What's the cheapest option for a dual core cpu and mobo combo?

[Arkitech]

I'm looking to replace my xp 2800+ with a low end dual core and new mobo. I plan on keeping everything else (450w psu, x850 gpu, 2 gig ddr266, etc..). Anyone have a suggestion on what I should look into?

 

[mruffin75]

Maybe...

http://www.newegg.com/Product/...x?Item=N82E16819103774
http://www.newegg.com/Product/...x?Item=N82E16813138052
http://www.newegg.com/Product/...x?Item=N82E16820134046

Total: $145.97 + tax + shipping

You won't be able to keep your DDR266 memory as it won't work in DDR2 mainboards (and at 266Mhz...why would you want to?)
Plus I'm assuming your X850 is AGP? If so..you won't be able to keep that either.. look into getting a PCI-E card as well.

 

[Binky]

You can get something like an 865G or 945 based board (e.g. ASRock ConRoe1333) with an E2160 for around $100. The Asrock would also be reasonably overclockable. For the price, I've had great luck with Asrock and Foxconn boards.

 

[Arkitech]

Originally posted by: mruffin75
Maybe...

http://www.newegg.com/Product/...x?Item=N82E16819103774
http://www.newegg.com/Product/...x?Item=N82E16813138052
http://www.newegg.com/Product/...x?Item=N82E16820134046

Total: $145.97 + tax + shipping

You won't be able to keep your DDR266 memory as it won't work in DDR2 mainboards (and at 266Mhz...why would you want to?)
Plus I'm assuming your X850 is AGP? If so..you won't be able to keep that either.. look into getting a PCI-E card as well.

I don't want to upgrade too much at this point, I would prefer to just replace the board and cpu. Are there any mobos that support ddr and ddr2?

Edit: If I had to replace one of the two I would rather dump the memory and keep the video card.

 

[waffleironhead]

versatile mobo

cpu

 

[Arkitech]

Originally posted by: Binky
You can get something like an 865G or 945 based board (e.g. ASRock ConRoe1333) with an E2160 for around $100. The Asrock would also be reasonably overclockable. For the price, I've had great luck with Asrock and Foxconn boards.

hmm looks like the x2 4000 (http://www.newegg.com/Product/...?Item=N82E16819103774) is about 20 bucks cheaper at the same clock speed than the e2160 (http://www.newegg.com/Product/...?Item=N82E16819116036). Can both cpus overclock easily?

 

[Arkitech]

Originally posted by: waffleironhead
versatile mobo

cpu

wow, that board supports all the way up to quad core cpus. The only weakness is that it only supports 2 gig of memory, but for the price that's a nice find. Thanks, I'll add this to my short list for consideration.

 

[BlueAcolyte]

Originally posted by: Arkitech

Originally posted by: Binky
You can get something like an 865G or 945 based board (e.g. ASRock ConRoe1333) with an E2160 for around $100. The Asrock would also be reasonably overclockable. For the price, I've had great luck with Asrock and Foxconn boards.

hmm looks like the x2 4000 (http://www.newegg.com/Product/...?Item=N82E16819103774) is about 20 bucks cheaper at the same clock speed than the e2160 (http://www.newegg.com/Product/...?Item=N82E16819116036). Can both cpus overclock easily?

Both can overclock, but clock speed isn't very important anymore. I would take the Core 2 Duo as the 4000X2 is an older design. That would also require a different motherboard suited to AMD. I think both can go to around 3GHz.

Try to get new memory as well, that 266MHz DDR RAM should run frighteningly slow.

 

[GundamF91]

You can't use DDR1 memory, so you'll need at least DDR2 memory.

 

[themisfit610]

RAM is so cheap now, there's no excuse to not upgrade. Get 2 gigs of DDR2 800, a cheap P35 (or maybe a P965 if you can get a good deal on an older one), and a cheap Core 2 Duo. Love it.

You're going to have to get a new video card, that's pretty much all there is to it. AGP is dead on new systems. If you can't afford to do a full platform shift then don't. Save up until you can. Otherwise you're going to limit your potential.

~MiSfit

 

[tbogstad]

Originally posted by: Arkitech
I'm looking to replace my xp 2800+ with a low end dual core and new mobo. I plan on keeping everything else (450w psu, x850 gpu, 2 gig ddr266, etc..). Anyone have a suggestion on what I should look into?

sell all those parts seperately on Ebay and you will probably get more money then a new set of better replacements will cost.

ddr1 ram is selling for more than ddr2 ram
AGP video cards cost almost twice as much as equal pci-e video cards.

sell the cpu and motherboard for about $40.00 each

your PSU at 450watts and case are probably good to go.

 

[Quiksilver]

Originally posted by: GundamF91
You can't use DDR1 memory, so you'll need at least DDR2 memory.

click links before you comment.
AsRock 4CoreDual-VSTA supports both.

 

[themisfit610]

yes, but you shoot yourself in the foot by nerfing your upgrade path.

 

[mruffin75]

Just a quick note about that board that supports both AGP and PCIe cards...according to this review:

http://www.ocworkbench.com/200.../4CoreDual-VSTA/b4.htm

The PCIe slot is 4x only...so I guess there are a few compromises by allowing all options..

I think I'd just bite the bullet and get a complete upgrade instead of trying to use older parts..

 

[waffleironhead]

Originally posted by: mruffin75
Just a quick note about that board that supports both AGP and PCIe cards...according to this review:

http://www.ocworkbench.com/200.../4CoreDual-VSTA/b4.htm

The PCIe slot is 4x only...so I guess there are a few compromises by allowing all options..

I think I'd just bite the bullet and get a complete upgrade instead of trying to use older parts..

There are always compromises you make when you have a limited budget. The beauty of that board is that when he can afford it he can get ddr2, then when he can afford it he can get a faster pcie video card, then when he can afford it he can get a quad core. All on the same mobo.

 

[themisfit610]

but you still shoot yourself in the foot!

If you're okay with that, who cares - but I wouldn't do it.

 

[Denithor]

How is this shooting yourself in the foot?

PCI-E x4 is about equivalent in bandwidth to AGP 8x so as long as he doesn't go above the Radeon 3850 he won't see any problems.

The board uses either DDR (so he can use his current memory) or DDR2 (so he can upgrade when he has enough money).

And there is a very involved/helpful thread in the motherboard forum to address any issues/questions he has.

This board is a great method to do a step-up to C2D cpu power without having to completely upgrade your whole system at once. You can then replace the DDR with solid DDR2, add a PCI-E video card, and eventually (if you are limited in OC or something) upgrade the motherboard itself to something with better OC options.

 

[ArchAngel777]

DDR2 is at an all time low right now... Seriously, if you decide to take a junky motherboard just to reuse DDR modules, that would be a mistake. Order 2GB of DDR2. Heck, I think a 2GB Module itself is around 25 bucks now... Sell your DDR to someone who wants it and call it even. Those hybrid motherboards always suck IMO. Everyone that I know who has used one always runs into serious limitations.

Why do they suck? Because they leave the reference design and are very low quantity type item... Run into a bug? Probably won't be fixed. BIOS not updated? Nice... I'll be honest too, I just hate the idea of a motherboard that leaves the reference design.

DDR + DDR2 Motherboard = The suck

AGP + PCI-E Motherboard = The worst thing that ever came out

My opinion ONLY!

And, to add to this, I am a married man with children is, I know what a budget is... I say if you cannot afford to do it right, WAIT until you can do it right. Patience. Just like anything...

 

[Denithor]

Well, everyone is certainly entitled to their own opinion. I would like to point toward to AT reviews of these boards to set some facts straight.

ASRock 775Dual-VSTA: DDR versus DDR2 performance
ASRock 775Dual-VSTA: PCI-E x4 versus AGP 8x performance

ASRock 4CoreDual-SATA2: Anandtech Editor's Choice Bronze Award winner

Still, if you're one of those users running something like an older Pentium 4 or Athlon XP DDR system and you've been wanting to upgrade to something faster on the cheap, $170 will get you a Core 2 Duo E4300 processor and an ASRock 4CoreDual-SATA2 motherboard. You might miss out on the overclocking potential of the CPU, even some base performance if you keep all of your other old parts, but in computationally intensive tasks even a "slow Core 2 Duo" could provide a serious performance boost.

And this price becomes even cheaper if you go with the e2160/e2180.

 

[ArchAngel777]

Originally posted by: Denithor
Well, everyone is certainly entitled to their own opinion. I would like to point toward to AT reviews of these boards to set some facts straight.

ASRock 775Dual-VSTA: DDR versus DDR2 performance
ASRock 775Dual-VSTA: PCI-E x4 versus AGP 8x performance

ASRock 4CoreDual-SATA2: Anandtech Editor's Choice Bronze Award winner

Still, if you're one of those users running something like an older Pentium 4 or Athlon XP DDR system and you've been wanting to upgrade to something faster on the cheap, $170 will get you a Core 2 Duo E4300 processor and an ASRock 4CoreDual-SATA2 motherboard. You might miss out on the overclocking potential of the CPU, even some base performance if you keep all of your other old parts, but in computationally intensive tasks even a "slow Core 2 Duo" could provide a serious performance boost.

And this price becomes even cheaper if you go with the e2160/e2180.

Appreciate the link. I never did read that review... I probably should have. These hybrid boards have come a LONG way in the last year or so... Not to long ago, some other boards attempted the same thing and failed miserably. But, at this point, after seeing that review, I cannot say I am opposed to that particular motherboard. It actually seems like an oustanding deal for someone in the OP's situation. Still, I do have a BIAS against it, but certainly do not consider it junk any longer.

:thumbsup:

 

[Tempered81]

http://www.ewiz.com/detail.php...abb8490bb30df0949166a4

http://www.ewiz.com/detail.php...abb8490bb30df0949166a4



just overclock the heck out of it, and use ur x850 and DDR1 Ram.

~$110

edit: you may only reach approx 2400mhz on that e2140, due to the multiplier, and the 300mhz FSB limit on the 4core mobo.
As another option, you can choose to go with the e2180 for the higher multiplier. You will pay approx 20 dollars more, but be able to reach 3000mhz easily.

 

[Tempered81]

Originally posted by: GundamF91
You can't use DDR1 memory, so you'll need at least DDR2 memory.

u can use ddr1

 

[Tempered81]

Originally posted by: Denithor
How is this shooting yourself in the foot?

PCI-E x4 is about equivalent in bandwidth to AGP 8x so as long as he doesn't go above the Radeon 3850 he won't see any problems.

The board uses either DDR (so he can use his current memory) or DDR2 (so he can upgrade when he has enough money).

And there is a very involved/helpful thread in the motherboard forum to address any issues/questions he has.

This board is a great method to do a step-up to C2D cpu power without having to completely upgrade your whole system at once. You can then replace the DDR with solid DDR2, add a PCI-E video card, and eventually (if you are limited in OC or something) upgrade the motherboard itself to something with better OC options.

AYE! and it supports SATA & IDE to accommodate your older drives

 

[themisfit610]

*shrug* if you really need extra CPU performance now then go for it. I would just hate to add that board and a CPU to your system - then have to buy a new board in not so long.

That's me though.

~MiSfit

 

[DraconianAC]

Hey guys,

First post here. I've been a lurker for a few months now, but since this tread was made, I decided to come out and ask more about this topic. You see, I was planning on a major upgrade and spend like 500-600 dollars on a new rig. The only reason why I was really doing it though was because I wanted to play NWN2 with all high settings, but I've read that even with the Nvidia 8800 generation cards, I would still find glitches and hick-ups. Well, If thats the case, I rather just upgrade my comp's processor that I believe is bottlenecking my video card and install the DDR2 memory I bought 6 months ago. (Crucial Ballistix DDR2 6400 2GBs) I bought also bought a new PSU and Case, but I don't think I'll use them yet till I finally find a need to really upgrade big. So 100 dollar upgrade would be great for me right now--just like the OP.

And just like the Original Poster, I'm running on a Athlon Barton, but mine is a 2500+ and I've OC it, but I still feel like thats whats holding back my 7800 GS CO. (AGP) This combo of the ASRock 4CoreDual-SATA2 and the Intel Dual-Core E2140 sound like a good deal (150 dollars after tax+shipping from newegg), I just wish it was cheaper. I spent my 500 dollars upgrade budget on a PS3 instead and now I just want a 100 upgrade.

Is the ASRock 4CoreDual-SATA2 and the Intel Dual-Core E2140 the best way to go? Do you guys think the Barton is not really holding back my Video card, and I should just wait it out a bit more and do the full upgrade Later? I'm in no rush, since the NWN2 servers is just barely taking off, but I would be nice to watch my HD Anime fansubs and I think I need a new processor for that.

Any comments regarding my Computer upgrade would be greatly appreciated, but please don't scold me for my PS3 purchase, I'm happy with my choice. Thanks.

-Ale.C