John*K

Strategy for Upgrading

I'm in the process of upgrading my computer, but I have limited funds for the moment. I think that I may choose to go into two stages: motherboard, CPU, case and fans First; then new HD, sound card, graphics card, DVD-RW Second. Or vice versa. Not sure of the order yet.

Anyway, with regard to motherboard upgrade, I want to go Intel. There is a gigabyte board that I like, but I have read that they aren't that great of a company. I want an Intel 875 chipset, with built-in SATA and/or SCSI, and am willing to spend money to get that. Any suggestions?

The motherboard.org site always seems to rate every new board highly. It's hard to say what's what.

Tekara

the asus p4p800 is my current choice of p4 boards, if you want scsi I'm afraid you will pay for it as that tends to be more common on server class boards. . . Tyan is a good manufacturer of server boards (read as: stable as a rock in sand)

for motherboard information this forum is fairly good at keeping tabs on current trends:
http://hardforum.com/forumdisplay.php?forumid=4

upgrading is kinda becoming easier as a cpu upgrade is now starting to require a new motherboard and new ram all together. the A64's require a new motherboard and registered ddr ram which isn't as common atm. Then video cards are so expensive for the top line ones that they are pretty much by themselves.

typically I upgrade in three sections:

1. video card
2. motherboard, cpu, ram
3. hard-drive and optical drives

any extras like cases, fans etc, are just bought on whim's they typically are inexpensive and upgraded less frequently

"Computers are a lot like air conditioners - they both work great until you open windows." -Anonymous
"The danger from computers is not that they will eventually get as smart as men, but that we will agree to meet them halfway." -Bernard Avishai

John*K

Wow Rob. Thanks so much for that post!

Tekara

hey, it's no trouble at all

post back in the comp section if you have any other questions or concerns!

"Computers are a lot like air conditioners - they both work great until you open windows." -Anonymous
"The danger from computers is not that they will eventually get as smart as men, but that we will agree to meet them halfway." -Bernard Avishai

MikeFR

One thing to consider is there are a handful of boards out there that let you use sdram or ddr, meaning you can use your old ram on the board until you can afford to get ddr.

Also, I know you said you want intel but since you mentioned you have limited funds I would seriously consider getting an amd.

John*K

I actually thought about AMD for awhile, but I remember reading somewhere (Can't remember) that they no longer hold the speed crown and are a little less reliable. True, it was only one opinion. I may need to re-think.

Tekara

AMD processors are just as reliable as intels, the problem comes in with the software you run. . . the more garbage you put on the more garbage you have to deal with.

currently the AMD 64bit processors are the fastest consumer grade processors on the market, they even bested intels p4 extreme edition processors which boast a rather large level 2 cache. though the prices don't really make you feel all warm and fuzzy when you buy one, buy they are still quite the deal in comparison to an intel solution.

no, I've nothing against intel, I just deal in numbers and right now AMD has all the numbers in their favour.

also, I can never recommend running single data rate ram with a current processor; if you feel that you must go this route, I would suggest hanging onto your cash until you can afford the complete solution.

"Computers are a lot like air conditioners - they both work great until you open windows." -Anonymous
"The danger from computers is not that they will eventually get as smart as men, but that we will agree to meet them halfway." -Bernard Avishai

John*K

In reviewing my strategy, I've decided that it might be best to purchase a new hard drive (as odd as that may seem). It is just that the case, power supply, motherboard, and CPU I am eyeing will be more than I want to spend right now.

My problem is in determining whether SCSI is still the way to go. I have read the reviews on the Western Digital SATA drive, and at that price point, I cannot find a comparable SCSI solution.

I really want to go with SCSI, because I have already committed some funds to it. I purchased the Adaptec 2940 U2W LVD, a Plextor CD-RW drive, and a Jazz 2GB drive with a SCSI upgrade path in mind. I want SCSI largely because I want multitasking among components to be smooth. But now, the choice is not clear.

The price difference is too large to ignore. Has anyone got one of these SATA drives and a SCSI drive?

The 2940 has 68 pin, and the drives I am looking at are 80 pin. Will there be an issue with adapters?

Tekara

I find that hardrive perforamnce isn't as crucial nowadays primarly due to the large amount of RAM that is present in the average persons computer. with such large amounts of RAM there is far less file swapping performed on the hardrive.

there really isn't anything currently available that can stress a hardrive, even file transfers acrossed a network will saturate your PCI bus before pressuring the hardrive.

I am afraid SCSI is not a realm I am highly familar with, so i cannot say if an adapter would work well enough for your application.

if I were in your position I would purchase a sata drive and a SCSI card for the other devices.I would be content with a much larger, less expensive sata hardrive versus a smaller, much more expensive SCSI drive.

"Computers are a lot like air conditioners - they both work great until you open windows." -Anonymous
"The danger from computers is not that they will eventually get as smart as men, but that we will agree to meet them halfway." -Bernard Avishai

Daryl Furkalo