new PC opinion

[p1ng]

Hi friends!

I need you opinion.. i am going to buy a new pc real soon, and i need your opinion on platform... I have a tight budget (1,000 euros, somethin like 1,217 USD) so im thinkin on a MSI FR combo mobo (LGA 775), and a P4 prescott 2.8.. my doubt is the following: is it worth to invest my money on a 775 platform (the msi mobo has PCIe and DDR2 support), or should i aim for another platform (an athlon64 or even a athlonFX 939)? well i also need to know if the inbox cooler is good enough, or what cooler should i buy... i need all the money I can spare for other components (ram, video board and other stuph).

I need a computer i can keep upgrading in the future...

tnx in advance!

 

[Spitfire_x86]

Unless your PC's main job is video editing/encoding, then go for Athlon 64.

I recommend:

Athlon 64 3400+ (2.4 GHz, 512k L2 cache)
MSI K8N Neo2 Platinum

Inbox cooler is good enough for running the CPU at stock speed or moderate overclocking.

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[p1ng]

well my main job will be programming(using Java IDEs such as Eclipse, Netbeans, and also Visual Studio.NET) and audio creation/encoding(streaming large .WAV files and processing them, using apps such as Cubase and Sound Forge). My main worry is that the technology on current Amd64 boards will be useless with the arrival of PCIe and DDR2 and other stuph. i need a pc i can upgrade

 

[pat]

Go with an socket754 AMD64 and a socket754 mainboard. A 3000+ or a 3200+ will be fast enough and s754 mobo are not that expensive. DDR2 wont be useless...DDR2 will improve bandwith, which doenst serve the AMD64 now. When dual core cpu will be released, then bandwidth will be usefull. The onchip memory controller is very efficient and just doesnt have to deal with latency created by busses on older northbridge. And when PCIe became mainstream, there will be chipset with that support for AMD for sure. And since you dont talk about 3D or gaming, then agp will be sufficient for you for sure.

New technology introduce new bugs an incompatibility, which is not a good thing in programming. And dont forget high price. Better wait a year or two for the technology to mature before jumping in. Remember RAMBUS? Going 64bits now will give you an edge on 64 bits programming, efficient processor, mature and stable technology and inexpensive component that will improve your produtivity. Then, when DDR2, PCIe , SATA2,... become mainstream (read affordable) and proven technology, then you wont hesitate to upgrade again. Hey, you dont want to spend $$$$$ on newest technology to to see it replaced soon with better, less buggy and cheaper one soon after you buy it??? I for sure dont regret my move to AMD64 and SATA. Now, everything is snappy and respond very fast. And I'm typing that with Firefox browser on Windows XP 64 bits beta....rendering with POVRAY 64 bits...Oh, I had fun yesterday installing linux fedora core 64 bits too...

-Always put the blame on you first, then on the hardware !!!