Budget Cpu

[ZavrionX]

Under heavy budget(275 total so im figuring 130 max on a cpu) im building a comp for some who was running a 500mhz celeron. thus im trying to decide on what cpu would fit his needs best. his needs being, gaming but not very graphically demanding games and multimedia. anyways my question is would there be a difference preformance wise from a Athlon XP 3000 to the Athlon64 2800?

 

[blckgrffn]

A64, no question, the A64 will be much quicker.

Nat

 

[ZavrionX]

alright thanks :3

 

[superfly27]

Just in case you want to upgrade mobo/cpu/heatsink/ram/power supply and still want Win98SE compatibility, here's what I'd suggest (note: you're better off formatting HD before installing new stuff):
Duron 1.8 GHz $30 (until midnight today with rebate)
(rebate will likely take effect again next month)
http://www.tigerdirect.com/applications/SearchTools/item-details.asp?EdpNo=672991

Asus A7V600-X $60
http://www.tigerdirect.com/applications/SearchTools/item-details.asp?EdpNo=1163900&CatId=1137

heatsink (named here a Cables Unlimited but box says Spire Whisper Rock IV) $19
http://www.tigerdirect.com/applications/SearchTools/item-details.asp?EdpNo=674108&CatId=0

Kinston 512 MB 400 MHz RAM $48
http://www.tigerdirect.com/applications/SearchTools/item-details.asp?EdpNo=235775

Gigabye 9600 Pro video card $70
http://www.tigerdirect.com/applications/SearchTools/item-details.asp?EdpNo=1337275&CatId=0

NEC DVD burner $50
http://www.tigerdirect.com/applications/SearchTools/item-details.asp?EdpNo=1337277&CatId=89

Enermax power supply $55
http://www.tigerdirect.com/applications/SearchTools/item-details.asp?EdpNo=1057393&CatId=106

OK, this is silly, I?ve actually rebuilt your system at this point but it?s not too bad, only $332

But, you could go cheaper. You could go with 256 MB RAM instead and a MX4000 or a 7000 video card for a total of $129 or $139 for mobo($60)/cpu($30)/heatsink($19)/RAM($25)/video card ($20 or $30)

Kingston 256 MB 400 MHz RAM $25
http://www.tigerdirect.com/applications/SearchTools/item-details.asp?EdpNo=235774&CatId=0

Chaintech MX4000 $20 after rebate
http://www.tigerdirect.com/applications/SearchTools/item-details.asp?EdpNo=1043616&CatId=318
OR,
Asus 7000 without rebate $30
http://www.tigerdirect.com/applications/SearchTools/item-details.asp?EdpNo=1232789&CatId=0

Still, you?re likely to require a new power supply so put that absolute minimum to $184 (that?s in US dollars)

 

[akugami]

I've always thought AMD was shooting themselves in the foot by not releasing a Socket 939 Sempron or sub $100 A64. Couple it with a Radeon XPRESS 200 based mobo, 512MB RAM, a DVD burner, HD, keyboard mouse, and you have a killer budget system for under $400 (not including OS).

 

[conlan]

A64, just make sure you use a 939 pin platform for future upgrades.

 

[sandorski]

What do you have as a video card. Make sure it's AGP 4x compatible and also make sure to get an AGP mobo if you go Socket939.

 

[justly]

Socket "A" is do-able and will be an improvement from his old system, but the price difference to move to a newer platform isn't that big.

Using superfly27 suguestion (1.8 Duron, heatsink and motherboard) totals $109 (tho there are less expensive heatsinks and motherboards for socket "A"), for $122 ($13 more) he could get a

AMD Sempron 2600+ Palermo 333MHz FSB 128KB L2 Cache Socket 754 Processor - Retail = $72.00

ECS 760GX-M Socket 754 SiS 760 GX Micro ATX AMD Motherboard - Retail = $49.99

and have some room for upgrades
or get the

ASRock K8 COMBO-Z Socket 754 and 939 ULi M1689 ATX AMD Motherboard - Retail = $74.25

for an additional $25 (now $38 above superfly27 suguestion) and have a motherboard that has support all the way to AMDs duel core X2 line.

New memory would be reqired and a new power supply highly recommended, but there should be enough left over for those.

If he is going to need a new videocard (or other components) he may have to go socket "A" to stay in budget, but even then it should be quite an improvement from his 500MHz Celeron.

 

[superfly27]

That's certainly an interesting solution.

However, by next year, we'll be seeing socket M2 and who knows, by that time, we might see motherboards with more power to the PCI-E slot. Nvidia has expressed interest in raising the amount of power supplied to the PCI-E slot.

I'm not saying this to argue with the poster above. It's just the availability of certain components for motherboards changes sometimes and that changes the whole picture. Just look at how difficult it is to find an XP 3200+ right now. And the price is way more than the XP 3000+ which means you'd be justified in getting another motherboard and CPU.

 

[Avalon]

You could always grab a socket 754 Sempron and work your way from there. You can probably get the 2800+ for $75 now, then grab a decent budget board for $60. Add $40 for 512MB memory, $50 for a cheap video card, $50 for PSU/Case, $50 HD, and $30 for a CD burner.

Doh, I went $80 over...well, you could always buy used. That'd chip some prices off fairly well.

 

[kmmatney]

The best bang for buck is Socket 754 right now. I'd go for the AMD Palermo Sempron 2800+ (for the 256K cache) for $83:

Sempron 2800+

and couple it with a Chaintech NForce3 motherboard ($55):

ChainTech NForce3

The system would perform great as-is, but you can overclock the Palermo quite a bit to get a really nice boost. If you don't want to overclock, the the 3100+ Sempron (Paris) is a good performer at $108, and would be a bit better than an Athlon XP 3000+, which is about the same price.

 

[superfly27]

I found a bizarre Athlon XP 2900+ on tigedirect sold in motherboard & CPU bundles. I also found a benchmark on an Intel website where a Compaq system equiped with it failed to run a Halo demo though.

 

[Mattd46612]

Cheap 939 and the Venice 3000+. Got my epox and venice for 230 shipped. Puts my XP to shame.