Upgrading processor

[NiTeHaWk4787]

Hey, I just bought a new digital camera and editing the video footage works great with the software.. if the video is under 30 seconds. Uploading and editing is very choppy and takes a long time to format if it gets to about a minute or more. Right now i have a pentium 3 with 6 MHz, (or .6 GHz), around 800 ram. Not sure about the motherboard. To get things moving a lot faster, im sure i have to get a faster processor like a pentium 4 2.0+ ghz. in order to do this do i have to get a whole new motherboard and new ram. Any other suggestions? I dont plan on getting a whole new computer just upgrading this one, i have right now a windows xp T600 (made in 1998 i think)

[Catweazle]

Hi,

You've got 2 basic options:

1. Determine the maximum speed and type processor your motherboard will accept, find one for sale on eBay or similar, and use that as the basis for your upgrade. This is hard to do, as most people will have 'maxxed out' their motherboards of that vintage by now if they are keeping them, and the necessary processor will be a keenly sought item which would probably cost more than it's worth.

2. Replace the 'heart' of your system - motherboard, processor and RAM, to give yourself the basis of a modern system upon which you can build as you have funds available.

My recommendation would always be the second option.


If you are interested in pursuing the first option, you will need to supply details of the make/model of your PC, or of the motherboard if it's not a 'Name Brand' system.

Moved to the 'Hardware' section, by the way

[NiTeHaWk4787]

K thanks, ill find out my hardware information tomorrow but ill most likely get all new stuff. Intel pentium 4 2.3GHz should be good. Any suggestions on a motherboard i dont know much about one brand from the other.

[Catweazle]

I would suggest a Pentium 4 'C' class processor, for it's increased front side bus bandwidth, and you should purchase at least a 2.4 GHz unit. P4C 2.8GHz and 3.0GHz processors are now quite affordable, and the first of those is probably the best 'bangs for bucks' option.

A good option for a motherboard would be the best you can afford from the ABit IC-7 series. Any motherboard with an i865PE or i875P chipset will be fine, really, but I'd suggest you avoid actual Intel brand motherboards, as they generally have most of the 'tweaking' functions disabled that later allow you to squeeze extra performance out of your system.

You should also match it with a couple of 'Branded' modules of PC3200 DDR RAM. Avoid unbranded 'generic' modules, for fear of low quality. The 'budget' lines of manufacturers such as Kingston or Geil are the best choices amongst lower cost alternatives.

[NiTeHaWk4787]

I'll look around for that hardware when I get home from work later and post what I came up with

[JR85023]

Yeah if you are going for an upgrade you have to change your motherboard, processor and RAM at a minimum. Something else you need to consider is your video card. If it is built-in to your motherboard then you are going to need one.

[Catweazle]

Now there's a point! If onboard graphics are a must, then suitable alternatives from ABit's range could be the IS-10 or !S-20, with integrated Intel Extreme2 graphics, or the SG-71 or SG-72 with integrated SiS graphics.

Of course, equivalent boards from other manufacturers are suitable alternatives as well.

[NiTeHaWk4787]

So basically i might as well get a new computer? :-D I used to have a Nvidia TNT2 but now i have a geforce 2.

[Catweazle]

If you have a GeForce2 display card it should be fine for video editing, although it's getting to 'long in the tooth' for Gaming. Is it a PCI slot card or an AGP slot card, do you know?

[NiTeHaWk4787]

pci, i play a ton of games and its great, its just editing is sooooo slow and choppy

[Catweazle]

The editing choppiness is more related to a lack of 'ooomph' in your system than to your vid card, I'm sure. You also want to consider having heaps of RAM for video editing - I'd reckon 1Gb to be acceptable for that task.

It certainly is sounding like a replacement system box is the go for your purposes, but purchasing the components and putting them togteher your self is a good way to go.

You can purchase 'system unit only' upgrade packages quite cheaply, but they usually only included low quality components. I prefer to get the parts and assemble myself. Overall cost is about the same, but system quality ends up better.

A new case and power supply unit might be good inclusions if you're considering taking that path, and an AGP display card will give much better results than a PCI one.

I can't give you pricing and availability advice, of course, for anywhere except Australia, but I can assure you that I can get a pre-assembled unit for the same price, or even a little less, than a personal preference 'bundle' of components, but the motherboard, RAM and so on will be inevitably much poorer alternatives.

[Coconut Monkey]

You might want to consider an ATI 9100IGP chipset motherboard if you decide to go for a Pentium 4. The onboard video, while currently languishing near the bottom of the performance ladder, would probably be a significant improvement over your PCI video card. Just remember that this will sacrifice a portion of your system RAM to the onboard video card.

[NiTeHaWk4787]

i have more ram than i do MHz's heh.. 800 ram and 600 mhz. can someone link me to an agp card i dont remember ever seeing one. good parts for a fast computer are cheaper now since even more advanced stuff is comming out, i could probably select parts to make my own for maybe like 800-1000 and it would be awesome, thats what my friends have, custom computers instead of premade computers like dells etc. and my dad says he'll split the cost with me :) now the question of amd or intel

[Catweazle]

ABit NF7-S motherboad and Athlon XP 2500+ or better (Barton Core only)

ABit IC-7 series motherboard and Pentium 4 'C' Class processor 2.4 GHz or better.

Both systems will need PC3200 (400MHz) DDR RAM

All display cards should be AGP. Try for an ATi Radeon based 9600XT (128Mb) card or an NVidia based GeForce FX5900XT. Brand name does not matter. Cheaper brands of cards based on the same graphics chip are usually 'barebones' cards without bundled extras like unnecessary software.

Investigate online stores for better prices. You do the math.

What country do you live in?

[NiTeHaWk4787]

USA, i play a lot of games so I was planning on getting the best, 9800 XT. Then 512 ram i could get more later and a 2.4+ ghz

[Catweazle]

Then pay a visit to the Forums hosted by this site:

http://www.hardocp.com/

Do a bit of reading, and you'll find a fair few discussions which refer to the better places to purchase online for gamer oriented components.

At present, a 9800 Pro is a much better buy than a 9800XT, bangs per buck. The 9800XY is only a small bit better performance wise, but a fair bit more price wise.

There's also AGP versions of the X800 (ATi) and 6800 (NVidia) series cards about to hit the shelves any time now. Both of those product lines are significantly better performers than the 9800XT or the NVidia 5950 Ultra. (Like, up to twice as good or more, depending on system specs and the Games being run)

[JR85023]

I would check out this site if you want the best or just want to know what are the best components available. http://www.maximumpc.com/ranking/rankings2.html

I have been reading this magazine for a couple of years and thay have never let me down.

[NiTeHaWk4787]

Then pay a visit to the Forums hosted by this site: http://www.hardocp.com/ At present, a 9800 Pro is a much better buy than a 9800XT, bangs per buck. The 9800XY is only a small bit better performance wise, but a fair bit more price wise. There's also AGP versions of the X800 (ATi) and 6800 (NVidia) series cards about to hit the shelves any time now. Both of those product lines are significantly better performers than the 9800XT or the NVidia 5950 Ultra. (Like, up to twice as good or more, depending on system specs and the Games being run)

ya i was considering the pro because like u said its a cheaper but almost equal in preformance.

(Like, up to twice as good or more, depending on system specs and the Games being run)

maybe the 9800's will drop in price since better models come out. ill actually most likely get full ram when i buy, because you really cant have too much of it and i would've just gotten it later anyway. how do you feel about corsair

[Catweazle]

Good quality Corsair, OCZ, or similar modules are essential to the overclocker.

Thet're a better choice for everyone else, but not an essential one. Unbranded, generic modules should be shunned at all costs!

(And I think Current cards have already dropped about as far as they'll go. Some current cards will probably disappear from the market, and some will definitely be 'ported' to PCI Express cards)

There's only 3 display card choices I'd recommend at present:

If price isn't a limiting factor, stand in line for an X800 or NVidia 6800 series card
If you have a reasonable budget available grab a 9800 Pro
If you want good performance but money is a bit tighter, grab the cheapest GeFX 5900XT you can find.

[NiTeHaWk4787]

so "Good Brand" RAM wouldnt be a wise choice? hahah :-D