Should I get a new CPU or should I wiat till I get a whole new motherboard and system. I am considiering getting a new CPU, but I have a socket 754 slot and the best CPU I have found for it is a Athlon 64 3200+ Venice configuration. Its only $55 at Newegg. The question is it worth it or should I just wait till I have enough money put away from a Core 2 Duo system that I will be getting at the end of the year?

 

Decisions! What do you guys think?

Edited February 7, 200718 yr by Sand

Wait... Soon it will be time for a serious system upgrade, may aswell buy a new one.

For a mere $55.00 you can get a CPU upgrade? I say go for it. How big of a jump up is it over your existing CPU?

55 isen't very much, even if you upgrade everything you will still have your old computer with the upgrade for LAN battles, or server or whatever. You can always find something to use an extra computer for.

My current CPU is a POS Sempron 64 3400. Hardworking, but still...

Edited February 7, 200718 yr by Sand

Do you feel you have $55 to spare, and will spending it now significantly impact your ability to upgrade in the near future?

Yes, and for the most part no.

the perfomance gain will not be very significant, but if you've got 55$ left, why not... it will probably allow you to enjoy the time till the end of the year a bit more.

Edited February 9, 200718 yr by samm

I can't speak for the Venice configuration, but my Athlon64 3200+ (939 socket) isn't too great with newer games. I can't run NWN2 with everything enabled/maximized even at 1024x768 resolution, and HL2:Episode 2 will probably require me to turn off/down a few settings. (Episode 1 is borderline, Lost Coast is even slower) On the other hand, it runs all the older isometric games (some of which I really enjoy) like lightning. I can OC it to gain 2.22Ghz (from 2.0) and that helps with the newer games, but it's still not enough for my preferences (60+ FPS with everything maximized at 1680x1050, my monitor's native resolution).

 

I'm considering the fastest of the Athlon64FX quad-core processors, though I don't know if there's a laptop variation. I prefer to build my own system so a desktop model is the only kind I shop for. I usually have several apps running at once unless I'm running a newer game, so a multi-processor core is the way to go for me.

So I wouldn't get any significant performance boost with the CPU?

All I could find for a comparison is this link with vague icons instead of hard numbers: http://www.amd.com/us-en/Processors/Comput...9_13253,00.html

 

You'll get a performance increase, but I have no idea how much. The processor you're looking at isn't AMD's current Turion series, which is probably why it's in the bargain bin. But it's still apparently better than your low-end Sempron (low according to AMD's current lists.)

Well, I did some checking and it seems that I am just going to wait on it. When I have a about a couple grand saved up I am just going to get a whole new computer. Thanks for your guys' input.

Edited February 9, 200718 yr by Sand

I say go Conroe, or by the time you upgrade then maybe Penryn will be out so you can go for that one.

I was thining to upgrade my Socket 754 cpu but the options available wouldn't increase it all that much. I am just going to wait til I can afford a Core 2 Duo system.

That's how I felt 2 months back; either stick with the Dell XPS and upgrade from a P4 to a Pentium D, or toss it all and go Conroe. In which I chose the latter, which was the wisest maneuver.