New system advice needed...please help

Ok, so my P3C-D died a few days ago and I'm selling off the ram and procs in frustration. I am now essentially without a system (unless you count the celeron 300a, which at least gets me online) until I can pick up some new hardware.

Here's the situation:
Gaming is not a priority. I sometimes play CS or UT, the occasional RPG or RTS, and it might be nice to at least have the ability to play any MMOs that might strike my fancy, but I'm not concerned with top-of-the-line graphics performance. I need a box for email, web, GIMP, office apps, tor, and file serving. It has to be a duallie. Sorry, I'm hooked and a single won't cut it for me. The ability to overclock would be nice, but I'm not going to be pushing too hard. I need stability over speed and noise level is a factor as well. I'll be running some form of linux or BSD and I'll dual boot with windows for games. So here is my question...

Should I go with a socket A duallie approx. two months from now or wait until something better comes along? Price is a big factor, I'm a student and currently unemployed I also just spent all the money I have in the world so I can visit some friends in Europe this march. So, I may not be able to get anything for at least two months, after I return and hopefully have a job.

I don't have and AMD or Intel preference, just whatever offers the best price/performance ratio. I was thinking dual 90nm Semprons, but a) I don't think they will be SMP enable and b) I don't think they yet have x86-64, which would be a plus. Again, I would have to wait, unless there is a cheap dual x86-64 option available now (and I'm pretty sure there isn't). Although x86-64 would be nice, it isn't a deciding factor and I know that with a limited budget comes limited options.

Hardware I'm looking for is cpu, mobo, memory, and video card. I have everything else. I accept that I'll need new HS/F and possibly a new PSU (I have a 300w and a 350w Enermax). I'd like to spend as little as possible, but I think a ballpark figure would be $400-$500, if I have gainful employment. Of course with a steady paycheck I could spend more, so let's start with that and see what my options are.
Thanks in advance,
T7

Edit: Minor revisions/info added.

The Nocona core Xeons are x86_64 and so are Opterons. The Opterons would be significantly more expensive, though because you need to buy registered RAM and the mobos tend to be more expensive, too. The entry level Noconas (2.8 Ghz) run for about $240-$260 per processor and you can get an ASUS NCCH-DL mobo for $235 on ewiz.

This sounds like it may cost more than you're willing to spend, so I'm sure someone will fill you in on the cheaper low voltage Xeon option.

I don't know much about Athlon duals so I can't help you there.

The low voltage Xeon duallie is definitely a great bang for the buck. Check out the sticky in this section of the forum for more info. I spent ~$250 for an NCCH-DL, ~$110 for a pair of LV Xeons that should overclock to ~3GHz, and ~$140 for a gig of Corsair PC3200. You would still need heatsinks, which would cost you between $30 and $90 for the pair depending on what you get. You can save ~$50 by going with the cheaper PC-DL motherboard, but you lose some features.

You would need a new PSU. You sould need an SSI compatible EPS12V supply. Some are recommended in the sticky above. Video cards are a personal preference, but if you're going to run Linux you'll probably want an NVidia card due to their superior Linux drivers.

Ken

Thanks for your suggestions, guys. I looked at the 1.6 LV Xeons, and my only concern is availability of the chips. Is this guy on ebay the only source? I've looked a bit and I can't find them elsewhere, so I'm a little worried that I won't be able to get ahold of them in 2-3 months time. I mean I doubt he has an infinite supply of these things, although he does have quite a good racket going for himself

I guess my main decision is to go with a dual socket A OR 1.6 Xeons and upgrade in 3-5 years when I can get a cheap dual 64 bit system. I think I tend to upgrade a lot less often than most people on this board, but my needs are much less than someone who's into hardcore gaming or rendering.

I could probably get a K7D Master on ebay for $140 and a pair of XP-M 2400s for $150. Even cheaper ($100) would be dual 1.6 Durons, which should do 2GHz each and with a little modding run in SMP. I've seen board, cpu, and memory combos for around $260-$300 on ebay so I would save a bunch by going that route.

So save some $$ and get a lesser system, or spend a little more and better system? Either one will be an improvement over my dual PIIIs @667. You see my dilemma?

tychoseven said:

So save some $$ and get a lesser system, or spend a little more and better system? Either one will be an improvement over my dual PIIIs @667. You see my dilemma?

Click to expand...

Yup, it's the dilemma each of us without infinite resources faces when doing an upgrade. The XP-M route is a perfectly valid one, and a little less expensive. I'd say if you were happy with the performance of the PIII dually you had and don't mind modding the mobiles to work in SMP, that might be the best route for you. There's a lot of people around getting rid of their older technology right now, so you'll probably get some deals.

Ken

if you are really dont have the money you could always get the mobo and 1 cpu and save up for the other.
or
Buy the 1.6 xeon now and get the board when you can in 3-4 months

IF I was going to do that I would get the NCCH-DL and a cheap set of 1.6 xeon until i had the money to get 2 Noconas and sale the 1.6 to some one here on the boards.

If ya want Power and performance ya have to go Intel..The MP systems although noce just do not have the power of the Xeon 1.6LV clocked to 3.2 Gigs,Memory band with alone makes the Intel a better buy,,And gaming with the intell is better,I score as good as any Single P-4 from my clocks up to 4 gigs..

Board,,, 250.00 NCCH-DL
Processors,,,,110.00
Ram ,,,,, 140.00
PSU get a Fotron,,, 100.00

600,Plus a decint video card 250.00 and ya have a smoking syatem that ya can use for a long time to come AND upgrade to 64 bit Nanconas in a year or 2

I'm one of those that jumped on the 1.6lv Xeons as my start for now. Seems like the best thing going now with all the prementioned advantages (memory band, Nocona support). It is my first true computer I built myself and I am very pleased with the results so far. I still have a long way to go with tweaking it so I cannot give any specifics of its overclock but its looking very good. I'd say grab a pair of the 1.6's while you can and hold on to them until you can afford the rest. I think you'll be pleased with the results.

Thanks for all your help. 1.6 Xeons sound really nice, plus I can upgrade to Noconas later on. I think it'll come down to what the market looks like a few months from now, because I literally don't have the money to get even the chips now. Unless I can find a dual socket A for rediculously cheap at that time, I'll go with the Xeons.
Peace, and thanks again.
T7