View Full Version : hardware advice?
onelegout
11-08-2005, 06:24 PM
Hey! this isnt realy a modding question but more of a hardware question! I don't know much about hardware so I just wanted to check with people who (hopefuly!) know what theyre talking about...
With a 1.35ghz AMD athlon xp 1500+, 512mb ram, radeon 9100, I am in DESPERATE need of an upgrade. I was looking at the upgrade deals on www.komplett.co.uk and the highest AMD setup i can afford is this:
http://www.komplett.co.uk/k/ki.asp?sku=314943&cks=PRL
But then I checked out the intel deals, and saw that the best I could afford
was this:
http://www.komplett.co.uk/k/ki.asp?sku=314132&cks=PLS
So my first question is...Am I right in thinking that even though I am running an AMD system right now, I could install that intel upgrade deal and it would work with my other hardware that ive been using on the amd setup? (hard drives, graphics card etc.)
My second question is: which is better, the amd setup or the intel setup?
I see that the intel deal has a 3ghz processor wheras the AMD only has a 2ghz processor, so why is there only 10 quid difference between them?
This is all very confusing for me! I hope that I have posted this in the right place!
Thanks
H
kramman
11-09-2005, 12:23 AM
k so thoes both look pretty good. but your video card is hella old if it is a PCI card you COULD use it but it would be a major bottle neck in either of thoes systems. depending on how old your system is the PSU may work. Hard drive CD-rom drives would definately work. but if the hard drive is old its most likely going to be a slow hard drive and thats going to be another bottleneck in the system. would spend the money for a newer HD with a little more space and buy at least a Radeon 9600. the radeon will play newer games... just all probably on med to low settings. but i just realized that it has a PCI-X instead of AGP sooooo 9600 is out of the question. ATI has a mid grade line of PCI-X cards that you could pic up for cheep. a lower end card like an ATI X300 runs about $50. over all i could see you running that set up just the video card makes me cringe.
oh yeah umm AMD or Intel... a battle for the ages. i didnt look to indepth at them as far as the speed of the RAM but both processors are in the same ballpark. AMD has processors that benchmark usually better than Intells. but then again Intel has the clock speeds. like compairing a Porsche to a Mustang. porsche has great handeling but mustang has pure power.(ok i know a porsche would beat a mustang any day but it was the first thing to come to mind)
mark@coolguysquad.com
onelegout
11-09-2005, 08:37 AM
hey thanks so much for the advice, i am planning on upgrading my graphics card with the money i get for christmas :) if a radeon 9600 wont work on that intel system then will my current card (9100) work on it?
I have a new 40gb hard drive that my mate gave me for free (although it failed earlier this week, taking a whole 60gb spannned volume with it :( )
cheers
H
kramman
11-09-2005, 11:18 AM
well the 9600 wont work with either of them unless its a PCI card but dont waste the money on that just start out with like an X300 PCI-X card it will most likely run faster than the 9600. just do some research on some PCI-X cards that are in your price range and get one of thoes.
onelegout
11-09-2005, 11:56 AM
aah no what I mean is, will my radeon 9100 that i already have work on that intel deal motherboard?
public_eyesore
11-09-2005, 03:54 PM
ok, if it is a pci it will work on both boards. What people are trying to say is that you need a pci or pci express video card, agp WILL NOT WORK. The 9600 is probably agp.
http://www.komplett.co.uk/k/ki.asp?sku=307700&cks=SPK -64
http://www.komplett.co.uk/k/ki.asp?sku=307202&cks=PRL -110
http://www.komplett.co.uk/k/ki.asp?sku=304395&cks=PRL -72
total: 246
i suggest getting these, it is in your budget, but that site seems a bit expensive.
onelegout
11-09-2005, 05:03 PM
ok thanks,
well thats pissed me off. my current card is an agp card and I cant afford a new one yet so im going to shop around and see what else i can get
Thanks
H
public_eyesore
11-09-2005, 06:02 PM
there are amd boards that support both agp and pci-e, but im too lazy to find them on a uk site. They arnt the best of mobos, but they are better than what you have. If i was you and really wanted to upgrade, i would look into this.
TheChef
11-09-2005, 08:23 PM
if it is a PCI card you COULD use it but it would be a major bottle neck in either of thoes systems.
Very true, I'd probably step down to a Venice 3000 and a different motherboard and get an upgrade of a video card too.
depending on how old your system is the PSU may work.
Probably won't. Even if he bought the PSU both of the mobo/proc packs will suck up a lot of juice. Upgrading suddenly becomes very expensive.
but i just realized that it has a PCI-X instead of AGP sooooo 9600 is out of the question.
The x600 is the PCI-E equivalent.
AMD has processors that benchmark usually better than Intells. but then again Intel has the clock speeds.
No. AMDs and Intels benchmark purely on which is the better processor. One doesn't do "better" than the other. The faster processor wins. Intel has faster clock speeds because of a completely different architecture. AMD's architecture allows the processor to get more done in fewer cycles, thus allowing a lower clock speed. So clockspeed means nothign in this battle. AMD is better for gaming and Intel is better for multitasking, in a very condensed version.
like compairing a Porsche to a Mustang. porsche has great handeling but mustang has pure power.(ok i know a porsche would beat a mustang any day but it was the first thing to come to mind)
Who's the Porsche and who's the Mustang?
In my opinion the AMD kit will provide more performance.
onelegout
11-10-2005, 10:16 AM
Firstly thankyou all for your advice.
Here is my plan:
1. borrow money off parents. ( :D )
2. Buy:
Intel Pentium 4 BTX 630 Socket 775 3.0GHz 2MB EM64T
Gigabyte GA - 8S648FX - 755 Socket 775 SiS 648FX AGP 8x ATX
Corsair Memory VS512MB400 PC3200 512MB CAS2.5
(I plan to run it with the 512mb of pc2700 ram that I already have, so that will give me 1gb, i will upgrade my pc2700 ram to PC3200 when I have the money)
3. Get a nice graphics card for christmas from my rents.
Also someone said something about my psu, It says '300w max' on the side, is that good enough to run the new stuff?
Anyone see any problems?
Peace
H
P.S. I plan to buy this today, so if you know that something is wrong with it PLEASE tell me soon hahah
Rankenphile
11-10-2005, 12:26 PM
So far, without knowing what optical drives, how many HDDs you're running, and what other accessories you have, it is hard to know exactly, but from what I calculated there, you're already running at around 290 watts. I'd recommend getting a larger PSU - at least 450W to 500W.
TO figure this stuff out yourself, you can calculate it very easily by using the JS Customs PSU Calculator tool (http://www.jscustompcs.com/power_supply/Power_Supply_Calculator.php?cmd=INTEL).
onelegout
11-10-2005, 01:22 PM
Thanks for the link man, i worked it all out and it should be ok:) it recommended a 300w psu so I'll just try it out and see how it goes.
After 2 hours of solid problems with www.dabs.com, mostly regarding natwest's (not so secure) security thingy) I FINALY managed to place an order.
Seriously though I just phoned up natwest, gave my mums name and the card number and they authenticated the card for me! I could have been anyone hah.
We're writing a letter to natwest to complain.....
Peace
H
Rankenphile
11-10-2005, 01:57 PM
Lol...
The 300w PSU will work for you, but you're getting close to the limit. If you plan on upgrading the comp, consider upgrading the PSU in the process, it may save you a lot of heartache down the road.
Another thing to consider, if you do upgrade it, is that a lot of cheap PSUs can create problems for you with irregular power generation and things. Spend at LEAST $50 on one, and go with a brand name. Do your homework.
Hope things work out for you. Let us know how it goes! And most importantly, have FUN!
onelegout
11-10-2005, 04:34 PM
thanks:)
*looks up a psu to put on christmas wishlist* hahah
public_eyesore
11-10-2005, 07:07 PM
its not a laughing matter. A psu is not meant to be run at more than 80 percent full time. Maybe you could give us your budget now and how much you think your parents will spend on you for Christmas, and we can tell you what to get now and ask for for christmas.
onelegout
11-10-2005, 08:03 PM
aah you see the problem is that I dont know how much cash I'll get for christmas hahah!
I was thinking, if I have a problem with it cant I just run 2 PSUs and use each one for half my stuff? (I have quite a few)
onelegout
11-10-2005, 08:04 PM
but as an estimate it will probably be 200 quid budget for my next upgrade (christmas)
public_eyesore
11-10-2005, 09:00 PM
if you dont mind running on 2 PSUs for a couple of months, that's probably the smartest thing to do.
just wondering, so your going to spend around 450 including christmas? If so, ill see if i can find you somthing better. Just dont get an intel 6 series.
public_eyesore
11-10-2005, 09:27 PM
here you go, the total comes to 386.47 The site is http://www.aria.co.uk and i even included the product numbers for you.
MB9-GIG-K8NF-9 ..........Gigabyte K8NF-9 nForce4 £ 59.30
CPUADA3000BPBOX........ AMD Athlon64 3000 Venice £88.50
MEM-KI1-1-400-2..........Kingston 1GB Kit (512x2) PC3200 £63.95
812862.........................550W ATX f Truecontrol 550 £45.72
GCX-SPH-X800GTO2........Sapphire Radeon X800GTO2 256M PCI-E £129.00
The video card's bios can be flash to a x850xt pe for a 100 quid less than it is to buy the x850xt pe. If you had planned to spend 450 you have 63 quid left to buy like a new hard drive, or if you dont have it windows xp.
onelegout
11-11-2005, 02:16 PM
hey emochild, thanks so much for your advice!
Unfortunately I have already bought the processor/mobo/ram
It arrived this afternoon but I was out (At the hospital - My father just passed away from a heart attack:(:( )
Does anyone know what time parcel force stop deliveries?
I didnt get a 'missed delivery' card through my door either!
Any help would be appreciated,
Thankyou
H
Edit: nevermind it turns out they sent it to the same house number on the street next to mine by accident, seems that they will be delivering on monday
onelegout
11-12-2005, 09:24 AM
Well people! I got a lift to the parcelforce depot today (1 hour drive!) to get my parcel cause i didnt want to wait til monday hahah! I set it all up and it worked at the first boot! The only problems Ive had are:
1. The huge fan that comes with the P4 (and it IS huge, its almost as big as a psu!) doesnt fit on my motherboard, so Im going to go pick up a new fan later from pcworld:)
At the moment I have just screwed a fan onto the huge heatsink (cant spell that) and placed it over my processor, It seems to be working ok but im not gonna be running my pc for long while doing it like this (half an hour at a time max) Is there any way that i can see the cpu temp via windows?
2. There arn't enough of those 3-pin power connectors on my mobo, theres only one and I need 3, is there any way of getting some type of splitter for it?
Cheers,
H
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