Advice on swapping cpu and mb

[onewintersnight]

Here's the current system I have:

P4 3.0ghz prescott
MSI Neo2 PIFSR 865PE
1024mb Corsair PC3200 DDR
bfg 6800oc unlocked(16x6x1) @ stock
160gb Seagate sata hd 72000rpm

I'm was thinking of swapping my cpu and mb to get a winchester a64 3000+ and a K8N Neo2 Plat for better gaming performance. I've tried overclocking both my cpu and vid card but the effect seems pretty minimal, a few fps faster here or there. Another reason I want to dump the P4 is so that I can move to pci-x eventually by only swapping out the mb and gfx card.

Of course in order to get the new setup I'd like to sell my old cpu and mb. I guess my questions are do you think its worth the effort for the performance increase in games? Also, what exactly could I get for my current mb and cpu, and where whould I sell it? From what I've seen the setup I'd like to get runs around 300-320, so I'd ideally like to make at least some of that back in selling it.

 

[o1die]

I'm in the same boat. But I've decided to try selling my whole p4 system. If I don't sell it, I won't upgrade. You've got a good setup now. I wouldn't take a loss on it just to try the amd 64.

 

[Googer]

Another reason I want to dump the P4 is so that I can move to pci-x

Don't you mean PCI-e? PCI-e and PCI-x are differant. Are you sure you want PCI-x, are you running SCSI or PCI 2.2 cards?

 

[Googer]

Keep your existing setup and save your money. The configuration you have is better than 60% of the readers of this forum. What you have is considerd by many to be an upgrade so I would keep it. The $700-1000 you plan on spending will only resuly in a net increase of 15-30 fps. Not much for the dollar. Your best bet is to keep waiting. Wait untill DX10 Cards come out before you Upgrade. IF you want better performance ditch the Prescott for a Cheaper and faster Northwood P4.

 

[onewintersnight]

Yeah I'm beginning to think that as well, though I really do want to head over to an amd 64 at some point, and since I don't have another system lying around, at least one I don't care to ever resurrect, I don't think selling my whole rig is the way to go.

I suppose the performance my not be worth the price difference, but then again I'm not exactly sure how much of a jump I would get by switching. I've read through a ton of cpu comparisons and it seems the amd 64 939's blow away the p4's, heh in most of them a 3.0 ghz isn't even listed. I guess I'll think about it a while more, so if anyone else has any ideas or suggestions I'm definately up for them. Oh and I realized that I probably should have changed the title of my post, sounds like I'm giving advice when I re-read it.

 

[onewintersnight]

I meant pci express, sorry didn't realize pci x even existed, I'm certainly not running a server or anything

 

[onewintersnight]

700$$?? The cost would only be the amount for the a64, ~150, and the new mb, again about ~150. Then whatever I make by selling my existing parts would negate the total cost. Then again I'm not sure what the market is for buying used prescotts and 865mb's

 

[Googer]

Originally posted by: onewintersnight
I meant pci express, sorry didn't realize pci x even existed, I'm certainly not running a server or anything

PCI-x is a 64bit and 66mhz or faster version of current 32 bit pci and is backward compatable with most PCI 32 Devices.

 

[Googer]

Originally posted by: onewintersnight
700$$?? The cost would only be the amount for the a64, ~150, and the new mb, again about ~150. Then whatever I make by selling my existing parts would negate the total cost. Then again I'm not sure what the market is for buying used prescotts and 865mb's

Keep waiting my friend, you system is still pretty kick ass by most standards. If you want to get a faster CPU go with a northwood, Clock for Clock cycle Northwood is faster than prescott even with half the cache.

 

[onewintersnight]

I suppose waiting is the only thing to do really, though I'm not sure going through the trouble to get a northwood is really worth the small increase in speed. I'll probably stick to what I have for a while, unless there's a price drop on amd 64's like someone hinted at in another post, or there's a really good deal on a amd mb out there. I think I prefer incremental upgrading compared to sinking a ton of money into a system, so I'll probably continue that strategy.

DX10 isn't coming out till next year with longhorn or whatever they're going to be calling it right?

Curiously has anyone used a 3000+ and a 3ghz p4 extensively to give a good perspective on the differences? Not just in terms of gaming, but overall use.