Upgrade ... good or bad?

[Lucifers_Ghost]

Ok. Im thinking Im going to upgrade my 2nd computer a bit. Its an old P3-733 with an old ATX case and I think its on its last legs.

Here is what I am looking at:

MB: http://www.msicomputer.com/product/p_spec.asp?model=K8MM-ILSR&class=mb

CPU: Athlon 64 2800 SKT 754 RETAIL

Memory: (not sure what brand) DDR DIMM - 400MHZ - 512Meg.

For the time being, I'll use onboard video, sound, and lan. I'll take my 160gig and 80gig out of my AMD 2000+ and drop it into this one, then put my spare 40gig in the 2000+.

The cost of this upgrade will run me about $375 - 400 CAD.

What say you all? Worth the price? Good upgrade?

Opinions as well as suggestions are very welcome

Thanks,
LG

[redwudz]

The only thing I notice is that it has an additional CPU power connector on the motherboard. Usually the MB manufacturer supplies an adapter.

Though, if you plan on buying a new case (Recommended), you may get a new power supply with the additional plug already. For the amount of drives and for future additions, I would recommend at least a 400W PSU.

I prefer the newer 939 pin AMD processor, but you can get some good deals with the 754 pin versions. If you have any spare cash upgrade the CPU speed for the best value.

[Lucifers_Ghost]

The only thing I notice is that it has an additional CPU power connector on the motherboard. Usually the MB manufacturer supplies an adapter.

Though, if you plan on buying a new case (Recommended), you may get a new power supply with the additional plug already. For the amount of drives and for future additions, I would recommend at least a 400W PSU.

I prefer the newer 939 pin AMD processor, but you can get some good deals with the 754 pin versions. If you have any spare cash upgrade the CPU speed for the best value.

Thanks for the reply Red!!

I was actually planning on using the same case and just swapping some power supplies around. My old case has a 350 I believe (which will go into my amd box as it will only have 1 HD and 1 optical drive and be used for surfing and crap). The 400W that I have in my amd case will go into the old case with the new board. Or vice versa .. may switch around the mb and drives .. whichever I find to be easier at the time and how much work I feel like doing. May do it that way so I can get a few dust cans and give everything a good cleaning at the same time.

How much difference is there between the 754 and 939 chips? In terms of heating, performance vs. price, etc?

I can get a 3000 939 for about $35-40CAD more than the 2800 754 chip. Would that be a better choice?

Awaiting thy wisdom
LG

[redwudz]

If you have a good case and a good power supply, sounds OK to me.

I like the 939 pin in that's it's a newer technology. The 754 pin is at the end of it's development. (Though even the newest technology is always 'yesterdays news', it seems. )

With the 939 series, you would look for the Winchester CPU core. It has 90nm features compared to the 130nm features of some of the early 939's and I believe all of the 754's. The 939 runs a little cooler and if you have the urge to overclock a little, it does it easily.

The problem you might run into is most 939 boards have switched over to PCI-E instead of AGP for the video cards. The board you were looking at has on-board video, but if you are looking at future expansion, it's something to consider. PCI-E will probably replace the AGP interface on most MBs in the future. A more or less equivalent card from MSI for the 939 CPU is the MSI RS480M2-IL Motherboard .

Changing to a 939 setup may be more than you want to get into. I really see no problem with the K8MM-ILSR MB and the 754. It's all up to what you want and what you plan to do with it.

[Lucifers_Ghost]

If you have a good case and a good power supply, sounds OK to me.

I like the 939 pin in that's it's a newer technology. The 754 pin is at the end of it's development. (Though even the newest technology is always 'yesterdays news', it seems. )

With the 939 series, you would look for the Winchester CPU core. It has 90nm features compared to the 130nm features of some of the early 939's and I believe all of the 754's. The 939 runs a little cooler and if you have the urge to overclock a little, it does it easily.

The problem you might run into is most 939 boards have switched over to PCI-E instead of AGP for the video cards. The board you were looking at has on-board video, but if you are looking at future expansion, it's something to consider. PCI-E will probably replace the AGP interface on most MBs in the future. A more or less equivalent card from MSI for the 939 CPU is the MSI RS480M2-IL Motherboard .

Changing to a 939 setup may be more than you want to get into. I really see no problem with the K8MM-ILSR MB and the 754. It's all up to what you want and what you plan to do with it.

For the 939 cpu, you said to go for the Winchester core. Any core's that I should definately stay away from?

As for AGP vs PCI-E, if you had to make an educated guess, how long is the time frame for PCI taking over? I ask only because I'm not all that worried about future upgrading. I mean, up until this week, my 2nd computer was a P3-733. Even my "good" computer is only an AMD 2000+. Im obviously not very current :P And budget is definately on my mind. If I go with the 939 and that board you suggested, I'll have to get a vid card and that will push my budget well over $500.

This new pc will be mainly used for converting, burning, encoding ... stuff like that. My other PC will be used for downloading and day-to-day stuff.

*sigh* Such decisions.

[redwudz]

I'm not aware of any problems with the different AMD 64 cores. The Winchester is just newer technology. It runs a slightly cooler and with a little faster bus speed, but any of them are OK.

If you get the CPU with the included cooler, AMD gives you a 3 year CPU warranty which seems a good deal.The factory cooler on mine works well and is fairly quiet. Don't know about the 754 coolers.

AGP will be around a while, probably at least 5 years. I imagine the development of new AGP boards is declining as they switch over to PCI-E. Some of the PCI-E video boards out there are just reworked AGP video boards. Unless you are a gamer, I doubt you would notice any real advantage to the faster PCI-E video boards.

I think I would just go with your original choice and if you have any cash to spare, upgrade the CPU speed. For RAM memory, 512MB should be sufficient. You can always add more later. I run Corsair Value Select in my A64. That's an economy memory which works fine for me. Unless MSI specs a higher grade, something similar should be OK. You don't really need something like XMS grade unless you are overclocking.

[Lucifers_Ghost]

Awesome. Thanks man. I appreciate it.

Since AGP will still be around for that amount of time, I'll go with the 754 and use my GForce 3TI on it. I dont do much gaming. Then use the onboard video on my amd 2000+ since it will just be used to day to day stuff.

Thanks for the input and suggestions. Greatly appreciated

I'll let ya know what I get when I end up getting it.

LG