Thinking of a new motherboard/CPU

  • Thread starter ghsnu
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ghsnu

ghsnu

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Tucson, AZ
spedy7
Finally have some money gathered and was thinking of a new motherboard and CPU. Only issue is, I have a little over $100 - enough for a decent one. Current motherboard is a K8M800-M7A with an AMD 3000+ 2.0GHz overclocked to 2.32GHz.

Is Intel better than AMD? I know dualcore's are better, but is a dualcore 2.4GHz better than a singlecore 3.0 (example)? Is it possible to reuse my old motherboard and find a newer CPU that'll fit?
 
ghsnu
Finally have some money gathered and was thinking of a new motherboard and CPU. Only issue is, I have a little over $100 - enough for a decent one. Current motherboard is a K8M800-M7A with an AMD 3000+ 2.0GHz overclocked to 2.32GHz.

Is Intel better than AMD? I know dualcore's are better, but is a dualcore 2.4GHz better than a singlecore 3.0 (example)? Is it possible to reuse my old motherboard and find a newer CPU that'll fit?
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Intel is better in some respects. But if you're looking to save money and still have an upgrade, you should go with an AMD based solution. What sort of things are you liking to do with your upgrade? Do you already have a graphics card of some sort? Edit: scratch that last thought.
 
bergauk
Intel is better in some respects. But if you're looking to save money and still have an upgrade, you should go with an AMD based solution. What sort of things are you liking to do with your upgrade? Do you already have a graphics card of some sort? Edit: scratch that last thought.
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Graphics card should hold up for a year or so (ATI HD3650). I usually play some games - most of them are a few years old (COD4, WAW, Most Wanted...even NFS High Stakes lol), with a few exceptions (Garry's Mod, FSX, Rigs Of Rods) - and browse the interwebz. YouTube and iTunes nowadays is quite laggy though.

I did find this for $40. From what I've read, it's decent. I just don't know if it'll work with my motherboard. I also found this one for $25 more.

I was also thinking of going to my local tech store and getting a 1GB stick of 400MHz DDR memory ($30). Would I be able to use that with the 512MB 266MHz stick that I already have?

Edit: Searching around for motherboards and finding a few "cheap" ones for about $50. Only problem is, they all lack AGP slots and 20-pin power connectors. I'm assuming this means I'd need a new power supply too?
 
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Well sadly. AGP is long gone, that's why I asked about the graphics solution. The new standard is currently PCI-e, and will be for quite a long time. What is your budget at the moment? Because I'd honestly just recommend a whole new computer with the hardware you're running on.
 
You're at the point where the next logical upgrade step is full rebuild.

I suggest saving up more and going with newer technology. Its really not going to cost you that much more and waiting will ensure you're buying parts that have the most bang for their buck.

You're going to be paying a premium for parts as dated as those; primarily because it is all going to be end of life or no longer made. For example you're going at paying $30 for 1 GB of DDR memory (which no you can not use with what you have). I have found 8 GB DDR3 memory for as low as that.

bergauk
Well sadly. AGP is long gone, that's why I asked about the graphics solution. The new standard is currently PCI-e, and will be for quite a long time. What is your budget at the moment? Because I'd honestly just recommend a whole new computer with the hardware you're running on.
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^This guy 👍
 
Yeah, figured that when I saw 99% of the motherboards being PCI-E.

Current budget is about $120...which probably isn't enough for a full rebuild. Kinda surprised a decent PC is actually quite cheap. $50 motherboard, $60 CPU, $15-$30 for gigs of RAM, $70 for an ok graphics card, $20 for a power supply...$230 computer (2/3 the price mine was).
 
ghsnu
Yeah, figured that when I saw 99% of the motherboards being PCI-E.

Current budget is about $120...which probably isn't enough for a full rebuild. Kinda surprised a decent PC is actually quite cheap. $50 motherboard, $60 CPU, $15-$30 for gigs of RAM, $70 for an ok graphics card, $20 for a power supply...$230 computer (2/3 the price mine was).
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You're forgetting a few things that raise the price up a bit. But that's pretty much the basics for a really cheap PC. I'd recommend an AMD FM1 based system as it'll be cheaper. Or if you can save up enough, maybe a laptop? Check Newegg's refurbished machines for some good deals.

It's too bad not many people knew about the screw-up that HP had a few nights ago. One of my friends showed me it, you could get an FX8100 based tower fully loaded for 120$ because they messed up on the discount price.. I thought it was hilarious.
 
If I were I would get an Intel Motherboard, but make sure the one you get is Future Proof, that way over the years you shall save money...
 

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