Curse

Raiin Maker · Apr 05, 2008, 08:35 PM // 20:35

I'm addicted, my PC is barely over a year old and its almost not the same one i bought. I won't rest until my PC has had a complete overhaul, however there are money issues.

Firstly my current hard-drive is 7,200 RPM.

Replacing my motherboard is a must, due to the fact my IPod regularly crashes, and my current one has no Firewire, meaning hours of waiting to get it back. It also has no PCI-E 2.0 port, meaning my graphics card is currently being held back by it, I'd also like the opportunity in the future to SLI my cards, should it be cheaper than buying a new 9800+ card.

My CPU is a 2.4Ghz AMD 4600+. What i am looking at is the 3.2Ghz 6400+ Black Edition.

Now would a new processor be faster than a either 10,000 or 15,000 RPM hard drive? I'm reluctant to buy the hard drive as its more expensive than the CPU, and it also means i have to once again re-install my entire PC, but this time making sure any unnecessary programs aren't installed, due to the limited size of the faster hard drives.

Should fate smile kindly upon me i may be blessed with the good fortune of being able to buy both, however until this non-believer gets on his knees and prays I'm afraid he's going to have to compromise.... for now.

Malice Black · Apr 05, 2008, 08:37 PM // 20:37

CPU. 7500rpm HDD is plenty fast enough for regular use.

BlueNovember · Apr 05, 2008, 08:53 PM // 20:53

Quote:

Originally Posted by Raiin Maker

I'm addicted, my PC is barely over a year old and its almost not the same one i bought. I won't rest until my PC has had a complete overhaul, however there are money issues.

Heh. Sounds like a software clean out would be a lot cheaper. Hard to justify doing a major overhaul on a pc ~1 yr old.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Raiin Maker

Replacing my motherboard is a must, due to the fact my IPod regularly crashes, and my current one has no Firewire, meaning hours of waiting to get it back.

Surely buying a firewire card would be cheaper?

Quote:

Originally Posted by Raiin Maker

My CPU is a 2.4Ghz AMD 4600+. What i am looking at is the 3.2Ghz 6400+ Black Edition.

Unless you're playing the latest games at top spec or doing some serious media editing you really don't need a processor above what you already have.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Raiin Maker

Now would a new processor be faster than a either 10,000 or 15,000 RPM hard drive?

The hard drive. It's the only mechanical part of the pc involved in the data read/manipulate/write cycle, and thus always a massive bottleneck. You may want to consider the significant different in heat and noise output with a faster drive though.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Raiin Maker

I'm reluctant to buy the hard drive as [it] means i have to once again re-install my entire PC

You could use software such as Norton Ghost or Partition Magic to clone your old drive onto your new drive. No re-installation necessary. (Do not do this if you replace your motherboard though; windows would have a fit).

GL HTH

Brianna · Apr 05, 2008, 08:56 PM // 20:56

You'll benefit way more from the new processor, the 6400 is pretty nice, I have a 6000+ and I love it.

FXCW · Apr 05, 2008, 09:12 PM // 21:12

You could always splash out on a solid state HD

Admael · Apr 05, 2008, 09:29 PM // 21:29

The 6400+ Black Edition has no HSF because it's AMD's attempt to target overclockers. It has an unlocked multiplier allowing you to do just that, so unless you plan to overclock, stick with the standard 6400+ which includes a HSF (cheaper too).

I've said awhile back, all 7200 RPM drives are not the same. Recently, Seagate (and WD) released a 320GB 7200.11 drive on a single platter. What this means to you is low noise and vibration. Also, essentially, the burst (useless lol) speed, random access/seek time are superior to older 7200 RPM drives too.

Loviatar · Apr 05, 2008, 11:01 PM // 23:01

[QUOTE]

Quote:

Originally Posted by BlueNovember

The hard drive. It's the only mechanical part of the pc involved in the data read/manipulate/write cycle, and thus always a massive bottleneck. You may want to consider the significant different in heat and noise output with a faster drive though.

disagree completely.

my WD enterprise edition with 320 gig/SATA/16 MB buffer works great with 4 gigs of good fast dual channel DDR2 memory.

that is enough to buffer the 7200rpm drive

turning down a hotter CPU for a hi speed brag HD is nuts for any practical use including gaming

also none less than MAXIMUM PC MAG stated the latest SATA big cashe drives were perfect except for the big pocket spenders who want bragging rights

Raiin Maker · Apr 05, 2008, 11:16 PM // 23:16

I've already got a pretty good HSF, and my current idle of my CPU is 25 degrees. (note that this case has useless airflow, only the PSU is drawing any heat out from the case).

I will have a new case by the time i purchase the CPU, and the chances are i will over clock it upon the release of some new games.

I am a fairly intense gamer, thus my desire for better parts, so its not like they aren't going to be used to the full.

Blackhearted · Apr 05, 2008, 11:23 PM // 23:23

If you already have a "pretty good" heatsink, which i would assume means it isnt the stock one, why not just overclock if you need the extra power? If that x2 is of the brisbane core it'll take it rather easily.

Raiin Maker · Apr 05, 2008, 11:34 PM // 23:34

Because at the moment over clocking my CPU would most likely melt my machine.

Like i said earlier while my fans may be good, my case is basically a box, with the only air coming out of it being that from the PSU. Over clocking my CPU at the moment would most likely melt/crash my PC.

Apart from gaming i take Media Studies as an A-Leveling, editing massive movies with lots of effects can take its toll, epically when i like running scans and other stuff in the background as well.

Another reason i could do with a new CPU is because i have lots of spare PC parts lying around, and if i were to replace a few from my current machine i could actually make a second computer, which while i personally am not in great need of, the rest of my family do still have an old 2ghz single core.

Numa Pompilius · Apr 05, 2008, 11:35 PM // 23:35

Another vote for processor. Your harddisk should be a complete non-issue unless you have 512MB RAM or less.

eggrolls · Apr 06, 2008, 12:18 AM // 00:18

Especially since you're going to be editing movies, I'd go for a new processor. At least a dual-core, or a quad core if you think you can utilize more than 2 cores at once (like gaming while encoding/rendering/etc).

Since you're replacing your motherboard, going Intel is also an option, especially if your HSF is also compatible with LGA775.

Quaker · Apr 06, 2008, 02:29 AM // 02:29

Quote:

Originally Posted by Raiin Maker

..Firstly my current hard-drive is 7,200 RPM.

I don't think you'd see any noticeable real-world performance increase by going to a higher rpm drive. You'd be better off, price/performance-wise, to get two 7200rpm's in a RAID0 array. (It's also more techy sounding.

)

Quote:

My CPU is a 2.4Ghz AMD 4600+. What i am looking at is the 3.2Ghz 6400+ Black Edition.

Since you're planning to change your motherboard anyway, you may want to consider either an Intel Core 2 Dual or Quad core. They have the performance edge in the upper end (although, it would mean more dollars). Or you could go for a Phenom.

Since you say you're not going to overclock it, I would agree that you may as well get a regular 6400+ (or Phenom) with the stock HSF. If for no other reason, than at least you'll have a fan to go with the old cpu & mobo, which you could sell or give to someone.

Admael · Apr 06, 2008, 03:24 AM // 03:24

I didn't want to confuse you before, but might as well give you all the facts since it's been brought up.

The B3s have been released!!! That includes AMD's Phenom 9550 (195USD), 9750 (215USD), 9850 Black Edition (244USD).

Brianna · Apr 06, 2008, 03:27 AM // 03:27

Quote:

Originally Posted by Admael

I didn't want to confuse you before, but might as well give you all the facts since it's been brought up.

The B3s have been released!!! That includes AMD's Phenom 9550 (195USD), 9750 (215USD), 9850 Black Edition (244USD).

Those are AM2 socket right? (Didn't check)

So If i wanted to get one of those, I could easily just ditch my 6000+ and put one in? Or is it not that easy?

Blackhearted · Apr 06, 2008, 03:44 AM // 03:44

Quote:

Originally Posted by Brianna

Those are AM2 socket right? (Didn't check)

So If i wanted to get one of those, I could easily just ditch my 6000+ and put one in? Or is it not that easy?

They're AM2+, an upgrade of sorts over normal AM2. From what i've read before AMD says that AM2+ cpus should work in normal AM2 boards, and vice versa. But you probably should check the site of your motherboard manufacturer just to be sure if your board could handle it.(if it's not an AM2+ board)

Admael · Apr 06, 2008, 04:01 AM // 04:01

You can put an AM2+ chip into an AM2 board, but it will only run at HT2.0 instead of HT3.0

Same with the AM3 processors. You can put them into an AM2/AM2+ board but you can't put an AM2/AM2+ processor into an AM3 board.

Brianna · Apr 06, 2008, 04:13 AM // 04:13

So It's backwards compatible in other words.

My mobo manual says this: Accommodates AMD Athlon 64 X2 Dual-Core/Athlon 64/Sempron Processors.

Supports up to 2000 MT/s HyperTransprot (HT) Interface speeds.

So.. what's that mean?

EDIT: Sorry for sort of highjacking, just thought I'd ask.

Admael · Apr 06, 2008, 04:39 AM // 04:39

No problem, but we're going to go into a bit of detail here.

AMD chips have no FSB, per se, and uses HT technology as a replacement for their modern chips (Intel on the other hand, got rid of HT after Pentium->Core).

Basically describes the amount of data (in the form of packets) that can be moved (MT's per second).

Your board supports 1GB HT, or 2000 MT/s, meaning even if you get a Phenom, it'll just run at that speed... (The new Phenoms rum at 4000 MT/s)

Brianna · Apr 06, 2008, 04:42 AM // 04:42

So in other words It'd be a bad idea to get it, wasn't going to - just asking for informational purposes.

Since you mention Intel, is a Core 2 Duo 2.6Ghz better than an AMD Athlon 6000+?