System Upgrade

[cyberneticimplant]

I am thinking about upgrading my system, however I'm kinda behind in all the new computer technology. I have some questions:
1) Is it cheaper to buy an assembled system or buy individual parts? Or should I buy a barebone system and put in my own drives? Any reccomendations? I live in Canada.
2) Are ATA HDs significantly faster than IDE ones? Do new motherboards even support IDE HDs? I recently bought an IDE one for my current system (I had a 6 GIG HD that made grinding noise whenever it accessed virtual memory) so it kind seems like a waste to be paying for a HD again.
3) Is a Dual Core CPU significantly faster then a non-dual core CPU?

[[BTF]adam]

1) Yes, to buy your own system it is often quite a hefty amount cheaper, I can guarantee that.

2) Yes, they are quite some faster than standard IDE drives, and yes, you can use an IDE in a new motherboard, my new Gigabyte K8N-E PCI-E motherboard has slots for IDE, and im using a 30gb IDE drive in here right now.

3) Dual Core is pretty much faster and futureproof compared to single cores, but can also be damn pricey, your 'best' bet is to either go for a AM2 Single core socket, and upgrade with a dual processor later, or 939 single core (such as AMD 3200+ 64) and later get a dualie then.

If you name your budget, people here can probably give you somewhat of a base system suited to your budget, i'll do one to give you a rough idea if you give your budget, hope this helps.

Adam.

[X'tyfe]

sata-2 hard drives are the current fastest i think, though i do beleave IDE is still the standerd (correct me if i wrong )

dual core are not that great atm, while they are technically better. they arnt really developed to fully replace single ones yet
not to mention most programs dont make use of the second core (nor 64bit, which also creates problems sometimes with 32 bit programs)

like lcd monitors, they are just hype newer is not better

[[BTF] Reflex]

Hijack - kinda...

on monitors..  guys wanted me to get this 250 dollar lcd,  I walked out paying 49 bux for a decent 19 inch crt

[cyberneticimplant]

So, what can I get for $700?

[X'tyfe]

US dollers? a fairly decent system

[[BTF]adam]

700 dollars.. i'll do this in english money, but it will work out roughly the same.


700.00 USD    United States Dollars    =    384.951 GBP United Kingdom Pounds

Processor: AMD Athlon 64 3200+ - 939 - Not much to say about this, it's average and adequate for now, and can be upgraded later or overclocked nicely.
http://www.ebuyer.com/UK/product/88109/rb/20030982570

Motherboard: ECS KN1 SLI Lite socket 939 nForce4SLI PCI-E 8channel audio ATX -

[cyberneticimplant]

Thanks.

I personally would go with a little bit more grunt with processor and video. I am not buying a processor unless it has at least 1MB L2 cache. I find that more L2 cache really makes a big difference. I would also get at least a 256MB video card.

Okay, this is a really stupid question: If I use a 64-bit CPU do I have to use a 64-bit OS?

[[BTF]adam]

Lol, no.

[X'tyfe]

just an fyi, a 256mb video card means nothing
i could still have a 128 card and out perform it

you need to look at the specsa a little closer then that

[applejacks]

the gainward video card 6600gt is a good card. depending on how much it is.... see about upgrading into the 7900 series cards
since your upgrading  might as well wait a few more weeks

there will be some big savings soon as soon as Intel releases Core 2 Duo Conroe based chips. Alot of people are dumping x2's and moving back to blue.
anyhow intel is slashing pricing on alot of their chips and since the conroes are sweet and not overly expensive. Amd's answering back with slasing their pricing big time. You can probably build a nice lower end intel conroe or Amd system here end of july. Some chips are going to be half the price they are now ...suposedly.

Im buliding a new rig right now as well.  I have a conroe on preorder and just waiting for the motherboard i want to be...made
hehe

good luck!

[[BTF]adam]

just an fyi, a 256mb video card means nothing
i could still have a 128 card and out perform it

you need to look at the specsa a little closer then that

true that, I chose a 6600GT for 3 reasons, 1 decent price, 2 SLI capable for future. 3 500mhz clock speed and gddr3 1.2ghz memory, whereas say you pick a 6600 on its own, it could have 256mb, but it wouldnt be fast memory, just ddr or ddr2 and a pants clock speed of say 300/350 .

[cyberneticimplant]

Yeah, 256MB means nothing if it has low clockspeed.

I think I would go for the Sapphire Radeon X1600Pro 512MB PCI-E since it costs the same. It has 500Mhz clock and 800 Mhz memory. I think I would sacrafice 200Mhz for quadriple the memory.

Now I gotta figure out where to buy from.

[[BTF]adam]

I dont know how good american ebuyer is, but UK ebuyer pwns, so maybe check out www.ebuyer.com

I've heard bad things from the x1600 by the way, I heard they dont touch nvidias middle-range cards (6 series-low seven series)

[Whirlingdervish]

I've bought a few parts here and there from:
www.newegg.com

they've got a decent selection and the prices are comparable with most places...
Never had a complaint though... I got everything they said I'd be getting and documentation
and original packaging for the lot.