Desktop New

[bmaz]

What is faster for IE use. 3.4 ghz single thread processor or 2.8 dual
thread processor. If the motherboard has only the capacity for 2 gig of ddr
will that be a problem. Is it the combo of ram ddr 1 2 or 3 and multi thread
processors the trick?
I'm having to add an ide pci card to support my two dvd drives if I get a
new mother. At 179$ for this bare bone 3.4 ghz pentium 4 HT processor, this
seems good. Or should I get a slower 2.0 ghz dual core processor for the
same price.

 

[Rich Barry]

Verizon uses Fiber Optics if you are lucky enough to live in an area
where it's available. Times Warner Cable offers Turbo High Speed which is
fiber optics also. With todays
Computers it really doesnt matter. Except maybe for the Network Card.

 

[Paul]

What is faster for IE use. 3.4 ghz single thread processor or 2.8 dual
thread processor. If the motherboard has only the capacity for 2 gig of ddr
will that be a problem. Is it the combo of ram ddr 1 2 or 3 and multi thread
processors the trick?
I'm having to add an ide pci card to support my two dvd drives if I get a
new mother. At 179$ for this bare bone 3.4 ghz pentium 4 HT processor, this
seems good. Or should I get a slower 2.0 ghz dual core processor for the
same price.

When you ask questions like this, it helps to give some background.

1) Do you have an existing computer ? Is it a Dell/HP/Acer/Gateway prebuilt ?
Or do you have a custom built computer of some sort ?

Do you want to upgrade that computer in some way, keeping the majority of components ?

Do you want an incremental upgrade ? They're pretty hard to do.

Sometimes, it is better to part with the past, and move on to newer
components. For example, 2GB of DDR2 memory is pretty cheap, so in terms
of the overall project cost, it might be easier to go with a DDR2 setup
instead.

2) What is the system for ? Email/web surfing ? Mainly gaming ?
Photoshop/Video editing ? Home Theatre PC for movie playback ?

The primary application affects the choice.

3) If you're reusing a video card, that makes a big difference to the
choices available. There are few AGP motherboards for sale, but I
managed to find one.

In terms of processors, if you're on a budget, try this. This is Core2
architecture, which is more than 50% faster clock for clock, than a
Pentium 4 family processor. (You cannot compare clock rates for all different
kinds of processors directly. The internal architecture makes a difference,
and the Core2 does more with a clock cycles, than some previous ones.)

Intel Core2 Duo E7500 Wolfdale 2.93GHz 3MB L2 Cache LGA 775 65W Dual-Core Processor - Retail $120
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16819115056

This motherboard has built-in graphics and costs $55. There is only
room for two sticks of RAM, but that might still be plenty.

ECS G31T-M7 LGA 775 Intel G31 Micro ATX Intel Motherboard
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813135232

This motherboard costs twice as much, and also has built-in graphics.
It supports more graphics connector types. It holds four sticks of RAM.

ASUS P5Q-EM Micro ATX Intel Motherboard - Retail $125
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813131336

You can get 2x1GB kit of DDR2-800 CAS5 RAM for $26, which is why
there is no reason to cling to the old DDR memory.

Transcend JETRAM 2GB (2 x 1GB) 240-Pin DDR2 SDRAM DDR2-800 (PC2-6400)
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820208283

So you could make a system for $120 + $55 + $26 = $201

If you want a motherboard that supports AGP video cards,
this is the one I use. It is $60 and has two DDR slots, two
DDR2 slots (which I put 2x1GB in), a PCI Express slot, an AGP
slot, has two IDE connectors and two SATA2 connectors. It
won't run FSB1333 processors, but is otherwise acceptable.
There are no built-in graphics on this one, so you buy this
so you can reuse your AGP card.

ASRock 4CoreDual-SATA2 LGA 775 VIA PT880 Pro/PT880 Ultra ATX Intel Motherboard - Retail
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813157115&Tpk=4coredual-sata2

Those are all examples of "lightweight" upgrades.

Paul

 

[bmaz]

Thank guys that's helpfull. I use this mostly for internet for school. I
need a fast IE while using my old HD 80 gigs x 2 and old ide cd/dvd
recorders. I need a atx case and power suply. I have an old agp 1x so lets
can that. The old mother is a gigabyte 1ghz intel processor so an uppgrade is
no problem. See, I have limited funds. If I spend 200 on a desktop maybe I
should invest that in a laptop for 300. That would help in school. a 9 or
10" is cheap now. A far as the desk top goes I need a barbone and a video +
ddr. I have ddr1 2 gigs I bought a while back but now I see it was dual so 1
dimm uses two banks. to use it the mother has to eccept 4 banks of ram. a
problem. Thanks for your input.
--
God Bless
Know he is comming
Brian

Verizon uses Fiber Optics if you are lucky enough to live in an area
where it's available. Times Warner Cable offers Turbo High Speed which is
fiber optics also. With todays
Computers it really doesnt matter. Except maybe for the Network Card.

 

[bmaz]

You get a gold star for that revelation. Thanks for your kind words.

 

[Paul]

Thank guys that's helpfull. I use this mostly for internet for school. I
need a fast IE while using my old HD 80 gigs x 2 and old ide cd/dvd
recorders. I need a atx case and power suply. I have an old agp 1x so lets
can that. The old mother is a gigabyte 1ghz intel processor so an uppgrade is
no problem. See, I have limited funds. If I spend 200 on a desktop maybe I
should invest that in a laptop for 300. That would help in school. a 9 or
10" is cheap now. A far as the desk top goes I need a barbone and a video +
ddr. I have ddr1 2 gigs I bought a while back but now I see it was dual so 1
dimm uses two banks. to use it the mother has to eccept 4 banks of ram. a
problem. Thanks for your input.

The AGP 1x would burn most modern boards, due to it using 3.3V. The plastic
keying used in the AGP slots, will prevent it from being inserted. For the
boards that remain, with AGP, they're AGP 8X, and 1.5V only slots.

If you're short on funds, a motherboard with integrated video is an
acceptable choice for "fast IE". But if you're also a gamer, you'll
eventually want a real video card, and a slot on the motherboard
to install it. If so, a motherboard with a real PCI Express x16 slot
would help with a future video upgrade.

If you really needed a laptop in the first place, then that is what
you should get. It should be faster than your 1GHz P3 or Celeron.

You can trim the cost of the desktop system a bit more, go to an AMD
processor, an AM2/AM2+/AM3 motherboard, and DDR2 RAM. Many of
those boards are available with built-in video in the chipset.
You might be able to save a few more dollars, but I doubt you
can save so much you can swing both a laptop and a desktop upgrade.

Paul