My system:
Asus M2N4-SLI
AMD Athlon 64 X2 2.2GHz
2 x 1GB "Super Talent" DDR2-800 Dual Channel
W.D. Raptor 74GB SATA
Maxtor 250GB EIDE
Nvidia 7600GS 256MB PCI-E
XP Pro SP3
The system is super fast for web browsing, M$ Office tasks, and CD/DVD burning. But, I'm getting into some multimedia stuff now (Photo Shop) and this is where it shows its weaknesses.
I think that more memory would be wasted on this system, given the limitations of 32-bit OSs. I've looked into upgrading the CPU, and I can buy an Athlon 64 X2 6400+ (3.2GHz, 1MB cache for each core) for $130. Or, I can buy a 2.5GHz Phenom (4 core) for 170-180. I _believe_ that my motherboard will support the quad core Phenom, although I may have to "flash" the BIOS.
The question is, which CPU....I've heard that the dual core can be faster for certain tasks, but that the quad core shines with multimedia apps and games (don't play too many). The quad core also had some problems earlier in its production run.
Also, at what point does it make sense to upgrade the motherboard? My mobo can support a max of 8GB of memory, up to DDR-800 dual channel. I understand that DDR-1333 is available now, although very expensive, and that the price of DDR-1000 is coming down to a reasonable level.
I think that I would be content with upgrading to the 3.2GHz dual core, but I would rather not have to upgrade again next year, so the quad looks attractive. Then again, if I really wanted to future proof this system, I would probably rebuild with a Quad Core Core2Duo. I think that might be overkill for my purposes and I'd like to stick with what I have....just need a few more "horsepower."
Asus M2N4-SLI
AMD Athlon 64 X2 2.2GHz
2 x 1GB "Super Talent" DDR2-800 Dual Channel
W.D. Raptor 74GB SATA
Maxtor 250GB EIDE
Nvidia 7600GS 256MB PCI-E
XP Pro SP3
The system is super fast for web browsing, M$ Office tasks, and CD/DVD burning. But, I'm getting into some multimedia stuff now (Photo Shop) and this is where it shows its weaknesses.
I think that more memory would be wasted on this system, given the limitations of 32-bit OSs. I've looked into upgrading the CPU, and I can buy an Athlon 64 X2 6400+ (3.2GHz, 1MB cache for each core) for $130. Or, I can buy a 2.5GHz Phenom (4 core) for 170-180. I _believe_ that my motherboard will support the quad core Phenom, although I may have to "flash" the BIOS.
The question is, which CPU....I've heard that the dual core can be faster for certain tasks, but that the quad core shines with multimedia apps and games (don't play too many). The quad core also had some problems earlier in its production run.
Also, at what point does it make sense to upgrade the motherboard? My mobo can support a max of 8GB of memory, up to DDR-800 dual channel. I understand that DDR-1333 is available now, although very expensive, and that the price of DDR-1000 is coming down to a reasonable level.
I think that I would be content with upgrading to the 3.2GHz dual core, but I would rather not have to upgrade again next year, so the quad looks attractive. Then again, if I really wanted to future proof this system, I would probably rebuild with a Quad Core Core2Duo. I think that might be overkill for my purposes and I'd like to stick with what I have....just need a few more "horsepower."