Dad wants a decent 'desktop' computer...

[BigToquex]

My dad has asked me what kind of specs a decent 'desktop' computer might have. I mean basically for number crunching and such.

I figured a P4 2.4 GHz seems to be the sweet spot in price/performance
865pe mobo
512 MB DDR ram
80 gig HD


I've been out of the loop for a while here so I have a question - the P4 2.4 @ 533 FSb - means I need 133Mhz DDR right? (well 266) - so what is all this DDR 2700/3200/3500/3700 stuff?

Clock speed is 133x4
Mem speed is 133x2
video card is 133/2
pci speed is 133/4

i've been following just about everything except memory/mobos.

Also, these i865 mobos support DDR400 right (which is a 200MHz FSB) - you can't run the CPU at a 533 bus (133x4) and have the memory running at 400 (200x2) can you?

 

[BigToquex]

wait, nevermind...

865 supports the 800Mhz FSB 😱

silly me - I'm not that confused 🙂

I'd still like to know about the DDR speed ratings and such though

 

[Cerb]

533MHz FSB = 133MHz
800MHz FSB = 200MHz

PC2100 = 133MHz (266 DDR)
PC2700 = 166MHz (333 DDR)
PC3200 = 200MHz (400 DDR)
...and might as well get the P4C and run 200/200.

 

[Ionizer86]

As for the price/performance ratio, you can get Athlon XP 2500+ chips for about half a P4 2.4c.

The 2500+ is around 85, while the 2.4c is approaching 170, I believe.
You can give it less expensive PC2700 as well if you're not overclocking.

 

[BaboonGuy]

Originally posted by: Ionizer86
As for the price/performance ratio, you can get Athlon XP 2500+ chips for about half a P4 2.4c.

The 2500+ is around 85, while the 2.4c is approaching 170, I believe.
You can give it less expensive PC2700 as well if you're not overclocking.

2500+ or 1700+ paired with an 8RGA+ and you've got yourself a sweet little setup there for under 200.

 

[Muck]

If you go with the nForce2 board, you'll want to get (2) 256MB 2700 DIMMs so you can run dual-channel.