Celeron to P4 vs. AMD64 overhaul

[Neocamel]

Let me start this thread by saying that I am well aware that
overhauling my computer with a new mobo and AMD processor will
definetly yeild better FPS in Counter-strike and going from a Celeron
Processor to a P4. My question is would it be cost-effective? With
that said, here is my computer as it stands:

-Intel Celeron 2.4 GHz Processor
-Asus P4P800SE Mobo
-ATI All-In-Wonder 9600XT Video Card
-1 Gig (512x2) Generic Brand Ram
-Samsung 120 Gig SATA Hard drive (which I'm not utilizing because my
mobo doesnt support SATA)
-19" Samsung LCD monitor w/ 8ms refresh. (which i'm also not utilizing
because my vid card doesnt have digital output)

Now In Counter-strike:Source i'm yielding around 35 FPS. NOT GOOD
ENOUGH! Popular consensious says that my Celeron processor is
definetly my bottleneck, with my video card running in second. Would
it be a good Idea to drop around 250 on a new P4 processor, or to
overhaul the whole thing, go with a new mobo, AMD64 processor, and a
new vid card, (costing just under 600) I'm trying to figure out if I
need to spend that much dough to yeild around 60 FPS, or would I be
able to accomplish this in a cheaper way by possibly keeping my mobo
and upgrading other aspects of my rig?

 

[sbb78247]

Let me start this thread by saying that I am well aware that
overhauling my computer with a new mobo and AMD processor will
definetly yeild better FPS in Counter-strike and going from a Celeron
Processor to a P4. My question is would it be cost-effective? With
that said, here is my computer as it stands:

-Intel Celeron 2.4 GHz Processor
-Asus P4P800SE Mobo
-ATI All-In-Wonder 9600XT Video Card
-1 Gig (512x2) Generic Brand Ram
-Samsung 120 Gig SATA Hard drive (which I'm not utilizing because my
mobo doesnt support SATA)
-19" Samsung LCD monitor w/ 8ms refresh. (which i'm also not
utilizing because my vid card doesnt have digital output)

Now In Counter-strike:Source i'm yielding around 35 FPS. NOT GOOD
ENOUGH! Popular consensious says that my Celeron processor is
definetly my bottleneck, with my video card running in second. Would
it be a good Idea to drop around 250 on a new P4 processor, or to
overhaul the whole thing, go with a new mobo, AMD64 processor, and a
new vid card, (costing just under 600) I'm trying to figure out if I
need to spend that much dough to yeild around 60 FPS, or would I be
able to accomplish this in a cheaper way by possibly keeping my mobo
and upgrading other aspects of my rig?

I would say the A64 route, but which A64/board/vid combo?

S478 is on life support now and has no future so the 250 would be a bad
investment in my opinion. But I am sure that tosser John Doe will be around
soon to carp and moan how the platform is not dead yet.

 

[Neocamel]

That was another thing, yeah my mobo is 478, I was thinking, and i KNOW
it would be way better, but I'm wonder if I can get what I'm looking
for just with a p4 upgrade. anyways, if i go with amd, I'm looking to
get:

-ASUS A8N5X Motherboard
-AMD Athlon 64 3700+ San Diego 1ghz FSB Processor
-ASUS EN6800GT GeForce 256MB Video Card

The total for these three things runs about 600 bucks. Quite a bit of
money, but I would blow away just adding a P4 to my existing system
right? Also are these parts all compatable? I'm pretty sure they are.

 

[sbb78247]

That was another thing, yeah my mobo is 478, I was thinking, and i
KNOW it would be way better, but I'm wonder if I can get what I'm
looking for just with a p4 upgrade. anyways, if i go with amd, I'm
looking to get:

-ASUS A8N5X Motherboard
-AMD Athlon 64 3700+ San Diego 1ghz FSB Processor
-ASUS EN6800GT GeForce 256MB Video Card

The total for these three things runs about 600 bucks. Quite a bit of
money, but I would blow away just adding a P4 to my existing system
right? Also are these parts all compatable? I'm pretty sure they
are.

should do the trick. just remember to check and see if your ram is on the
approved list. i just had someond do the a8n-sli, same cpu and a 6800GS 256
with a raid 0 array. it totally bitch slaps the 9600 graphics so the gt
should be that way too. just remember the 7800 is about to be upgraded
shortly, so that will put the 6800 series 2 generations back making the
7800s more attractive in the near future.

not to poke my nose into your finances, but the sli version of this board is
only about 30 USD more, and since you seem to want to game, wouldn't this
make more since for you? but if not, this will still make a decent rig.

have fun,

sbb78247

 

[sbb78247]

That was another thing, yeah my mobo is 478, I was thinking, and i
KNOW it would be way better, but I'm wonder if I can get what I'm
looking for just with a p4 upgrade. anyways, if i go with amd, I'm
looking to get:

-ASUS A8N5X Motherboard
-AMD Athlon 64 3700+ San Diego 1ghz FSB Processor
-ASUS EN6800GT GeForce 256MB Video Card

The total for these three things runs about 600 bucks. Quite a bit of
money, but I would blow away just adding a P4 to my existing system
right? Also are these parts all compatable? I'm pretty sure they
are.

and also remember these are 24 pin power connectors and they draw more power
than the celeron, so you may have to get a new PS.

 

[Neocamel]

I was considering buying the SLI option on my motherboard but I thought
that right now, But it wont get any use until I want to DOUBLE my video
capability by adding another video card. By that time I figured my
processor and ram would be the bottleneck anyway and would probably
need to build a new system anyway, where I could THEN go to and SLI.
Also, I have been kept in the dark as far as what a "raid array" is,
do you recommend any sites where I could educate myself about this
feature? I wasnt aware the sli version was only 30 bucks more, not a
big deal. were you referring to the motherboard, or the vid card?
Dont those have to be compatable? also what do you think of going with
a dual-core processor? Sorry I have so many questions!

 

[sbb78247]

I was considering buying the SLI option on my motherboard but I
thought that right now, But it wont get any use until I want to
DOUBLE my video capability by adding another video card. By that
time I figured my processor and ram would be the bottleneck anyway
and would probably need to build a new system anyway, where I could
THEN go to and SLI. Also, I have been kept in the dark as far as what
a "raid array" is, do you recommend any sites where I could educate
myself about this feature? I wasnt aware the sli version was only 30
bucks more, not a big deal. were you referring to the motherboard,
or the vid card? Dont those have to be compatable? also what do you
think of going with a dual-core processor? Sorry I have so many
questions!

1) try storage review for raid info or google is over there------>
(3,020,000 hits on raid array in .07 seconds)
2) the combo you are looking at is compatible along with using a SLI in
single mode (the gt has 4 more pipes than the gs, but the gs is clocked
higher in some instances and usually cheaper for the same preformance.
check guru3d)
3) look at newegg for example and they will show you that pricing difference
4) dual core is the wave of the future, but right now unless your app/os is
written for multithreading, the other processor/core is mostly idle
5) in all honesty the rig you are looking at should meet your requirements
for a while, but as always ymmv!
6) don't forget the power supply issue - power +24 pin!
7) if you don't ask questions how will you learn anything?

 

[Charlie Wilkes]

I was considering buying the SLI option on my motherboard but I thought
that right now, But it wont get any use until I want to DOUBLE my video
capability by adding another video card. By that time I figured my
processor and ram would be the bottleneck anyway and would probably
need to build a new system anyway, where I could THEN go to and SLI.
Also, I have been kept in the dark as far as what a "raid array" is,
do you recommend any sites where I could educate myself about this
feature? I wasnt aware the sli version was only 30 bucks more, not a
big deal. were you referring to the motherboard, or the vid card?
Dont those have to be compatable? also what do you think of going with
a dual-core processor? Sorry I have so many questions!

For $30, I'd say buy SLI and pave the way for a cheap upgrade down the
road.

As for RAID, you have multiple hdds configured (striped) to work
together, dishing out hdd contents faster and providing automatic
backup of data. If you want the best of everything (or if you are
running a server farm), RAID is getting a lot of hype.

Your overhaul is getting more expensive with each new post.

Charlie