I'm thinking of building a new computer - it's about two years since I built my last one. This new computer maybe the last one I will built for a while so I want to make sure I build a good machine. My computer at the moment has an Asus A7N8X-X nForce2 (Socket A) motherboard with a AMD Athlon XP 2200+ chip. I was thinking of buying an Asus K8N-E Deluxe nForce3 (Socket 754) motherboard with an AMD Athlon 64 2800 (Socket 754) chip. So my question is would I notice a difference. I do a lot of 3D rendering.
YES! You will notice a BIG difference... Just not under WinXp because it has only a handful of 64-bit scripts. Linux has oodles upon oodles of them, so Linux would be the only difference you would notice, I hear there is a 64-bit version of windowsXP, but it is pretty unstable.
You'd notice a difference but the 2200 seems a bit of an ok cpu to be upgrading to a 2800 64. Using a 64bit linux distro would be the biggest difference.
You also have to consider that at equal clock speed, the athlon 64 is faster than the athlon XP, so you will notice a difference, even in Windows. I'd get at least a 3000+ (Newcastle core) since it's not much more expensive. As for the board, many people like the MSI K8N Neo Platinum and it'S cheaper. However, I don't think you can go wrong with Asus.
What do you use your computer for? Unless you are a hardcore gamer I wouldn't upgrade unless you have a disposable income... It's just not worth it.
Actually, if you compare the cost VS performance difference between the Athlon64 and an Intel CPU of similar cost, it's a great value. But the fetus & addis are right; you'll see a much bigger speed increase in a 64-bit *nix than in any version of Windows.
I firmly think that it all matter what you use your computer for. A month ago I still had my old computer (Pentium III 450 Mhz, 128megs RAM, etc) running windows XP... I could surf the web, play winamp, check e-mail, watch movies... all quite effiiciently. Now that I upgraded I am wondering whether it was as urgent as I first thought... With the exception of games I think the advantage of a slightly faster processor is minimal.
Well, I agree, except that the avid gamer, computer/technology enthusiast, video producer, photo editor, studio engineer, audiophile, software programmer, etc. etc. would all appreciate the benefit of a faster system. If you're just surfing, mailing, and chatting, there really isn't an incentive to upgrade. But if you're doing one or more multimedia-intensive operations as the main function of your computer, it's well worth it to upgrade. At least, IMHO
I fully agree with you Anti-Trend! But even though, when chatting and surfing, everyone loves a good windows boot time !!!
