300$ Budget

[Timmay2k]

Hi, I have an amd 2200+ and it's really slow and I need better. I have kingston hyper-x pc3500, and I want a new cpu and motherboard. I was wondering what will give me the best bang for my buck, I don't care if its amd or intel. I have never overclocked, and if I do, I want to keep it absolutely low, because my case sucks and I can't replace a burnt cpu or mobo. Remember, I have never overclocked, and I don't want to mess with anything too advanced.

[Neo-Tebow2000]

Alright there buddy.. 300 smackers to waste.. Let me see....

Your Motherboard:

http://www.newegg.com/app/viewProductDesc.asp?description=13-127-164&depa=0

Your CPU:

http://www.newegg.com/app/ViewProductDesc.asp?description=19-116-170&depa=0

[Cerberus2k7]

eh...diff CPU if you wanna go Intel. 2.8C or 3.0C would be your best bet. Much less heat and stress. If you wanna go AMD, get a Athlon XP 3000+ (http://www.newegg.com/app/viewProductDesc.asp?description=19-103-394&depa=0) and an Abit NF7-S (http://www.newegg.com/app/viewProductDesc.asp?description=13-127-166&depa=0)

That will burn you around $227 on newegg.

[trueplaya4ever8]

well i wouldnt recomend you a prescott, if anything maybe a 2.8C to keep the temps down. http://www.newegg.com/app/ViewProductDesc.asp?description=19-116-161&depa=0

[Cerberus2k7]

Yeah, then you can pay 2x more when that CPU kills both itself and your mobo if you get a prescott. :D

[CandymanCan]

I also wouldnt recomend the 3000+ desktop unlless you dont overclock.

I would suggest this.
Youre Cpu 2600+ Mobile Barton $105 (http://www.excaliberpc.com/product_info.php?products_id=3606) Youre motherboard Abit NF7-S rev 2.0 $84 (http://www.excaliberpc.com/product_info.php?cPath=181_598&products_id=866)


Me personally ifi had $300 right now id buy this.

An A64 3000+ 512k cache Newcaslte, with Chaintech "VNF3-250"


With the A64 youll be like 20% faster then the Athlonxp system i and others recomended, the Prescott isnt the cpu to get im sorry it has major power and Heat issues.

[Steven4563]

this motherboard

http://www.newegg.com/app/ViewProductDesc.asp?description=13-128-226&depa=1

this CPU

http://www.newegg.com/app/ViewProductDesc.asp?description=19-103-452&depa=1

[CandymanCan]

Naa the Via boards are having APG/PCI lock problems dont get them. Stick with the Nforce 3 250 or 250gb boards. Other then that the Gigabyte board is ok

[Timmay2k]

Thanks for all the suggestions. What would be faster, an athlon 64 2800+, or a p4 2.8c? Also, what is the fastest ram they can run?

[man_utd]

2800+, both could reach 250FSB fairly easily. So maybe PC4000, or 4200 would be a good bet if you wanto to keep 1:1.

[Timmay2k]

Well, how about without overclocking? Sry I am new and don't know my numbers well. I have pc 3500.

[CoachB22]

Timmay2K,

I would like to take a step back and ask what is "too slow". A 2200+ should be fairly quick for most home applications. My 1600+ works lovely for my brood....school work, internet, powerpoint, etc. I've got it OC'd to 1550 mhZ which helps with things. Did that just by raising the FSB (Front Side Bus). Turned a $15 CPU into a $40 one in 30 seconds.

You've got good RAM so you might be able to stay with what you have and (with a little help from the gang here), be able to boost your performance cheaply and easily. You might list your system specs so we can see what you have to work with. There may be other things that need upgrading besides the Mobo and CPU (like Power supply, Case, and Heatsink).

Now, if you are looking for a box to run the latest games, forget the above and head on over to Newegg.com.

CoachB

[trueplaya4ever8]

are you gonna game or do massive multitasking and video encoding and such?

[CandymanCan]

You dont need to run a 1:1 ratio with the A64's like u do with the AXP'S. so ur pc3500 ram i s fine, see what people are making mistakes is that with my pc3200 ram and someone else's pc4400 ram even tho they have say 50fsb higher then me thier scores will 1-2% diff, and yet they paid $200 more then me. So again you can run the cpu @ 280fsb and ur ram @ 210 and thier will be little or no diff at all, but unike the AXP's u need to the run the thing in synce 280/280 cuss if u run 280/210 the thing wil lagg like crazy, alot of people are still beliving this is still going on with the A64's.

The 2800 A64 will crush the P4 2.8c in video games or 3d apps. Multitasking is diff story tho the p4 wins thier, the a64 is the choice u should go if ur ganna lpay alot of games.

[Timmay2k]

Yes, I will be gaming with this machine.

Would it be possible to get the a64 2800+ up to 3000+ with only tweaking the FSB? I am afraid to mess with anything else like voltage, ram, etc.

[hUMANbEATbOX]

The 2800 A64 will crush the P4 2.8c in video games or 3d apps. Multitasking is diff story tho the p4 wins thier, the a64 is the choice u should go if ur ganna lpay alot of games.

i think "crush" is a huge overstatement. a 2.8c will do 3.4-3.5 on default volts most times. there will be no NOTICABLE difference in gaming. with the p4c you WILL notice a decent improvement in the fluidity of windows whilst multitasking.

[Steven4563]

Timmay2k u most likely would be able to get around 3000+ speeds or even hit higher with just tweaking the FSB with no Voltage adjustment

[Taneka]

Man Id kill for an AMD 2200. Those things are quite fast if you have enough memory (1gig at least) and sometimes reformatting it can be the cure to tired (sluggish)HD's. Better than throwing away your old parts.

[BeerHunter]

Hi, I have an amd 2200+ and it's really slow and I need better. I have kingston hyper-x pc3500, and I want a new cpu and motherboard. I was wondering what will give me the best bang for my buck, I don't care if its amd or intel. I have never overclocked, and if I do, I want to keep it absolutely low, because my case sucks and I can't replace a burnt cpu or mobo. Remember, I have never overclocked, and I don't want to mess with anything too advanced.


Hi What motherboard do you have? My sugesstion, if you have the right motherboard, and since you have excellent memory, is to mearly overclock what you have..

Set Vcore to 1.75 and FSB to 166-180 and there you have an athlon 3200+ 3300+...No need to upgrade and this is very safe. Also be sure your memory timings are 2-2-2-11. After this your system will totally fly.

[BeerHunter]

Man Id kill for an AMD 2200. Those things are quite fast if you have enough memory (1gig at least) and sometimes reformatting it can be the cure to tired (sluggish)HD's. Better than throwing away your old parts.


Could be his video card. I notice video way more than processor increases which seem very subtle between generations.

[hooah]

what are the other components of your system like? Hard-drive? Video Card? I agree with beer hunter. If your video card and hard-drive are good to go, then i'd look at a CPU/Motherboard. but if you want this system for gaming and you are using a ATI 9200 then your **** outta luck even with a 2.8C or AMD 64. But between the AMD and INTEL based on you being completely new to overclocking (if you decide to screw around with your new $300 parts) then i'd go with the AMD and keep any overclock very mild. post a few threads in the AMD section and the good people there will hook you up. If your video card is ****, but a new motherboard and overclock your 2200 while buying an ATI 9800 Pro ($200). Voila, your set for games.

[Caffinehog]

Frankly, a 2200XP is pretty fast. If things are too slow, get rid of the junk running in the background. Also, be sure you have at least 256mb ram, prefferably 512mb, and be sure you have a decent video card. Also, a 7200rpm hard drive might add a boost. Other than those suggestions, nothing out there will really get you going all that much faster.

If you don't have anything running in the background, and you already have the above, I'm afraid that nothing will help very much.