X2 4200+ good (cheap) upgrade from P4 3.0C?

[zero2dash]

Basically I was trying to piece together a nice upgrade from what I have *now*, for not too much $. In addition to this, it'd be nice to have something that is also upgradable in the future without spending too much...this is why I'm looking AMD.

The more I read about Phenom, the more interested I am in it. (My future plan is a quad.) And since they (Phenom's) will run on AM2 boards, I started wondering about maybe getting an AM2 board, an X2 cpu, 2 gigs of ram...and using it until tax time when Phenom is something I could buy $ wise.

I put together a nice 3 piece (IMO) based off what I know...Intel-wise I initially was going to go with a Gigabyte board, so here I chose an AM2 Gigabyte board. CPU wise, again, I'm looking to spend just a little but gain a big boost from what I have now (P4 3.0C, 1 gig DDR400) and looks like the 4200+ for $74 will be the sweet spot in that regard for price/performance (and, again - looking to go Phenom right after Christmas). Ram wise, I just went with 2 gigs of G.Skill for $69 (no rebates to bother with)...voltage/ram timings I'm not too picky on.

GIGABYTE GA-MA69GM-S2H AM2 AMD 690G HDMI Micro ATX AMD Motherboard - Retail
Model #: GA-MA69GM-S2H
Item #: N82E16813128056

Return Policy: Standard Return Policy

In Stock
$79.99 $79.99


AMD Athlon 64 X2 4200+(65W) Windsor 2.2GHz Socket AM2 Processor Model ADO4200CUBOX - Retail
Model #: ADO4200CUBOX
Item #: N82E16819103741

Return Policy: Processors (CPUs) Return Policy

In Stock
$74.99 $74.99


G.SKILL 2GB (2 x 1GB) 240-Pin DDR2 SDRAM DDR2 800 (PC2 6400) Dual Channel Kit Desktop Memory Model F2-6400CL5D-2GBNQ - Retail
Model #: F2-6400CL5D-2GBNQ
Item #: N82E16820231098

Return Policy: Memory (Modules, USB) Return Policy

In Stock
$109.99 -$40.00 Instant $69.99

Subtotal: $224.97

So, what do you guys think?
Good deal/upgrade from a P4 3.0C with 1 gig DDR400 ram for only $224? I think I can convince the wife to let me splurge on this. (maybe! ha!!)

Primarily we use Creative Suite 3 (Photoshop, Illustrator, and InDesign especially), my wife does play the Sims 2 often, and also I am a ripping/encoding junkie (both with mp3s in iTunes and dvds with DVDShrink/DVD Decrypter). I tried to get a fair comparison using the CPU Charts on THG but the closest (modern) cpu they have is a 3gig Prescott P4 which is better (other spec wise, namely DDR2 533 ram and FSB) than my Northwood (DDR 400). In any event, the X2 4200+ handily beat the P4 3.0 Prescott on THG CPU charts so I assume my Northwood would be beaten even worse.

One thing I have to get (at this point, to keep costs down) is a board with onboard video; my Radeon 9500 is an AGP card. I like that mobo because it has DVI out (for my w2207) as well as HDCP-compliant HDMI out (good in case I turn it into an HTPC and hook it up to our HDTV). Eventually I will get a PCI-e card though, either an 8800GTS or a Radeon..something-or-other.

Again - the more I read about Phenom, the more I'm interested in it. I like the Agena GP-7100 (2.2-2.4ghz), hopefully around the $266 mark like the Q6600. Since I have learned more about Phenom/Barcelona vs. Penryn...I'm starting to like what I hear that AMD has come up with. (Granted though, I think both will be excellent cpus.)

Thanks in advance everybody. :thumbsup: :beer:

 

[lopri]

Forget about any kind of future-proof wrt Phenom. It may be technically possible but you won't want the crippled feature/performance with a brand new quad-core, and even then the support will be gray at best per different boards.

For a HTPC build, mATX boards on AMD side have been wonderful, and the price/performance is excellent, too. But if you could wait this might change with Intel and NV's upcoming integrated graphics offerings.

 

[lopri]

Without thinking about future-proofing and whatnot, your selection looks great. You will see a huge boost in performance coming from P4 3.0GHz.

 

[zero2dash]

Yeah, I know now the advantages Phenom will have with the AM2+ mobo (over an AM2); I may end up buying an AM2+ mobo with the Phenom cpu (assuming I go that route)...don't really know.

I would get a P35 mobo and an E4300 to give me something to work with on the Q6600 or Penryn end I was originally going to go with, but the $ is much more if I go that route.

 

[daveybrat]

GIGABYTE GA-G31MX-S2 LGA 775 Intel G31 Micro ATX Intel Motherboard - Retail
Item #: N82E16813128061
Return Policy: Standard Return Policy

http://www.newegg.com/Product/...82E16813128061&Tpk=g31

$78.99



Intel Dual-Core E2160 Allendale 1.8GHz LGA 775 Processor Model BX80557E2160 - Retail
Item #: N82E16819116036
Return Policy: Processors (CPUs) Return Policy

http://www.newegg.com/Product/...x?Item=N82E16819116036

$84.99


Just to show you, i picked a great new Gigabyte G31 based motherboard that supports all Dual-core and Quad-core intel processors with onboard video and everything for the same price as the AMD board.

The processor i picked (1.8GHz core2duo) is only $10 more than the AMD 4200+ and is faster than the AMD chip.

Using the same Gskill ram, the intel solution is a much better option as it's only $10 more overall than what you picked out, but the motherboard natively supports Quad-core and is much more upgradable.

 

[bryanW1995]

qft

 

[nitromullet]

For the exact same price as the X2 4200+, I'd take the E2140 over it any day. I'm running an E2140 in the rig I'm typing this on, running OS X, and it's a lot of chip for $75.

CPU's have definitely dropped in price... I paid around $600 for a socket 939 X2 4200+ about two years ago and close to $400 for an E6600 about a year ago. A quad core Q6600 goes for less than $300 now!

 

[lopri]

It's also important to consider your display. Search around the web and find reports from others what's the limit of 690G. It may advertise as 1080P capable, but you want to find out how smooth it can play. I have a Biostar 7050 mated with an X2 3800+, and it handles up to 1080i pretty well. But for 1080P it needs a discrete GPU (I suspect the same with 690G, but I could be wrong - reason why you should find it out) and in that case you might as well go with Intel platform. But if your monitor/TV isn't 1080P capable, or if the 690G is indeed able to take care of 1080P, then you can't really beat the savings by going AMD way.

965G/G31/G33 are all crap. I wouldn't buy them for multimedia PC. (even DVI output is hard to find, much less HDMI) For Intel build, wait for G35 or NV's 7150/7100 series. Of course all this becomes a different story if you're going to buy a discrete GPU.

 

[lopri]

It looks like 690G can actually handle 1080P (unlike GeForce 7050 which NV crippled via drivers to sell their video cards). Check out the mATX review on the front page.

Originally posted by: daveybrat
Just to show you, i picked a great new Gigabyte G31 based motherboard that supports all Dual-core and Quad-core intel processors with onboard video and everything for the same price as the AMD board.

Not really. There is finally something worth considering on Intel side, though.

GIGABYTE GA-G33M-S2H LGA 775 Intel G33 HDMI Micro ATX Intel Motherboard

Quite a bit more expensive than comparable offerings from AMD side in that market segment. And for that price, one should really wait for the G35/MCP73.