BAHHHH!!!! this upgrade decision is painful

[Blues X]

I'm going to upgrade my cpu/mobo, and I think I've narrowed down my choices. But this decision is starting to get painful, especially in covering the last few details...

I'm looking at these possibilities:
Athlon XP system:
Nforce2 motherboard:
LEADTEK Motherboard K7NCR18D-PRO Nforce2-ST for AMD Socket A Retail ($120.00 at www.newegg.com)

Athlon XP CPU:
2200, 1.8 Ghz speed ($164 at www.newegg.com)
but would prefer 2400, 2Ghz speed ($198 at www.newegg.com)


Intel Pentium 4 system:
SiS 648 chipset motherboard:
Aopen Motherboard for Intel Pentium 4 Processor, Model# AX45-8XN ($97 at www.newegg.com)

Intel Pentium 4 CPU:
2.4Ghz P4 w/533fsb ($193 at www.newegg.com; sale price; 2.5Ghz is still $270, while a 2.2Ghz is still $197)

Now, I don't think I can really go wrong with either setup. BUT, there are some things I'm not sure about:
1) hard drive i/o specs: I'd like SATA, but I read one article that briefly mentioned that until SATA is integrated into mobo chipsets, all you can get is a version that uses the PCI interface and therefore it won't get to the full SATA potential anyway (?). Anyone know if this is true? Should I just write off worrying about SATA right now? (I don't see myself investing in a RAID setup, so that's not an issue). Will ATA133 get me through the next couple of years?
2) I'm really focusing on upgradability here. But I will probably get a new comp within 3 years, so it won't have to last too long. I read that the nForce2 chipset will support the new 400mhz FSB that AMD is supposedly going to be switching to. Is this correct?
I also read that Intel is switching to an 800mhz FSB soon. Anyone know when? If they are changing very soon, then I lean more toward the Athlon. I don't want to be left out of a new cpu version cycle if I can avoid it.

Thnx for sharing your knowledge.

p.s. I'm not an overclocker, so that's not a big issue either.

 

[RSMemphis]

1.) That is correct. PCI is limited to 133 MB/s, SATA only to 150 MB/s, but a lot of chipsets don't fully support that. Add some other I/O intensive cards, and you may face some problems. However, for a good upgrade path, it may still be a good idea.
2.) Well, right now we do not know what FSB Barton will come with. NForce2 could be your best option at this point, but there are no guarantuees, obviously.

If you don't overclock, I feel like you are better off with an AMD processor. They have less overclocking headroom, but they do give you more power/$...

 

[Blues X]

I started off leaning towards Intel, but I like a couple of things about the AMD chip's and the nForce2 mobo.

 

[Blues X]

I read somewhere that the nForce2 mobo's installation will require a harddrive reformat. Does anyone know if this is true, because that would suck.

 

[chocoruacal]

Originally posted by: IHateRequiredNicknames
I read somewhere that the nForce2 mobo's installation will require a harddrive reformat. Does anyone know if this is true, because that would suck.

Its always a good idea to have a clean install with a new motherboard 🙂

 

[Blues X]

I might go ahead and find a fast 10gb or so HD to run my OS on, and use my 40gb for data storage. That would allow me to ghost my 40gb info to the new drive, reformat the old drive, and copy the files back over to the old drive.

I just don't want to have to copy all our files again. I recently reformatted for a Win98 to XP upgrade, and it took 16 CD's to copy all the data we needed to keep.

 

[Netcraazzy]

If the 40gig drive currently has all your data and you are no longer going to boot from it then just install it as a second disk drive and delete all the OS files from it. I would still recommend you backup to CD though, better to be safe than sorry. If you would rather continute to use the 40 as your boot drive, my experiance with win2000 has been that any mobo+cpu change causes it to not boot correctly, so I'm going to go out on a limb and say XP will give you simillar results.

 

[Hulk]

I personally always reinstall the OS and all software when I upgrade the motherboard and cpu. It's always nice to start clean so you can know if any instability problems are coming from software. Install the OS and run it for a bit, then add a program or two, wait a day, add a few more, and so on. That way you can track any instability changes.

I like the nforce2/XP 2400 combination.

Good luck!

 

[Blues X]

I found a few different 20gb 7200RPM drives in the ~$68 range, so I might go ahead and get one of those for my OS.

Anyone have an opinion on mini-tower vs. mid-tower cases? I'm looking at the Antec SLK1600 Mini Tower case (300wPS, for $49 at Googlegear.com). But I'm worried that it might be too cramped.

Googlegear has a house-brand case that's a mid-tower with a 300Wps for the same price (give or take a couple of dollars).

I can't afford any of the king-daddy cases right now, so I'm looking in the just-above-cheapo category.



Also, I'm leaning towards the nForce2/Athlon combo right now. I like the idea of getting a mobo that will support the new processors that are coming out soon (vs. the Intel which forces a chipset upgrade when new CPU's are released)

 

[GullyFoyle]

Originally posted by: IHateRequiredNicknames
I read somewhere that the nForce2 mobo's installation will require a harddrive reformat. Does anyone know if this is true, because that would suck.

I don't use Windows XP (still using 98SE), but I have reinstalled Windows a few times without reformatting the hard drive.
Just boot to DOS, and rename the Windows directory. Save copies of any necessary files from the root directory too.

You can go back to your old config later by deleting the new Windows directory, and renaming the old one back.

Just an idea.

 

[Blues X]

Holy Shmoly!!

I just got in on this offer: Dell educational rebates totalling about $700. Ordered a 2.4Ghz Dimension 8250, and after rebates it should cost me $250.

Here's the current forum about it: rebate discussion

Here's where I originally read about it: www.techbargains.com

I made it under the wire with 45 minutes to go on some of the offers.

🙂