upgrading motherboard, and questions on processors

[socref]

Hello, everyone. I ask your opinions/guidance on upgrading my wife's computer -- specifically as to motherboard and processor choice.

Currently she has an MSI K8N NEO4 Platinum board with an AMD ADA3200DAA4BP Athlon 64 processor and 2 GB of Corsair TWINX2048-3200PT memory. The form factor is ATX.

In addition to the usual stuff everyone does with computers she would also like to be able to work with home videos. She'd probably prefer to stay with AMD processors (though not an absolute requirement). We're thinking of moving up from a single processor board, so here are my questions.

1) What significant differences would there be with dual processors as opposed to a single dual-core processor? Is there a reason to go one way or the other? (A **significant** cost difference would be a consideration.)

2) Based on question number 1, can you recommend a motherboard? Please note that we must keep the ATX form factor (want to use the same case).

3) Then based on both questions #1 and 2, can you recommend either a single core processor (and I'll buy two of them) or, alternatively, a dual-core processor?

4) Finally, for either two processors or one dual-core processor would you think 2 GB of memory will be sufficient or would she really need 4 GB to get performance from such processor(s)?

Thanks for your thoughts and suggestions and anything else you might comment.

socref

[malcolmlewis]

Originally Posted by socref

Hello, everyone. I ask your opinions/guidance on upgrading my wife's
computer -- specifically as to motherboard and processor choice.

Currently she has an MSI K8N NEO4 Platinum board with an AMD
ADA3200DAA4BP Athlon 64 processor and 2 GB of Corsair TWINX2048-3200PT
memory. The form factor is ATX.

In addition to the usual stuff everyone does with computers she would
also like to be able to work with home videos. She'd probably prefer to
stay with AMD processors (though not an absolute requirement). We're
thinking of moving up from a single processor board, so here are my
questions.

1) What significant differences would there be with dual processors as
opposed to a single dual-core processor? Is there a reason to go one way
or the other? (A **significant** cost difference would be a
consideration.)

2) Based on question number 1, can you recommend a motherboard? Please
note that we must keep the ATX form factor (want to use the same case).

3) Then based on both questions #1 and 2, can you recommend either a
single core processor (and I'll buy two of them) or, alternatively, a
dual-core processor?

4) Finally, for either two processors or one dual-core processor would
you think 2 GB of memory will be sufficient or would she really need 4
GB to get performance from such processor(s)?

Thanks for your thoughts and suggestions and anything else you might
comment.

socref

Hi
A cheap option if it's socket 939, see if you can pickup a X2
processor assuming that board supports it?

I would imagine that upgrading the motherboard to a dual/quad core
would also mean upgrading you power supply and possibly your video card
as well as ram. Probably would be cheaper to look for a prebuilt
system....

I do simple video processing here and find the dual core with 2GB runs
fine using handbrake to convert to mp4.

--
Cheers Malcolm °¿° (Linux Counter #276890)
SUSE Linux Enterprise Desktop 11 (x86_64) Kernel 2.6.27.29-0.1-default
up 1 day 17:44, 2 users, load average: 0.00, 0.02, 0.00
GPU GeForce 8600 GTS Silent - CUDA Driver Version: 190.18

[tom_enos]

a single dual core or quad core is going to be cheaper and simpler to setup. most of the dual cpu motherboards out there are either high-end workstation or server motherboards (expensive), or very outdated, so just finding a dual cpu motherboard for a single core processor might be a problem. malcolmlewis has the right idea for you. just get a prebuilt from one of the big OEM's $400-$500 for a modern machine as apposed to $200-$250 for a mb cpu combo + $50-$75 for a powersupply + another $75-$100 for a new video card, $30-$50 for memory that's $350-$375 min. and you have to put it together, clean and inspect the reused parts. so for $50-$150 more it's assembled, has a warranty (I don't know about you but my wife likes that word), looks brand new, and with probably include things like a bigger hard drive then you have now, a new dvd player/writer, a new keyboard and mouse and little things like that.

[socref]

Thanks to Malcolm and Tom for these very helpful suggestions. Any other considerations from anyone?

socref

[tom_enos]

found this
PCLinuxOS Intel Systems
Intel Dual Core E5200 Processor
MSI Intel Chipset Motherboard
2 GB DDR2 Kingston Memory
250 GB SATA
DVDR/RW Drive
Keyboard/Optical Mouse
2 Piece Black Speaker Set
400W Silver/Black Case

comes with PCLinuxOS pre-installed for $359us
or this
SYSPCLOSA4200

PCLinuxOS pre-installed
ATX mid tower 400w
AMD Athlon 64 X2 5200+
NVIDIA nforce w/GF 6100 gpu
DVDRW-DL Drive
250GB SATA2 7200rpm
DDR2 2GB 667MHZ

With 2GB memory for just $319.00us

[socref]

Thanks! We'll check out these two you found. Appreciate the information.

socref

[socref]

Originally Posted by tom_enos

found this
PCLinuxOS Intel Systems

(snip)


or this
SYSPCLOSA4200

Gurus (especially hardware gurus...)

Has anyone purchased from this company or know anyone who has?

They offer the following which looked quite interesting to my wife:

"MAX"
* This system includes...
* PCLinuxOS 2009.2 pre-installed
* Compu Case 400w ATX Full Tower
* AMD Phenom X3 8450+ CPU (3x2.1Ghz)
* MSI K9N2GM mATX 6XSATA Chipset
NVIDIA® GeForce 8200
* 4G 800MHZ DDR2 NON-ECC
* 320G SATA-300 7200RPM
* LITE-ON 22X DVD LIGHTSCRIBE
GEFORCE 9400GT 1GB 2X DVI

$579.00

We already have two 1.5 TB external hard-drives that we could connect, so the small HD that comes with this box is not an issue.

She'd strip off the OS loaded on the box and install SuSE 11.1.

Any thoughts on this hardware? Do you see positive or negative issues with anything in this system?

Thanks, gurus!
socref

[rthoreau]

That still seems a little pricey, I would suggest looking at this site for good deals. I have used them in the past and they seem to have good deals and free shipping if your in the US.

3B Tech - Buy computer parts, notebooks, desktops, electronics and more!

Now if you feel up to it I would say build your own, as most cheap systems come with sub par power supplies and memory that is generic. If you don't need a monitor you should be able to build your system for well under your cost with good parts that will last many years. But if your doing the TCO nothing can beat the cost of a OEM system even with cheap parts the price point can't be beat if you really want the best price.

[malcolmlewis]

Originally Posted by socref

tom_enos;2044104 Wrote:
> found this
> 'PCLinuxOS Intel Systems' (http://tinyurl.com/y8jzssq)
>
> (snip)
>
>
> or this
> 'SYSPCLOSA4200' (http://tinyurl.com/yavcz9f)
>

Gurus (especially hardware gurus...)

Has anyone purchased from this company or know anyone who has?

They offer the following which looked quite interesting to my wife:

"MAX"
* This system includes...
* PCLinuxOS 2009.2 pre-installed
* Compu Case 400w ATX Full Tower
* AMD Phenom X3 8450+ CPU (3x2.1Ghz)
* MSI K9N2GM mATX 6XSATA Chipset
NVIDIA® GeForce 8200
* 4G 800MHZ DDR2 NON-ECC
* 320G SATA-300 7200RPM
* LITE-ON 22X DVD LIGHTSCRIBE
GEFORCE 9400GT 1GB 2X DVI

$579.00

We already have two 1.5 TB external hard-drives that we could connect,
so the small HD that comes with this box is not an issue.

She'd strip off the OS loaded on the box and install SuSE 11.1.

Any thoughts on this hardware? Do you see positive or negative issues
with anything in this system?

Thanks, gurus!
socref

Hi
I guess it depends on your budget, it will get to a point that getting
the parts and upgrading your system may be a cheaper option as pointed
out in rthoreau's post.

I wonder if you might consider getting a raptor 10K drive which will
add some performance benefits but only 150GB since you have external
storage?

I use 2x36GB raptors that have been running for just over 34000
Power On Hours now.

Not sure about a 400W supply, it may be a bit light, would suggest
checking some of the online power supply calculators.

--
Cheers Malcolm °¿° (Linux Counter #276890)
SUSE Linux Enterprise Desktop 11 (x86_64) Kernel 2.6.27.29-0.1-default
up 4 days 17:45, 2 users, load average: 0.10, 0.27, 0.25
GPU GeForce 8600 GTS Silent - CUDA Driver Version: 190.18

[socref]

Originally Posted by rthoreau

That still seems a little pricey, I would suggest looking at this site for good deals. I have used them in the past and they seem to have good deals and free shipping if your in the US.

3B Tech - Buy computer parts, notebooks, desktops, electronics and more!

Now if you feel up to it I would say build your own, as most cheap systems come with sub par power supplies and memory that is generic. If you don't need a monitor you should be able to build your system for well under your cost with good parts that will last many years. But if your doing the TCO nothing can beat the cost of a OEM system even with cheap parts the price point can't be beat if you really want the best price.

Tom, Malcolm, rthoreau (and others!),

I went to the site referenced above and spoke with the sales folks. Here is a possibility. I ask your thoughts on:

1) value for the $$
2) expectations that SuSE 11.1 and afterwards will play nice with it.

Midtower case with Viotek 600W power supply
Biostar GF8100 M2+TE motherboard
AMD Phenom II Quad Core 920 -- 2.8 Ghz
4GB DDR2-6400 RAM (likely to be generic brand)
500 GB SATA hard drive
18X dual layer DVD-RW/CD-RW
2 extra 80mm case fans

Note: this system as priced would rely on the motherboard's video and 5.1 audio chips as well as 10/100 network connection.

$455.98 including shipping

So, gurus....

1) Is this good value for the price?
2) Are the components good, bad, indifferent?

For example, is generic memory something to be avoided? Should I instead go for Corsair or Kingston or some other name brand?

Is the memory board and processor combination something at the tail end of current, mid-level technology, or is this pretty good stuff?

We fully expect that adding dedicated sound and video cards might (will?) be necessary. But for the price, is this a good deal? Again, my wife wants to be able to capture, composite, and edit audio and video with programs such as Cinelerra.

Thanks for your wisdom!
socref