puntoMX

It easy to do: Testing bandwidth with and without a VGA card. Also that “transcoder” thing: take a look at the nVidia 6150/430 and you will see it has hardware integrated that will release CPU power.

Naa, it doesn’t suck your memory . Ones upon a time in computer-world there existed chipsets that did. The modern chipsets with integrated VGA don’t use the CPU (FPU) any more like before, the bandwidth of the RAM will drop just a bit, think about 5-10% MAX.. Latencies are not the problem but you already knew that...

Hmmm, just saw that there is an AMD version of the nVidia 6xx series chipset as well... cool... E-66, here you have the information on the nVidia chipsets. If you go for onboard VGA; iNTEL: 950 Graphics - and - AMD: 6150 Graphics.

Acronis will not run from a floppy but from a CD it sure will. There is an option in Acronis that let you make the CD for you. Acronis True Image has more options then the simple Ghost 2003 in a flop. About the chipsets: Those nVidia 550/570/590 are special made chipsets for AMD AM2 CPUs, they provide more functions then the older nForce 440. iNTEL CPUs uses them too, but the iNTEL version. For Overclockability nVidia came also out with the 6xx series for the core2Duo. Did you think a bit about what you are going to buy?

That’s strange; when I backup or copy my drive of 200GB it takes like 50-55 minutes from drive to drive (SATA WD 250GB drives). Even if I use normal compression for the backup it takes 2GB per minute on a Sempron64 2800+ stock speed; 120GB per hour! So he’s saying that Ghost can do that 5 times faster? Something is wrong there... EDIT: One thing more, AM2 or S939, they use the same chipset any way . or you are willing to go to an add-on VGA card then you have the nVidia 550/570/590 chipsets. I the 590 with all it´s features...

Could be an option indeed; S754, only problem is to find a desktop motherboard that supports the Turion64.

I beg to differ...Cool'n'Quiet does make a considerable difference on many systems. I built my girlfriend's parents a system a while back, and enabled Q-Fan (Intel's equavalent to C'n'C), and now the system is almost inaudible compared to the rest of the house. There is a difference with these features enabled. That was with stock cooling I presume? Stock cooling of iNTEL makes a lot of noise while the stock cooling of AMD keeps it down. 2800rpm For a CPU fan is for me the max any way .

Yeah, I saw that, I was working on my post when you already posted. Ow well...

If you are talking about the OEM CPU here, the AMD Athlon 64 3000+ Venice 2.0GHz 512KB L2 Cache Socket 754 Processor - OEM, then I can tell you why your better of with a Sempron: The AMD Athlon 64 for 60 US$ doesn’t have a cooler, this is why the CPU is called a OEM CPU. Only Boxed CPUs come (normally) with a stock cooler. Differences between Athlon and Sempron are; half the cache (512kB vs. 256kB) and no C´n´C (Cool and Quiet) function (Google on that to find some more info on that, but in my eyes it’s useless). The cache doesn’t make such a difference in normal computer use. If you want the extra cache any way then take a look at this CPU: - AMD Athlon 64 3200+ Venice 2.0GHz Socket 939 Processor Model ADA3200BPBOX - Retail $61.99 In combination with one of these: - Foxconn 6150K8MA-8EKRS Socket 939 NVIDIA GeForce 6150 Micro ATX AMD Motherboard – Retail $66.99 ($56.99 after $10.00 Mail-In Rebate) - ASUS A8N-VM CSM Socket 939 NVIDIA GeForce 6150 Micro ATX AMD Motherboard – Retail $74.99

E-66, this is what I found for you: ASRock K8NF4G-SATA2 Socket 754 NVIDIA GeForce 6100-410 Micro ATX AMD Motherboard – Retail Pros: - 3-Fase power converter for CPU - Not expensive - No bad capacitors - 1 PCI-E 16x slot - Overclockable, a 1.6GHz CPU will get up to 2.5GHz - 2 PATA (IDE) Ports Cons: - Harder to get at this moment GIGABYTE GA-K8N51GMF-RH Socket 754 NVIDIA GeForce 6100 Micro ATX AMD Motherboard – Retail Pros: - Firewire - Not expensive - No bad capacitors - 1 PCI-E 16x slot - 2 PATA (IDE) Ports Cons: - Just 2-Fase power converter for CPU, 3 would have been better - Not much overclockable, but a 1.6GHz CPU will get to 2.0GHz Personally I would go for the ASRock K8NF4G-SATA2 if you can find another store that still has them. If not the GIGABYTE GA-K8N51GMF-RH is the best choice at this moment. Don’t expect to overclock much with your PC2100 RAM but most get from 133(266)MHz to 150 (300)MHz or so. Best thing you could do is take a CPU with a high(er) multiplier like the 3400+ (2.0GHz). You could keep 19.50US$ in your pocket if you think a 2800+ (1.6GHz) would do fine for you. EDIT: Or you could do this: + ASRock ALiveNF6G-DVI Socket AM2 NVIDIA NF6100-430 Micro ATX AMD Motherboard - Retail + A-DATA 1GB (2 x 512MB) 240-Pin DDR2 SDRAM DDR2 800 (PC2 6400) Dual Channel Kit Desktop Memory Model ADQVE1908K - Retail + AMD Sempron 64 2800+ Manila 1.6GHz Socket AM2 Processor Model SDA2800IAA2CN - OEM

Aaargg, My ISP his DNS server is f+cked up again... Okay, S754, there we go: - ASRock K8NF4G-SATA2; Has PCI-E and works with the nVidia 6100 chipset, S754 - AMD Sempron64 2800+, 1.6GHz and 256kB cache, S754 - Stock cooling, comes with the CPU It use the 20 pin ATX but also the 4 pin 12volt for the CPU. Later I will take a look at the link, can´t do it now .

Holy sh... Look at the Doom 3 Benchmarks... Any way, that would be a 6000US$ system and not a 600US$ .

But start to use VMware or Microsofts Virtual Machine and you will see that the Core2duo will not perform that well compared with AMDs X2. AMDs FX series are so expensive indeed, and for what? Just for the cache, AMD missed the spot there. Any way, I don’t think it’s in E-66 budget any way to buy a Core2Duo . @ E-66, I think you got a lot of info here, I hope you can make a choice now.

jcarle, there is a new stepping of the Celeron, check it out here. I could already order them here and that in a country like Mexico; Intel Celeron D 347 (S775, 3.06GHz, 533MHz FSB, 512KB, 65W, Boxed) Intel Celeron D 360 (S775, 3.46GHz, 533MHz FSB, 512KB, 65W, Boxed) Not bad, they dropped from 84 to 65 Watts. Talking about Watts, AMD Sempron uses less, so needs less cooling thus quiet operation; SDA3000CNBOX, AMD Sempron™, 3000+ / 1600Mhz, Socket AM2, 256KB, 62W SDD3000CNBOX, AMD Sempron™, 3000+ / 1600Mhz, Socket AM2, 256KB, 35W SDA2800CNBOX, AMD Sempron™, 2800+ / 1600Mhz, Socket AM2, 128KB, 62W PS: The AMD X2s are not that much slower the the iNTEL Core2Duos .

Stock cooling does well, but there are better ones indeed. I must say that AMD cooler are relative silent and keep it cool enough. Personally I don’t like the fans from iNTEL, for example the ones that come with Celeron and 5xx/6xx/8xx/9xx series CPUs. GPU stock cooling is a pain in the a**, as well fans on other chipsets. I always prefer to change those ones for a fan-less system.

Yeah, I know. But it’s just a small point of XP. There should have been more options at setup. But you gave the golden tip; Disabling the PATA controller or drive.

I’m comparing the Celeron with a Sempron CPU, both have the same price but the AMD Sempron AM2 offers: - Better 64bit compatibility (Not used by all users but it’s starting with Vista) - 3Dnow Multimedia Instructions - Lower noise in general I know that AMD still has 90nm technology vs. 65nm from iNTEL, but that will change in the next month(s). Any thing I’m not seeing here?

It’s okay; just don’t agree on motherboard type and CPU and the upgrade part. You know that most people will change the CPU / Motherboard / RAM (with DDR2 less important) all together any way. Any way, why so much love for iNTEL? I sell them too, but also AMD. My CPU lists looks like this: - AMD Sempron AM2 (till 1.8GHz) - AMD Athlon AM2 (2.0GHz and up) - iNTEL Core2Duo - AMD Athlon X2 AM2 (2.0GHz and up) iNTEL, for me, left a big hole in the budget market. This is why I would recommend AMD for budget systems with integrated VGA e.g. nVidia 6100/6150 chipset. EDIT: I take "It’s your choice but jcarle is pushing you with his sales talk here." back, but I got a little p***ed there .

"It's flawed because I'm talking about upgradeability with technology available today. You're talking about upgradeability with technology that doesn't even exist yet." So upgrade with today’s technology, which will be old(er) tomorrow. "You can prepare yourself to be able to upgrade to every new technology available in the future, of course not. But you can research and make decisions to give you the most options in the future." What options are you talking about? Look 2 years into the future; there will still be DDR2, but faster. For example, 667MHz in a 1333MHz FSB clocked motherboard. Months (not years) from now, the CPUs will have a DIE-shrink to 65nm or 45nm which needs updated voltage regulators. Soon most Intel CPUs will have 1333FSB. Why buy an expensive but non-upgradeable motherboard? Why buy the worst CPU you can find? "That's simply not true. People are still upgrading Socket 370 and Socket A machines, so you're way off on that one. And simply because they come out with a 1333FSB processor in the future that means that a 1066FSB processor is bottom line? Again simply untrue." Read my statements above. "So you screw your customers by selling them a $2000 computer of which they will never use it's full potential because it's the "best choice on the market" when they could have saved $1500 and bought something more to the level of what they really use it for?" I don’t sell them a computer of $2000 when a $1500 PC is fine. I discuss current and future intentions and base a good sales decision from that conversation. "You haven't proved anything, and I haven't broken with anything I've said. All you've proved is that you're trying to win a who's got the biggest penis contest when all I did was try to provide information." You seem hypocritical by saying one thing then another. Read over the posts again because I’m not going to quote you again. And about that penis; Size doesn’t matter, its how you use it and how much time you used it. Go with your trophy, I don’t need it. "So you're saying that even AMD's greatest workhorse can't run little old Windows 98, yet Intel's entire range from Budget to Extreme Performance can all run Windows 98. Nice to know." What can I say; removing 16bit instructions gives you more space on the DIE for 64bit instructions. jcarle, dude, keep it cool, it was not suppose to be a cock fight .

Your IDE drives will be placed infront of SATA drives, no matter how you set the boot drive preferences Most BIOSes will detect PATA first over SATA, however you are wrong with your statement and you can choose in most BIOSes where to boot from, it doesn’t mater if it PATA, SATA or even USB-HDD.

I go with the others, driver problem. De-install the driver and install it again without ATI control panel. I also would check the voltage on the PCI-E/AGP port.

Is this the tower or the desktop model?

Stick with the 2.4GHz CPU I would say. You can OC it a bit if you like but don’t throw more voltage on it if you are worried about heat. Most of the time a new hard drive or more RAM will give you more performance boost.

It would be better if a MOD moves this Topic to the Network section. So it only disconnects with IRC? And when you use FTP or just a plain download from the net?