Upgrade / New Rig Advice

[bladephoenix]

The following are my system specs as they are now:

P4 2.53 533 FSB (478 Socket)
Gigabyte 667 PE Pro (Intel 845PE Chipset)
512 MB 333 DDR
All-in-Wonder Radeon 9800 Pro 128 MB
SB Live 5.1 Platinum
WD 800JB 80 GB 8 MB Cache
TT Tsunami
Viewsonic VP201s
Enermax 420W Noisetaker

I figured it was time for an upgrade shortly. However, I got this video card as a gift about 5 months ago, and it kind of bothered me to be replacing it so soon, but since all the new Socket 775 CPUs require mobos that only operate with PCI-E, I suppose that I could upgrade it, although I am pretty much the type of person who likes to use stuff for a decent amount of time before replacing it. Anyways, I was wondering if I can get your opinions on what would be the best upgrade option right now.

(All prices in CAD)

Upgrade Option 1
--------------------
P4 3.2 800 FSB (478 Socket) -- 274.95
Asus P4P800 Deluxe -- 149.95
WD 800 JB IDE 80 8 MB Cache -- 69.95 (With my existing identical drive I can run a basic RAID Array)
Kingston 512MB PC3200 DDR CAS 3 x 2 -- 117.90

Total -- 612.75

Upgrade Option 2
--------------------
P4 3.4 800 FSB (Socket 775) -- 354.95
Gigabyte GA-8I915P Duo -- 144.95
Kingston 512 MB DDR 2 PC2-4200 x 2 -- 159.90
WD 160 GB Sata -- 109.95
All-in-Wonder X600 256 MB PCI-E -- 254.95

Total -- 1024.70

Other Options
----------------
Wait another 3 - 6 months, etc.

Suggestions?

 

[bladephoenix]

Bump

 

[Markfw]

Why only Intel? Right now they have nothing to offer. Sounds like a X2 3800+ from AMD would suit your budget, be way faster and run cooler.

 

[bladephoenix]

No particular reason for Intel. Just have more experience with them. I also heard they are more for productivity, whereas AMD is mostly for gaming. I do a little bit of gaming, but it is mostly for work.

 

[Markfw]

Again, times have changed. You need to consider the best bang/buck for what you do. Which is ??? Right now Intel is hot, takes a lot of current, and is not good bang/buch or performance in almost every area.

Sounds like an X2 is for you. Give primary uses and budget, but an X2 fits right into the price range you already mentioned.

 

[bladephoenix]

I would mostly use it for photoshop and max. Some gaming, but not very much. Certainly no game that is beyond what even the 150 Mhz era couldn't handle.

On a side note, I was wondering what the difference between the Intel D series and the X2 AMD series are? What is the AMD Equivalent of a Indel D 830 3.0 Ghz Dual Core?

 

[bladephoenix]

bump

 

[bladephoenix]

From what I have learned so far, the D series of Intel has 2 'virtual' processors, whereas X2 is actually two physically different cores. So it appears that X2 would probably be the better choice for things like photoshop and max. I am guessing this is probably why it runs coolers since the load is distributed across two physically different cores. Is this correct? However, I have heard some people say that Intel are a little more suited for multitasking, although I can't figure out how this could be if the new AMD's have two physically different cores -- how is this possible? Just out of curiousity is there any benefit of the dual core Intels? The only one I can think of is that when the system does not need to / cannot take advantage of two cores, it can easily revert back to one higher clocked core. In the case of AMD, it would be a little more difficult to do this, since they are two physically different cores. Is this correct also?

Also, I have never shopped for AMD's before so I am trying to get used to their 'ranking/classing' system. For example, the 4000+ has a clock speed of 2.4 Ghz, while it is still priced at the same as a Intel processor that is clocked at 3.6 Ghz. How is this possible? What an easy way to compare the two when shopping for a CPU?