffalo pc3200: 89 (newegg)

$237 + tax, prolly will get you to 2.4 Ghz

A great deal

 

[illusionm8]

that was it.. the extra connector. im pretty sure my psu doesnt have any other connectors.

ive been reading as much as i could to get a feel for the current market.. i would hate to get a 1700+, and then when the new batch of games come out (hl2, q4) i find that my setup is sub-par.. and i have to upgrade again.

just for reference, i was previously using a gf2 32mb in this p3 machine and i was getting ~166 fps in quake3 timedemos.. when i upgraded to a gf4 4600, the benchmark only got to ~170 fps. so i KNOW my cpu is the bottleneck.

but then again if i get a good overclock out of the 1700+ maybe it will be sufficient and i'll be able to keep it a few years

 

[Corporate Thug]

yeah, a 2.4 ghz 1700+ should be able to last you a good amount of time even when HL2/Doom 3 comes out it should be fine. you may want to upgrade that video card as well if you wanna run those game