Upgrade from 2.44GHZ AXP ---> 2GHZ A64

[ClockerXP]

I have a AthlonXP Barton overclocked to 2.44Ghz (441 Mhz FSB). Would it be a worthwhile upgrade for me to move to an A64 3200+ based system that is overclocked somewhat? I'd probably go to an nForce3 Ultra system becuase I want to keep my AGP card. Some of my specs right now are:

• Athlon XP 2500+ @ 2.44Ghz (Quiet Air Cooling)
  eVGA 6800GT 256MB AGP (want to keep this baby, only paid $270 for it a couple months ago!)
  Dell 2005FPW LCD
  768MB (3x256) Corsair XMS3500 Dual Channel at ~441Mhz
  DFI Nforce2 Ultra Infinity
  Soundstorm Audio
  160GB SATA 7K250
  80GB PATA 7K250
  Hauppauge WinTV PVR-250

Thanks for sharing your opionins!

CxP

 

[Sentential]

Yes very much so. A64s are close to being 50% faster at the same clock speed. Since most is not all A64 do 2.4 you are pretty well gaurnteed a 50% jump in peformance on the CPU.

This would greatly benefit a system that is CPU limited like you are (and I was). Its a good idea

 

[sellmen]

Going from an overclocked Athlon XP to a similarly overclocked Athlon 64 does provide a noticable performance gain.

I'd wait for Rev E before buying your new CPU.

 

[clarkey01]

I like to wait a long time so I can feel the performance jump. My 2000 XP is still holding up, does all I need it to do. I might wait till 2nd half of 2006 and see whats what. May pick up a 3 Ghz K8

 

[selfbuilt]

Well, I went from a similar mobile XP system running @2.48Ghz to an A64 @2.34Ghz (socket 754) using the same low latency Corsairs (2-3-2-6, albeit as single controller on S754) and can't say I see much benefit (aside from synthetic CPU benchies . I'm limited by my R9800XT, so my games fps only increased marginally (i.e. 0% in Doom3, 15% in HL2, the rest in between) ... you'd probably do better with your 6800GT, of course.

 

[sellmen]

Anandtech did some Doom 3 benchmarks with various CPU's, you can see it here.

You can compare similarly clocked A64 and Athlon XP CPUs to get an idea of the performance gain. At 1280x1024, the FPS for an A64 3500+/6800 Ultra system was 79.5. With the same video card, a 2.2ghz Athlon XP 3200+ ran at 67 FPS.

 

[gobucks]

i second the idea of waiting for rev E chips - early indicators seem to show that many of them can OC to 3GHz, as well as having SSE3 and full support for 4 sticks of DDR400 (currently, any more than 2 sticks requires dropping down to DDR333 and a 2T command rate). It's right around the corner, so you should probably wait, especially considering your current rig is still pretty decent.

 

[neoreturns]

I have nearly an identicale processor. Its a mobile 2400+ at 2.5 GHz. Its plenty fast for me and I didn't think it would be worth the hassle to try and sell the cpu/mobo and get an A64 setup.

 

[Aenslead]

In short: YES, it is worth it.

If you can wait, hold for Rev. E
if you can't, then go ahead and grab a nifty Skt939 Mobo and a cheap A64 processor.

 

[ClockerXP]

Thanks for your feedback, guys. I definitely plan to move to an A64 system sometime. But, I DO want to stick with my 6800GT AGP card. So, I'll be limited based on the number of GOOD socket 939 motherboards that are out there. I don't want to wait too long and then have only a crap selection of motherboards to choose from.

Are AGP socket 939 boards going extinct anytime soon or is something even better than NF3 Ultra coming out with AGP support?

Oh yeah, forgot to mention that my monitor is a 2005FPW.

Thanks,
CxP

 

[imported_Kensai]

MSI K8N Neo2 Platinum.

 

[ClockerXP]

I was looking at the Neo2 as well as the Gigabyte GA-K8NS Ultra-939 which seems like a good deal for $115 at Newegg. BTW, updated my OC a little at 2.44Ghz and 441Mhz DDR FSB.

C

 

[Aenslead]

DFI Lan Party series is just about the best it can get. If you can go for ABIT, you won't regret it, either.

 

[classy]

Your not going to see much of a difference unless you game at high resolution. On encoding and ripping you'll get some pop, but I think you would be better off to wait.

 

[RussianSensation]

No.

1) AXP @ 2.44 is still not too shabby

2) most importantly, if you do upgrade today, there is no other way to go but to get a PCIe system. Therefore, you'd need a new videocard. As a result your upgrade cost would be tremendous and definately not worth the performance difference.

Solution: Upgrade in 1 - 1.5 years to dual-core + R520 or whatever there is at the time (G70?)

 

[WobbleWobble]

It's definately an improvement but a worthwhile one? I think not. I'd just save your money for a bigger upgrade.

 

[11427]

I'd also say it's not worth it,.... (441 fsb with an XP,...impressive;-) If you do decide to upgrade I'd suggest the MSI K8N Neo2. I have heard there will be some NF4 boards with AGP, but,........

 

[Balex99]

I had a similar system, 2600 mobile OC'd to 2.4 on an Abit NF-7 board. Did not see much difference at default A64 3200 speeds but at 2.4ghz speed, saw improvement, BF1942, HL2, Farcry, Flatout. Paid $330 for my 3200 winnie and Neo2 platinum, sold my xp chip, board, and hsf(aftermarket) for $130 and sold HL2 and Farcry(free with bundle at Monarch) for $50. $330 -$130 -$50 = $150 paid for new system. Now that was worth the money.

 

[Avalon]

Not worth the money you'll spend on gains you probably won't even feel.

 

[ClockerXP]

Thanks for your replies guys. I'm going to hold out as long as I can until faster CPUs are available....or until AGP boards are starting to go extinct... I'll just try clocking to 2.5ghz I guess.