Suggest an upgrade?

[gf4200isdabest]

Ok, I have a problem; my computer just doesn't multitask fast enough anymore. I'm the kind of person who, if he can physically remember what's going on in another window, will open said window. Unfortunately, my computer is now just getting too slow when I try to run Norton virus scan, a DVD encode, a 10GB winrar extract, warcraft3 minimized, and firefox browsing these forums. I think I need to upgrade.

Money is a serious concern here since, quite frankly, I don't have much of it to waste.

My system:
Intel Pentium 4 2.26GHZ
running on an Epox 4g4a+
with 1 stick of 512MB Corsair XMS PC3200 RAM (which, by the way, my mobo doesn't seem to support at 3200 speed!!)
MSI Geforce TI 4400 128MB
1 80GB WD 8mb HD running XP, 1 160GB WD 8mb HD running Mandrake
Lian Li case with 431W PSU
Turtle Beach Santa Cruz Sound Card
4.1 speaker setup (can't remember which one, but I'm happy with it)
Samsung 955DF Monitor

Currently, I'm thinking that I need more RAM (another stick of XMS 3200?) and, as such, a less crappy mobo. However, a new mobo would probably mean PCI Express which would mean a new video card. However, at that rate, maybe a CPU change is in order. I play games but I could not justify a new CPU if I don't notice increased performance in windows. The example illustrated at the start is not too far from what I usually do on my computer.

To make it clear, I have no preference between companies (I've alternated AMD and Intel rigs for 6 years now) and I am confident assembling this myself.

My eventual goal for my computer is for it to be a workhorse after I graduate college in 2 years. That probably means a high end CPU, tons of RAM, a nice 20" LCD monitor and moderate video card performance. Upgradeability is, thus, a major concern.

Can someone suggest a value upgrade? I would prefer to spend less than more but if you see a good opportunity to spend more now and, in turn, skip an upgrade cycle in the future, do not hesitate to suggest it because I consider that shopping for value as well.

 

[gf4200isdabest]

Come to think of it, there is another major point on which I'm unhappy with my current setup: cooling.

My PSU fan is way too loud (a real pain to sleep next to it) and, in the end, also doesn't do a very good job of cooling my system. It generally runs about 100F but can get up to 140F during a hot day. I'd really much prefer it if that wasn't the case.

That's why i generally never overclocked this system. The last thing I need is more heat; though, to be honest, I never got it stable past 2.6GHZ or so and 2.26 to 2.6 wasn't a noticeable improvement anyway.

 

[stevty2889]

If the board supports hyperthreading, you could go to a 3.06Ghz P4(533FSB). That should help a good bit with all the multi-tasking your doing. Going to a new MB wouldn't mean PCI express and a new video card neccesarily. The 865 chipset and 875 chipset motherboards are still readily available.

 

[Markfw]

Too bad money is a concern. Now that I have gone dual, I will never go back. Since it is a concern, my only advice would be to go Intel with HT, new motherboard, and as much ram as you can afford. I love AMD, but it looks like in your case Intel is the way to go. Maybe a 2.8 with HT ? (doe they come with HT at that speed??) Intel people, please help out here, I know very little about the exact setups, just that he needs HT, 800FSB and memory !

 

[gf4200isdabest]

therein lies the problem...the 4g4a+ only supports cpu's up to 2.6, i think; it almost definitely *does not* support HT. That means that the mobo has to go one way or another; that leaves the choice between AMD and Intel completely open. I would not want to buy another mobo for when I inevitably switch to PCIX so I'd rather just buy a PCIX mobo now and switch video cards or, if it can be had for a reasonable price, a mobo with both AGP and PCIX.

Being a guy who played UT for years on an nVidia Vanta, I have absolutely no complaints about my graphics performance in Doom3 with the 4400. I'll upgrade it when the time seems right but video does not seem to be my biggest concern here.

 

[gf4200isdabest]

I read somewhere that there are mobo's which manage to integrate both PCIX and AGP on the same mobo. Are these out and are they available for both AMD and Intel? I wasn't able to find anything on newegg

 

[gf4200isdabest]

Actually, that got me thinking: How necessary is the switch over to PCI Express? Is the AGP standard going to be phased out like PCI was when AGP first came about or are we going to be seeing high end AGP cards for years to come?

 

[Markfw]

I wouldn;t bother with PCI Express. So how important is the encoding vs the gaming ? and what is the budget ? and what ram do you have now ?

 

[jose]

Look at the Asus P4P800 about $99, Then get another stick of the same ram (Cosiar pc3200 $90)& a 2.4C($147) and overclock to 3.0+ speeds w/ HT.

That would cost you about $350+ and then you could wait to spend big bucks on a pci-e system later when they are more mainstream.

Regards,
Jose

 

[gf4200isdabest]

Although I play games fairly often, I've never been a person who is accustomed to or particularly impressed by high frame rates. Give me some good gameplay and I don't care if it's 30fps or 530 fps so long as it isn't a slideshow. That said, I'd like to be able to play games at my native resolution 1024x768 and not some hokey 800x600...The GF 4400 is serving me well and I'm inclined not to upgrade it right now seeing as there are no good 256MB options in my pricerange. I considered a 128MB 6800 but i'm having difficulty justifying going from one 128MB card to another since there will probably be 512MB cards going at that price a year and a half from now.

Likewise, I'm not sure if I'd want to upgrade mobo+cpu to go from a 2.26 to a 2.4. It has been my experience that buying a cpu with the expectation to overclock 25% is just asking for trouble.

The thing is, doom3 runs fine as is on my rig. For all the talk about needing a new video card/cpu to enjoy the game, i think that's a bunch of baloney (this, obviously, is an opinion based on my past experience; however, it's also an opinion which is unchanged after seeing doom3 on other better systems). Certainly, if I'm paying for an upgrade I'd hope to bump up the settings but being able to do things like run AV, encode, have 25 excel spreadsheets open at once, while playing warcraft3 is much more important to me than raw fps.

Right now, this seems like an okay upgrade to me:

Memory (System Memory)
2 Corsair XMS Extreme Memory Speed Series 184 Pin 512MB DDR PC-3200 - OEM
Item# N82E16820145416
2* $117.00


Motherboards - AMD
1MSI nForce3 250 Chipset Motherboard for AMD Athlon 64 Socket 754 CPU, Model "K8N Neo Platinum" (MS-7030) -RETAIL
$126.00

Processors
1 AMD Athlon 64 3000+, 512KB L2 Cache 64-bit Processor - Retail
Item# N82E16819103424
$171.00

Total (Before tax): $ 531.00

This would give me: 3*512=1.5GB RAM total as well as the boost from the 64 bit processor. My alternative would probably be doing the same thing with an Intel 2.8 w/HT but, as I understand, the Athlon64 would be better for me.

If I am wrong in this regard, please correct me; i am not very well versed in the real world difference between my 2.26, a 2.8 with HT, and a 64 3000+. For example, if I'm using Winrar to extract a 10GB file; which one is faster, HT or 64? Also, how much faster is this than my 2.26? What kind of impact can I expect to see going from 512MB RAM to 1.5GB in applications?

 

[gf4200isdabest]

What kind of impact will Dual Channel vs Single CHannel memory have on system performance?

Also, what kind of CPU could I get that wouldn't be particularly expensive but wouldn't make all the racket that my current one does?

 

[tiap]

First of all, if you want to upgrade it in 2 years it will be a whole new world then. Don't worry about that now.
Multitasking with video encoding is tough even with state of the art systems. Encoding alone can bring a dual cpu system to it's knees.
Dump Norton. It's a hog.
The high memory vid cards probably aren't for you. You seem to have realistic expectations about games and overclocking.
Aside from encoding, more ram will help your system the most. The more the better with xp.
For video encoding, you would be better off just to aquire a second system with at least the specs of what you now have, and dedicate it just for video.
I use a 3ghz prescott, AIW 9800 128mb, 3500 micron dual channel on a Tyan 875p board with 3 120gigwdse drives and I wouldn't expect the results you want considering the multitasking.
My old video box is roughly the same as yours except it has 1 gig of ram and it encodes just fine. The 3 gig prescott only increased times less than 20% for around $700.00. Is that worth it?
As far as the noise, faster system>more heat>more noise. You can cure it with water cooling, but that's lot's of money too.
Good luck