Should I upgrade my PC? (1 Viewer)

[Brett DiMichele]

Hey Gang!

After I came back from the World Of Wheels Autoshow a few weekends
ago with 230+ images to load into the PC and Convert to JPEG I came to
the realization that it's time to upgrade

My current rig:

Intel Pentium 4 Wilamette 1.8Ghz 256Kb L2 Cache
Intel Genuine Motherboard with 4X AGP, Dual Channel DDR,400FSB
Segate Barracuda 7200RPM Ultra ATA133 60GB Hard Disk
LiteOn DVD Drive
NEC CD-RW Drive
256MB PC2100 266Mhz DDR Ram (Crucial)
400Watt Power Supply
SoundBlaster Live 5.1 Sound
Nvidia GeForce 3 Titanium 200 4X AGP Video with 64 Megs DDR Ram
NEC 17" FD Trinitron MultiSync CRT Monitor

What I am fairly sure I want to do:
CoolerMaster Wave Case (Aluminum,Neat looking!)
Upgrade to 1GB of DDR Ram
Some other "apearance" items..

But should I swap out the MoBo for a new 800Mhz FSB and upgrade to a
Hyperthreading P4 and faster DDR or RamBus Ram?

Any comments, advice always appreciated!

 

[Brett DiMichele]

These are some of the parts I am swapping just to make it
look better



CoolerMaster Wave Case




CoolerMaster AeroGate Fan Bus



CoolerMaster 80mm 2500RPM Fans (five)



CoolerMaster Aluminum CD/DVD Drive Faces



Zippy Electro Luminescent 104 Key USB Keyboard



Logitech MX700 wireless mouse

And if I keep the same MoBo and CPU this is the Ram I will
most likely use.

Micron (Crucial) DDR 266 512MB x 2

 

[Andrew Pratt]

It sounds like you feel you need to upgrade b/c it can no longer do what you need in the time you want it to yet almost all of the items you list as upgrade parts (other then the ram) will only make it look pretty...IMO if you're going to upgrade do it right and go with a lot more ram and a new CPU.

 

[Brett DiMichele]

Andrew,

The CPU isn't the issue it flies.. I need more RAM for my
workflow.. I am either going to go with 1 Gig or 2 Gig..
That will make it feel like a new machine for what I do.

And yes I am going to make it "pretty" also

 

[Andrew_A_Paul]

More ram is what you need. Your CPU isn't the issue. I guess I don't understand why people feel the need to do a 'fast and the furious' job on their computer. But thats just me. If you want to upgrade, take the money you were going to put into the 'pretty' stuff and spend it on the things that will actually make it run faster. I would just stick with the DDR ram, I don't think theres much reason to go obove and beyond DRR unless you are looking for your computer to shoot flames out the back. As far as your CPU is concerned I know the HT P4s run nice but I would think your CPU is good enough for now. For the long run, get the ram, new MOBO that you can put a HT P4 in and up to or above 1GB ram, maybe swap in a new vid card.

 

[Brett DiMichele]

I don't think the mod job I am doing looks F&F at all..
That's one CLASSY case.. Is it wrong to have an attractive
well managed case and wires and some lights? I mean that's
the biggest gloat of Macophiles about how classy the
designs are

I am going to either 1 or 2 gigs of ram I need to check my
current MoBo manual to see what all processors can be used
on the socket 478 and also what the fastest DDR Ram is that
is supported.

Other than that I think I am just going to let the rest
alone.. I am not a "gamer" so the latest greatest $400.00
whizbang video card that renders 400 Frames Per Second and
puts you into a seizure isn't needed

But I do need the Ram for the photoshop work, transferring
files from my digital camera and for the 3D Wireframing
that I do on the machine.

 

[Andrew_A_Paul]

Im only saying that those things aren't going to improve performance. Im not bashing you or anyone else that bling out their computer, I just don't see the need for, but to each his own. The computer doesn't run any faster/better, and you save a good amount of money besides.

My only recomendation was to go up a step on the vid card if you felt it necessary, I wasnt suggesting you buy a radeon 9800 pro.

 

[Bob_Bo]

Brett, I think you could squeeze another year of computing happiness out of that machine with just a RAM upgrade.

The question you have to ask yourself is; Is it worth the money for just another year of use?

I used to upgrade piece by piece, but I've found that it's rarely worth it anymore. The technology changes too fast and the parts you buy today will look like antiques in another year.

My philosophy now is to build the best machine that I can afford (usually 1 or 2 steps below top of the line ) and then in 2 years or so, build another. Usually the only things that get recycled from the old machine is the monitor, case, power supply and maybe a drive.

I try to refit the old gear into a cheap case and donate it to a charity or school.

 

[Brett DiMichele]

Well I plan on keeping the case and all the goodies I am
buying for it. When I feel it is time to fully change out
the hardware I can slap it in my stock case and donate it
or just network it and use it as a dump station.

I think it will hold me off more than a year for what I do.
I am not constantly upgrading I do so every 4 years that's
about how much use I get out of a machine at home.

 

[Mike Fassler]

yeah bro 256 megs of ram is pretty anemic get at least up too 512 and you will see a big difference. a 1.8 ghz pc is still
more than able too do most anything. i have yet to come across anything i cant run on my machine.

Athlon xp Barton 2500 (stock speed 1.83 ghz have run it as fast as 2.3 ghz no problems)
512 megs Corsair ddr400 (dual channel)
radeon 9500 pro
Abit NF7-S Mobo
current cpu temp is 43°C
current case temp 24°C

using an Antec case with 6 variable speed fans
Thermalright slk900a heatsink with 3500 speed fan

my temps dont change much under load.


as to your question about ram, dont waste your money on rambus fast DDR ram kills it nowadays. and its cheaper.

 

[Brett DiMichele]

Anemic doesn't begin to describe it.. I had planned on
maxing the ram out when I first got the machine but you know
how that goes.. Busy buying HT stuff and other toys

The Ram will make it a new machine.. The processor still
does it's job and even my video card is still on par for
what I do.. I can't bring myself to spend mega dollars on
a Vid card when I don't play games on the system.

As for cooling the new case is aluminum so that's a plus..
I have a large heat sink on the northbridge and I have a
set of Thermaltake Ramsinks with fans plus I will run 3 of
the 2500 RPM Coolermaster fans in the case and I am also
picking up a Thermaltake Aquarius II Open Loop Watercooling
kit to replace my Coolermaster Fujiyama Heat Pipe.

Since I am no OC'r the Aquarius will keep my stock clocked
P4 cool even under heavy load but if I was seriously OCing
I would look for something way better (also way more expensive..)

 

[Scott L]

So you're getting a water cooled setup with (5) 80mm fans? That's overkill for a p1.8, even for a p3.4. I have 3 slow fans total in my computer including the PSU. Plus I'm oc'ing a p2.4 because of heavy gaming and DV editing, and I've never had heat problems.

But as for the original question; Do you need to upgrade? No, though another 256mb stick would do you good. I'd save the money from the case and the F&F fans to buy a bigger CRT monitor, since it sounds like you do photo editing.

 

[Brett DiMichele]

Scott,

The watercooled setup isn't hardcore like some of the
more expensive deals. This setup is very reasonably priced
but it's definatly for stock CPU speeds not for Overclocked
rigs.

The reason for 5 fans? 3 for the case 2 intake one exhaust
one to replace the more noisy fan on the watercooler's
radiator and the 5th is for my PSU

The amount of money I would save by not buying the case and
other items wouldn't even touch a good large CRT and I
won't buy an LCD so.... I am very happy with my 17" at the
moment and I just bought it not that long ago.

 

[DaveF]

I'm curious - is your CPU currently not not cooled properly? If it is running fine, how will a new cooling system help? The case, keyboard, mounse and digital display all look like fun, but I don't understand the cooler.

And here I am poking along on my Dell P3 450...

 

[Brett DiMichele]

Dave,

My current cooler is a CoolerMaster HeatPipe Copper and it
does a decent job for an air solution but water will knock
another 10 degrees off (at least) cooler is better

 

[DaveF]

Why is cooler better? As long as the CPU is within its operating range, what is gained by cooling it further? Or is this a "just because" upgrade that gives you warm fuzzies even though it doesn't matter? I've done some of those before.

 

[Daryl Furkalo]

I wouldn't go higher than 1GB RAM, there are very steep diminishing returns. If your motherboard supports dual channel DDR, that would be a nice upgrade. Another thing to consider would be a second HDD for all your PhotoShop files and applications.

 

[Brett DiMichele]

Daryl,

I am stepping up to 1GB of Dual channel 266Mhz DDR for now.
The price of the 1024 DIMM's is unreasonable IMHO compared
to the 512's.

Another hard drive is a great idea... It's a shame I have
15 SCSI2 Hard drives sitting in a box I could do a nice
Raid 0-1 with but they are all tiny drives (under 2GB each)

I may pick up a 100 Gig ATA133 10K RPM and swap it in as my
main drive and move my 60GB 7200RPM as the file drive.

DaveF,

Cooling a CPU is like cooling the air going into your engine
cooler air = more power Granted it may only = a couple
Mhz but I think there have been tests done that showed
dropping the temps dramatically have gained some more speed
out of the CPU...

That and it gives me warm fuzzy feelings

 

[DaveF]

Brett - I see. I didn't realize you were going to overclock the CPU.

I recommend dual monitors if you have the space and a spare monitor. I've had that for a few years and it's nice.

 

[Brett DiMichele]

Dave,

I am not OverClocking the CPU (well, at least not at the
moment). My current Motherboard was meant to be rock solid
stable and as such they don't let you tinker with Clock
Multipliers, System Bus or R/V Core Voltages. But in the
future maybe instead of upgrading the CPU I may just get
a generic Motherboard and crank it up.

Dual monitors would be nice... If I did this stuff for a
living I would certainly run a dual or more head graphics
card and dual or more monitors