Building a new system, what to do with the old?

[absinthe]

After nearly a year (yeah, a year) of planning and saving, I think today I'm going to order my new rig. I've been struggling on whether I really *needed* the X2 4400+ over the slightly less kick*ss X2 3800+, but in the end I decided, hey!, this is probably the only time I'll be able to afford what I actually want, so I think I'm going to order the 4400+ (w/DFI Lan Party UT NForce4 Ultra-D, Raedon X800 XL vid card, 2 GB OCZ Dual-Channel Platinum, whole system from Monarch).

I want to pass on my "old" system to be the family PC. It's an Athlon XP 1600+ which I've just successfully overclocked to about 1.74 gHz (which would be its maximum without unlocking the chip). The system as it is would be great for the wife and kiddies considering they're still using a PIII 950 MHz Compaq desktop (the system doesn't seem to bother them, but I ache inside every time I walk by it), but I'd still like to do something with it. I've contacted Epox, manufacturer of my mobo (the 8K5A2), and am told that the fastest processor the board is built to handle is an Athlon XP 2600+ Thoroughbred (though what the difference is between this and the Barton-core 2600+, I don't know. I mean, they're both 333 MHz FSB chips?).

So I've checked up on some prices for that CPU. Pricewatch lists it as low as $66 shipped, and they're about the same on eBay (I've never bought a CPU on eBay before, though). Do you think it would be worth it? That would bump the machine from 1.4 MHz rock-stable or 1.74 GHz maybe-stable up to 2.083 GHz. Personally, I would just get a kick out of reusing a motherboard! The old machine also has a GeForce Ti4200 (64 MB) and 768 MB Crucial RAM.

On a side note, I can't believe the 2600+ still costs that much. I mean, I bought my XP 1600+ for $55, and that was 3 years ago!. I'll tell you, it was probably the best 55 bucks I ever spent. Made me an AMD fan for life .

-abs

 

[Furen]

Heh, there's a limit to how low prices can drop. K7s didnt lower than like 45 bucks and now they're getting rare. Bartons have more cache so you might actually need motherboard support for them.

Any reason why you're getting the DFI Lan party? I've heard that it's "quirky" to say the least and since your multiplier is pretty high to begin with you wont need anything crazy like 360HTT frequency to max out your CPU. For ram: are you getting 2x1GB modules? 1T command rate helps performance a bit and leaves you room to upgrade later on (heh).

 

[absinthe]

I've just read some good reviews on that particular DFI model at several sites. I've heard it's quirky only if you don't understand RAM timing settings, because apparently it has a lot of them. If you think another board would suit me just as well, let me know. I haven't ordered yet, but I want to before going to bed tonight (been "pleasure delaying" for too long now).

AFAIK, the OCZ dual-channel plats only come in pairs. If you think I'd get as-good/better performance from a "lesser" RAM (Value Select RAM, for instance), lemme know .

Thanks!

-abs

 

[Furen]

Buying the whole system preassembled? About the motherboard: I've heard of it killing CPUs, Ram modules, and dying itself, granted that most of these people were doing some pretty hardcore overclocking and using the 5v rail to feed the dimms. I've also heard that settings that work one day suddenly stop working, again, probably when you're at the edge of stability. I was asking whether you were going for 2x1GB or 4x512MB, but I see they have 2x1GB platinum sets now.

Now, about your old systems (since that's what your thread is all about). I dont think you'll really feel much of a performance increase from going to a 2600+. You'd be better off saving a bit more and just buying a sempron (754) + mobo and overclocking that later on. You'll get much much more of a performance increase and you wont take chances with the mobo's compatibility.

 

[exar333]

Ultra D is a great board, just dont get it if you have never OC'd, or are not ready to learn! good board tho, takes pretty much anything u can throw at it...

 

[Shimmishim]

the dfi boards killing ram are as you said due to using the 5 volt jumper.

i doubt he'll be doing that with the ram he's using so no need to worry about killing ram.

i've had my board now since about feb and i have no complaints as of yet.

as long as you don't mess with the mem timings, you should be okay with that board. once you start messing with it, your life will become harder hehehe...

another good board is the epox 9n... something something something board...

 

[absinthe]

Yeah, but see if I upgrade to a Sempron (which I probably wouldn't; I'd get a 3000+ Venice), then I gotta get a motherboard, like you said. Not only that, but then I gotta buy RAM too. Expenditure instantly triples

I'm just wondering if the performance increase from a 1600+ Palomino to a 2600+ Thoroughbred is worth @$66, all other things being equal.

-abs