AMD/Rig opinion question....

[Go3iverson]

Hey all,

I'm considering doing a major overhaul of my friend's PC for the holidays/birthday. Now, with me, everything has to be on the high end. My Apple's are all G4 towers (barring my iBook) and my PC is an AthlonXP 1800+ with DDR, GF3Ti, etc......

Now, she's got a PII right now that doesn't really work right at all, so I don't have a high level of performance to live up to and price is an issue, of course.....

What do you all think of the Duron CPU's? I always recomend the XP CPUs and have had good experiences with them, but I've actually never used a Duron based system! I've read good things, but there isn't a huge gap in price between the 1.3GHz Duron and a 1500+ XP.

I also can't decide what to do about video, etc. I've been looking at MB's with onboard video, but mostly those don't have AGP slots, so upgrading is a problem, then again, with her stock PII Gateway, I doubt she has a huge graphics need. Also need to get a modem (preferably onboard).

Any opinion on the CPU's and Mobo suggestions?

Also, what do you all think of the whole DDR vs PC133 question? Obviously DDR has more bandwith, but in a system like this, do you really think I need it?

I think I know the answers to all of these questions, barring the Mobo suggestions, but its kinda hard for someone who's used to always going high end, to sit back and objectively look at what she really needs.....


Thanks tons!

Mike D

ps: you all can email me at dhalimp@lfc.edu, if you like, I get that mail faster now.....go figure!

 

[halkebul]

Three days ago I upraded from this:
Intel Pentium2 233MHz
PCCHips Motherboard
64MB PC133 Memory
64MB PC100 Memory
Integrated video
14GB Western Digital Hard Drive

To This:
Athlon XP 1700+ (new)
Biostar M7VIG Motherboard with integrated audio/video/LAN (new)
64MB PC133 Memory (old)
64MB PC100 Memory (old)
ATI 9000 Graphics Card (new)
14GB Western Digital Hard Drive (old)

Huge performance boost across the board!!! Obviously for your client you won't need a AGP graphics card, just use onboard video. The total upgrade should cost ya about $100-$120. Damn these AMD setups have good price/performance value!!!

 

[Go3iverson]

Yeah, I doubt she needs AGP based graphics......I did have one mobo once with 32MB of on board video that wasn't too shabby at all.....

Where did you get this board from?

I was trying to stick with PC133 Ram because of the considerable cost difference.....

I just can't shake the idea of her upgrading, but if she's been quasi-happy with her PII for this long, she'd love a new anything, so Duron may be a good idea as well....

I figure I need a board, CPU, power supply, ram, and case......well, I have a case already, but I may sell it to get something from colorcases.com......

Thanks for the reply!

 

[halkebul]

Got my Biostar mobo from mwave.com. Thankfully, with this Biostar motherboard, I was able to use my ancient Deer power supply as it had the appropriate connector to the mobo. Same Case. Same memory. Drastically different performance. The performance hit suffered from going from AMD XP down to AMD Duron is not acceptable in my opinion. You're on the right track, consulting anandtech forums and all.

 

[CurtCold]

One word .....NForce....You can always put a AGP card in there if you wanna.

Duron's are good, but might as well get an XP 1600+ for the price.

I just built a System with this board, and 1600xp. I wouldn't suggest using 98 though. This board likes 2k, and XP....

 

[Go3iverson]

Ok, here's an update......

She's got an AMD K6 500MHz with 184MB of RAM. 1 LAN and 1 Modem card. She's been using onboard video on a 4-5 year old machine and been relatively happy with it. 9.3GB harddrive.

I figure, no matter what, I need to get a new power supply and case. The case is very small, and, well, for someone who doesn't know much about PC's, a cool case is a huge perk. Even if you do, its always nice seeing a new piece of hardware on your desk.

She THINKS she may want a DVD drive eventually, but that's always iffy.....

I'm hoping I can use her old harddrive, small as it may be, I don't have tons of cash and she's got almost 4GB free on it....I suspect MUCH more when I clean that up.....If the RAM is PC133, I'll transplant it.

If this helps anyone in their decision making, good! This is a rough one!

Thanks again!

Mike D

 

[JeremiahTheGreat]

Funky.. hmm...

Is cash a problem? If not, i recommend a Shuttle SFF system (maybe SS50C)! One of those Athlon based ones with in built video should fit the bill, reuse the HD and get some DDR and you'll be up and running And best of all, she won't pick up any dirty habits like playing games cause the SIS315 graphic won't handle most of the new ones

 

[halkebul]

"... reuse the HD ..."

One more thing, ya may have to re-install the operating system because of the motherboard change.

 

[Go3iverson]

Yeah, I intend on zeroing that drive and installing XP on it........Figure whatever garbage has accumulated on it in 4-5 years needs to go. Should probably back up her files first, though.......

Keep the ideas coming!!!!

Mike D

 

[Go3iverson]

Thanks for all the help!

Ok, I'm going to go with the XP 1600+ chip.....

Now, is the nForce board totally worth it? Is the video on it good enough to be used as the every day video? Remember, this isn't for a high end gamer or a power user!

Also, with PC133 prices SO cheap, do you think I should be looking into that instead of DDR? I mean, I can get a stick of 512MB PC133 for under $35 now!

One last opinion, I've only bought Crucial ram for my machines...but I could save SO much buying generic and such.......any other ideas of how I can do this cheaper!?

Mike D

 

[halkebul]

Originally posted by: Go3iverson
Thanks for all the help!

Ok, I'm going to go with the XP 1600+ chip.....

Now, is the nForce board totally worth it? Is the video on it good enough to be used as the every day video? Remember, this isn't for a high end gamer or a power user!

Also, with PC133 prices SO cheap, do you think I should be looking into that instead of DDR? I mean, I can get a stick of 512MB PC133 for under $35 now!

One last opinion, I've only bought Crucial ram for my machines...but I could save SO much buying generic and such.......any other ideas of how I can do this cheaper!?

Mike D

All integrated multimedia components, including graphics and sound, on the nForce boards are very good. I would choose 256MB of DDR memory instead of 512MB of SDR memory. I would go with a quality brand of memory to ensure perfect stability. I just set up my younger brother's computer with an AMD Athlon XP, Asus A7N266-VM nForce motherboard and two 128MB PC2100 DDR SDRAM memory modules. Note that the 3D graphics capabilities of nForce motherboards increase when both memory banks are populated. Easy setup. No problems whatsoever. Always good when I can recommend from personal experience.

 

[R3solve]

I recommend a MSI mobo for starters, DDR333 of course (possibly 266 if she's not using high end software). Only 256mb RAM should be necessary. Durons are awesome. Every computer I've built (which is 4 so far) have all had a Duron 1.1gHz. It's a fast, cool chip and very very cheap. $45 at the maximum! They're even OCable if you want to. As for hard drives, Seagate is likely the way to go because they are cheap, fast, and quiet. For video, I would recommend a 32mb sdr Radeon (once again, get a higher end one if she's gonna use high end software!). WindowsXP or 2000 are definately the way to go for OS. Overall, this setup is likely to cost around $400-$500 if you build it yourself, and you get the bonus of pride in your handiwork

 

[Go3iverson]

$400 - $500?!

Wow, I was doing this a lot cheaper!

I was looking at $70 - $80 on the nForce mobo
$50 - $55 on the XP 1600+
$40 - $50 for RAM
$50 for the case

Re-use her HD and Modem card

I could go lower and get a different mobo for around $50, but then I'd have to plunk down $30 - $40 for a decent like 32MB AGP card.....