Help me set Priority--CPU or RAM

[imported_bcbcbc]

I recently upgraded to a new Mobo GA 8S648FXP-RZ.

I chose this board because it was backward compatible to my P4 @ 1.7Ghz(Willamette)/PC2100 RAM(768MB) and NVidia 4x AGP card. And it offered features I wanted/lacked on my older board--recognition of 250GB HDDs; USB 2.0; SATA; RAID; and forward compatibility to P4 Prescott and PC3200 RAM.

I'm not into gaming at all. I mostly use this sys for music playback via ASIO to E-MU 0404 sound card to 2-channel stereo. Web surfing. Photos--some editing. Plus the usual home/office apps. I write a lot.

In truth I probably have all the horsepower I need right now. Everything is running great on the new Mobo with the gear salvaged off the old board.

But I've got the upgrade itch. I don't want to quit. So where do I get the biggest bang for the next few bucks I spend--CPU--I like: the Intel Celeron D 330 Prescott 533MHz FSB 256KB L2 Cache Socket 478 Processor--or RAM--I like: Kingston ValueRAM 1GB (2 x 512MB) 184-Pin DDR SDRAM Unbuffered DDR 400 (PC 3200) Dual Channel Kit System Memory.

I can do either one of these for +/- the $80 I now have available. Which one should I do first?

 

[MustISO]

how much ram do you currently have? If you already have 512MB, I'd go for the CPU.

 

[Googer]

Originally posted by: bcbcbc
I recently upgraded to a new Mobo GA 8S648FXP-RZ.

I chose this board because it was backward compatible to my P4 @ 1.7Ghz(Willamette)/PC2100 RAM(768MB) and NVidia 4x AGP card. And it offered features I wanted/lacked on my older board--recognition of 250GB HDDs; USB 2.0; SATA; RAID; and forward compatibility to P4 Prescott and PC3200 RAM.

I'm not into gaming at all. I mostly use this sys for music playback via ASIO to E-MU 0404 sound card to 2-channel stereo. Web surfing. Photos--some editing. Plus the usual home/office apps. I write a lot.

In truth I probably have all the horsepower I need right now. Everything is running great on the new Mobo with the gear salvaged off the old board.

But I've got the upgrade itch. I don't want to quit. So where do I get the biggest bang for the next few bucks I spend--CPU--I like: the Intel Celeron D 330 Prescott 533MHz FSB 256KB L2 Cache Socket 478 Processor--or RAM--I like: Kingston ValueRAM 1GB (2 x 512MB) 184-Pin DDR SDRAM Unbuffered DDR 400 (PC 3200) Dual Channel Kit System Memory.

I can do either one of these for +/- the $80 I now have available. Which one should I do first?

The Best bang for your buck is a $50-60 Socket 754 motherboard and an AMD Sempron 2800-3000+ ($50-88) that will run circles around the fastest celeron.

Motherboard- Fast Chipset

2600+
2800+
3000+