Upgrade CPU or New System

[Kenjix]

I'm trying to consider upgrading my PC but I'm not sure if I should wait to build a new system or if I should just upgrade the CPU. Can anyone give me some advice as to what would be the best upgrade option? I've post my CPU and motherboard specs below. I feel like a cpu upgrade would be the best option about now but I'm not sure which CPU would give me the best performance and would be worth not purchasing a new 64-bit processor and building a new system a couple of months from now. Thanks for all your help.

Video Card: NVIDIA GeForce 6800
Memory 1GB

CPU Information:

CPU 1/1
AMD Athlon(tm) XP 2100+
Manufacturer AMD
Family AMD Athlon(tm) XP 2100+
Architecture 32-bit
Internal Clock 1.7 GHz
Internal Clock Maximum 3.0 GHz
External Clock 133.0 MHz
Socket Designation Socket-A
Upgrade Socket A
HyperThreadingTechnology N/A
Capabilities MMX, CMov, RDTSC, 3DNow!, Extended 3DNow!, SSE, PAE
Version AMD Athlon(tm) XP 2100+
Caches
Level 1 128 KB
Level 2 256 KB


Motherboard Information:
SY-KT600 DRAGON Plus v.2.0

AMD Socket-A AthlonXP, Athlon & Duron, designed based on the VIA KT600 Chipset ATX Motherboard Supporting up to 400 MHz FSB, DDR400/333, 6-ch audio, 8X AGP, overclock capability, multiple-boot choices, 10/100 Mbps LAN, USB 2.0, Serial ATA

Specifications
Processor
* Athlon XP: 1800+ - 3200+
* Duron: 1.3GHz - 1.8 GHz
* Click here for maximum CPU support
* Click here for maximum Front Side Bus (FSB) support
Chipset Type
* VIA KT600
Chipset Description
* VIA KT600 / 8237 chipset
* Supports 266/333/400 MHz FSB
Graphics Info
* AGP slot supporting up to 8X AGP
Form Factor
* ATX
Memory Type
* DDR400/333/266 SDRAM
Memory Description
* Two DDR 2.5V DIMM sockets support up to 2GB
* Click here for memory speed/CPU FSB compatibility information
Expansion Slots
* Five 32-bit Bus Mastering PCI slots (V2.2 compliant)
* One Universal 8X AGP slot (supports 8x/4x modes)
* One CNR Slot
Expansion Slot Types
* Five 32-bit Bus Mastering PCI
IDE Type
* UDMA 66/100/133
IDE Description
* 2 channels Parallel ATA IDE ports
* 2 channels Serial ATA IDE ports
* Supports RAID 0, 1 (Serial ATA)
* Supports up to PIO mode 5 & Ultra DMA 100/133
Audio Description
* On board 6 channel CODEC
IO Port Description
* One RS-232 serial ports (16550 UART compatible)
* One parallel printer port (SPP/EPP/ECP mode)
* One FDD port (supports 3 modes, 1.2/1.44/2.88MB FDD)
* Provides IrDA/SIR Header
* Provides 8 USB 2.0 ports (4* rear, 4 pin header)
IO Connection Description
* PS/2 Mini-DIN mouse & keyboard ports
* Four USB 2.0 ports
* One embedded RJ45 LAN connector (10/100)
* One D-Sub 9-pin male serial ports
* One D-Sub 25-pin female printer port
* Audio I/O: LINE-OUT x 1, LINE-IN x 1, MIC JACK x 1
BIOS Description
* AMI BIOS with ACPI 1.0 function
* Supports multiple-boot
* Supports Plug and Play 1.0A, APM 1.2, DMI
* 2 Mbyte Flash ROM
Health Monitoring Description
* On board voltage monitors
* CPU fan speed monitor
* CPU temperature monitoring
Dimension Description
* Four layers, 30.5 cm x 19 cm (12" x 7.5")
* ATX form factor

Certification
* FCC Class B & CE EMI Regulation Compliant. PC99 Compliant
Compatibilities
WinXP / Win2000 / WinNT / WinME / Win98SE / Linux / FreeBSD
Warranty
All SOYO products are designed to offer stability and flexibility, and are tested to ensure highest reliability. We offer a 1 year limited warranty on this SOYO product.

 

[YOyoYOhowsDAjello]

You could get a new socket A processor, but if the alternative it to wait a little longer and get an A64 system going, I'd wait.

 

[Kenjix]

Which processor do you think would be best any ideas?

 

[Le Québécois]

By new system do you mean completly new? Because changing only the mobo and cpu would mean for you to find a Nforce3 and be stuck with AGP for a long time.

It Depend on your budget but I would suggest waiting couple of month then buy a new complete new system. And If you can wait even a little longer AMD is going to make a socket change soon so it would make you're new system last longer ( if you plan on upgrading later ).

Oh, in the future if you post your system spec you don't need to list all spec...the name usually all we need to know what you're talking about.

 

[Kenjix]

Sorry about posting everything there won't happen again. Well I'm not planning on buying a new Mobo right now. I was only going to upgrade the CPU if there would be a noticeable performance increase. If I bought a new mobo it would be PCI-X and that would be alot more money to be dishing out right now. I was hoping that there was a particular CPU that someone would recommend me upgrading to that they think would be a good upgrade

 

[YOyoYOhowsDAjello]

What speed is your ram now? pc2100? 2700? 3200?

 

[DaveSimmons]

Unfortunately, the Semprons are way over-rated for their "00+" numbers, to match a Celeron not a real P4, so don't buy a socket A sempron based on its rating.

An XP 2700+ will cost $89 (+ HSF, so $100) and give you a 25% jump in speed, but you might be better off either (a) overclocking your 2100+ a little -or- (b) buying a used XP 3000-3200+ off of the FS/FT forum if you can find one under $100.

Spending over $100, you might as well switch to A64.

 

[YOyoYOhowsDAjello]

Oh, and if you don't want to limit yourself to AGP, ASRock has an A64 board with AGP and PCI-e.

 

[Kenjix]

I have PC2700 memory. I was thinking of going with an Athlon XP 2800+ or 3200+. I'm just not sure how much of a performance increase I would see between the 2.

 

[sniperruff]

if you're swapping a CPU, a 2800+ barton will be nice. but i think a socket 754 combo (sadly, sempron 64) won't cost much more.

 

[Kenjix]

well I think the cpu upgrade I can keep under 90-100 dollars.

 

[Bozono]

It sounds like overclocking what you have to be your best solution right now. Your motherboard does 400mhz FSB so I'd start by bumping your FSB to 166mhz and go from there. You might be able to get a 30-40% jump in clock speed. Might have to get an aftermarket HSF though.

 

[Kenjix]

So don't buy a new CPU just wait to buy a new system or overclock right?

 

[sniperruff]

Originally posted by: Kenjix
So don't buy a new CPU just wait to buy a new system or overclock right?

i have a 1700+ palo and im thinking of holding out for another year or two. i guess not playing any new games has something to do with it.

 

[YOyoYOhowsDAjello]

Depending on your 2100+ it might not be a very good overclocker. Have you ever overclocked before?

An XP 2800+/3200+ is going to be better than your 2100+, but it's not going to be the kind of jump you can get going from AXP to A64 in gaming.

If you're doing this to increase gaming performance, going A64 would be a good idea.

3000+ venice
+
ASrock

would run you about $220...

 

[Kenjix]

well since I was planning on doing the increase for gaming performance, I'll hold off till I'm ready to build a new system. Thanks everyone.

 

[TankGuys]

Originally posted by: Kenjix
well since I was planning on doing the increase for gaming performance, I'll hold off till I'm ready to build a new system. Thanks everyone.

Good plan. Upgrading a socket 462 system at this point is kind of a waste of money. Better to upgrade to a S939 when you've got the cash, it will have much greater staying power.