Is it wise to wait to upgrade at the moment...

[FallenHero]

I'm looking to fully upgrade my current computer...2.4 P4 prescott with 6600 GT vid card and 1 gig of ram. That is my current rig.

After reading reviews on AT, it makes me wonder if I should wait out the 6 months until Conroe makes its appearence on the scene. With the performance we are seeing from it, will it be worth the wait? It will mostly be a gaming rig.

I suppose my ultimate question is, how will support pan out in the first launch stages of the new chip? Will there be plenty of Motherboards and ram to choose from with the new setup, or will I be limited in my choices? I am a big ASUS fan, and I would LOVE to have 4 gigs of ram in the comp...I just don't exactly know where to go with it.

Also, looking at the video cards...I have no idea what the hell is going on with them. Any clues as to whats happening in the next 6 months with them as well? New gen coming out?

EDIT: BTW, Money isn't an issue.

 

[Operandi]

I predict a large CPU war in the near future, similar to the race to 1GHZ of the past. Systems in 6-10 months time will probably put today?s highest end machines to shame by a large margin.

 

[FallenHero]

Originally posted by: Operandi
I predict a large CPU war in the near future, similar to the race to 1GHZ of the past. Systems in 6-10 months time will probably put today?s highest end machines to shame by a large margin.

No offense, but doesn't that always happen in the CPU industry? Or will it be more noticable than usual?

 

[Operandi]

Originally posted by: FallenHero

Originally posted by: Operandi
I predict a large CPU war in the near future, similar to the race to 1GHZ of the past. Systems in 6-10 months time will probably put today?s highest end machines to shame by a large margin.

No offense, but doesn't that always happen in the CPU industry? Or will it be more noticable than usual?

Not really.

I don't think there has been any big advances since the Athlon64 made it's entrance.

Currently Intel is just sitting on Conroe. When it hits it's going to completely wipe the floor with everything out now. Hopefully AMD will have something to answer with but the point is the leap forward will be much larger then anything we've seen in the last 2-3 years.

 

[1N0V471V]

If what we've seen remains true, Conroe is going to be very, very fast.

 

[kmrivers]

I would wait if you plan on going with Vista next year.

 

[FallenHero]

So basically, waiting for Conroe will insure my systems ability to beat some ass. Awesome. Any word on the video card market, or should I mosey on over the video forum (im scared of their flamefests)

 

[DaveSimmons]

The HardOCP front page article on video card CPU scaling makes me think that buying an A64 4000+ for gaming now makes as much sense as waiting for Conroe.

In a couple of years games may benefit enough from dual-core to make an X2 4600+ faster than a 4000+, but at that point you'll want a new system anyway.

Dual-core is the dream system for warezing (run DVDShrink, divx, P2P etc. while you game) but for pure gaming it's just an expensive security blanket for those who hope it will future-proof their system (while giving up performance now).

 

[SoundTheSurrender]

I would wait. I think its a stupid idea to build a whole new pc right now if you are still on the AMD Nforce 2 era, or whatever Intel is equal to. Its still in a big transition, and I am not impressed by the numbers video cards are giving.

 

[Jules]

Originally posted by: DaveSimmons
The HardOCP front page article on video card CPU scaling makes me think that buying an A64 4000+ for gaming now makes as much sense as waiting for Conroe.

In a couple of years games may benefit enough from dual-core to make an X2 4600+ faster than a 4000+, but at that point you'll want a new system anyway.

Dual-core is the dream system for warezing (run DVDShrink, divx, P2P etc. while you game) but for pure gaming it's just an expensive security blanket for those who hope it will future-proof their system (while giving up performance now).

Well said.

 

[Operandi]

Originally posted by: MyStupidMouth

Originally posted by: DaveSimmons
The HardOCP front page article on video card CPU scaling makes me think that buying an A64 4000+ for gaming now makes as much sense as waiting for Conroe.

In a couple of years games may benefit enough from dual-core to make an X2 4600+ faster than a 4000+, but at that point you'll want a new system anyway.

Dual-core is the dream system for warezing (run DVDShrink, divx, P2P etc. while you game) but for pure gaming it's just an expensive security blanket for those who hope it will future-proof their system (while giving up performance now).

Well said.

Then explain this.

 

[RussianSensation]

Originally posted by: MyStupidMouth

Originally posted by: DaveSimmons
The HardOCP front page article on video card CPU scaling makes me think that buying an A64 4000+ for gaming now makes as much sense as waiting for Conroe.

In a couple of years games may benefit enough from dual-core to make an X2 4600+ faster than a 4000+, but at that point you'll want a new system anyway.

Dual-core is the dream system for warezing (run DVDShrink, divx, P2P etc. while you game) but for pure gaming it's just an expensive security blanket for those who hope it will future-proof their system (while giving up performance now).

Well said.

Only that Conroe at 2.40 dual will whipe the floor with A64 4000+. 2.66ghz Conroe is about 20-30% faster than FX 60@2.8ghz. A64 4000+ is only clocked at 2.4ghz. Plus these new chips should overclock fairly well to easily surpass A64 2.8ghz. It's going to be hard to argue against a $240 dual core processor that gives up 0 performance to top end A64 single core processors while delivering a 2nd core for "free." Also, if OP wants 4 gigs of ram, might as well invest into DDR2 that he might be able to resell later. Who is going to want 4 gigs of DDR1 ram in 1 year? Not to mention the new second might actually support quad-core cpus and scale really well to past 3.33ghz for Conroe. With A64 he'll be stuck and in 1 year's time will have to get a new motherboard. Which means in the future there are potential savings from not having to buy a motherboard with Intel or AM2. I do agree with you that buying a single core A64 is not a bad idea since dual core AMD processors give you nothing and cost 2x more. But that's not going to be the case with cheaper Conroe processors that will be faster than any single core A64 to begin with.

But the golden rule should be to upgrade not when new stuff comes out but when you feel your system is too slow. So if your system suits you fine for what games you play, then don't upgrade and wait for Conroe. If your system is slow and you wont be satisfied with it for another 4-6 months, then buy A64 now. In 6 months G80 and R600 will probably be out or at least one of them. Combined with Conroe, a system in 6 months from now will be about 100% faster than today's top system. If you can afford to wait, wait, if not buy now.

 

[DaveSimmons]

Originally posted by: Operandi
Then explain this.

If you want to game at 800x600? Then buy an A64 3200+ and 7600GT and save several hundred dollars -- 86 FPS is fine.

For 1280x1024 there is possibly some value in choosing an X2 3800+ over a 4000+ for this one game, but again 86 FPS is fine.

At 1600x1200 the video card dominates the results, which was part of my point. To elaborate:

1. Most CPU-bound sitiuations will happen in games with little or no parallel processing code, which favors the 4000+ over the 3800+.
2. For high resolution, the framerate is set by the video card given a fast enough CPU core. In the HardOCP tests the X2 3800+ core was not always fast enough, which again favors the 4000+ over the 3800+.

For almost all games you can buy now or in the next year the 4000+ will offer equal or better performance than a 3800+, and often 4600+, except in meaningless 140 FPS low res comparisons.

It's true that eventually a dual-core will be a better choice, and if money is no object you might as well buy a 4600+ or 4800+ now, but if you plan to upgrade in a year or two you can wait and get a 5600+ instead.

But the golden rule should be to upgrade not when new stuff comes out but when you feel your system is too slow. So if your system suits you fine for what games you play, then don't upgrade and wait for Conroe. ...

I agree 100% with this. If you aren't playing anything that needs more power, wait. Everything will get cheaper and/or faster.

 

[bluestrobe]

Waiting for a new technology to come out is always a not so smart idea. There is always something new around the corner and always something cutting edge that is the "leet" stuff. I usually buy stuff that?s been out 6 months since its half of the cost most times than it was when it was new. If you are into the e-penis show off though then it?s a different story.

 

[Operandi]

Originally posted by: DaveSimmons

Originally posted by: Operandi
Then explain this.

If you want to game at 800x600? Then buy an A64 3200+ and 7600GT and save several hundred dollars -- 86 FPS is fine.

For 1280x1024 there is possibly some value in choosing an X2 3800+ over a 4000+ for this one game, but again 86 FPS is fine.

At 1600x1200 the video card dominates the results, which was part of my point. To elaborate:

1. Most CPU-bound sitiuations will happen in games with little or no parallel processing code, which favors the 4000+ over the 3800+.
2. For high resolution, the framerate is set by the video card given a fast enough CPU core. In the HardOCP tests the X2 3800+ core was not always fast enough, which again favors the 4000+ over the 3800+.

For almost all games you can buy now or in the next year the 4000+ will offer equal or better performance than a 3800+, and often 4600+, except in meaningless 140 FPS low res comparisons.

It's true that eventually a dual-core will be a better choice, and if money is no object you might as well buy a 4600+ or 4800+ now, but if you plan to upgrade in a year or two you can wait and get a 5600+ instead.

Valid points but don't you think those benchmarks a good indication of the future?

Sure a single faster core is faster now but almost when every CPU sold (consoles as well as PC) in the future is going to dual core developers will want to code to take advantage of that.

 

[Jules]

Originally posted by: RussianSensation

Originally posted by: MyStupidMouth

Originally posted by: DaveSimmons
The HardOCP front page article on video card CPU scaling makes me think that buying an A64 4000+ for gaming now makes as much sense as waiting for Conroe.

In a couple of years games may benefit enough from dual-core to make an X2 4600+ faster than a 4000+, but at that point you'll want a new system anyway.

Dual-core is the dream system for warezing (run DVDShrink, divx, P2P etc. while you game) but for pure gaming it's just an expensive security blanket for those who hope it will future-proof their system (while giving up performance now).

Well said.

Only that Conroe at 2.40 dual will whipe the floor with A64 4000+. 2.66ghz Conroe is about 20-30% faster than FX 60@2.8ghz. A64 4000+ is only clocked at 2.4ghz. Plus these new chips should overclock fairly well to easily surpass A64 2.8ghz. It's going to be hard to argue against a $240 dual core processor that gives up 0 performance to top end A64 single core processors while delivering a 2nd core for "free." Also, if OP wants 4 gigs of ram, might as well invest into DDR2 that he might be able to resell later. Who is going to want 4 gigs of DDR1 ram in 1 year? Not to mention the new second might actually support quad-core cpus and scale really well to past 3.33ghz for Conroe. With A64 he'll be stuck and in 1 year's time will have to get a new motherboard. Which means in the future there are potential savings from not having to buy a motherboard with Intel or AM2. I do agree with you that buying a single core A64 is not a bad idea since dual core AMD processors give you nothing and cost 2x more. But that's not going to be the case with cheaper Conroe processors that will be faster than any single core A64 to begin with.

But the golden rule should be to upgrade not when new stuff comes out but when you feel your system is too slow. So if your system suits you fine for what games you play, then don't upgrade and wait for Conroe. If your system is slow and you wont be satisfied with it for another 4-6 months, then buy A64 now. In 6 months G80 and R600 will probably be out or at least one of them. Combined with Conroe, a system in 6 months from now will be about 100% faster than today's top system. If you can afford to wait, wait, if not buy now.

lol sure

 

[JSFLY]

I dont understand why you guys are hyping up the conroe so much. I'll bet any money AMD has a trick up its sleeve that will mop the floor with Intel once its unleashed. 6 months is a long time.

Like russian said, if you don't need a super system RIGHT this minute then wait 6 months. And if you don't need a super fast system when the conroe comes out, wait some more. Base your purchase decisions off what your needs are, instead of hype.

 

[Madwand1]

Vista + DRM + Direct3D 10 will also create marketing opportunities for video card and game manufacturers (not to mention DRAM, etc.).

NVidia's 7900 are making some recent buyers of 7800's feel bad; however 7900 feels incomplete, as not a great answer to the X1900. I'm not sure what the future will hold, but there will be new things in the video front as well -- at the latest, around when Vista is released.

 

[sniperruff]

upgrade only when you need it.

 

[Madwand1]

Originally posted by: JSFLY
I dont understand why you guys are hyping up the conroe so much. I'll bet any money AMD has a trick up its sleeve that will mop the floor with Intel once its unleashed. 6 months is a long time.

Comments and actions related to the following lead some of us to believe that AMD doesn't have anything significant for the short term for consumers. 6 months is not a long time in the CPU space; if Conroe results took them by surprise, it could take longer to recover and answer back, and that's assuming Intel is sitting on their hands in the meanwhile.

Hector Ruiz
In terms of retail around the world, for example, we have 40-50% of the market. Our desire, frankly, is to just hang on to that while we make much more significant impact on the commercial side.

 

[Kakumba]

As long as your system is gonna keep you going for at least a year, dont bother, save up for your all new system (Conroe, or if AMD has something to match it, then that), Vista, and DX10 vid cards. as has been said, from about 6 months from now to mid next year we can expect a huge change.

thats my take on it all.