Pentium 550 or A64 3500+?

[gobeavers]

My dad needs a new computer. He mainly does picture editing (not photoshop, a little less intense). He has a 500mhz computer right now, so he really does need to upgrade. Which would be better for photo editing, a Pentium 550 or an A64 3500+? Also, which motherboard would be best?

"Go forward until the last round is fired and the last drop of gas is expended...then go forward on foot!" -Patton

 

[Snorkius]

If it's just for photo editing, why go with either? A low end machine(AXP) + good quality video + lots of RAM is what I would choose...

<font color=blue>The day <font color=green>Microsoft</font color=green> will make something that doesn't suck is the day they'll start making vacuum cleaners.</font color=blue>

 

[gobeavers]

I would go with either because it is going to have to last him 4-5 years. So I don't a low end athlon-XP.

"Go forward until the last round is fired and the last drop of gas is expended...then go forward on foot!" -Patton<P ID="edit"><FONT SIZE=-1><EM>Edited by gobeavers on 09/11/04 03:59 PM.</EM></FONT></P>

 

[Mephistopheles]

I'd go with he A64 3500+ with at least 1GB of RAM and a good 7200 rpm drive with a lot of space... And maybe a GeForce 6600GT or something. S939 is future proof; it's got the 64-bit upgradeability.

 

[Snorkius]

5 years is a long time for any system....

<font color=blue>The day <font color=green>Microsoft</font color=green> will make something that doesn't suck is the day they'll start making vacuum cleaners.</font color=blue>

 

[gobeavers]

Yea...so. He has a long upgrade cyce. He doesn't need cutting edge every 2 years.

"Go forward until the last round is fired and the last drop of gas is expended...then go forward on foot!" -Patton

 

[Mephistopheles]

My brother still insists his P3 550Mhz with 256MB memory is "more than enough" for whatever it is he wants to do. We bought it back in 1999, <b>exactly 5 years ago</b>. System specs:

P3 550Mhz
256MB PC133 Memory (CAS2)
32MB Diamond Viper 2
15GB UDMA66 Disk
LG CD recorder (his original Yamaha+SCSI didn't last through the 5 years)

........though I keep insisting he'll have to upgrade because his computer is (literally) falling apart. 50% of all the times he turns the damned thing on he gets a video memory gone bad warning, and he keeps getting strange lockups with weird video effects.

I was thinking he'd be more than happy with the cheapest system I could imagine: an AXP 2200+ with 512MB of DDRxxx (xxx = lowest possible), a new R9200SE (cheapest I could find) and a new hard drive (oh, he keeps getting hard drive warnings as well)... Heck, he's even the typical guy who wouldn't mind having an onboard video solution! His computer will probably be even better than my dual 933Mhz with a GF4 Ti4200.... Until my next upgrade....

 

[trooper11]

yeah i new it was time to ditch my 600mhz athlon whne i saw pdas outpacing it at 625mz lol. thats pretty sad when pdas are more powerful then your pc.

 

[Kanavit]

i think the Pentium4 550 will be better at video encoding, rendering, and editing, but i think A64 is better at compression , and compiling.

------
A64 3400+ Newcastle
1GB PC 4000 Kingston HyperX
Asus K8V basic Bios 1004
PNY Geforce 6800 GT 256MB DDR3
70,261 Aquamarks

 

[gobeavers]

Well, I got the 3500+, MSI K8N Neo2 Plat, and a Zalman CNPS7000A..and boy was it a mistake (the cooler not the CPU). The Zalman screws fit only 1 of the two holes for the MSI retention frame. I would have taken the retention frame off and replaced it with the zalman one, but it didn't say to in the manual and the retention thing looked like it was on there good....so we drilled one of the screws to make accomadations, and then when putting it on- under the weight of the cooler the backplate came unglued. So now, I am debating about what to do. I have one screw that will work with the zalman backplate, and one that won't. I may drill part of the zalman backplate to accomadate the new screw...boy, now I know why I like stock cooling

"Go forward until the last round is fired and the last drop of gas is expended...then go forward on foot!" -Patton

 

[Crashman]

Actually he's right. I'd wait until a part fails completely, then replace it with a nearly free old non-failing part and he'll be good to go another 3 years. I'm still selling Pentium 233's to people who only want to view digital images and use the internet.

<font color=blue>Only a place as big as the internet could be home to a hero as big as Crashman!</font color=blue>
<font color=red>Only a place as big as the internet could be home to an ego as large as Crashman's!</font color=red>

 

[Kanavit]

Well, I got the 3500+, MSI K8N Neo2 Plat, and a Zalman CNPS7000A..and boy was it a mistake (the cooler not the CPU). The Zalman screws fit only 1 of the two holes for the MSI retention frame. I would have taken the retention frame off and replaced it with the zalman one, but it didn't say to in the manual and the retention thing looked like it was on there good....so we drilled one of the screws to make accomadations, and then when putting it on- under the weight of the cooler the backplate came unglued. So now, I am debating about what to do. I have one screw that will work with the zalman backplate, and one that won't. I may drill part of the zalman backplate to accomadate the new screw...boy, now I know why I like stock cooling

i have the exact same cooler. use the backplate that came with the Zalman cooler for s754. it should work with s939 as well. don't use the existing MSI backplate and mounting bracket, replace it with the Zalman's.

------
A64 3400+ Newcastle
1GB PC 4000 Kingston HyperX
Asus K8V basic Bios 1004
PNY Geforce 6800 GT 256MB DDR3
70,261 Aquamarks

 

[HardWareBoss]

How many 233's do you have?

 

[Crashman]

3 right now. I try to stay away from them due to their low selling price ($50-75 per system depending on drive and RAM).

<font color=blue>Only a place as big as the internet could be home to a hero as big as Crashman!</font color=blue>
<font color=red>Only a place as big as the internet could be home to an ego as large as Crashman's!</font color=red>

 

[gobeavers]

I would except the gold screw thing we drilled out to try to make it work with the MSI one...

"Go forward until the last round is fired and the last drop of gas is expended...then go forward on foot!" -Patton

 

[El_Jefe_77]

Eh he pentium is not worth it. at all.

not the in slightest.

If you want a cheap system that will last a bit, xp 2600 with 512 ram. Go 50 dollar 9200 radeon card, on board sound, an a nice looking 40 dollar case/psu combo.

Ram is the only part of that with a cost.
Maybe the mobo too, but for 80 bux it could be obtained.

 

[gobeavers]

See what you guys have done!?


I don't want a cheap system, this was suggested by someone, but I said no, I wanted it to last 5 years.

"Go forward until the last round is fired and the last drop of gas is expended...then go forward on foot!" -Patton

 

[scottstevens]

What sort of Budget are you looking at? Personally I would go with the A64 hosted on a s939 board to give a decent upgrade path - but it really depends on how much cash you are willing to spend upfront.

 

[Mephistopheles]

Well, it is kind of a given that he will be spending quite some cash for this computer, or else it won't last the 5 years it is supposed to!! I'd also go with either A64 3500+ (S939) or even 3800... There's even no point in waiting for the 4000+, because that's just a 3800 with a little added cache :frown: ... So it's a pretty good bet anytime!

 

[gobeavers]

Did you read the thread?

I already bought the A64 3500+...
Meph, what do you have against 5 years?!

"Go forward until the last round is fired and the last drop of gas is expended...then go forward on foot!" -Patton

 

[Mephistopheles]

Umm... sorry, I forgot! I knew that, but some synapse in my head failed to report to duty.... :frown:

Oh, and I have nothing against 5 years, believe me! Actually, I'm usually the guy who switches configs only after many years have passed! But it is usually wise not to buy the cheapest, if you'll be using the computer for some time!

Oh, and BTW, congratulations there, that's an excellent purchase.

 

[El_Jefe_77]

Yeah excellent besides for drilling into brand new hardware.

I think thats called:
a) pay a tech 100 bux
b) new motherboard, return old/sell it