Suitable for Home computer?

[Jure Sah]

Hello,

A few weeks ago I went to the store to ask about some components. I got
an offer that was a "What can I get for $250?" one. I looked at the
components and it sounded pretty damn good to me, but it also prooved
that I knew nothing of the latest components for sale.

Recently somebody expressed an interest in buying a new computer by
buying parts trough me and having me assemble them. The computer is
going to be a standard home computer, not used as much for games as for
office work, Internet browsing and listening music, but I want it to be
a good home computer anyway.

The setup is:
- CPU: AMD Sempron D 2600+ BOX Socket 754, 64-bit
- Motherboard: K8U, S754 - AMD Sempron, FSB1600, 3xDDR400, AGP 8x,
5xPCI-Ex1, 2x SATA, 2x IDE, SB, 10/100 LAN, ATX
- RAM: DDR 512 MB PC3200 400 MHz

Just how good is this?

I am also wondering what kind of graphic card to put with this. It will
be connected to an existing LCD monitor and I don't expect any heavy 3D
use of it. Recommendations?

Thanks for your time.

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[Chris Hill]

Hello,

A few weeks ago I went to the store to ask about some components. I got
an offer that was a "What can I get for $250?" one. I looked at the
components and it sounded pretty damn good to me, but it also prooved
that I knew nothing of the latest components for sale.

Recently somebody expressed an interest in buying a new computer by
buying parts trough me and having me assemble them. The computer is
going to be a standard home computer, not used as much for games as for
office work, Internet browsing and listening music, but I want it to be
a good home computer anyway.

The setup is:
- CPU: AMD Sempron D 2600+ BOX Socket 754, 64-bit
- Motherboard: K8U, S754 - AMD Sempron, FSB1600, 3xDDR400, AGP 8x,
5xPCI-Ex1, 2x SATA, 2x IDE, SB, 10/100 LAN, ATX
- RAM: DDR 512 MB PC3200 400 MHz

Just how good is this?

I am also wondering what kind of graphic card to put with this. It will
be connected to an existing LCD monitor and I don't expect any heavy 3D
use of it. Recommendations?

Budget? If there is the budget just go buy something; last build I
priced for myself I could save a whopping $70 over an equivalent hp or
compaq system, and the system I saw on special included a 17-inch lcd
that I didn't include in my price.

Build it yourself if you can't buy what you exactly want off the
shelf.

 

[blacklotus90]

The box sounds ok for standard office use. I wouldrecommend adding
another 512MB of RAM, 512MB is the recommended spec for XP, and a 512
stick only costs about $30 nowadays. Also, in your description, you
don't mention any kind of CD/DVD drive, make sure they are not
shortchanging you on this aspect. As far as a good AGP video card,
there are always deals, so make your own choice based on price.

 

[Mike T.]

Hello,

A few weeks ago I went to the store to ask about some components. I got an
offer that was a "What can I get for $250?" one. I looked at the
components and it sounded pretty damn good to me, but it also prooved that
I knew nothing of the latest components for sale.

Recently somebody expressed an interest in buying a new computer by buying
parts trough me and having me assemble them. The computer is going to be a
standard home computer, not used as much for games as for office work,
Internet browsing and listening music, but I want it to be a good home
computer anyway.

The setup is:
- CPU: AMD Sempron D 2600+ BOX Socket 754, 64-bit
- Motherboard: K8U, S754 - AMD Sempron, FSB1600, 3xDDR400, AGP 8x,
5xPCI-Ex1, 2x SATA, 2x IDE, SB, 10/100 LAN, ATX
- RAM: DDR 512 MB PC3200 400 MHz

Just how good is this?

I am also wondering what kind of graphic card to put with this. It will be
connected to an existing LCD monitor and I don't expect any heavy 3D use
of it. Recommendations?

Thanks for your time.

I assume that mainboard is the Gigabyte K8U. Not bad, but it has no
PCI-Express slots. Just AGP and 5 PCI. Also, I've never heard of a 1600FSB
Sempron. I assume you mean that's the actual clock speed of 1600. You'd be
better off going with an Athlon 64 3000+ socket754 for just a little more
money. Always avoid Semprons and Celerons.

If you don't expect any heavy 3D use, it would be better to spend the extra
money on a better processor (or a full gig of RAM, or both), and buy a
mainboard with built-in video. Just be sure it has a AGP or PCI-Express X16
slot, in case you do need to upgrade video later. -Dave

 

[spodosaurus]

Hello,

A few weeks ago I went to the store to ask about some components. I got
an offer that was a "What can I get for $250?" one. I looked at the
components and it sounded pretty damn good to me, but it also prooved
that I knew nothing of the latest components for sale.

Recently somebody expressed an interest in buying a new computer by
buying parts trough me and having me assemble them. The computer is
going to be a standard home computer, not used as much for games as for
office work, Internet browsing and listening music, but I want it to be
a good home computer anyway.

The setup is:
- CPU: AMD Sempron D 2600+ BOX Socket 754, 64-bit
- Motherboard: K8U, S754 - AMD Sempron, FSB1600, 3xDDR400, AGP 8x,
5xPCI-Ex1, 2x SATA, 2x IDE, SB, 10/100 LAN, ATX
- RAM: DDR 512 MB PC3200 400 MHz

Just how good is this?

I am also wondering what kind of graphic card to put with this. It will
be connected to an existing LCD monitor and I don't expect any heavy 3D
use of it. Recommendations?

Thanks for your time.

'Heavy' 3D gaming doesn't really tell us much because it will either
have enough power for to play a single 3D game acceptably or it won't.
If someone in your household is going to want to play games at all, then
you'll probably want a bit higher end system. Also, the socket 754 line
has been discontinued: there's no upgrade path aside from what remains
on ebay in a year or so's time. What you have there is an okay basic
desktop system using outdated hardware that the supplier probably has
excess of. Will it run office and play music? Yes, it'll be fine for
that. It's not bad, it might even outperform the Athlon 2000+ system I'm
running to type this, but I bought this years and years ago...and what
you have listed there is a sempron, a cut down budget CPU, which is why
I said it /might/ outperform my much older Athlon. You could help your
decision making process, and us to advise you, if you pinned down all
that you're wanting to do with this system, if this system is at the
upper limit of your budget, and for the people here in your country: how
much you're being charged for it. I'm in Australia, I don't keep track
of prices overseas, but a shell system with those specs without a
harddrive, monitor and operating system would only run about $250AUD,
and we pay a LOT more for our hardware here AND the exchange rate is
really not in our favour.

Regards,

Ari


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[Mike T.]

'Heavy' 3D gaming doesn't really tell us much because it will either have
enough power for to play a single 3D game acceptably or it won't. If
someone in your household is going to want to play games at all, then
you'll probably want a bit higher end system. Also, the socket 754 line
has been discontinued: there's no upgrade path aside from what remains on
ebay in a year or so's time.

Hardware changes so quickly that future upgrade path should be the LEAST of
your concerns when you are spec'ing out a new build. Just about any upgrade
you do in a year or more is going to involve a new mainboard, new cpu, new
RAM, and probably new video card, as a minimum. So why worry about if the
hardware you are buying will work with whatever you want to upgrade to
later? The point is moot. It will all be history at the next
pgrade. -Dave

 

[John Doe]

Hardware changes so quickly that future upgrade path should be the
LEAST of your concerns when you are spec'ing out a new build. Just
about any upgrade you do in a year or more is going to involve a
new mainboard, new cpu, new RAM, and probably new video card, as a
minimum. So why worry about if the hardware you are buying will
work with whatever you want to upgrade to later? The point is
moot. It will all be history at the next pgrade. -Dave

The original poster might do well by keeping things simple, but if I
were buying a new system or parts for a new system, an upgrade path
would be a significant concern. For those of us who do upgrades, the
upgrade path is a complex and worthwhile consideration. The upgrade
path can also help out if you need to remove and replace a part for
an unexpected reason. I think RAM and the video card are possible
examples. A sound card, hard drive, optical drive, case, and power
supply are good examples. Even if you don't upgrade parts at a time,
being able to upgrade a complete system can help increase the value
as a hand-me-down, especially after those parts have become cheap.

 

[Jure Sah]

Mike T. pravi:

I assume that mainboard is the Gigabyte K8U. Not bad, but it has no
PCI-Express slots. Just AGP and 5 PCI. Also, I've never heard of a 1600FSB
Sempron. I assume you mean that's the actual clock speed of 1600. You'd be
better off going with an Athlon 64 3000+ socket754 for just a little more
money. Always avoid Semprons and Celerons.

I have a Celeron 2.5 GHz and it cost me twice as much and it's still
better at running Windows XP than a dualcore Pentium 4, 3 GHz (since
Windows XP can only use 1.5 GHz at a time, unless you are running heavy
background processes and heavy applications simultaneously).

I copied the specs off the bill, atho I typoed innitially, I'm pretty
sure it says 5xPCI and 2xPCI-Ex1. The "FSB1600" is part of the
motherboard specs not the CPU.

I don't know why everybody prefers to criticize over saying something
useful. I asked how good is a "AMD Sempron D 2600+". Now I am also
wondering how good is a "Athlon 64 3000+". What is the actual frequency
of these chips? What are their features and how are those features
utilized by software nowadays? How does their performance compare to
other, say Intel chips?

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[Jure Sah]

Chris Hill pravi:

Budget? If there is the budget just go buy something; last build I
priced for myself I could save a whopping $70 over an equivalent hp or
compaq system, and the system I saw on special included a 17-inch lcd
that I didn't include in my price.

Build it yourself if you can't buy what you exactly want off the
shelf.

Where I live, off the shelf computers are 3x the price of individual
components, brought in a specialized component store. It has to do with
transport expenses.

High end computers are around $1250. Off the shelf HP Compaq desktops
are around $1250. Low end off the shelf computers are around $300.

The last computers I built from components were relatively powerful,
stable and silent office computer and server, cost me $235 each.



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Primary function: Coprocessor
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01010010 01100101 01110011 01101001 01100100 01100101 01101110 01110100
01000010 01000001 01010011 01001001 01000011

 

[Chris Hill]

Chris Hill pravi:

Where I live, off the shelf computers are 3x the price of individual
components, brought in a specialized component store. It has to do with
transport expenses.

Around here you can build something comparable to what you can buy in
an office store, if you want to spend more money doing it. For your
trouble you get a configuration you have to test and replace parts on
if it doesn't work right the first time.

 

[Agent_C]

Windows XP can only use 1.5 GHz at a time

Where are you getting this from?

A_C

 

[Jure Sah]

spodosaurus pravi:

'Heavy' 3D gaming doesn't really tell us much because it will either
have enough power for to play a single 3D game acceptably or it won't.

I have a ABIT Siluro FX5200 and it Will have enough power to play many
single 3D games. It is however, just about the shittyest graphics card
on the market.

If someone in your household is going to want to play games at all, then
you'll probably want a bit higher end system.

Which means what?

Also, the socket 754 line
has been discontinued: there's no upgrade path aside from what remains
on ebay in a year or so's time.

This computer will be used for 4 years, then thrown away and replaced
with a newer one. In 4 years, the motherboard will be just as out-dated
as the CPU.

What you have there is an okay basic
desktop system using outdated hardware that the supplier probably has
excess of.

My supplier does not keep excesses. They order everything direct on demand.

Will it run office and play music? Yes, it'll be fine for
that.

Your comments are most useless. A Pentium 133 MHz will also play music
and run office. I already know that much. I am asking about suitable
performance... does that kind of computer run modern office tasks in a
timely fashion or will the final user loose his nerves on it?

It's not bad, it might even outperform the Athlon 2000+ system I'm
running to type this, but I bought this years and years ago...

I really don't care. I only want a truly convenient computer for a
reasonably low price. I don't care if it's a 486 cluster, if it
outperforms a modern system. And brand is irrelevant. I don't want to
end up paying twice as much again, just because I'm buying Intel on a
newyears eve.

and what
you have listed there is a sempron, a cut down budget CPU, which is why
I said it /might/ outperform my much older Athlon. You could help your
decision making process, and us to advise you, if you pinned down all
that you're wanting to do with this system, if this system is at the
upper limit of your budget, and for the people here in your country: how
much you're being charged for it. I'm in Australia, I don't keep track
of prices overseas, but a shell system with those specs without a
harddrive, monitor and operating system would only run about $250AUD,
and we pay a LOT more for our hardware here AND the exchange rate is
really not in our favour.

Having checked prices for Australia too, I believe your hardware is
about 20% cheaper than here even in components, due to cheaper
transport. However it seems to depend a lot on the supplier. This $250
offer was a PC including everything short of a CD drive, a casing and a
screen, all of which I already have. Brought in components.

In the alternative case, where the computers are brought whole, the
computers cost approx 20% more, built with the cheapest and most ugly,
unpractical and unreliable components.

The computer is going to be a home computer, used to pay your bills on
the Internet, enjoy your favorite MP3s, watch your DVDs, IRC, MSN and
play a random game or two, borrowed from your friends. All this over a
period of 4 years.




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[Carlos]

I don't know why everybody prefers to criticize over saying something
useful. I asked how good is a "AMD Sempron D 2600+". Now I am also
wondering how good is a "Athlon 64 3000+". What is the actual frequency
of these chips? What are their features and how are those features
utilized by software nowadays? How does their performance compare to
other, say Intel chips?

This link should give you an idea of how the two compare:

http://www.c627627.com/AMD/Athlon64/

 

[Jure Sah]

Agent_C pravi:

Where are you getting this from?

Testing. Windows XP can utilize a dualcore system, however: it uses one
core for user applications and the other core for background processes.

You can try it out. Run task manager and set it to display both cores
independently. Then run a CPU intensive application that uses all CPU
power available and you will see one core go up to 100% while the other
stays on around 3%. Then run a CPU intensive background process and you
will see the second core go to 100% and the first core stay on around 3%.

I'm pretty sure Vista does the same thing.

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[David Maynard]

Agent_C pravi:



Testing. Windows XP can utilize a dualcore system, however: it uses one
core for user applications and the other core for background processes.

You can try it out. Run task manager and set it to display both cores
independently. Then run a CPU intensive application that uses all CPU
power available and you will see one core go up to 100% while the other
stays on around 3%. Then run a CPU intensive background process and you
will see the second core go to 100% and the first core stay on around 3%.

I'm pretty sure Vista does the same thing.

The application itself must be SMP aware otherwise it gets allocated to one
processor.

 

[Agent_C]

Testing. Windows XP can utilize a dualcore system, however: it uses one
core for user applications and the other core for background processes.

That's just incorrect. I can't think of any other way to say it.
Multi-threading is a far more complicated arrangement than that, using
sophisticated software algorithms.

You can try it out. Run task manager and set it to display both cores
independently.

Task Manager does that by default.

Then run a CPU intensive application that uses all CPU
power available and you will see one core go up to 100% while the other
stays on around 3%. Then run a CPU intensive background process and you
will see the second core go to 100% and the first core stay on around 3%.

The only time you might see something like that, is if the particular
software program isn't written to utilize dual processors.

Most CPU intensive applications today are. Take a look at TMPG
rendering an MPG file, on my Intel Dual Core 3.4:

http://tinyurl.com/rntfr

A_C