Should I upgrade Athlon 2400+

[Sandan]

I have an Athlon 2400+, 1 gig 2700 ram, ati 9800 video, 160gig 7200 maxtor hard drive, and windows xp pro. I am thinking of a new board the Asrock 939dual-SATA2 motherboard with AMD 64 3800+. I would use the same ram, video card, and hard drive for now and slowly upgrade those components. Would I see much of a perforamce boost with the new board and CPU? I play a lot of games; Doom 3, Quake 4, guild Wars, WOW. I also do work on the computer using spreadsheets, word processing, and powerpoint. Thanks for the comments.

 

[secretanchitman]

definitely...difference will be nticeable from upgrading to a 3800+. will it be an X2 or not?

 

[Sandan]

I am looking at the athlon 64 3800+ not the x2. I saw benchmarks on games that show the 64 doing better than the x2. For the extra 75 bucks I think I would look at the 64. Thanks.

 

[harpoon84]

Yeah, definitely, any modern CPU will be heaps faster than your 2400+.

If you are looking at overclocking I would just get a 3200+, most of these can get to 2.6GHz which would put it on par for an FX-60 for gaming purposes.

 

[Sandan]

Harpoon84...Do you mean the 64 3200+ ? Thats good news about overclocking. I have done that with most of my CPU's over the years. Is the x2 much better than the 64? I saw some benchmarks showing the 64 doing better than the x2 in some games.

 

[Blain]

Originally posted by: Sandan
I have an Athlon 2400+, 1 gig 2700 ram, ati 9800 video, 160gig 7200 maxtor hard drive, and windows xp pro. I am thinking of a new board the Asrock 939dual-SATA2 motherboard with AMD 64 3800+. I would use the same ram, video card, and hard drive for now and slowly upgrade those components.

Thats good news about overclocking. I have done that with most of my CPU's over the years.

Your PC-2700 would = MAJOR SUCKAGE used with the rest of your "overclocked" upgrades. :thumbsdown::roll:

 

[Sandan]

Thanks on the RAM suckage comment. One of the reasons I am looking at this setup is that the Motherboard allows me to use most of the components I now have while I save money and over time upgrade. This Motherboard is the only one I can find that will work with AGP and PCIe. I figured the RAM would be a bottleneck but I gotta put up with that till I can buy more. Do you guys think the PC2700 RAM and ATI 9800 card will be such a bottleneck that I won't see much of an improvement over my Athlon 2400+ ?

 

[ebaycj]

Originally posted by: Sandan
Harpoon84...Do you mean the 64 3200+ ? Thats good news about overclocking. I have done that with most of my CPU's over the years. Is the x2 much better than the 64? I saw some benchmarks showing the 64 doing better than the x2 in some games.

Yes, X2 is better. AMD recently released a "CPU driver" (for lack of a better word), that SIGNIFICANTLY improved dual-core performance in some games (basically the games were written badly, and took a performance hit on a dual core architecture instead of gaining a performance benefit).

With this patch, the WORST case scenario is that the X2 would perform the same as an equivalently clocked- and cached- single-core cpu.

X2 will also let you do stuff in the background while gaming at near full speed (i.e. 1 cpu takes the background stuff + some of the gaming stuff, the other is fully devoted to gaming stuff).

 

[Blain]

I only said the memory sux, not the 9800.
BTW, Is it a 9800 Pro, XT or SE?

 

[Madwand1]

E.g. AT WoW CPU scaling:

http://www.anandtech.com/showdoc.aspx?i=2381&p=5

 

[Sandan]

Thanks for the WoW link. Do you guys think if I keep the PC2700 RAM and ATI 9800 card to add to the Asrock board and Athlon 64 3800+, will they cause such a bottleneck that I won't see much of an improvement over my Athlon 2400+ ?

 

[Madwand1]

Originally posted by: Sandan
Do you guys think if I keep the PC2700 RAM and ATI 9800 card to add to the Asrock board and Athlon 64 3800+, will they cause such a bottleneck that I won't see much of an improvement over my Athlon 2400+ ?

While you can obviously improve performance quite a bit with a higher-end video card, and similarly can improve CPU and overall performance with faster RAM, I think that you can get a significant speed-up from just the CPU upgrade at this time (in at least WoW), and of course upgrade RAM and video further down the road.

In the worst case, where the 9800 is a significant bottleneck, once you improve the CPU, you can improve performance by reducing the display resolution / eye candy. In fact, this is a good way to check if it is a bottleneck. If frame rate doesn't improve much when you reduce the display resolution, then the system is CPU/RAM/etc., bottlenecked, not video.

I'd advise you further to look for CPU price deals -- the mid to higher-end AMD processors have come down a lot in price very recently, and while the lower-end ones have become even cheaper, they've only come down a little in absolute terms. Moreover, the price reductions haven't taken hold everywhere, and you could get the wrong ideas in some places based on old stock and prices.

 

[Blain]

Originally posted by: Sandan
I would use the same ram, video card...
Would I see much of a perforamce boost with the new board and CPU?
Thanks for the comments.

Originally posted by: Sandan
Do you guys think the PC2700 RAM and ATI 9800 card will be such a bottleneck that I won't see much of an improvement over my Athlon 2400+ ?

Originally posted by: Sandan
Do you guys think if I keep the PC2700 RAM and ATI 9800 card to add to the Asrock board and Athlon 64 3800+, will they cause such a bottleneck that I won't see much of an improvement over my Athlon 2400+ ?

DANG... I knew I'd heard that question somewhere. You're nothing, if not persistant! :laugh:

* ATI 9800 PRO or XT = not much problem for you.
* PC-2700 memory = Big problem for you.

 

[VooDooAddict]

Is the RAM a matched set of 512MB sticks? If so then I wouldn't worry too much about the RAM you will still get a very significant speed boost from the CPU.

I'd actually be more concerned about the Video. I thought that the AGP on the ASROCK was bridged to the old PCI Bus drastically limiting the bandwidth to the video card. Maybe I'm thinking of a different AGP + PCIe board or maybe the first version of the board was the only one with issues.

Personally, I?d save a little longer and upgrade to an AM2 or Conroe Platform that would give you more breathing room in the future.

Quick scan of Newegg netted this:
Sempron 2800 (Still a major boost from your AthlonXP) @ $55
Low end AM2 Motherboard @ $65
1Gig (2x512) DDR2-800 @ $95 (4 memory slots on most AM2 boards, room to up to 2 gig later)
ATI X1600Pro @ $95 (@ @75 after rebates) [or 7600GT @ $150]
--- This would get you on PCIe AM2 and give you noticeably better performance.
Total @ $290 (After $20 rebate)

Vs

3800 @ $140
ASROCK @ 70
Total @ $210


So for less then $100 more, you'd definetly faster system then you have now. And it would be current with technology for future upgrades (like to the 5000+ X2). You'll also have a complete old CPU/MB/RAM/Video set to either run a cheep linux box or sell to a friend which can offset your extra cost (Even if you sell the set for $50-$75).

 

[Sandan]

Madwand1 and Blain..Thanks much for your comments....I will consider them carefully before I buy. Oh and Blain, my wife is always telling me I am persistant....hehehe

 

[Blain]

Originally posted by: Sandan
Oh and Blain, my wife is always telling me I am persistant....hehehe

I can just hear her now...
"I TOLD YOU BEFORE THAT'S NOT GOING TO HAPPEN" :shocked:

 

[Sandan]

VooDoo Addict......I like your thinking. I will consider.......The thing is the Asrock can handle the am2 with a riser card. Also the research I read is that the AGP is not bridged.

 

[Sandan]

Blain.....The link to your response is pure genius !!!!!!!!

 

[imported_Sincity]

You may want to go X2 since the prices are low. Do you encode videos/DVDs? With a dual core, it will be quicker. I think I hear somewhere that the best bang for buck dual core is the X2 3800.

As for me, this time around, I may go with the X2 4600 for the 12x multiplier. But the price of the X2 3800 is very tempting.

 

[Sandan]

Sincity......Yes I work to backup DVD's....If that process is aided by the X2 3800+ then maybe it is worth the $70 more than a 64 3800+ I gotta pull the trigger real soon. I am afraid that many places will be out of stock due to the price cuts. Already I see that at several websites.

 

[SkylinGTR26]

Okay man i really think this is gonna be really cool for you and all, cause i went through a similair upgrade.
Anyway if your gonna get a single core get a Athlon 64 3700+ here http://www.mwave.com/mwave/ViewProducts...4&updepts=CPU&DNAME=Processors+%2D+CPU its 100. This chip is faster than the 3800 stock for stock and its got a san diago core making it a underclocked fx57, making it a L33T buy for you.

But i recommened Dual Core cause its just the future, and it makes your pc seem extermely fast when your running like 6 crazy intensive cpu apps. the 3800X2 is like 150 man thats probably the best bang for the buck youll get check it out here. http://www.zipzoomfly.com/jsp/ProductDetail.jsp?ProductCode=80721-1

Happy Upgrading!!!!

 

[Zebo]

HURRY

Newegg has Biostar NF325-A7 nForce3 motherboard and Athlon 64 3400+ Socket 754 Processor for $90 + $5 shipping. This is a new Socket 754 core- It's Faster than 3500 and almost as fast as 3800 939.

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.a...MP=AFC-SlickDeals&Item=N82E16813138247

Add mobo to cart then

Select "8 HOUR SALE AMD Athlon 64 3400 + Biostar MB combo" from the list below the item, and click "Buy now" button

 

[networkman]

I have the Asrock 939dual-SATA2 motherboard in my gaming rig, with an AMD Opteron 165 processor; it supposed to be 2.0 GHz, but it's oc'd to 2.5 GHz stable on stock cooling.

It's running with a pair of pc3200 512meg sticks - probably not optimal but it works for what I use it for. I'm very happy with the Asrock board.

 

[Rock Hydra]

Originally posted by: Zebo
HURRY

Newegg has Biostar NF325-A7 nForce3 motherboard and Athlon 64 3400+ Socket 754 Processor for $90 + $5 shipping. This is a new Socket 754 core- It's Faster than 3500 and almost as fast as 3800 939.

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.a...MP=AFC-SlickDeals&Item=N82E16813138247

Add mobo to cart then

Select "8 HOUR SALE AMD Athlon 64 3400 + Biostar MB combo" from the list below the item, and click "Buy now" button

OMG, OP I would jump on this fast.

 

[GreenMonkey]

[Newegg has Biostar NF325-A7 nForce3 motherboard and Athlon 64 3400+ Socket 754 Processor for $90 + $5 shipping. This is a new Socket 754 core- It's Faster than 3500 and almost as fast as 3800 939.

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.a...MP=AFC-SlickDeals&Item=N82E16813138247

Add mobo to cart then

Select "8 HOUR SALE AMD Athlon 64 3400 + Biostar MB combo" from the list below the item, and click "Buy now" button[/quote]

Agreed, this is your best budget upgrade.

January '05 I went from an nforce 2/Athlon XP 1800+/9800pro/512MB setup to an NF3-150 & Newcastle A64 2800+. I kept my 9800pro at the time and bought 1GB of PC3200. I noticed a HUGE difference when playing Battle for Middle Earth 1 (my primary game at the time).

I'm still running socket 754 today. I upgraded to a budget vanilla x800 card for $47 AR in January of this year.

Setup when I upgraded:
cheap refurbished Gigabyte NF3 socket 754
2800+ Newcastle
1GB Corsair value select ~ cas 2.5
MSI 9800pro (really a 128MB 9800xt)

Made a big difference for gaming.


Current setup:
Socket 754 Gigabyte NF4-4x PCIe board
3400+ Venice @ ~2.68ghz
1.5GB cheap RAM @ cas 2.5, 406mhz
vanilla x800 card (hey, it was cheap!)

Guild Wars at 1920x1200 @ 2x AA pulls about ~40fps.
Quake 4 @ 1280x1024, medium quality or low quality, no aa/af or vsync. (keep changing it around)

My x800 card is better than my old 9800pro but not by a lot.

I've been watching closely for a good deal to do a video card upgrade. I'd recommend it for a budget PCIe card if you want to change motherboard and don't want to worry about saving your AGP card. Scrape up a dell $10 off coupon somewhere and it's about $50 AR.

cheap PCIe x800 @ Dell - $50 AR with a coupon


Gaming needs video card and something approximating the current-generation CPU but it doesn't really need CPU power as it does video card power. Socket 754 may not do dual-channel, but it's good otherwise, and great for the budget gamer.


The ASRock combo is a good upgrade path, though too. I, however, have chosen to keep running my cheap 754 system until there's a good reason to move to AM2/DDR2 or AM3/DDR2 or Conroe.

I'd say the $95 Newegg 754 deal is better in the short run as you could spend the money on a video card or RAM, but the ASRock939 or AM2/PCIe path is a bit better in the long run.


If you go the 939 or AM2 route, on the dual core: save your money and spend it on some newer RAM instead if you are really on a tight budget. It doesn't do anything for gaming yet.