Gonna jump on the bandwagon here and ask for some additional input from others as to my own personal upgrade decision for the near future.
I'm running an old P4 1.6A on a (shudder) ECS mobo. I THINK it's running PC2100, but it could be PC2700 (for whatever reason, I can never remember :P). I have 1024MB of RAM, in 2x 512MB configuration, single-channel, of course (DDR was unheard of at the time I receieved this PC). Recently-bought BFG 6800 OC (BFG purposely OC's their cards slightly to boost performance; they also offer lifetime warranty, even if you OC), although it runs a bit hot - may have to take it apart and throw some Arctic Silver on there, if I can find my little tube.
Essentially, I have an outdated system with some relatively high-end components (high, albeit slow, RAM and a good new-generation video card). My goal is to upgrade what I have, using as many components as I possibly can, while getting a large boost in performance (I know, I know, like that ever happens, right? :) But it IS possible with my system, since almost all the components are still supported, unlike most people who upgrade from a 5+ year old computer). I have a big PSU that can accommodate any of the new P4's (~450W, IIRC - I went overboard at the time because the price difference between low and high was small, and I had just blown up my old PSU, so I didn't want that to happen again), so that's not an issue. I have a VERY old 15" monitor that still, miracuously, works (albeit not the best at times - tapping the cable has a tendency to throw all the color guns out of whack :P), and as I said plenty of RAM and a good graphics card. So, I decided that now is probably the best (and nearing last) time I'll have to make an upgrade and still be able to use all my old components, while having room to upgrade in the future.
I picked out a cheap mobo and processor, all lined up, and they come out to $249.99 including shipping.
Processor: Intel P4 2.8GHz LGA775
Motherboard: Abit "AS8"
A new HSFU would probably be advisable, but I'm sure I could get by with the reference cooler since it's not even remotely at the high-end for heat dissipation (should be around either 75W/80W or 100W; can't remember the cutoff points at the moment). It nearly doubles my processing power, adds in HT support, has onboard audio (not necessary, but nearly unavoidable), LAN (outdated, though; I'll post some of my other mobo options that have GB LAN), Serial ATA (forward compatibility, which I'm looking to get as much of as I can for my dollars), RAID 0/1 (a big plus, since this system will invariably be get downgraded to either "server" or "secondary" computer status), 3x Firewire ports (a nice but indifferent plus). It supports my AGP video card (no PCI Express, but I can live with that; as I said, this system will invariably be downgraded when I build myself a brand new system in a couple years), and IIRC dual-channel is backwards-compatible with single channel so it supports even my lowly PC2100 RAM, with options to get up to PC3200 (and, I'm sure, even higher with OCing), with options to upgrade up to 4GB. :)
Essentially, it gives me all the bells and whistles I need, with some I don't, for a pittance of money (well, right now "pittance" = "penny"), but with my tax returns coming I hope to budget enough money to afford this upgrade - we'll see though). It SHOULD provide me with at LEAST 3 years of use as a primary computer (I do mostly gaming with my rigs, so I gear them heavily towards that), and plenty of use as a secondary / server rig.
So, what do you all think? I think I picked out a nice little package, but I'd like others opinions, especially since I'm unfamiliar with Abit's boards. I know OF them, but I have no personal experience with them, so I'm ever so slightly skeptical. The clincher for me was the RAID. I think it was the only board that had it and firewire (not that I care about IE1394) together, but in any case the price difference between the 6 or 8 boards I was looking at was minimal. I think the most I saw was $15 - $25, tops. So, it only made sense to get RAID built into the board, especially since this board was in the mid-to-low price category at $88 (highest I saw was either 95$ or ~$110, lowest was either $76 or $82).
Here's a link to all my options for motherboards. Having dealt with the CRAP that is ECS, I avoid them and any other "cheap" brand like the plague. I want loads of features in the BIOS and as much overclocking potential as I can possibly get. Gigabyte, ASUS, Abit, and MSI were all candidates, with Foxconn and Soltek being potential candidates. Abit and Soltek were the only ones out of all of them that had RAID, so I went with Abit since it was cheaper and since I don't know Soltek too well, although it did have Gigabit LAN and dual-RAID, but didn't seem to have any OCing options. Plus the price was almost $20 more, so I decided to pass on them. :P
BTW - the difference between the AS8 and AS8-third eye is some BS extra feature that I don't care about, something to do with LCD / TV display of temperature, etc. or some such nonsense. The price difference was large and the feature nonsensical to me, so I passed gladly. Just an FYI.
Anyway, I'd appreciate people's input on this. And if I've made any glaring errors, please let me know so I don't waste my money. :)
I'm running an old P4 1.6A on a (shudder) ECS mobo. I THINK it's running PC2100, but it could be PC2700 (for whatever reason, I can never remember :P). I have 1024MB of RAM, in 2x 512MB configuration, single-channel, of course (DDR was unheard of at the time I receieved this PC). Recently-bought BFG 6800 OC (BFG purposely OC's their cards slightly to boost performance; they also offer lifetime warranty, even if you OC), although it runs a bit hot - may have to take it apart and throw some Arctic Silver on there, if I can find my little tube.
Essentially, I have an outdated system with some relatively high-end components (high, albeit slow, RAM and a good new-generation video card). My goal is to upgrade what I have, using as many components as I possibly can, while getting a large boost in performance (I know, I know, like that ever happens, right? :) But it IS possible with my system, since almost all the components are still supported, unlike most people who upgrade from a 5+ year old computer). I have a big PSU that can accommodate any of the new P4's (~450W, IIRC - I went overboard at the time because the price difference between low and high was small, and I had just blown up my old PSU, so I didn't want that to happen again), so that's not an issue. I have a VERY old 15" monitor that still, miracuously, works (albeit not the best at times - tapping the cable has a tendency to throw all the color guns out of whack :P), and as I said plenty of RAM and a good graphics card. So, I decided that now is probably the best (and nearing last) time I'll have to make an upgrade and still be able to use all my old components, while having room to upgrade in the future.
I picked out a cheap mobo and processor, all lined up, and they come out to $249.99 including shipping.
Processor: Intel P4 2.8GHz LGA775
Motherboard: Abit "AS8"
A new HSFU would probably be advisable, but I'm sure I could get by with the reference cooler since it's not even remotely at the high-end for heat dissipation (should be around either 75W/80W or 100W; can't remember the cutoff points at the moment). It nearly doubles my processing power, adds in HT support, has onboard audio (not necessary, but nearly unavoidable), LAN (outdated, though; I'll post some of my other mobo options that have GB LAN), Serial ATA (forward compatibility, which I'm looking to get as much of as I can for my dollars), RAID 0/1 (a big plus, since this system will invariably be get downgraded to either "server" or "secondary" computer status), 3x Firewire ports (a nice but indifferent plus). It supports my AGP video card (no PCI Express, but I can live with that; as I said, this system will invariably be downgraded when I build myself a brand new system in a couple years), and IIRC dual-channel is backwards-compatible with single channel so it supports even my lowly PC2100 RAM, with options to get up to PC3200 (and, I'm sure, even higher with OCing), with options to upgrade up to 4GB. :)
Essentially, it gives me all the bells and whistles I need, with some I don't, for a pittance of money (well, right now "pittance" = "penny"), but with my tax returns coming I hope to budget enough money to afford this upgrade - we'll see though). It SHOULD provide me with at LEAST 3 years of use as a primary computer (I do mostly gaming with my rigs, so I gear them heavily towards that), and plenty of use as a secondary / server rig.
So, what do you all think? I think I picked out a nice little package, but I'd like others opinions, especially since I'm unfamiliar with Abit's boards. I know OF them, but I have no personal experience with them, so I'm ever so slightly skeptical. The clincher for me was the RAID. I think it was the only board that had it and firewire (not that I care about IE1394) together, but in any case the price difference between the 6 or 8 boards I was looking at was minimal. I think the most I saw was $15 - $25, tops. So, it only made sense to get RAID built into the board, especially since this board was in the mid-to-low price category at $88 (highest I saw was either 95$ or ~$110, lowest was either $76 or $82).
Here's a link to all my options for motherboards. Having dealt with the CRAP that is ECS, I avoid them and any other "cheap" brand like the plague. I want loads of features in the BIOS and as much overclocking potential as I can possibly get. Gigabyte, ASUS, Abit, and MSI were all candidates, with Foxconn and Soltek being potential candidates. Abit and Soltek were the only ones out of all of them that had RAID, so I went with Abit since it was cheaper and since I don't know Soltek too well, although it did have Gigabit LAN and dual-RAID, but didn't seem to have any OCing options. Plus the price was almost $20 more, so I decided to pass on them. :P
BTW - the difference between the AS8 and AS8-third eye is some BS extra feature that I don't care about, something to do with LCD / TV display of temperature, etc. or some such nonsense. The price difference was large and the feature nonsensical to me, so I passed gladly. Just an FYI.
Anyway, I'd appreciate people's input on this. And if I've made any glaring errors, please let me know so I don't waste my money. :)
Roland *The Gunslinger*