Upgrading Mobo, CPU, RAM

Hi,

I'm thinking of upgrading my Mobo, CPU and RAM. Currently, i'm running
on an Intel 2.4A, and i'm looking for a system that's faster, but won't
cost too much. I'm looking at AMD this time.

I don't intend to go for 64-bit, so i suppose i'll be looking at the
Sempron series, is that right? What's the difference between a socket
754 and a socket-A? (Apart from the physical difference that is.)

I understand that the clock speeds of an Intel and an AMD aren't
exactly equivalent. (e.g. a 2.4 GHz AMD is much faster than a 2.4 GHz
Intel.) In that case, what AMD clock speeds should i be looking at? (I
don't want to end up with a slower system.)

Finally, any recommendation for a compatible mobo?



Thanks and Regards,
Edwin

E11 wrote:
> What's the difference between a socket
> 754 and a socket-A? (Apart from the physical difference that is.)
>
> In that case, what AMD clock speeds should i be looking at? (I
> don't want to end up with a slower system.)
>
> Finally, any recommendation for a compatible mobo?
>

Socket A is old, and thus there are no new processors for it, and no
upgrade options in the future. Socket 754 is old too, and it is a better
idea to take socket 939, even if you dont want an Athlon 64. You can
always upgrade and save the money for a new motherboard.

You should be looking at clock speeds at all: Look at the ratings. An
AMD 2400+ should be near or better than a Pentium 4.

I can't recommend a mobo, because it depends on whether you overclock or
not, use SATA/PATA, have an AGP grapics card that you want to use or
want to get a PCI-Express card and so on.

Marc wrote:
>
> Socket A is old, and thus there are no new processors for it, and no
> upgrade options in the future. Socket 754 is old too, and it is a better
> idea to take socket 939, even if you dont want an Athlon 64. You can
> always upgrade and save the money for a new motherboard.
>
> You should be looking at clock speeds at all: Look at the ratings. An
> AMD 2400+ should be near or better than a Pentium 4.
>
> I can't recommend a mobo, because it depends on whether you overclock or
> not, use SATA/PATA, have an AGP grapics card that you want to use or
> want to get a PCI-Express card and so on.

Hmm... looking at the AMD website, it seems that the only socket-939
are Athlon 64, Athlon 64 FX and Athlon 64 X2.

If i do go for that, it would probably be the lowest model amongst
them, Athlon 64 3000+. (Would that still be an "upgrade" from my
current Intel 2.4A?

Since it supports PC3200 (right?), i would want to get 2 x 512 MB DDR
PC3200.

For video card, i would want to keep my present one, which supports AGP
8X.

No overclocking needed.



Regards,
Edwin

Oh, just to add on, i would need onboard ethernet (100 Mbps or 1
Gbps)... onboard sound is not necessary as i have my own soundcard (by
i suppose new mobos all come with onboard sound anyway...)



Thanks and Regards,
Edwin

E11 wrote:

> Hmm... looking at the AMD website, it seems that the only socket-939
> are Athlon 64, Athlon 64 FX and Athlon 64 X2.
And some Opterons, but those are quite expensive.

> Would that still be an "upgrade" from my current Intel 2.4A?

Yes! Especially in games.

> Since it supports PC3200 (right?), i would want to get 2 x 512 MB DDR
> PC3200.

If you get a "matched pair", you can be sure that it runs in dual
channel, and that is a lot faster.

Marc

Yep, so...

Let's say
- AMD Athlon 3000+
- 2 x 512 MB DDR PC3200
- AGP x8
- Onboard Ethernet required
- Onboard Sound not required

Any recommendation for a mobo?



Thanks and Regards,
Edwin