"kgs" said:
don't do anything to excess. I've never even used my Pioneer 16x DVD player
Not gonna spend on a very best processor either. The upgrade itself is what
I'm asking for, not any other perforamnce improvement for any speicifis
reason. I've got a brand new 300W power supply, and the case is great, and
happy with everything else.
THINK I'll need board, processor, and RAm only. If I could pay less for the
MB, RAM, and processor e.g. say $400CDN for 2.0GB, std. board, and 512 pc400
RAM, and save a few hunred I would like to know what that board was. Don't
know the current specs, so I can't shop. Don't think I'll need to with the
right info, just look for the best price.
ANybody know where I'm coming from?
So, let us work the problem backwards. What can $400 CDN ($296 US) buy ?
Using newegg.com solely for pricing purposes:
512MB PC3200 (DDR400) - you didn't state CAS2, CAS2.5, CAS3 (lower
is better). Best price $77.00 US and it is probably CAS3...
Intel processors:
2.0GHZ processor 400MHz FSB 128KB cache (Celeron P4) $62.50
2.0GHz processor 400MHz FSB 512KB cache (Pentium P4) $135.00
2.4GHz processor 533MHz FSB 512KB cache (Pentium P4) $167.99
2.4Ghz processor 800MHz FSB 512KB cache (Pentium P4) $182.00
If we use the Celeron, this leaves $156.50, but we don't get the best
use of the DDR400 ram. Usually the ram can be run one "notch" higher
than the FSB. FSB400 = DDR200 or DDR266. FSB533 = DDR266 or DDR333.
FSB800 = DDR400+. At the other extreme, choosing the $182 processor
leaves only $37 for a motherboard. The FSB533 leaves us with $51,
which is a pretty low target to hit. Of the other two choices, the
extra cache buys you a few hundred MHz equivalent performance, so
once the motherboard is selected, a faster Celeron with 128KB
can be used instead.
P4PE-X $77 (Official FSB800 support, otherwise a stripped down P4PE)
P4G8X $80 (Dual channel DDR266, FSB533)
P4P8X $89 (Dual channel DDR333, FSB533)
P4PE $95 (Single channel DDR333, FSB533 - 2x512MB max mem cheaply)
P4P800 $104 (Dual channel DDR400, FSB800, non-deluxe model)
P4P800 $129 (Dual channel DDR400, FSB800, deluxe model)
If you buy the P4P800 (non-deluxe), you can stick more memory or a
better processor in it later. Since the P4P800 is dual channel, we
can use (2) 256MB memory modules. With the money left, buy a better
processor.
Budget (US Dollars) $296
P4P800 non-deluxe $104
256MB PC3200 (DDR400) CAS3 Infineon N82E16820200038 $41 * 2 = $ 82
Celeron FSB400 128KB cache 2.7GHz $108
Left over money $ 2
(If you did buy the 2.0GHz Celeron for $62.50, you could try
overclocking it to FSB533. See
http://www.cpudatabase.com/CPUdb/
and the entry for P4 Celeron 2.0. That would give you a core
speed of 2.66GHz, and the faster FSB533 would give you more memory
bandwidth for less money. Leftover money now $47.50 US. With that
money, you could go for the P4P800 Deluxe at $129 if you want.)
Chances are, for the same money, you can get more kick from a
A7N8X Nforce2 plus a Athlon XP2500+. On a Pentium system,
overclocking is via FSB adjustment. On the A7N8X, it is best to
keep FSB and memory clock the same - you can then crank both of
them up an extra notch, and as well, you can adjust the multiplier.
Budget (US Dollars) $296
A7N8X deluxe $125
Athlon XP 2500+ (overclock to 3200+ level with DDR400 rates) $ 85
256MB PC3200 (DDR400) CAS3 Infineon N82E16820200038 $41 * 2 = $ 82
Left over money ($39 leftover with A7N8X non-deluxe) $ 4
As before, the non-deluxe is cheaper, in this case the A7N8X
non-deluxe is $90 US, a considerable saving.
To review all the options, start here:
http://usa.asus.com/products/mb/mbindex.htm
Summaries are here, but they don't list onboard peripherals:
http://usa.asus.com/products/mb/overview_p4.htm
http://usa.asus.com/products/mb/overview_amd.htm
Oh, one other thing. The amount of +12V power you need...
2.0Ghz Celeron FSB400 128K cache 53W max
2.7Ghz Celeron FSB400 128K cache 67W max
AthlonXP 2500+ FSB333 512K cache 54W max
AthlonXP 3200+ FSB400 512K cache 61W max
At 67W, this is (67/12)*1.25 = 7 amps from the +12V supply.
Processor max consumption from +12V = 7 amps
Disk drive = 2 amps during POST, 0.5 amps idle
Cooling fans = 1 amp
Video card = 3 amps if separate power cable
If you have an older video card without a separate power cable, power
comes from the other rails. Since power numbers for video cards aren't
published, the 3 amp number is just a guess. With the older video
card, a running system will draw 8.5 amps (Prime95 or 3DMark). With a
newer video card with separate power, the number could be more than
11.5 amps (3DMark). The video card only draws large currents while
doing 3D stuff. Compare these numbers to the amps printed on the
label of your new power supply.
Have fun shopping,
Paul
