I know this is way off topic for this forum but i thought you guys know a bit about computers so i'll ask here.

My mother offered to pay for a cpu(chip) + motherboard upgrade for me. Only thing is i have no idea what to get plus i'm confused on something.

I was looking at getting a 3gig cpu, problem is the Athlon chip is cheaper than the intell one but i got told by two different shops the Athlon XP3000 isn't a 3gig cpu and that the XP3000 you see on the box is actually the model of the cpu not it size in ghz yet i got told by a dealer that wants to sell it to me that it is a 3ghz cpu. see why i'm confused now.

Message edited on: 11/08/2004 05:51

Replacing the MB is a great step for an upgrade. Couple things to keep in mind: Make sure you have the proper memory. Haven't been shopping in awhile although I know from past experience that it made sense to upgrade the memory with the board. Big one here: Power Supply. Check the specs on the MB for the required power, some of the older PS's can't keep up. Even if the requirements are 350-400 I would recommend a 450 or above. If you're bringing it to a Tech to do the work, he'll know all of this. But don't let him sell you something low quality with a marked up price. Ask what brand, go to the Manufacturers web site. Do some homework. Also check e-bay and a few other retail stores online to comparison shop. You may also want to check 3rd party reviews. (search: "Manufacturer Name" / Review) on google or MSN search. Yes, typically AMD's model name is a percentage UP from the actual Proc.Speed. (they round up for marketing) (my 1.7 benches at 1.43) Biggest thing, take a little time to do your homework. Good luck, let us know how you make out. ICM

The problem is that AMD followed Intel in naming, but their processors don't have the speed of the Intel chips. So your AMD 3000+ is an equivalent of a Pentium 3.0. That's why the salesman said it's a 3 GHz chip, although its nominal speed is not 3 GHz. The problem with a motherboard upgrade is that you'll probably need to buy new memory as well. That is, check the specs of your old M/B and see what kind of memory is there and then see what your new M/B takes. XP 3000 is not that new, and you shouldn't have problems with using the old memory, but check nevertheless.

I love your Mum! Would she buy an upgrade for me? ;-) Tell you what! Let's all be nice to LT's mum! I could use another ram stick and I bet you guys could use one too!

Sigh I have a laptop, maxed out on memory and no way to replace the M/B. Maybe LT's mum will buy me a desktop?!!!

ooh good idea Bryster! I could use an upgrade or two :D Okay, as for lunar's question: AMD's processors run at lower clockspeeds then Intel processors, however, it is not only the clockspeed that determines the speed of a CPU, the speed of a CPU is also (obviously) influenced by the internal structure of the CPU. This is why an AMD AthlonXP at say 2Ghz is faster then a Pentium 4 at 2Ghz. But by naming processors relative to their clockspeed, this wouldn't be very obvious to the average customer. This is why AMD started to name their processors with different numbers then the CPU's clockspeed. For instance, my 1800+ atlonxp runs at 1.53Ghz, but it is still much faster then a P4 would be at 1.53Ghz. A rule of thumb, like Erlik said, is that numbers of the AMD processors are supposed to be about the equivalent of the Intel CPU's speed. In practice, speeds do still vary, and a 3Ghz P4 is almost always faster then an AthlonXP3000+. However this difference is only very small and, in my opinion, doesn't really make up for the higher pricetag that goes with a P4. I would recommend to check out some CPU/mobo reviews and compared tests in computermags, or on the net to see which cpu/mobo combination gives you the most speed within your budget.

What is your system? What do you want to keep? I upgraded my motherboard a couple of times. My old all-in-wonder video card won't go into the new boards that are mostly agp. My 100 sdram would fit but it would slow down the 166 bus. When I went up to XP I had to buy a drive because XP won't run on fat 32. I wound up leaving my data on the old drive and installing a new operating system rather than formatting my old data and drawing files. So, what is your current operating system, motherboard, processor, memory configuration?

I've got an Athelon chip (don't remember what it is, but it's 'supposedly' 2 gig), on an ASUS system board. Motherboards aren't usually expensive (around $59-200, around this neck o' the woods). Memory and chips are what are gonna cost ya. The Intels are about twice what the AMD's are (well, hard to say, the computer place I buy stuff from marks prices in magic marker on a board..shows how often the prices change..;) Memory wasn't expensive, relatively, the last time I bought some (512meg for about $100), but make sure you get memory that works on the system board. To be honest, it might be worth your while to just have a tech do it for you. If you do (and I cannot stress this enough) Back up everything!..I thought I was safe backing up one HD to another, but the @#$% tech managed to erase both hard drives..grrr...;) Anyway, doesn't hurt to ask around

I'm in the process of building my own computer from scratch and I've run into the same problems. I've done quite a bit of research and I'm still just as confused. Intel does have higher clock speeds than comparable AMD chips. BUT, as ICM and Erlik and company have said, AMD chip architecture compensates for the lower clock speed. Its like a highway system. Intel's highway lets you move at 100 mph (162 kph) but their roads are complex so you have to travel a little farther to get to your destination. Whereas, AMD highways only let you go at 60 mph (100 kph), but their roads are laid out better so you get to where you're going in less time. But here's a curve ball. Intel has a maximum Front Side Bus (FSB) of 800 Mhz, whereas, AMD's FSB is half that speed, 400 Mhz. If the CPU is the highway, then the FSB is the on ramp. Intel chips let you move data between the motherboard and CPU faster. Both the AMD Athlon and Intel Pentium (Prescott) have a 64 bit pipeline. In other words they have 64 lanes of traffic flow instead of the older 32 lanes. So there is an argument that Intel has the edge in speed. But AMD's are less expensive. So, it depends on how deep you mother's pockets go.

electroglyph, i 'll answer your question first. My current operating system is win 98SE, AMD 1800+, 512mb ddr ram, not sure of the motherboard, 128mb 9600 radeon video card. If i can i want to only change the motherboard and chip for now. Later on mother dear will help me upgrade other things if i need them. Operating system is next on the list followed by a harddrive. I can get an AMD 3000 chip & mobo for nearly $400 but with some shopping around and double talking a sales person i can get the Pentium 4 2.8ghz chip and mobo for $350.00. Now that i know more about the AMD chips i can work out which way to go. Bryster i'll talk to my mother for you, she'll be in your neck of the woods at christmas time. You be a good boy between now and christmas and santa might give you that ram stick ;)

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No one's mentioned one of the most important things, 64 bit cpus, the athlon 64s romp all over the p4s and will do even more so if you try a 64 bit operating system (a windows beta is out but not full product - Linux rocks (but there again won't run Bryce (hint hint DAZ...)) you will not get better value for money then from an AMD cpu, if you're mum can't stretch to an Athlon 64, then get an athlon 64 mobo and the sempron 3100 - you can pick one up for less then 70 ($100 ish) and they rock. The down side to AMD XP chips is heat, make sure you buy a decent heatsink...... (and some arctic silver).

I see your win98se operating system being upgraded is a "later" thing.... I'm pretty sure that win98se gets a bit unstable if you feed it more than 512MB ram (though one of the tech guru's here might be able to confirm this) - something to do with it running out of memory naming convention or something. The problem becomes 100% fatal when you reach 1GB of ram under win98se (once again...one of the tech guru's here might be able to confirm this). So you might want a new OS if you're going for a lot of RAM.

Oh, Goody! LT's Mum is.....er.....I mean Santa's coming to town!

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Yeah, I'd say it's fast Swade! You shaved 44sec. off your previous render of the benchmark.