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Should I go Athlon64 or Barton?



 
 
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  #1  
Old September 7th 04, 03:50 PM
Ian Riches
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Default Should I go Athlon64 or Barton?

Franklin ) wrote...
Hi guys, after several years I have run out of power on my old 700
MHz Duron system and now want something new.

I don't play games, I am not a power user, I don't do video or audio
editing. I just surf and do some small office activities.


So what app is giving you the urge to upgrade?

I had thought of upgrading my current system to a T'bred 2400+ but
the PSU is not big enough and the case is a bit small, so I will
build a new system instead.


OK.

A Barton 2500+ (with maybe an Asus A78NX mobo) is more than enough
power for me but am I buying into obsolescence? Athlon64 is where
the growth will be and furture residual values will be higher than
for Barton.


Whatever you buy, you are buying into obsolescence. It's guaranteed
with computers. All you can vary is how long before it is reached.

If you keep this machine as long as you have presumably kept your
Duron 700, then the difference in used value will be pretty
negligible, IMHO. What's the difference between a Duron 700 and
Athlon 1200 (say) today? Not a lot....

Are there any other advantages of Athlon64 for a user like me other
than that?


Umm. It's faster. If you have the urge to try a 64-bit OS then you
can. It's good for bragging rights. Your hair will start to grow
thicker, and more luxurient. Women will find you strangely
attractive. Sorry. I've been reading too much marketing material.

Are there particular disadvantages ... e.g. more expensive mobos
for athlon64? more expensive memory?


The whole system will cost a fair bit more, as you suggest. Mobos
and memory will be pricier.

My advice is to set some parameters for the upgrade. Either set a
performance goal (I want it X times faster than current) and then
investigate acheiving that for the minimum outlay, or set a financial
limit (no more than UKP 500, say), and buy the fastest you can for
that.

Without a real idea of what you want you may end up disappointed,
broke, or both.

Ian

--
Ian Riches
Bedford, UK
  #2  
Old September 7th 04, 04:03 PM
Al Dykes
external usenet poster
 
Posts: n/a
Default

In article ,
Ian Riches wrote:
Franklin ) wrote...
Hi guys, after several years I have run out of power on my old 700
MHz Duron system and now want something new.

I don't play games, I am not a power user, I don't do video or audio
editing. I just surf and do some small office activities.


So what app is giving you the urge to upgrade?

I had thought of upgrading my current system to a T'bred 2400+ but
the PSU is not big enough and the case is a bit small, so I will
build a new system instead.


OK.

A Barton 2500+ (with maybe an Asus A78NX mobo) is more than enough
power for me but am I buying into obsolescence? Athlon64 is where
the growth will be and furture residual values will be higher than
for Barton.


Whatever you buy, you are buying into obsolescence. It's guaranteed
with computers. All you can vary is how long before it is reached.

If you keep this machine as long as you have presumably kept your
Duron 700, then the difference in used value will be pretty
negligible, IMHO. What's the difference between a Duron 700 and
Athlon 1200 (say) today? Not a lot....



What I've heard of Longhorn, the next full new release of Windows
(2006?) will require a machine comparable to a dual Opteron
in today's terms. In 2006 that machine will probably cost $500.
(all of this is vapor, so don't hold me to it. Billy can shange hos
mind at any time.)

Buy a machine in the "sweet spot" for price performance today, which
might be a midrange Athlon on a NIC/SOund/Video the motherboard
machine.

Spend the money you save on the system on a nice big LCD screen,
and good sound.

You'll be able to buy a "Longhorn Inside" machine 3 years from
now for less than the cheap machine you buy today. It will
probbaly be 64 bits, but why do you care ?

My $0.02.


Are there any other advantages of Athlon64 for a user like me other
than that?


Umm. It's faster. If you have the urge to try a 64-bit OS then you
can. It's good for bragging rights. Your hair will start to grow
thicker, and more luxurient. Women will find you strangely
attractive. Sorry. I've been reading too much marketing material.

Are there particular disadvantages ... e.g. more expensive mobos
for athlon64? more expensive memory?


The whole system will cost a fair bit more, as you suggest. Mobos
and memory will be pricier.

My advice is to set some parameters for the upgrade. Either set a
performance goal (I want it X times faster than current) and then
investigate acheiving that for the minimum outlay, or set a financial
limit (no more than UKP 500, say), and buy the fastest you can for
that.

Without a real idea of what you want you may end up disappointed,
broke, or both.

Ian

--
Ian Riches
Bedford, UK



--
Al Dykes
-----------
adykes at p a n i x . c o m
  #3  
Old September 7th 04, 05:25 PM
external usenet poster
 
Posts: n/a
Default

On Tue, 07 Sep 2004 15:41:02 +0100, Franklin
wrote:

Hi guys, after several years I have run out of power on my old 700
MHz Duron system and now want something new.

I don't play games, I am not a power user, I don't do video or audio
editing. I just surf and do some small office activities.

I had thought of upgrading my current system to a T'bred 2400+ but
the PSU is not big enough and the case is a bit small, so I will
build a new system instead.

A Barton 2500+ (with maybe an Asus A78NX mobo) is more than enough
power for me but am I buying into obsolescence? Athlon64 is where
the growth will be and furture residual values will be higher than
for Barton.

Are there any other advantages of Athlon64 for a user like me other
than that?

Are there particular disadvantages ... e.g. more expensive mobos
for athlon64? more expensive memory?



If you are lucky and you get the better deals then theres about a $100
or lrss difference in the two systems. The AMD 64 is faster at
various tasks so it depends on if its worth it to you.

At the moment a 2800 or so 64 bit AMD is around 150-140 bucks and you
can get a decent via board for 80-100 bucks. You also need DDR
400/3200 mem , at least 256 which is around 30-40 or 512 -- 60-80.
You need a decent case and PS - many in the 50-60 range work OK but it
wont be an Antec etc probably unless theres some super duper sale
going on. YOu dont want to get a power supply thats too cheap.

The 2500 Barton - you have to get all the samethings except that it
costs about $80-89 and there are motherboards that go down to around
50-60. If you get a new ASUS for 80 bucks then the price narrows a bit
between the AMD 64 with the cheaper end motherboards and the barton
with motherboard.

Depends on whether that 70-120 spread vs the extra performance ,
coolness of having the 64 and the fact that software as usual will
probably need more processing power to run like some have posted. You
know if the new win comes out and new apps etc. Itll really make
difference obviously if 64 bit computing really catches on in the next
two years.

On the otherhand the Barton XP 2500 especially if you do a simple
overclock and they OC very easily to 3200 , isnt bad at all. And
theres the fact that both will be superseded by new stuff very quickly
since we are in a transitional state right. The PCI express boards
will soon be out for the AMD systems for XP and AMD 64s and the AMD
64s that are reasonably priced right now are 754 sockets - as everyone
keeps saying the 939 are going to takeover. And I think the next
generation AMD 64s will be a lot better hopefully - better to OC more
etc just like T-birds etc werent all that great OCers. Theyve even
mentioned BTX again so who knows what a decent system will look like
a year or two from now.






































  #4  
Old September 7th 04, 07:07 PM
Bobby
external usenet poster
 
Posts: n/a
Default

Cheers Ian.

I'm in a similar position. Have a 2000XP system right now with 512Mb PC2100
RAM. Running a bit hot.

Looking for something to multitask faster (I have lots of open programs and
play music, TV in background).

*Very* tight budget. Have £200 to spend for new set-up (mobo, cpu and ram -
if needed?). Any ideas?

Cheers.

Bobby
"Ian Riches" wrote in message
t...
Franklin ) wrote...
Hi guys, after several years I have run out of power on my old 700
MHz Duron system and now want something new.

I don't play games, I am not a power user, I don't do video or audio
editing. I just surf and do some small office activities.


So what app is giving you the urge to upgrade?

I had thought of upgrading my current system to a T'bred 2400+ but
the PSU is not big enough and the case is a bit small, so I will
build a new system instead.


OK.

A Barton 2500+ (with maybe an Asus A78NX mobo) is more than enough
power for me but am I buying into obsolescence? Athlon64 is where
the growth will be and furture residual values will be higher than
for Barton.


Whatever you buy, you are buying into obsolescence. It's guaranteed
with computers. All you can vary is how long before it is reached.

If you keep this machine as long as you have presumably kept your
Duron 700, then the difference in used value will be pretty
negligible, IMHO. What's the difference between a Duron 700 and
Athlon 1200 (say) today? Not a lot....

Are there any other advantages of Athlon64 for a user like me other
than that?


Umm. It's faster. If you have the urge to try a 64-bit OS then you
can. It's good for bragging rights. Your hair will start to grow
thicker, and more luxurient. Women will find you strangely
attractive. Sorry. I've been reading too much marketing material.

Are there particular disadvantages ... e.g. more expensive mobos
for athlon64? more expensive memory?


The whole system will cost a fair bit more, as you suggest. Mobos
and memory will be pricier.

My advice is to set some parameters for the upgrade. Either set a
performance goal (I want it X times faster than current) and then
investigate acheiving that for the minimum outlay, or set a financial
limit (no more than UKP 500, say), and buy the fastest you can for
that.

Without a real idea of what you want you may end up disappointed,
broke, or both.

Ian

--
Ian Riches
Bedford, UK



  #5  
Old September 7th 04, 07:08 PM
JK
external usenet poster
 
Posts: n/a
Default



Franklin wrote:

Hi guys, after several years I have run out of power on my old 700
MHz Duron system and now want something new.

I don't play games, I am not a power user, I don't do video or audio
editing. I just surf and do some small office activities.


An Athlon XP processor would be your best value then.



I had thought of upgrading my current system to a T'bred 2400+ but
the PSU is not big enough and the case is a bit small, so I will
build a new system instead.


You could buy a new case, an Athlon XP, and new ram. That would probably
be good if you plan to upgrade to a socket 939 Athlon 64 in 18-24 months.
Right now socket 939 Athlon 64 chips are around $350 and up.



A Barton 2500+ (with maybe an Asus A78NX mobo) is more than enough
power for me but am I buying into obsolescence?


Why not get an Athlon XP3000+400? It is only around $35 more than the 2500+
and you can get the most out of PC3200 ddr ram.

Athlon64 is where
the growth will be and furture residual values


Don't even think about residual value when dealing with computers. The Athlon 64

and K8 based Semprons are the future, but the lower priced Athlon 64 chips
use socket 754, and socket 939 will be gaining tremendously in popularity(and
the socket 754 fading) starting in '05. Socket 939 Athlon 64 chips(the 3500+
is the cheapest) start at around $350.

will be higher than
for Barton.

Are there any other advantages of Athlon64 for a user like me other
than that?


Running 64 bit software and Windows 64 bit. Even 32 bit applications
benefit when run with a 64 bit OS.



Are there particular disadvantages ... e.g. more expensive mobos
for athlon64?


Socket 754 mobos are around $30 more than ones for an Athlon XP.
Socket 939 mobos are even more expensive, but will drop significantly
in price, especially when 90nm Semprons for them appear in '05.

more expensive memory?


You can use PC3200 ddr ram with both. Depending on your budget,
when you expect to do your next upgrade, and who you might have
in mid to give your pc to when you are ready to upgrade will be deciding
factors. You could buy an Athlon

You might want to buy a new case with a 350 watt or greater power
supply(Antec?) ,an Athlon XP 3000+ 400,a new motherboard, and
PC3200 ddr ram now, with the idea of buying a socket 939 Athlon 64
in 18-24 months(perhaps an Athlon 64 4000+ or faster chip will be cheap then).


  #6  
Old September 7th 04, 07:38 PM
Yousuf Khan
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Posts: n/a
Default

JK wrote:
Franklin wrote:

Hi guys, after several years I have run out of power on my old 700
MHz Duron system and now want something new.

I don't play games, I am not a power user, I don't do video or audio
editing. I just surf and do some small office activities.


An Athlon XP processor would be your best value then.


Wha-aat!?!!!? But why would anybody want to buy a 32-bit CPU now?

Yousuf Khan


  #7  
Old September 7th 04, 07:48 PM
JK
external usenet poster
 
Posts: n/a
Default



Yousuf Khan wrote:

JK wrote:
Franklin wrote:

Hi guys, after several years I have run out of power on my old 700
MHz Duron system and now want something new.

I don't play games, I am not a power user, I don't do video or audio
editing. I just surf and do some small office activities.


An Athlon XP processor would be your best value then.


Wha-aat!?!!!? But why would anybody want to buy a 32-bit CPU now?


A 32 bit processor under $120 would be good. My qualm is with high
priced 32 bit processors.



Yousuf Khan


  #8  
Old September 7th 04, 08:17 PM
Tim Auton
external usenet poster
 
Posts: n/a
Default

"Bobby" wrote:

I'm in a similar position. Have a 2000XP system right now with 512Mb PC2100
RAM. Running a bit hot.

Looking for something to multitask faster (I have lots of open programs and
play music, TV in background).

*Very* tight budget. Have £200 to spend for new set-up (mobo, cpu and ram -
if needed?). Any ideas?


For a new CPU you'll want new RAM - you really do want to match the
CPU and RAM clock frequencies. For example, for an XP3200 (200MHz fsb)
that means PC3200 (DDR400) RAM. You can run with slower RAM and
upgrade it later, but you wouldn't be getting the full performance the
new CPU is capable of. What's the max processor / RAM speed your
current board supports?

Posting your replies under what you are quoting makes the thread
easier to follow, which will encourage more replies.


Tim
--
Guns Don’t Kill People, Rappers Do.
  #9  
Old September 7th 04, 08:19 PM
Tim Auton
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Default

"Yousuf Khan" wrote:
JK wrote:

[snip]

An Athlon XP processor would be your best value then.


Wha-aat!?!!!? But why would anybody want to buy a 32-bit CPU now?


Perhaps because there are so few apps which are 64-bit only and we can
expect plenty of 32-bit apps in the future.


Tim
--
Guns Don’t Kill People, Rappers Do.
  #10  
Old September 7th 04, 08:47 PM
Wes Newell
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Posts: n/a
Default

On Tue, 07 Sep 2004 15:41:02 +0100, Franklin wrote:

Hi guys, after several years I have run out of power on my old 700
MHz Duron system and now want something new.

Unless you just "want it, and the money doesn't matter", there's no reason
you should do anything other than just upgrade your cpu. You can get close
to the speed of a new $400 system with just a cpu upgrade and it will be
many times faster than what you have now. The 2400+ you mentioned sounds
very reasonable to me. I just upgraded the cpu in my brothers old 750
Duron to an underclocked 2100+ running 1300MHz and he's happy with it.
Didn't even want me to speed it up any more, so I lowered vcore to 1.5v to
keep it cool and quiet. Now if he wants more speed, I can almost double it
with his current cpu. It was the cpu listed below.

--
Abit KT7-Raid (KT133) Tbred B core CPU @2400MHz (24x100FSB)
http://mysite.verizon.net/res0exft/cpu.htm
 




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