Time to upgrade. Duron vs. T-Bird. Which would you pick?

[CrimsonWolf]

I need to upgrade one of my systems and I'm trying to decide which processor/mb to get. I'm on a very tight budget and I need your opinion. Here are the prices of processors that I can get a hold of.

Duron 700 - $62
" " 750 - $75
" " 800 - $89

T-Bird 750 - $90
" " 800 - $115

I plan on overclocking this chip so that is a major factor. To me, the T-Bird 750 looks the most attractive. I've heard that it's an excellent overclocker and it's pretty cheap. Would you agree with this choice?

Second, I'm looking for a KT133A board to get. Based off of reviews, the Iwill KK266 seems like a great board. However, I'm aware of all the problems people have been reporting. Ever since Iwill recalled some of the boards, have these problems gone away?

Thanks for the help.

 

[buck]

Get a tbird from the forsale/trade forum. Tbirds are better than the durons, so why not get something better. The kt7a mobos are great, I have two and no problems, cept I broke a clip off, my own fault. It still works though .

 

[Hmagnet]

Yeah go with the T-bird. I also recomend the Abit KT7 or the ASUS A7V both are great boards.

 

[CrimsonWolf]

Thanks for the tips. I'll keep those suggestions in mind. Anyone else?

 

[Viper GTS]

If you can afford it, grab the ASUS A7V133. Right now it seems to be the best option out there.

Anand's Review

Viper GTS

 

[ku]

if you're on a tight budget (like i am) i'd go with the duron... i'm also looking to o/c... planning to go with the Asus a7v right now.

 

[Pers]

get a 850mhz duron with an epox 8kta3...although i dont know much about the mobo, i hear its good and its cheap..

ok..thats all

 

[digi187]

in the range you are looking for, the two processors are so closely priced, that your better going off with the tbird.

Cache is always good

 

[CrimsonWolf]

Once again, thanks for the suggestions. I gave the A7V133 serious consideration but one thing that bugs me is the fact that it only has 2-phase power. Is there anyone that has any information as to whether this truely matters or not? If it doesn't matter, I would most likely purchase the A7V133.

As someone mentioned above, I'm also considering the EP-8KTA3. Has anybody had any good/bad experiences with this board?

 

[GrInNer]

I use the IWill KA-266-R and a tbird. The board is very solid and has tons of overclocking functionality. (BIOS controlled freq and voltage stepping in 1MHz and .025v steps)

Also, I have used the Asus A7V for other systems and have never been disappointed, so if the bad press on IWill has you worried, you can?t go wrong with Asus.

 

[jumblies]

I was on a very tight budget being in medical school and I went with the KT7-Raid. You don't need raid...unless you need redundancy. Take a close look at the boards with integrated audio. I went with the KT7 b/c I have and am using an old ISA sound card. With all the good boards out there, I could have gone with int. audio and not used the old card and even saved a few bucks. In other words, don't let all the great review seduce you into the KT7A unless it's really a good fit. Although the softmenu is pretty darn sweet.

The Duron is a great buy for budget. I run my 650 at 900 on a daily basis and rarely crest 40 degrees. It's capable of 1050. FSB o-clockability is limited with non-"A" chipsets (ie KT7A). But you can kick the CPU in the arse with multiplier clocking.

In sum, I'd go with a duron on a budget if you want a new chip to OC.

 

[Kingofcomputer]

get the cheapest (not necessary lowest speed) duron and overclock,
even not overclock, the performance is pretty decent, comparable to similar speed p3.

if you can afford to pay more, that tb 800 $115 is a good buy.

 

[junthin]

I think one of the major points people here have forgotten to address and that CrimsonWolf has neglected to mention to us, is the purpose for the computer he's (or she's) building.

If all you are going to do is overclock a cpu trying to get the best bang for your buck, but your only going to be doing office work (MS Office), web-surfing, mp3 playing, and basically using non-intensive programs, I would recommend going with a Duron since they would be more than enough for this purpose.

However, if you intend to use your new computer for all the things stated above, and then somethings like gaming (UT, Q3, CS, etc etc etc) or 3D rendering (basically cpu intensive programs), then go with the Tbird.

If your money isn't that tight on a budget, then I would recommend you to go with a Tbird since it is a better processor than the Duron and is only a little bit more expensive.

I hope this helps some.

 

[CrimsonWolf]

Thanks junthin, that's one thing that I neglected to mention. I will be using this system for gaming and as a backup box for LAN parties.

Thanks for all the advice. I'm pretty sure I'll go with the T-Bird.

 

[Biggs]

Tbird 750 paired with Asus A7V133 or IWill KK266.