so far behind in the hardware game

[Fox5]

Originally posted by: jandlecack

Originally posted by: Flipped Gazelle

Originally posted by: jandlecack

Originally posted by: Flipped Gazelle

Originally posted by: jandlecack

Originally posted by: Flipped Gazelle
How about overclocking that x2 3800+, and adding more RAM? That should give you a nice boost.

No it won't. Not for the stuff he wants to do with it anyway. Even if you overclocked it another 2GHZ it couldn't compare with a Q8400, PHII 940 or better. More RAM, maybe, but there will still be a massive bottleneck from the CPU and the fact that it's DDR1 memory, in everything he does.

Yeah, I realize it won't compare with a newer CPU/mobo combo, but a cheap boost is a cheap boost. 1 GB of RAM is paltry for running VMs, IMO.

I don't know. For virtualization I think core amount and clock-for-clock speed is very important, so is fast main memory. Of course if he's not doing anything overly intensive on his VMs, then he should be fine with that.

However, I don't know the pricing on DDR1 memory. He could be paying a lot for really old tech because of availability issues. Therefore I'm not so sure it'd be worthwhile in the long run.

1 GB stick of DDR-400 runs $33/shipped at Newegg.

Do you know how much of a benefit Virtualization Technology is to VMs?

IIRC There are some VMs that require it to begin with.

Some require it. (Microsoft's)
VirtualBox, VMware, and I believe Parallels can make do without it.
It doesn't provide much overall performance boost since it's basically just acceleration for a few key rarely used instructions. If the app uses those instructions, the performance boost can be 100 fold. Otherwise, basically nothing.

 

[rasczak]

Originally posted by: Turbonium
Your system isn't exactly slow or too dated. If I was you, I would throw in another GB of RAM (if that) and have it tide me over another couple of years.

I've already gone that route (i had 2 x 1 gb sticks) and the performance was sluggish at best. I've had the system for a few years now and I'm pretty sure I've run the sucker dry. As for the OC question, I'd rather not do that anymore as I really don't want to spend much more on the latest and greatest cooling. I'm just looking for a nice budget system that I can game with as well and run my vms' at the same time.

however, i did just used some cheap ram so maybe better ram would make a difference.

 

[rasczak]

Originally posted by: happy medium
Why not grab a cheap used Q6600 ($150) and motherboard.

Gigabyte G41 65.00$.

http://www.newegg.com/Product/...x?Item=N82E16813128388

4gb G.Skill ram 60.00$ shipped

http://www.newegg.com/Product/...x?Item=N82E16820231166

Good setup for 275.00$. A little more than the 270.00$ Q9550 cpu alone!

oh nice find! however after taxes and shipping I'm looking at over $300. 00 I've got to keep my overall budget to under $250.00

Someone suggested the phenom II 720 x3, which is sure interesting at this point.

 

[happy medium]

Originally posted by: rasczak

Originally posted by: happy medium
Why not grab a cheap used Q6600 ($150) and motherboard.

Gigabyte G41 65.00$.

http://www.newegg.com/Product/...x?Item=N82E16813128388

4gb G.Skill ram 60.00$ shipped

http://www.newegg.com/Product/...x?Item=N82E16820231166

Good setup for 275.00$. A little more than the 270.00$ Q9550 cpu alone!

oh nice find! however after taxes and shipping I'm looking at over $300. 00 I've got to keep my overall budget to under $250.00

Someone suggested the phenom II 720 x3, which is sure interesting at this point.

Best I can do.

Buy used Q6600 for 135.00$ off of taltamir (A couple posts up)

Gigabyte G31 motherboard 52.99$ shipped.
http://www.newegg.com/Product/...x?Item=N82E16813128357

G skill 4gb memory 44.95 shipped. If you are using Windows Xp you only need 2 gb right now. -20$

http://www.newegg.com/Product/...x?Item=N82E16820231207

Close enough?

 

[pcsavvy]

The PII 720 might be a good alternative for what you want and right now Newegg has a couple combo deals that include a motherboard (Biostar or Gigabyte) for a little over $208-$218 and you can get dual channel ddr2 800 memory 4 gigs for about 40-50 bucks.
It may not be the fastest in the universe but it will get the job done quicker and not totally bust your piggy bank.

 

[RallyMaster]

Originally posted by: rasczak
ouch that's a bit pricey

Well honestly, I believe that's the type of stuff you need. Like stated previously, if there's anyone who needs a quad with a ton of memory, it would be you. If you don't have enough money right now, wait a couple of months and save up because I've found that it's never a good idea to do an intermediate step before arriving at the final solution when it comes to personal computing. Just get the computer you needed from the get-go and that's that.

 

[rasczak]

Originally posted by: RallyMaster

Originally posted by: rasczak
ouch that's a bit pricey

Well honestly, I believe that's the type of stuff you need. Like stated previously, if there's anyone who needs a quad with a ton of memory, it would be you. If you don't have enough money right now, wait a couple of months and save up because I've found that it's never a good idea to do an intermediate step before arriving at the final solution when it comes to personal computing. Just get the computer you needed from the get-go and that's that.

I agree with your analysis and have decided to wait after all. I've changed the direction in which I want to head with this box and decided I want to run a server OS with client VMs instead of running xp and the quad cores really seem to like win2k3 a lot. I think I'll just stick with the advice given earlier in the thread and do a memory upgrade and see where that takes me.

 

[BladeVenom]

Microcenter has the Q8200 for $119.99 http://www.microcenter.com/sin...tml?product_id=0309580

 

[rasczak]

Originally posted by: BladeVenom
Microcenter has the Q8200 for $119.99 http://www.microcenter.com/sin...tml?product_id=0309580

If I read correctly, Q8200 does not support VT. I'm running VM's so I need something capable of handling at least two VM's on top of the host and gaming.