Hi stargate,

You need to get a motherboard to suit the socket format of the processor. A Socket 754 AMD64 2800+ would be adequate for you, and you could expect its performance to be quite adequate for ages. For video editing, make sure you have lots of RAM installed, and plenty of hard drive storage. Those are the most important features for performance of that task.

You could alternatively chose a Pentium 4 system, and the Pentium 4 would be as good for video editing as the Athlon64. The Pentium 4 platform has basically reached the 'end of the road' now as far as processor speeds go, and the Athlon64 socket 754 platform won't be too far from it.

Socket 939 hardware is more expensive, but will have a better future upgrade path. You've settled on an Athlo64 2800+ by the sound of it, and that is an inexpensive 'entry level' processor for the newer platforms. I'd have to wonder if you'd still consider it adequate in 5-8 years time, so it would be wise to choose a platform that you can give a 'boost' to later on. That would mean a processor upgrade, and I'd suggest you'd have that option available with the Athlon64s. For Socket 754 you'd probably be looking at the possibility of dropping in an A64 somewhere in the range 3400+ to 3700+, (I'm not sure where that line wil finish, but it'll be somewhere there.) For Socket 939 it'll go beyond that. 5-8 years is a LONG time to prepare for, in computing terms.

Choose your platform and motherboard carefully. You'll hear talk of the nVidia nForce3 250 chipset being the current 'best', but if you are not wanting 3D gaming that's not a vitally important consideration. You'll find VIA chipset motherboards considerablt cheaper, and they'll be perfectly capable for your purposes. Simply look at the specifications of the motherboards on offer, to ensure you get one with the features you want.

[QUOTE=Catweazle]Hi stargate,

Nicely explained. ! you have made things much easier for me make an informed decision. As you said, I need to decide on the platform and as you said, the 939 is probably the better way to go.

Thanks so much.

That's not exactly what I was saying, stargate. I was merely providing a thumbnail sketch of the current options. For real future proofing you'd want a Socket 939 motherboard (or LGA-775 for Intel processors) with the new expansion card interface, PCIE (PCI-Express). Those are not really available yet, and won't be widely ovbtainable for both CPU manufacturers until early next year. We're in a period of transition at present regarding technology, which is why I suggested you choose widely.

Perhaps what most needs to be considered is that expectation that whatever you purchase right now will be fine for up to 8 years. I'm not sure if that's a realistic expectation.

My own decision has been to defer an upgrade. I have a pair of Athlon XP2500+ systems here, both overclocked to run at 3200+. I won't be upgrading from that for about another 12 to 18 months at least, by which time I expect the newer technology will have become entrenched, and be widely available at affordable prices.

You may not be in that position, and may need to work out your own 'trade-off'. You may decide to go with Socket 939 or Intels LGA-775 right now. The choice is up to you.

Thanks Catsweasle,

I think my decision to go for the 939 socket flatform is probably not the right choice at this stage. I might settle for something that will do me just fine for the next few years, like a AMD Athon 754 socket with a basic mobo ie Abit KV8 pro. This should do me fine until the next set of techology come out and only then will I upgrade.

I might even consider a cheaper processor like the one you are using. That I wont have to spend to much for now. Like u said, you've beef yours up to about 3200. If I can get mine to do that with a bit of tweaking and extra cooling, i'd be happy for a few years.

Given that im only using my PC for surfing the net and video editing, I really dont see any point at looking to far in the future just yet. For a mere $380 I should have myself a decent mobo and processor PC for my purposes.

Should I look at upgrading that, in say, 2 or 3 years using a different flatform when new stuff is outthere on the market.

does this approach sound more logical?

Be cautious about any consideration of an AthlonXP for overclocking. The early production runs of them were very good overclockers, but more recent production runs aren't. Many of the more rently released XP2500+ processors don't overclock very well at all. I've got a pair of very good chips, one purchased new a while back, and the other purchased secondhand recently.

If you want a good chip nowadays, buying secondhand from a member of an overclockers enthusiast group is probably the best way to source it. But why bother? An XP3200+ isn't very expensive now anyway

But to tell you the truth, I wouldn't consider an Athlon XP for video editing, as the Pentium 4s and Athlon64s are better for the job.

I definately stay away from the XP's. I'll stick with your suggestion.

You have been extremely helpful.