Help me choose my CPU (choice of 5 given)

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Razor1973

Member
Jul 23, 2006
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Hey, guys, I am looking to upgrade my Athlon XP 1.0 GHz and I searched on PriceWatch for CPU/motherboard combos under $200 (no Celerons, Opterons or Semprons) and came up with the following choices:

(A) Pentium D 820 2.8 GHz ($195 for CPU/motherboard combo)
(B) Pentium 4 630 3.0 GHz ($185 for CPU/motherboard combo)
(C) Pentium 4 530 3.0 GHz ($190 for CPU/motherboard combo)
(D) Pentium 4 Prescott 3.2 GHz ($195 for CPU/motherboard combo)
(E) Athlon 64 3800+ 2.4 GHz ($184 for CPU/motherboard combo)

What would be your #1, 2 and 3 choices among these? Or can you recommend something better that could be had (remember it's a combo) for less than $200? I also will be picking these combos only if they come with a motherboard that supports DDR2 and has at least 3 legacy PCI slots.

I am not looking to overclock or anything like that.

Thanks in avance for your feedback! :thumbsup:
 
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acegazda

Platinum Member
May 14, 2006
2,689
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I'm going to go with either option (F) or option (G)... the former being the am2 3800+ X2 and asus m2n-e for ~$240 shipped after tomorrow and the latter being save up $$$ for c2d....... srry for my attitude;) I would seriously consider my option (F), or possibly a 930 pentium D and a good s775 board. Welcome to the forums!
 
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us3rnotfound

Diamond Member
Jun 7, 2003
5,334
3
81
Any of those will do what you need just fine, but it's just the thought burning in the back of your mind that you got fvcking pwned in the price/performance ratio department. I totally agree with acegazda, follow his word.
 
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Razor1973

Member
Jul 23, 2006
27
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Originally posted by: acegazda
am2 3800+ X2 and asus m2n-e for ~$240 shipped after tomorrow
Click to expand...

Nothing wrong with putting it the way you put it, acegazda. You get your point across. :)

What do you mean "after tomorrow"? And where would I get that $240 price for the combo? Just the mobo is ~$100 at NewEgg.

I went to the AsusTek site to read up on this mobo. Care to explain in brief what these highlights are and what makes them so much superior to existing alternatives? Here they are, as per their site:

- NVIDIA nForce® 570 Ultra? MCP
- ASUS Fanless Design:Heat-pipe Thermal solution
- 8-CH High Definition Audio
- ASUS Crystal Sound Noise Filter
- AI Gear
- AI Nap
- ASUS CrashFree BIOS3

Thanks again!
 
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acegazda

Platinum Member
May 14, 2006
2,689
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another option is to join the dark side and overclock... all you need to become a member is a budget chip and an aftermarket hsf (unless you buy an opteron in which case you may omit item #2) Good options:
am2 3200+ and m2n-e= $180 tomorrow.
pentium D 805 + some intel board= $80+X where X is the cost of the intel board I am unfamiliar with.
HAVE FUN!:D

EDIT: srry i was posting while you replied... the mobo might drop in price to $90... and the X2 will recieve a price cut to ~$150 tomorrow in an attempt to redirect buisiness to them... CONROE IS OUT BABY! Anyway... lots of cpu's are getting price cuts, AMD and intel. As far as the m2n-e being superior to current alternatives... i never said it, but i guess it's sort of true. MSI has a 570ultra offering, but it's $20 more, albiet having more features. The heatpipe chipset cooler is great and it's got everything you need, but one thing you need to make sure of is that your RAM is compatable. Corsiar XMS2 is great, OCZ platinum is NOT.
 
Zebo

Zebo

Elite Member
Jul 29, 2001
39,398
19
81
(E) Athlon 64 3800+ 2.4 GHz ($184 for CPU/motherboard combo)

It will win in 9/10 benchmarks over the rest of them and is one of the cheapest choices given...no brainer IMO.
 
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Razor1973

Member
Jul 23, 2006
27
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OK, this is a lot of information to digest at once. And, acegazda, your posts are so messy, they make compiling the information all the worse. :laugh:

Let's see...

Join the dark side? Well, although I consider myself a bit of a geek, CPU's are not my forté. I enjoy the cellular phone/Pocket PC scene better. Cars also. However, I wouldn't have a problem getting into overclocking if I really found a practical purpose for it other than the sheer joy of doing it (sort of beating the system, huh?). You buy a CPU/mobo combo for $250 so that you can overclock and end up with a system that would have cost you only $50 more to buy, also risking destroying the whole thing (the $250 gone to waste)? I'm obviously missing something here. :roll:

I've noticed you're very biased towards dual-core CPU's. Then again, who wouldn't be, based on all the reviews? I take it I should be looking into Pentium D and Athlon X2 as my only real choices here if I want to end up with a solid system.

Athlon X2 3200+... How does that compare in performance to the Althon 64 3200+? And if you had to choose an Athlon 64 that would offer the same type of performance, what would it be? 4000+? I don't know... Maybe these are really dumb questions. (Rookie posters in cellular forums come to mind.)

Why would I get the Pentium D 805 when I can get the 820 with a CPU for around $195, as per my original post? Would you still get the Athlon X2 3200+ over that one? Forget overclocking for a second :laugh:

I will definitely stick around when I need to pick my memory for tips like the one you just offered.

Thanks again!
 
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Razor1973

Member
Jul 23, 2006
27
0
0
Originally posted by: Zebo
(E) Athlon 64 3800+ 2.4 GHz ($184 for CPU/motherboard combo)
Click to expand...

If I go with one of my original choices, I will definitely consider that one as my top one, but acegazda here is trying to convince me to get an X2 instead. :roll:

23K+... That's a lot of posts you have there!
 
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Ayah

Platinum Member
Jan 1, 2006
2,512
1
81
Originally posted by: Razor1973
Originally posted by: Zebo
(E) Athlon 64 3800+ 2.4 GHz ($184 for CPU/motherboard combo)
Click to expand...

If I go with one of my original choices, I will definitely consider that one as my top one, but acegazda here is trying to convince me to get an X2 instead. :roll:

23K+... That's a lot of posts you have there!
Click to expand...

Well, the X2 will set you real straight for the future.
 
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Razor1973

Member
Jul 23, 2006
27
0
0
Originally posted by: Ayah
Well, the X2 will set you real straight for the future.
Click to expand...

Which is something I really need to take into account, as I don't upgrade my systems very often.
 
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Razor1973

Member
Jul 23, 2006
27
0
0
Hmmm... I really like these forums. VERY helpful. I also posted here at the same time and still no replies.

Thanks, guys! (And gals, if there's any.) :thumbsup:
 
Zebo

Zebo

Elite Member
Jul 29, 2001
39,398
19
81
Originally posted by: Razor1973
Originally posted by: Zebo
(E) Athlon 64 3800+ 2.4 GHz ($184 for CPU/motherboard combo)
Click to expand...

If I go with one of my original choices, I will definitely consider that one as my top one, but acegazda here is trying to convince me to get an X2 instead. :roll:

23K+... That's a lot of posts you have there!
Click to expand...

Well I did'nt editorialize because I don't know what your uses are and if dual core is any good or not. Seems like a lot of extra cash if you're just a casual user upgrading from a tbred 1000 which is about 5x slower than 3800+.
 
Zebo

Zebo

Elite Member
Jul 29, 2001
39,398
19
81
Originally posted by: Razor1973
Originally posted by: Ayah
Well, the X2 will set you real straight for the future.
Click to expand...

Which is something I really need to take into account, as I don't upgrade my systems very often.
Click to expand...

If that's the case dual core is probably the best choice, since, in the future, many if not most applications will be written to take advantage of two processors.
 
Markfw

Markfw

Moderator Emeritus, Elite Member
May 16, 2002
27,221
16,100
136
Sorry, Monarch computer, right now. Only one caveat from their site:
"Due to increased demand we expect all preorders to ship on or before August 3rd.
If this date is to change, you will be emailed directly."
 
Markfw

Markfw

Moderator Emeritus, Elite Member
May 16, 2002
27,221
16,100
136
Well, I just got 2 X2 3800's from mwave for $314 shipped (retail).

Thanks Zebo, now I don't have to wait. They are cheaper than Monarch even in a combo, and newegg is still asleep (no discount yet)
 
Zebo

Zebo

Elite Member
Jul 29, 2001
39,398
19
81
Personally I'd get the ASUS M2NPV-VM mirco board there because it's totally loaded and has DVI out for LCD crisp veiwing pleasure. Plus it's Asus, the best.
 
A

acegazda

Platinum Member
May 14, 2006
2,689
1
0
alright, so you think my posts are messy? Hmmm.... well here are the main points:
asusm2n-e + am2 X2 3800+ or
pentium D 930 + [insert lga775 board here]
 
L

LW07

Golden Member
Feb 16, 2006
1,537
2
81
Originally posted by: Razor1973
OK, this is a lot of information to digest at once. And, acegazda, your posts are so messy, they make compiling the information all the worse. :laugh:

Let's see...

Join the dark side? Well, although I consider myself a bit of a geek, CPU's are not my forté. I enjoy the cellular phone/Pocket PC scene better. Cars also. However, I wouldn't have a problem getting into overclocking if I really found a practical purpose for it other than the sheer joy of doing it (sort of beating the system, huh?). You buy a CPU/mobo combo for $250 so that you can overclock and end up with a system that would have cost you only $50 more to buy, also risking destroying the whole thing (the $250 gone to waste)? I'm obviously missing something here. :roll:

I've noticed you're very biased towards dual-core CPU's. Then again, who wouldn't be, based on all the reviews? I take it I should be looking into Pentium D and Athlon X2 as my only real choices here if I want to end up with a solid system.

Athlon X2 3200+... How does that compare in performance to the Althon 64 3200+? And if you had to choose an Athlon 64 that would offer the same type of performance, what would it be? 4000+? I don't know... Maybe these are really dumb questions. (Rookie posters in cellular forums come to mind.)

Why would I get the Pentium D 805 when I can get the 820 with a CPU for around $195, as per my original post? Would you still get the Athlon X2 3200+ over that one? Forget overclocking for a second :laugh:

I will definitely stick around when I need to pick my memory for tips like the one you just offered.

Thanks again!
Click to expand...

If by X2 3200+, you mean the X2 3800+, then it performs like a 3200+ in current, single threaded games, but in the future, in multithreaded games and applications, it'll perform better than even an FX-57 due to the 2 cores, making it better able to handle the multithreading. So I recommend the X2 3800+ and mobo route rather than a single core P4 or Athlon 64, and even over the Pentium D 820.

However, if you're talking about the recently announced Athlon 64 X2 3600+, then I probably wouldn't recommend it, as it's got half the cache of an X2 3800+, which makes it basically a re-named dualcore Sempron, so I don't recommend it.
 
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