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Titel: New computer advice please
 Verfasst am: 02.08.2006, 19:14 Uhr
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Anmeldung: 16. Apr 2006
Beiträge: 207
Wohnort: England
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I'm looking around for a new computer.
I'm not really up on the technical doings with processors and memory etc but a computer that took my fancy is an AMD Athlon 64 3700+ with 1 gig ram and Nvidia GeForce 7600 512mb.
I assumed 3700 meant 3.7 GHz cpu speed but various articles I've read put that particular computer at anything from 1.9 to 2.6 GHz (mostly 2.2) whereas I read somewhere else that AMD call it 3700 because they consider it more technologically advanced and is the equivelant of a 3.7GHz pentium.
Can anyone tell me what's right and what's wrong? 2.2GHz doesn't seem much nowadays and isn't much more than my present comp, though I'm sure there are other things to take into account overall then just the cpu speed.
Would I be better getting this or a dual core 32 bit comp with faster cpu? |
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sidux 32 & 64 | PCLinuxOS | PC-BSD
repository of shame - compiz fusion & beryl repo for debian Sid/Lenny/Etch | 32-bit | 64-bit
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Titel:
Verfasst am: 02.08.2006, 19:47 Uhr
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Anmeldung: 25. Mar 2005
Beiträge: 2133
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If you're looking for an office type of computer for word processing and web surfing, anything with a 2 ghz cpu, 512 megs RAM and an onboard graphics chip will do nicely. (There are plenty of those on eBay.) Personally, I would recommend an AMD Sempron 3000+ and a low noise psu for such a system. Ghz numbers and "power ratings" are misleading because all modern desktop processors throttle down when system load is low.
However, if you're into gaming or a multimedia buff, your system can't be fast enough. As AMD has just lowered prices for its AM2 socket processors, a dual core Athlon64 X2 3800+ with 1 gig DDR2 RAM might be the right choice for you. |
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And I ain't got no worries 'cause I ain't in no hurry at all (Doobie Brothers, "Black Water").
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Titel:
Verfasst am: 02.08.2006, 20:08 Uhr
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Anmeldung: 09. Jan 2006
Beiträge: 1720
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the 2.200 MHz seen for the moment slow, but compared with the FSB CPU2MEM ist 400MHz fast enough. Wiith the new AM2-Amd's the FSB rises to 566MHz.
No there is no dual-core 32Bit-CPU around, but some serverboards with 2 cpu-sockets.
Dual-Core-Cpus from AMD are always 64-bit.
if you can wait 6 to 8 weeks, buying a new comoputer, do it. and than get an AM2-AMD with 3800 or 4000Mhz-Rating.
For now, only early samples, called REV.1 or early layouts are available and may not run stable enough.
32bit Systems I would not recommand them, because of rare support today. |
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Titel:
Verfasst am: 02.08.2006, 20:49 Uhr
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Anmeldung: 12. Mar 2005
Beiträge: 1005
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shame: the amd speed ratings reflect an equivalent processing capacity. Now that Intel has finally stopped its stupid raw speed in sacrifice of everything else amd might stop that naming convention as well.
AMD was forced to adopt that convention because consumers were too stupid to read the test data, where the amd was faster, so they started giving the equivalent, more or less, intel speed for achieving the same task, by benchmark. It's only now, with dual core, that intel has actually caught up to amd again, that's why intel lost a huge chunk of their market though, the pentium series turned into a power hog, super hot cpu that amd could beat anyway, at lower power, less heat, just because the design was superior.
the amd x2 3800 or 4200 are currently massively reduced in price for socket 939 mobos, x2 3800 currently sells for $150 US, which is what the single core amd 3000 sold for last month.
don't worry about the amd 64 bit naming, they are designed to run 32 bit natively, and they do. That's why they took the market by storm, you can run either 64 or 32 bit systems on them fine.
fsb bus speed, memory, if you do overclocking etc, fun stuff, but for normal users doing normal things, doesn't matter much. Computers have simply gotten too fast.
SATA II drives are far more important than memory speed or fsb speed, they transfer data much faster than sata 1 or pata [aka ide]. Dual core makes heavy processor tasks a breeze, but it's not necessary unless you really need it. For cpus the more L2 cache the better.
My amd single core 3000 64 bit runs generally at about 2.5-3% cpu with powersave on, running at a throttled 1000 megaherz speed instead of the normal 1.8 gigaherz/ My laptop, 1.4 gigaherz, runs throttled at around 600 megaherz and uses about 3.5-4% sitting there, a little more when I do stuff. It rarely needs to jump up the cpu frequency. So this megaherz thing is really getting kind of silly. If you do stuff like video processing, large compiling stuff, the dual core stuff is fantastic, any very large date type manipulation works very well with dual core, and that's the only time I could justify using it. I set up a client with dual x2 amd 3800 because she processes 100-200 mB media files constantly, with photoshop etc running huge files at the same time, and it's stunningly fast. I think I put 2 gigs of ram on that one if I remember right.
So it's your current and future needs, personally, I'd go with either amd x2 3800 or 4200, ddr2, socket 939, and whatever nvidia card met my requirements, plus sata II drives. With an antec sonata II case and a copper cpu quiet cooling fan/heatsink combination by thermaltake, usually labeled with 'silent' something. That machine would be stunningly fast when required, and whisper quiet. And it would cost about 600 or so usa, depending on the graphics card, with 1 gig ram. Unless you are a specialist etc, high end ram is a luxury that you will probably not be able to see a value for in side to side comparison with good quality name brand, but budget series, ram, like kingston, crucial/micron, or corsair make.
for mobo, I like getting the top rated from 1-2 years ago, from abit, msi, or asus. When you buy the best 1-2 years later, there is a massive savings, and it's still the same board that was rated the best. Never buy anything cheap, lowend, or you will always regret it. Onboard gigabit networking, usb II, firewire are must haves. good mobo sound is good too, then you don't need a sound card. Avoid via chipset based mobos like the plague. |
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Read more on dist-upgrades using du-fixes-h2.sh script.
New: rdiff-backup script
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Titel:
Verfasst am: 09.08.2006, 21:30 Uhr
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Anmeldung: 15. Jul 2006
Beiträge: 136
Wohnort: Spanaway, Wa
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When you get time, take a look at this page:
http://www.amdcompare.com/us-en/desktop/Default.aspx
It lists the amd processors and gives the model name/number and the frequency, socket, wattage. It covers the amd atholon 64 and the atholon 64 X2, and the sempron.
"all modern desktop processors throttle down when system load is low. "
This is not always the case. I bought a laptop for my wife and we did some research before buying. The celeron would not step down. We, of course went with the sempron. She plays games and browses the web. The speed is plenty. and the battery last longer.
Like h2 said above, depends on what you do with your computer. Without knowing what you intend to use it for no one can really answer you, just give some good advice on the things to look for. PCWorld and some others did benchmark test and although the amd has a slower speed, it does things quicker. My son has a 2.6 celeron and I other computer is a sempron at 2.09. I can load web pages faster, open office documents open faster, games load faster.
My new computer is athalon64 3200 at 2 mhz. I have an ide and a sata drive connected and you can tell the difference in load times.
Money is also a big factor. You can check the internet and buy a mobo/cpu combo real cheap because the makers are getting rid of them. Technology is maybe a year or two old but they have a new line coming out. Some of these sell for under $100 us.
Think about what you want to do and how much you have to spend and read everything you can find. Remember, google is your friend. 
John |
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Titel:
Verfasst am: 10.08.2006, 17:31 Uhr
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Anmeldung: 12. Mar 2004
Beiträge: 275
Wohnort: Paris-France
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I just bought new PC for my GF's father for ¤199...
Its a simple..
AMD Athlon XP 2400+ (2.0GHz) Memoire 256Mo Disque dur 40Go Lecteur DVD 16/48x
Its running kanotix.... I upgraded the memory to 1/2 Gig (had it spare) and the graphics card I just used an older nvidia I had lying around.
( http://www.grosbill.com/fr/ordinateur-b ... ILL-#fiche )
Gaming.. definately not but it runs google earth, image processing and his main needs fine. Indeed it works like a dream, lent him an old 1280x1024 monitor and he's over the moon and his linux fears vanished after a week.
I'd say this is the lowest possible config, not that kanotix won't work on lower but you can't go much below this and get a case and PSU and cables.
The point is kanotix flies on this so from here you can address needs and wants.
If you want gaming then a faster video and CPU.. more memory etc. but I'd say start from this and see what you think you need extra and how much its going to cost.
Zitat:
I'm not really up on the technical doings with processors and memory etc
Fair enough ... I am which is why this isn't my main computer... be careful about just adding things because enthusiats like me think its cool!
The downside with this is its AGP not PCI express (actually an upside I have spare AGP cards) so upgrade is limited but the fact is it does the job for very little money... built in ethernet and sound are both working... the 40GB HDD is limiting but then you can buy a 250GB one for ¤99 .... and he can buy this later when he starts filling the 40GB.
Does it fee slow?
Side by side with my machine it feels like treacle... using it at his place after a break and you can't tell.
I'm sure you could measure stuff....but it doesn't feel slow unless you stiock it next to something much faster and use them together. |
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