need help cant decide on mb/cpu combo

[david9862]

Which one should i get? AMD Athlon 64 3000+ boxed cpu and mb for $199.99 or 3.2GHz Pentium 4 @ 800 FSB bare cpu and mb for $219.99? I have no idea what mb they come with. Im leaning a little towards the P4 because i might be able to use my thermalright 947u heatsink. Im forced to upgrade my pc due to a crap ecs mb. I dont plan on overclocking but it would be a nice option and what memory should i use? Or would i be better off getting everything seperate? Budget is about $220 for cpu and mb. Any help would be great

 

[Cook1]

AMD

 

[CheesePoofs]

Depends on what your using it for, but you will probably get a better value with the AMD proc.

 

[david9862]

not gaming or anything, mainly surfing net and ms office, or transfering files back an forth to my xbox

 

[ts3433]

You don't even need a 3000+ for that, really.

 

[david9862]

my old xp1800+ was more than enough processor but the mb took a crap and since i would have to replace my old pc133 with some newer memory i might as well spend a little more and upgrade.

 

[DrMrLordX]

If that's the case, just go with the cheapest option, which, in this case, is the 3000+. You won't notice any difference either way.

 

[KF]

Your most economic option is to keep the CPU and replace the mobo and RAM. If you want to upgrade in 6 months to a year, when you've got together some more money, buy some PC3200 RAM now. It will work with the A64 mobo you upgrade to.

DFI socket A mobo $69
Obviously you can go cheaper. DFI has a great rep around here

Or if you really want to upgrade
Epox Socket 754 mobo $67
or
Soltek Socket 754 mobo $83

Athlon 64 2800+ Socket 754 boxed with HSF $121

I wouldn't go for less than 512M of RAM.
Corsair 512Meg PC3200 CAS 2.5 RAM $54
This memory has a great following here. Don't expect it to OC way over its rating.

Corsair 1Gig pair PC3200 CAS 2.5 RAM $107
but the hit from using a single channel is not large.

 

[imported_Kensai]

Gogo AMD!

 

[david9862]

Whats better the socket 754 or socket 939? I dont upgrade too often maybe once every 3 - 4 years. It would be nice to reuse some of the new components the next time i upgrade.

 

[o1die]

I have that ecs 848p board. It's single channel, which isn't the best for any p4. Amd would be the better choice.