Upgrading Advice

[Flightsim]

I am thinking about upgrading, but I?m not exactly up to date on the newest hardware. Is this a good time to upgrade? I know something better is always about to come out, but I haven?t upgraded anything for about two years. Basically, I want a new mobo, CPU, video card, and possibly RAM. For the video card and processor, I don?t want to spend more than about $180-220 for each part. The Pentium 4 processor I am thinking about is the 2.8GHz 800FSB version. I noticed that the Prescott version is about the same price, but I?ve heard they run hot and use too much power? Are they not worth buying? Would the Athlon 64 be a better processor to buy than the P4 at this price range? What are some good motherboards/chipsets for the latest P4s and Athlon 64s?
For the video card, I am considering the Radeon 9600XT, Radeon 9800 Pro, or the GeForce FX 5900XT. Are these good choices? Which do you think is the best, or are they all very similar? Also, is the Radeon 9800 Pro faster than the 9600XT? I?m confused because I?ve seen listings of their core and memory speeds and it seems like the 9600XT has higher timings, but the 9800 Pro costs more. I?ve also noticed that there are 256MB versions of the 9600XT. Are they faster or better in some way than the 128MB version?
For memory, right now I have 1GB of PC2700. I am thinking about upgrading to PC3200. Is that a noticeable upgrade? Also, should the speed of your memory depend upon what CPU/FSB you are using?
I might get a new hard drive. Are SATA hard drives noticeably quicker than most IDE hard drives? Are they louder or do they run hotter? Thanks for any help/advice.

 

[nick1985]

a64
asus kt800
9800pro
gig of 3200

 

[caz67]

I would consider two things.

If you go Intel, the 2.8C is a very good overclocking CPU.

The Leadtek FX5900XT, is a good choice as you can flash it to a 5950Ultra.

The rest is good, the A64, is a good choice also.

 

[nitromullet]

Also, should the speed of your memory depend upon what CPU/FSB you are using?

Yes, it does, if you decide to go with the P4, you will need PC3200. PC3200 = DDR400, the FSB on P4 system is 200MHz x4 for the CPU and x2 for the RAM.

For the video card, I am considering the Radeon 9600XT, Radeon 9800 Pro, or the GeForce FX 5900XT. Are these good choices? Which do you think is the best, or are they all very similar? Also, is the Radeon 9800 Pro faster than the 9600XT? I?m confused because I?ve seen listings of their core and memory speeds and it seems like the 9600XT has higher timings, but the 9800 Pro costs more. I?ve also noticed that there are 256MB versions of the 9600XT. Are they faster or better in some way than the 128MB version?

The 9800XT is a bit faster than the 9800 Pro, but the 9800 Pro 128MB is one of the best deals around in regards to price/performance. I personally like the nVIDIA GeForce FX 5900 myself, but either one is a great card, and for Windows/gaming the 9800 Pro will be a great compliment to either a P4 3.0 or an Athlon 64 3000+.

The Pentium 4 processor I am thinking about is the 2.8GHz 800FSB version. I noticed that the Prescott version is about the same price, but I?ve heard they run hot and use too much power? Are they not worth buying? Would the Athlon 64 be a better processor to buy than the P4 at this price range? What are some good motherboards/chipsets for the latest P4s and Athlon 64s?

At 2.8 or 3.0, the Northwood is the P4 chip you want. Prescott runs hot and has longer pipelines designed to scale higher than the Northwood, so it really only begins to become competative at 3.4 to the Northwood. I highly recommend the Intel 865 (Spingdale) chipset - the Asus P4P800 Deluxe is a great mobo. I haven't gotten to try out an Athlon 64 yet, so I don't have any real opinion on how it runs.

 

[Flightsim]

Thanks for the replies so far. Know anything about the SATA Hard Drives? Also, if I get a P4 2.8C, does that mean I have to get PC3200, or would I be ok without it?

 

[boyz]

if you upgrade use the following below, if you decide to go with intel the use these brand for stable upgrade. for amd cpu use Asus® A7N8X-E Deluxe, very nice board.
AMD CPU
OCZ DDR 3200
Seagate, maxtor 7200 sata drive
asus, abit/ soyo mobo
plextor cdrw
ati video card
sb audigy 2