need some advice - Buying Pentium 4 / sk478

[Darren]

hi there, well you may remember my thread a few weeks back & was recommended to get a Dothan, however I dont want to buy a dothan - i was hoping to buy a cpu i could run @ stock speeds or a little overclocked... & then eventually after 6months i will overclock it.

Now the question is: Which way should i go?

well i have a Socket 478 mobo & pc3200 memory, but i have seen a socket 775 CPU that i like, its a "Intel P4 3.4GHz 64bit LGA775 Prescott 2Mb Cache (650) Ret 800FSB" ... Are these any good? & will i need to change my memory? ... or should i stay with socket 478 & get a different CPU.?

Please help me I only have about £250+ for my upgrade & if i make the wrong decision i'd be gutted... help appreciated.

darren


Or I could sell my current system & build a totally new system, possible a amd..... are these any good? im a gamer / encoder / multimedia & just general use//// "Athlon 64 3700+/rev E4 socket 939pin (retail boxed) San Diego"

 

[batboy]

The socket 775 processors require a different motherboard. Depending on what mobo you get, you might need to upgrade to DDR2 RAM also. To keep you on budget, let's just find you a decent socket 478 CPU (assuming you have a decent motherboard).

We need to know what motherboard you already have before we can recommend a processor. It might help to list what power supply you have too.

Certainly, an AMD A64 is worth considering. For gaming it would probably be a good bang for the buck. But, for multitasking and encoding Intel is probably a better choice. Plus Intel chipsets are the best and most reliable. Although, since we don't know what socket 478 mobo you have, we don't actually know if you have an Intel chipset yet.

 

[hUMANbEATbOX]

i would not but any more 478 chips.

i think i posted in your original thread why...

it just doesn't make sense, as you can get a 630 (3.0ghz, 64bit, 2mb, etc, etc) and an abit AS8 for LESS than the price of a 3.4e, and just a little more than a 3.2e.

with a 630 and anm as8 you should get over 4ghz, and still be able to use your old ram and video card.

 

[Darren]

thanks for the advice

my current specs:

Pentium 4 Northwood 2.80gHZ
Asus P4P800 SE
Kingston 512MB PC3200 x2 (1024MB)
Eagle 400w PSU (although a standard PSU, I will however buy a antec or similar)
Evo33 HeatSink
x2 160GB Maxtor's
1x MSI DVD/RW Writer (8x & 48x)
Mr Floppy

hehe , merry xmas all

ps: Dont get me wrong, i bet the dothans are really nice CPU's, but i dont fancy overclocking a new CPU - i'd probably hang myself if i fried it, lol. (jk jk, but i would feel better running @ clock speeds)

 

[fAlCoNNiAn]

thanks for the advice

my current specs:

Pentium 4 Northwood 2.80gHZ
Asus P4P800 SE
Kingston 512MB PC3200 x2 (1024MB)
Eagle 400w PSU (although a standard PSU, I will however buy a antec or similar)
Evo33 HeatSink
x2 160GB Maxtor's
1x MSI DVD/RW Writer (8x & 48x)
Mr Floppy

hehe , merry xmas all

ps: Dont get me wrong, i bet the dothans are really nice CPU's, but i dont fancy overclocking a new CPU - i'd probably hang myself if i fried it, lol. (jk jk, but i would feel better running @ clock speeds)

id hold off until july of 06, thats when conroe is supposed to be released. you system isnt that bad.

 

[ZL1]

Id say wait a bit longer and then build a new machine, but if you want to upgrade now and want to go lga and still keep your ram and agp card look for the Abit AS8 board

Merry Christmas

D

P.S. you do need a new psu, especially if you are going to upgrade (antec or enermax are good choices)

 

[batboy]

Humanbeatbox does have a point, socket 478 is a dying breed. But you do have a decent motherboard. Find yourself a cheap 3.0E and overclock that sucker. You'll want to get good cooling. Look at the links in my signature.

 

[Randyman...]

Why not OC your 2.8 Northwood for now? I can't say I'm familiar with them, but I bet you could get 3.2GHz or higher easy. I love my P4P800-E Dlx and P4C800-E Dlx s-478 systems!

I'd also say when the time comes, just build a completely new system (you can swap one of the HD's perhaps, and maybe buy a cheap CD-R for the P4P800, and put your DVD drive in the new system). Go for the gold, and get DDR2 and PCI-Express. It is the future, and it is coming at us FAST! Having "Almost enough parts" to make a second PC really sucks (you WILL eventually resurrect your old components anyway if you are anything like me), so just leave your current system entact, and start fresh with a LGA775 system . Start saving now, and you'll be there before you know it.

 

[bixit_62]

Hey
just noticed your in the UK!!
what do you have right now?
what would you say if i said, you could have a brand new foxconn NF4 board, with an athlon 64 3000 and a 6600GT with 128mb ddr3? for 235shipped?!
pop over to ebuyer, under their motherboards section,and then under the 'bundles' section

editr would most certainly reccomend going P-M, you'll save a lot more and you can keep most of your original stuff,and a WAY better chip.

 

[bixit_62]

or would most certainly reccomend going P-M, you'll save a lot more and you can keep most of your original stuff,and a WAY better chip.

 

[WedgeWhacko]

the P-M looks inviting that's for sure

 

[Darren]

the P-M looks inviting that's for sure

yeh it does look good, however all that pin modding stuff & mods is a little daunting for me... & i dont feel comfortable overclocking a brand new cpu.

I recently formatted & wow my pc has gone fast - I redone my thermal paste (arctic 5) with just a blob on the CPU & my pc is running sweeter than ever... this is why i was after a new CPU cause i thought mine was dying, but seeing as its ok now im gonna wait a few months, save some money & build a AMD64 system.

Thanks for all the comments & sorry i didnt reply sooner, couldnt get online til now.

PS: Its running @ 3.4ghz - stable & done a few tests & no errors
also the bf2 stuttering has dissapeared, sorry but im staying away from omega & ati drivers, the NG driver completly solved all my gaming problems & stopped me from blaming my pc for the problems i was having.

 

[ZL1]

yeh it does look good, however all that pin modding stuff & mods is a little daunting for me... & i dont feel comfortable overclocking a brand new cpu.

I recently formatted & wow my pc has gone fast - I redone my thermal paste (arctic 5) with just a blob on the CPU & my pc is running sweeter than ever... this is why i was after a new CPU cause i thought mine was dying, but seeing as its ok now im gonna wait a few months, save some money & build a AMD64 system.

Thanks for all the comments & sorry i didnt reply sooner, couldnt get online til now.

PS: Its running @ 3.4ghz - stable & done a few tests & no errors
also the bf2 stuttering has dissapeared, sorry but im staying away from omega & ati drivers, the NG driver completly solved all my gaming problems & stopped me from blaming my pc for the problems i was having.

yep cleanups do wonders

btw make sure you test the oc well before letting it run 24x7
http://www.ocforums.com/showthread.php?t=418387

D