Upgade or buy a new one?

[Joey L.]

I am interested in upgrading to a faster processor. My computer is an Acer Aspire 3210. The processor is an AMD K6 ll / 333mhz. I have no idea what kind of motherboard this thing has even though I have tried to find out. If I upgrade, what's the highest speed I can expect? Or should I just buy a new computer?

Thanks

[glc]

That system has an Acer V72MA board, and can go up to a K6-2/550.

http://www.acer.com.my/ftp/pub/PCG/Desktop/Aspire/V72MA.htm

[Streams]

550Mhz is the highest it will go

[TwoRails]

Hi Joey

Or should I just buy a new computer?


Buy it or build it yourself. You'll be a lot happier :D

TwoRails

[whr2206]

yeah I think you should just take a shot at building your own computer.... you like it alot...trust me!

[ssahl]

Of coarse it would be a lot better if you were to build yourself one. However, then you will be spending more money, quite a bit more. You could update that machine (max CPU & RAM) for a little over $120
If you were to build yourself one that could end up costing you over $1000
If your going to get a new (& good) motherboard you will also need good CPU, case, RAM, harddrive, video card, this list at times (to me at least) seems endless. Even if you limit yourself if will probably cost you about $600 (+ or - $100) for the case, motherboard, RAM, harddrive, video card, & CPU. This system though would of coarse blow away anything your current system could ever think of doing, even after it was updated.

[morriswindgate]

WIth a computer that age, I always tell people to leave it as is, don't plan on using any of the parts other than maybe the monitor and keyboard, and sell it to someone. Then build from upto date parts.
The only thing in your acer that has not improved in performance since you got it is the Floppy Drive and new ones are cheap. If you just upgrade the Motherboard and CPU it will be held back by the older RAM, Hard Drive, Video card, and CD-Rom Drives.

[Cricket]

Hi Joey L.,

Build yourself a new computer. A home built PC will out-perform a store bought computer.

:) Cricket

[Joey L.]

You know, I think I will build a new one. It seems to be the smart thing to do since there's so much to dislike about new computers, proprietary software, not enough performance or features for the money, software bundles that I'll never use, etc.

Thanks

[TwoRails]

Joey, go for it!!

And good luck!!

[tigstah]

i just finished my second......you always have the forums if you need help

[Joey L.]

Is it true that AMD systems are easier to build? I've also heard they are cheaper. Any motherboard suggestions?
I plan to buy most of it from CompUSA, since I can throw a rock and hit their store from here (slight exageration).


Joey

[Furius92]

Wrong there, the old AMD is cheaper myth is gone. It only holds true if you are buying the highest speed processors. Otherwise, there is little difference between the two. I prefer Intel, others like AMD. It doesn't matter really, but if you ARE going to build an AMD, I'd really recommend using the newer Athlon XP 2200+ since it will run much cooler than any other Athlon XP below 2200+. I doubt Intel computers are harder to build, if anything, they are easier.

For motherboards, I'd say get an AMD chipset for an AMD CPU. VIA make decent chipsets I guess... but don't be fooled, the KT333 will NOT perform better than the KT266A. Besides, I'd say away from anything VIA if it doesn't have an "A" at the end (it means it was revised). For Intel CPU, get an Intel or SiS 645DX chipset. As for brands, my personal favorite is Asus, other than that you can get Intel for Intel chipsets, or look at Abit, MSI, Soltek, EPoX. NEVER get a cheap motherboard, even for a cheap computer. Shuttle makes good boards too, a bit cheaper than the rest. Asus and Abit tend to be the most expensive.

And buying it from CompUSA? Bad bad bad... never do it. I'd say go to www.newegg.com or www.mwave.com and buy from there. CompUSA (as well as Best Buy) tends to have overpriced, substandard hardware. Not to mention they have NOTHING close to the selection you'll find at either of those websites. MAYBE, buy the monitor there, and maybe maybe the case. I'd do the monitor if it's on sale (don't pay attention to mail in rebates, they're BS) and the case if you're getting an Antec Performance Series case. That's cause they're great cases, and made out of thick steel, therefore costing you a premium amount for shipping. Again, only cheaper if it's on sale at CompUSA, otherwise, pay the shipping and it will still probably be cheaper.

[AzCoastie]

What Furius92 said... "and buying it from CompUSA? Bad bad bad... never do it."

I second that and I'll add Fry's Electronics, Circuit City, Worst Buy... All are too expensive... Buy from Newegg or MWave they're the best!

[ssahl]

AMD systems may be cheaper (not by very much) but in no way are they easier at all. They can be a bit tricky at times. If you can afford it go with the new P4 that have the 533Mhz FSB got to play around with one of those the other day and it smokes!

[TwoRails]

Originally posted by Joey L.
Is it true that AMD systems are easier to build? I've also heard they are cheaper. Any motherboard suggestions?
I plan to buy most of it from CompUSA, since I can throw a rock and hit their store from here (slight exageration).


Joey

Hi Joey,

Boy, that a sure way to start a war!! :D

The price gap is not what it used to be, but it can be depending on the system you build.

As far as the "ease" goes, almost everyone here sez Intel is easier....but since my last Intel system was the 486DX (hear of those?) I can't say which is easier from experience, however......:

I can say that on the countless systems I have built with AMD I really have had none of the suposed trouble I hear about. Troubles? Yes. Caused by AMD? No. Maybe having to many beers? Yes. Not paying attention? Yes.

If you buy a modern motherboard, like a nice Asus A7V333, there is really nothing you can screw up!! It is a "jumperless" mobo, meaning you don't have to set anything up. You drop in the mobo, add the components, start it up. (obviously a simplified version, but the steps are the same regardless of AMD / Intel). You don't even have to be the proverbial geek anymore !! LOL

What I'm getting at is, if you want an AMD system, you'll have no worries if you get a decent mobo. Too many people build an Intel for their fisrt system because they hear all those horry stories about AMD which aren't really there. If you an Intel, fine too, but do build what you want to build.....

HTH

TwoRail

[DragonPyro]

http://www.googlegear.com has really low prices. It beats out newegg lots of the time, and the shipping to my house is only $0.50 with the fedex 2 day (cheap) option :) I'm shopping for pc parts and most of them will come from googlegear due to the prices.

[Vlad16]

Originally posted by Furius92
I'd really recommend using the newer Athlon XP 2200+ since it will run much cooler than any other Athlon XP below 2200+. .

Actually the XP2200 (Thoroughbred) is running HOTTER than the XP2100+ because AMD shrunk the die size, therefore decreasing the area for the heat to be spread over :confused: Not quite sure why they did this. The Barton which will still use the Socket A design is reported to have a larger die size plus 512k of L2 cache.

If you want to go with AMD, opt for the XP1800+ which is the sweetspot for price/performance for the AMDs. In a year, you'll be able to upgrade to a much faster Barton for around the same price as the XP1800+

Vlad

[Furius92]

Vlad, WHAT are you talking about? The reason they shrunk it down to .13u rather than .18u is that it DOES run cooler, so they can push the speed higher and add more transistors. How does the Northwood run so cool? It's not just magic, it's cause it is built on .13u technology.

The ONLY improvement of the Thoroughbred over the Palomino (Polamino?) is that it runs cooler, other than the raw speed, which itself comes from the fact it runs cooler. I refer you to a quote taken from an Anandtech review of the XP 2200+.

"The main thing to take away from this chart is that the Thoroughbred puts out around 12% less heat than an equivalently clocked Palomino core."

Find that quote on this (http://www.anandtech.com/cpu/showdoc.html?i=1635&p=4) page. It is towards the bottom. Also, AMD will be releasing XP 1700+ - 2200+ Athlon XPs utilizing .13u technology. I hope I have made my point :)

[Vlad16]

Furius92,

Sorry if I offended you or made you furious (pun intended :D)

I believe that the wafer size was reduced to the .13 micron allowing for lower vcore settings, thus lower temperatures. Unfortunetly, AMD reduced the die size by roughly 38% which does not allow lower heat dissaptation compared to the XP core size,. plus AMD did not increase the amount of transistors in their design (although the .13 design will allow an increase in transistors in future designs for the Barton and Clawhammer). It is well known that AMD is concentrating on the formentioned designs rather than the Thoroughbred

The link you provided does not include detailed comparisions about CPU temperatures. Nor can I derive any actual reduction in CPU temperatures from data provided.

Anantech stated that there is a 12% reduction in heat based on the "Typical Thermal Power" of the Thoroughbred of which I believe is derived from the vcore rating. I highly doubt that the size of the die was ever computed in this calucation.

Maybe this accounts for the reason the Northwoods are running so cool because they are based on the .13 micron technology PLUS they running off a much larger die size (heat spreader) allowing better heat dissapation.

Vlad

[TwoRails]

Hmmm.... After skimming thru the above link, it would almost seem that the T-Bred is just a beta for other CPUs. It appears that no substantial (other than the 13) changes were made. How depressing......:(

I'm running a 1800+ now, and was going to upgrade... but there seems to be no ergency now. Maybe a 2500+ or better T-Bred in the near future??

[Furius92]

TwoRails you probably wouldn't even notice the difference. Don't even bother upgrading, since you might have to buy a new motherboard to support the Thoroughbred. If you really want to upgrade, maybe wait several months, or more (anyone know when?) for the ClawHammer.

Vlad, you didn't offend me at all :) (Even though I'm right)

[Colonel Sanders]

Vlad, if you shrink the components in the die it will all for shrinkage of the overall die, thus allowing cheaper manufacturing. I have forgoten how to do work with percentages, but I'd imagine the drop from .18 to .13 would be pretty close to a 38% drop.

However, the VCore will make a big difference and the smaller die(inside and out) will require less power.

Logan

[TwoRails]

Thanks, Furius92! I'm glad I'm in no rush! :D

[calmius]

Listen man, I don't know what you're going to use your computer for and what's your financial situation, but don't get stuck with that antique thing. Get a computer with a Pentium 4 processor somewhere areound 1ghz at least. Everything cheap inside, but not still it will be much better than what you have now. Try to build it yourself too.

[smokealotapotimus]

I'm sure most motherboards can use the T'Bred, there are very few differences. For what it's worth, I wouldnt buy a T'Bred right now, wait for it to mature a little bit more, or even wait for Barton since ClawHammer is still only in the distant future. You probably gonna have to wait till sometime next year for ClawHammer to go into full swing.

[TwoRails]

After reading the link that Furius92 posted, I would not be overly concerned about compatibility. It seems that most newer mobos will run it just fine. My Asus A7V333 (an excellent mobo) is ready out of the box, and others will be with just a BIOS update.

Heck, I've even run 266 T-Birds in 200 fsb machines with no real problems!! (meaning, it does clock down, but is fully functional) Since the T-Bred is still a 462 socket CPU, it should run just fine in any 266 or 333 chipset unit -- the worst to happen is that the "name" is not recognized.

LIke older K6 mobos that "recognized" up to 400mhz. I put in 450's in several. On bootup, it would show only a 400, but the computer was running at 450 as it should.

TwoRails