Upgrade Path from Current System?

  • Thread starter Thread starter AFGH
  • Start date Start date
A

AFGH

I have a homebuilt AMD machine with 1 GB PC-3200 memory, AGP video card, and
2 PATA harddrives and 2 optical drives.

I am interested in upgrading the performance, but don't want to have to
start over. I was looking at either the E6400 or E6600 Intel processors.
Are there suggestions to upgrade and be able to keep the video card, memory
and drives? I would consider swapping out the memory immediately if I have
to, but wanted to be able to be flexible and look for deals over time.

Thanks.
 
The motherboards that accomodate Intel E6400 and E6600 processors ONLY will
use DDR2, so you cannot reuse your RAM. Those motherboards also ONLY use
PCI-E video cards, so you cannot use your old video card. I would not
upgrade your system at this point, but save for a new one down the road.
 
AFGH said:
I have a homebuilt AMD machine with 1 GB PC-3200 memory, AGP video card, and
2 PATA harddrives and 2 optical drives.

I am interested in upgrading the performance, but don't want to have to
start over. I was looking at either the E6400 or E6600 Intel processors.
Are there suggestions to upgrade and be able to keep the video card, memory
and drives? I would consider swapping out the memory immediately if I have
to, but wanted to be able to be flexible and look for deals over time.

Thanks.
Click to expand...

If this thing actually properly supports Conroe/Allendale, its a miracle :-)

PC CHIPS P23G (V3.0) Socket T (LGA 775) VIA P4M800 PRO Micro ATX - Retail $45
http://images10.newegg.com/NeweggImage/productimage/13-185-086-04.JPG
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=N82E16813185086

The chart here, doesn't list Core 2 Duo for P4M800 Pro (right most column).
But maybe the motherboard maker found a way. It looks like a PT880 Ultra
based motherboard might be a better chipset choice.

http://www.via.com.tw/en/products/chipsets/p4-series/comparison_p4-series.jsp

The specs for this board, shown different places, don't seem to agree.
It is hard to tell if this has a Pro or Ultra chipset. Two memory
slots are DDR, and two are DDR2, meaning two slots max at a time.

http://images10.newegg.com/NeweggImage/productimage/13-157-092-04.JPG
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=N82E16813157092

The customer reviews mention using a Core 2 Duo in it, so I guess it
is alright.

Both of the above boards (P23G and ASRock 775Dual-VSTA) take DDR
memory and AGP video. Of the two, I think I'd take the Asrock.

Paul
 
Hi, new 'round here. Whether you stick with an AMD is dependant on what
you expect from your PC and how much you want to spend. Socket 939 is
being fazed out in the near future, so unless you reeeeally like your
current setup, your going to have to upgrade your motherboard. Both the
AMD socket AM2 and the current gen 775 Intel boards run DDR2, so RAM is
going to be on the shopping list. If you choose to replace your
motherboard, you want the most bang for your buck, right? Go with the
E6600 option. It's faster and cheaper than the competing AMD procs,
plus it has the 4MB of shared on-die L2 cache...very cool that. Did I
mention how well they overclock? ;-P I see NewEgg has them on sale for
$308 at the moment. If on the other hand, you are looking to save a
little money, the E6300 is a good choice. Like all the Conroes, the
E6300 runs very cool and retail for $180. I've read about one being
overclocked to nearly 3Ghz, where it performed very close to the X6800
at stock speed. Like you, I'm thinking about an upgrade and was just
about to make the Core 2 Duo leap, but the Quad Cores are coming out
next month. I think I'm gonna squeeze a little more life out of my ol',
gray haired Pent 4 and see where the chips fall... :-)

Sentinel67
 
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