considering an upgrade what do you think?

[kevin_bouchard]

well i dont currently overclock anymore because my compressor system was way to load, and i am currently using my old paperwieght to cool my cpu now. well anyways I am considering upgrading my current system and what to see you guys thought it would be worth it. My current system is a 800mhz duron, msi k7t turbo LE(133a chipset),asus v7700 deluxe and 128mb sdram pc-133. I dont really play much gaming so i do see any reason for upgrading it, but i was thinking of upgrading my cpu(athlonxp1800+,because that is highest supporting cpu) and memory (add atleast 256mb). Do you guys think i will get a high enuff gain in multimedia programs or should i just change the motherboard, get a better cpu and get some ddr ram? Also money is of an issue, so the upgrade should be justified. Well thanks for any help in advance


Kevin

edit: I dont know if it makes a difference but i'm currently running win98se and winxp pro.

 

[ManOfKnight]

get the 1600+ and o/c it to an 1800...and they are only 53 bucks on newegg

 

[macklin01]

winxp will particularly benefit from a gain in RAM and RAM performance.

Also, if you're running your SDRAM with a CL of 3, then you'll get a substantial gain if you get CL2 RAM. Micron is a pretty good bet. Their CL3 ram runs at CL2 (even at 2-2-2-5/7) quite easily at stock speeds of 133 MHz.

I would personally work on your memory bandwidth. Then maybe upgrade the CPU. The XP 1600+ or 1800+ sound like good moves. Honestly, if you're not planning on upgrading, I'd go to the max your board will support and make it your last CPU upgrade for the system. Otherwise, several months will roll by and you'll start eyeing the next CPU up and perhaps end up spending more.

Just a few thoughts. Have fun! -- Paul

EDIT: Another thought: what's your current hdd? If it's a 5400 RPM drive, you should upgrade to 7200 RPM. In order, the biggest bottlenecks in your system are hdd, then RAM, then CPU, most probably.

 

[kevin_bouchard]

yeah my hdd is a 54000rpm but i didnt mention it because i am sure to change it. I am running at cl2 dont know what ns my ram is though.NyTe, yeah good ideal,totally forgot about overclocking it. Thanks for all your replies again.

One more question, is ddr really that much faster? I mean is it worth the extra 150$ and cost of ram?

 

[macklin01]

Most of the benches appear to be substantially faster for DDR. Just run sisoft sandra and compare the built-in DDR benches. Is it worth a new motherboard and ram for that improvement? That's a matter of taste, especially if you already have a considerable investment in your current motherboard and RAM.

In the SDRAM dept, I've been quite satisfied with Kingmax PC-150 (CL3), which runs 2-2-2-5/7 at 149 handily. You can get 256MB of that for under $40 at mwave.

I wouldn't change mobo just to get a different type of RAM. For that, I would wait until you plan a total system (mobo, CPU, RAM) overhaul. Then, look at a dual DDR solution, if you can.

-- Paul

 

[kevin_bouchard]

well thanks for all the help guys, I think i will wait it out a bit see how things go and do a system overhaul when new technologies come out. Thanks again .


Kevin