Upgrading

[markvm]

Hi all,

This is my first post so be gentle.. I'm getting ready to upgrade from my current 2.26 intel cpu and would like some advice. Since building the 2.26 I have not stayed up to date with all the happenings in computers. I am going to upgrade to a 3.4 Prescott and would like some advice on what mobo i should get, memory I should get, vid card, and drives. I currently have a GeForce 3 nvidia and two ide hard drives, one is 160 gig maxtor and the other is 40 gig maxtor. I also have 1 gig of pc2700 ram.

The type of work that I do is graphic editing intensive using Photoshop and Capture One software. It is not unusual for one photo to go over 100 megs, so I need something that will be considerably fast.

I don't know a thing about LGA775 for a board, what is pci express? I have agp right now. Do I really need ddr2 memory? Should I switch to sata drives? Questions...questions... I have been reading so much on different websites and am becoming more confused.

If anyone can steer me in the right direction I would appreciate it greatly.
I hope this is the right forum to make this post. If not, I apologize.

 

[biostud]

The obligatory why not A64?

 

[Mrvile]

I think it's cuz he does a lot of graphic work.

The obligatory why not Xeon/Opteron?

 

[Dubb]

Originally posted by: Mrvile
I think it's cuz he does a lot of graphic work.

The obligatory why not Xeon/Opteron?

seconded. I do lots of graphic stuff as well - ps/illustrator/indesign as well as 3d work...the overclocked low voltage xeon route was cheaper than a single p4, and so much faster. I'll never be able to go single processor again.

d1 stepping 1.6 Ghz LV xeons are around $100 a pair on ebay, and most folks are hitting 2.8-3.3 ghz without much effort. my c1 stepping 1.6s reach 2.66 no sweat.

check 2cpu.com forums for details.

if you have cash to burn, the tyan dual nF4 opteron board looks pretty killer as well...Now I can dream of dual dual core opterons, 2 quadro 4400s driving a pair of IBM t221s and a 30" cinema display....

sigh...