I am looking for a new motherboard/CPU etc. because my CPU is past its sell-by date (900MHz) and it doesn't really like running XP. I've had various failures recently and the way to go seems to be to replace the m/b.
I DO intend to put a decent fan onto the board as well (Spain gets HOT in August) and may end up putting on some kind of fan for the box.
Another thing is that I use a lot of peripherals, so lots of USBs would be nice.
The main (Heavy) use of the computer is for working on digital photos, I don't have problems with other aps.
Until now, I've always prefered AMD and, seeing as their prices appear to be lower, would like to stay that way. I've seen that theoretically Intel seem to be a jump ahead of AMD, but haven't actually seen any significant differences in performance.
I'm not looking to OC (but may do in the future), just a nice, solid, RELIABLE performance improvement. I've seen positive reviews of all sorts of m/bs but am getting confused
My budget is in the region of $300 or so. Anybody got any suggestions?
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C:-)lin
They said "smile, things could be worse." So I smiled, and sure enough...

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C:-)lin
They said "Smile, things could be worse." So I smiled, and sure enough...

You are both right and wrong. AMD is cheaper, but it is also better. A 2.0ghz AMD processor slaughters a 3.06ghz Intel P4 in almost every benchmark test there is. You see, the Frequency is only one factor in determining performance. Intel uses it's high frequency rates to sell their products, and does not spend their time making their products perform well. AMD is the choice for you, no matter what, .

What you could consider doing is upgrading the RAM in your machine to a GIG or at least 512 if you haven’t already.
A decent boost would be a 2500 Athlon (Barton core) which costs around $85 and a new motherboard like the Abit NF7 ($70), you could then buy 2 512 Meg sticks of Corsair Value Select PC-3200 memory for $76 each. Grand total $307 + shipping.

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Sheep!

I'm a big AMD fan, but seeing how you work with video and picture files, Intel is the way to go.

AMD is great for gaming, but when it comes to your kind work, Intel. Won't mention any boards or cpu's cause I'm sure everyone has their own opinions. P4 2.8 HT w/Intel 865PC chipset.

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Serious Soldier

Extremepc posting from my brother, Dave's computer .

I agree with rstarr, Intel is the best way to go, AMD does have the lead in games, but in productivity applications and the like, Intel does have the advantage.

I am not too sure about Intel motherboards as I am a AMD boy myself, but about two months ago I was looking into buying a Intel system, and I did choose an Asus mobo. I also had an Asus motherboard with my Alienware system, and it was excellent. You may want to check them out.

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ActiveTuning - Partner & Director Of Sales & Marketing

Logon as different user next time! ::

How about the Abit AI7? Great board, great features and fast. Highly rated too!

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Serious Soldier

Sure Intel is the way to go for performance in those apps, however, does that justify the 235% price increase in the chip alone? Considering his $300 budget if you get a 2.8 P4 with a new motherboard he just spent his enter budget, now since he also mentioned he has a Athlon 900 we may be able to use the ram from that if its not sdram. If it’s DDR on the other hand, it may be around PC1600 or PC2100, and the suggested 1 Gig will give him a significant performance boost or he could down it to 512 and use the $70 to get a faster hard drive.

Remember the fastest chip may not always be the best option.

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Sheep!

w00t to that!

Thanks for the replies so far.
I'm not sure what the RAM on it is, I'm pretty sure that it's not DDR, could you give me a SIMPLE method I can use to check whether it's DDR or SDRAM. I know that I have 256 Meg of RAM.
I must admit I'm still leaning towards AMD, primarily because of the bang/buck equation. I realise that the Intel chipset may be better with the photo stuff, but it's a LOT of $$$s for a basic (reasonable performance) P4.
I'm not particularly worried about the HDD because that's recently been upgraded, so I'd go for the 1Gig of RAM.
I didn't mention earlier that I do do a fair bit of multi-tasking.
The name's that of my cat, and I ain't gonna change it

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C:-)lin
They said "Smile, things could be worse." So I smiled, and sure enough...

Well, you obviously have access to the internet. So, what you could do, is do a google image search, and search for first, SDRAM, and second, DDR Ram, compare the pictures to what you got. It should work, . Also, there might be a sticker on the ram, or something printed on one of the chips on the ram, that might say ddr or sdram.

Good thinking Batman, will try it.

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C:-)lin
They said "Smile, things could be worse." So I smiled, and sure enough...

Let me know if it works

Best bang for the buck....AMD BARTON 2500+, FSB 333 and some PC2700 or PC3000 ram to use with that 333 bus.

BARTON 2500+ @ $90.00
PC2700, 512 meg @ $67.00 (brand name ram, not generic)

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Serious Soldier