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Thread ID: 68970	2006-05-17 21:20:00	Sempron or Athlon?	nodrog (7115)	Press F1

Post ID	Timestamp	Content	User
455593	2006-05-17 21:20:00	I am just about to upgrade from an Asus A7v266/AMD1600(1400) Mbd/cpu combo with 1Gb ddr memory. I would like to stay with these brands. My needs are ms office and some digital photo manipulation. My son requires some performance features as he does some gaming. Which processor should we choose, Sempron or Athlon? Which graphics card with 256mb memory would forum members recommend priced at under $180.00 approx? We don't require tv out or dvi support. ( I know each has their own preferences and would appreciate whatever feedback is given). Thanx	nodrog (7115)
455594	2006-05-17 21:31:00	Athlon. Sempron is like Intels Celeron... As for graphics, what games does your son play? With gaming you really need high end stuff unless he's playing kiddie games or Solitaire. $180 is an incredibly small budget for a graphics card. Its not a matter of having a choice at that price. You'd get something like a X1300 or 6600 - the vanilla version, both of which aren't much use. Unless you have a look on Trademe and get one second hand....	pctek (84)
455595	2006-05-17 21:34:00	It's had to offer advice without knowing how much you want to spend, but general comment. Atylon 64 at least 3000+ .Anything less is ancient history. Sempron is just a toy. Motherboard Asus K8V-MX Motherboard, Socket 754, 2xDIMM, DDR, 8XAGP, 3xPCI, 8xUSB2, Audio, Video, ATA, SATA, RAID, M-ATX Graphics Card 256 megs under $180. You must be joking. Anything at that price would be not up to todays standard. As good as anything. Gigabyte GV-R96P256D Video Card, Radeon 9600 Pro, 256MB, DDR, 8XAGP, TV out, DVI $153.82	JJJJJ (528)
455596	2006-05-17 22:43:00	Hmmm ok then. The boy isn't really into kids stuff but he has been surviving with a gf3 64mb card for the last few years, although he has mentioned the poor performance on many occasions, so anything better would be a leap forward. JJJJJ would that be a suggestion? (Gigabyte GV-R96P256D)	nodrog (7115)
455597	2006-05-17 22:53:00	JJJJJ would that be a suggestion? (Gigabyte GV-R96P256D) No. Its an indication of what your budget would get. Spend more on the graphics card.	pctek (84)
455598	2006-05-17 23:08:00	Looks like it's time to dig deep. Another question though........PCI Express or AGP?	nodrog (7115)
455599	2006-05-17 23:14:00	Go for the Athlon (if you can still get those). Most stores only have Semprons these days or Athlon 64s. If you're going to upgrade the motherboard, avoid socket 754 & get 939 instead (or AM2 when it's released) for some future proofing. For $180, you can get the 256MB version of the nVidia 6600. But you'd be far better getting the 128MB 6600GT for an extra $60 ($240). The GT is much faster. Check out PriceSpy (http://www.pricespy.co.nz/) for an indication of what the various prices are.	autechre (266)
455600	2006-05-17 23:15:00	PCI Express of course! :) AGP going the way of the dodo	bob_doe_nz (92)
455601	2006-05-17 23:49:00	i woulsn't get to hung up on future proofing, what ever you buy is going to be obslolete very quickly and by the time you get around to upgradeing your cpu socket, type of ram etc will no longer be advailable. just get something that will do what you need. actually i just got the sytem mentioned above ! i needed something that still had an agp slot for my old video card. if your going for performance and everything new (ie not useing any bits off your old pc) then socket 939, pcie would be the way to go :)	tweak'e (69)
455602	2006-05-18 00:11:00	Looks like it's time to dig deep. Another question though........PCI Express or AGP? PCI is the only way to go. But be prepared to spend at least $2,000. And that won't include a monitor. Note: If you get a 939 motherboard (as you should), it probably won't have AGP so you will be commited to buying a PC Express video card and probably new ram as well.	JJJJJ (528)
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