I'm looking into upgrading from my P4 to a budget price range, since this PC would only be used for DPP and PS, netsurfing and limited MSoffice work...I don't do a lot of 'batch' loading...just one file at a time...I'm not doing any mass production work...I'm using PS6 and don't plan on getting CS# for now...
Have found 2 desktops with these two processers in my PC price range...
Both PCs use shared RAM for display, but I have a VidCard (GeForce 6200/128mg with DVI output), to install...I'd install 4gb RAM into both PCs...
Here are my CPU options...
Core 2 Duo E4300(1.80GHz) which I've read good things about (it can be OC'd easily/safely...)
VS…..
AMD Athlon 64 X2 6000+ 3.0GHz about which I know little...
The Intel comes in at $350, ($100 less than the AMD) which seems like a good deal...
Thank you for any thoughts/ideas/recommendation/advice you can offer.
One thing I will comment on is that the e4300 has very little cache, 2m and some of the other models have much more. There is quite a difference in speed although the e4300 will be a jump from where you are now.
An E8400 CPU from Intel would be much much better and the price is around $165, not sure how tight your budget is .. This puts you at a 6meg cache and 3.0ghz stock.
I thought of getting more cache...but we're now looking at a $750-800 pc (vs. $350)...more than I can spend now...given my P4 with 512kb cache, I imagine even the e4300 would seem like lightning...the MB can take up to an e6700 with 4mb L2 cache, if I want to upgrade someday when its price comes down...(an e6320 ($140ish) has 4mb L2 cache, so that may be a possible upgrade too...)
I wouldn't bother with an AMD right now - they're slower and use more power. As for the intels, the E4300 does have a small cache but it will overclock past 3Ghz given the right motherboard. I've not seen any tests on CS4, but the benchmarks i've seen for CS2 and CS3 suggest little if any performance penalty for having the smaller cache. If you plan to use virtual machines (VMWare etc) be aware that the E4300 has the VM extensions turned off.
If you can get an E6320 or E6420 for a minimum upgrade cost it might be worth it - both come with 4Mb cache and VM extensions turned on. Both also overclock well.
jay tieger wrote:
I thought of getting more cache...but we're now looking at a $750-800 pc (vs. $350)...more than I can spend now...given my P4 with 512kb cache, I imagine even the e4300 would seem like lightning...the MB can take up to an e6700 with 4mb L2 cache, if I want to upgrade someday when its price comes down...
As I noted late...the e6300 would be +$140...less whatever I can get for selling the e4300...so that wouldn't be too bad an upgrade, after the 90-day warranty is up...
...don't see me using VM anytime soon either, so starting out with the e4300 seems like a reasonable pc @ $350...considering that each of my past 3 PCs (PII-266, PIII-800, P4-2.4) were $1000 new.
davekone wrote:
Should be a $50 difference?
$50 perhaps for just the cpu, but the PCs with it seem to be +++$350...the e6700 is premium priced...but there is another option, the e6320, that would be about a $50 diff...thanx...
I get the impression from your post that you're planning on buying a pre-built system, rather than building one yourself. Be advised that most purchased systems don't give you the option to overclock (if that's what you're planning on doing).
BobCollette wrote:
I get the impression from your post that you're planning on buying a pre-built system, rather than building one yourself. Be advised that most purchased systems don't give you the option to overclock (if that's what you're planning on doing).
"Another important change is that Allendale sits on an 800MHz front-side bus (200MHz quad-pumped). In comparison, Conroe boasts a 1066MHz FSB. This change reduces peak system bandwidth from 8.5GB/sec in Conroe to 6.4GB/sec in Allendale, but as we’ll show you shortly, once overclocked Allendale is capable of hitting FSB speeds well beyond 1066MHz.
With its 200MHz FSB and 9.0x multiplier, Intel’s Core 2 Duo E4300 runs at 1.8GHz (9.0x200). It’s because of this 9.0 multiplier that the E4300 has been highly anticipated among enthusiasts and overclockers, as you won’t have to hit as high FSB speed to get a high CPU overclock. To hit the 3.0GHz mark for instance, the E4300 needs an FSB speed of just 333.5MHz. In comparison, Intel’s previous budget Core 2 CPU, the E6300, requires an FSB speed of 429MHz. As you can imagine, it’s a lot easier finding a motherboard that will hit 333MHz FSB than one that can go to 429MHz with complete stability. Another bonus of this lower multiplier is that you can OC the CPU to very far levels without having to resort to using pricey memory: good ‘ol DDR2-800 should do just fine."[tho this OEM PC's MB maxes out @ DDR2-667]
2 other notes...the Athlon seems to match up well to the e6700 and that the $difference$ is not $100 but only $40...
Most production PCs (Dell, HP, Compaq, etc.) don't have the BIOS settings to allow the user to overclock the CPU. It's generally only the component motherboards (Asus, Gigabyte, MSI, etc.) that give you all of the options to control the FSB/Multiplier/Vcore, etc. Some of the smaller computer builders (local Mom & Pop shops) use the same motherboards and components that you or I would buy if building a computer, so they would have the capability to be overclocked.
Lets not get too excited by the overclocking thing. The OP is on a budget and overclocking friendly kit is going to cost extra: The the 3-3.5Ghz overclocks require more expensive cpu cooling, motherboards capable of more sophisticated voltage control and better cases with decent airflow. Its also quite a lot of work to research and spec the right kit if you aren't already in the know. You might just be better getting a standard spec PC you know can take a quad core or high end dual core later on.
There will be many OEM bargains out there this holiday season, and I'm disappointed that their BIOS is "locked" to users...the e4300 seemed easy and safe to OC with stock fans/heatsink/RAM (by changing the multiplier) even if doesn't get from 1.8 all the way to 3.5 ...oh well...at least the MB in the one I'm looking at now can take 4gb RAM which I'll put in from day 1, (my 5yr old P4 VAIO could only take 1gb and a Salvation Army P4 pickup only 2mb), and the e6700 (with its 4mb L2 cache), so I have some upgrade options...who knows, perhaps in a couple of years I can pick up a quad/mb combo cheap...
Thanx to all for your input...
and a Salvation Army P4 pickup only 2mb), and the e6700 (with its 4mb L2 cache), so I have some upgrade options...who knows, perhaps in a couple of years I can pick up a quad/mb combo cheap...