I'm looking to do a complete system overhaul in the next few months. Gonna update my Pentium 4 2.6ghz, Asus P4C-800E, 2x 512meg DDR400 to something based on a Core Duo 2 2.13ghz and either 1GB or 2GB DDR2 800/1066.

Main thing I wanna know is what are the best motherboards available at the moment? I like my P4C800. Its rock solid, fast and packed with features. This is the one thats currently the front runner: [URL="http://www.scan.co.uk/Products/ProductInfo.asp?WebProductID=434311"]Asus P5W DH Deluxe (i975 chipset). [/URL]I wouldn't really want to pay much more than that for a mobo. The RAM as well will cost a good ?200 at least. Add to that the CPU and I have to get a new GFX card and its getting mega expensive.

Probably also get a 10'000rpm drive for the system partition.

Cheers all.

What I've also noticed is that my P4C800-E still goes on ebay for ?100+. Is it really that sought after?

Re: New system based on Core Duo 2 recommendations?

i would wait a little bit Simon. So much is changing so fast. You will also see a large price drop here in the future. I can not keep up with all this stuff.

Re: New system based on Core Duo 2 recommendations?

yea defo wait till the end of the year.... huge changes expected.... especially that intel is on its way to release QUAD chips which will make these dual cores so much cheapers

Re: New system based on Core Duo 2 recommendations?

^^^ yep. 4 x 2 = 8 cores of power. my gosh.

Re: New system based on Core Duo 2 recommendations?

[quote=Kamal;380847]yea defo wait till the end of the year.... huge changes expected.... especially that intel is on its way to release QUAD chips which will make these dual cores so much cheapers[/quote]US market or global? Just aksing because the new Windows will appear on the US market way before it becomes available in the EU. MS' way of getting back at the EU Commission. Lamers.

Re: New system based on Core Duo 2 recommendations?

Good point. I'm thinking I'll go dual core as I want to try as low a power intake as possible. My Pentium 4 isn't half a wattage gobbler. Not the best of chips ever made eh?

Re: New system based on Core Duo 2 recommendations?

AMD. If you want your machine to be green.

Re: New system based on Core Duo 2 recommendations?

AMD Opterons if you're gonna run CPU intensive apps for sure... but I'd recommend waiting to see the new quads come out and see some performance tests before diving into anything. Honestly, unless your computer is unbootable, now is probably the worst time to buy a machine. I'd wait it out at least till mid december to see what is being released in time for Christmas ;)

Re: New system based on Core Duo 2 recommendations?

^^ No kidding, worst time of the year for sure, unfortunately so many peeps picking up machines now, everyone should really wait, its so worth it.

Re: New system based on Core Duo 2 recommendations?

hehe, to brag a little,

i had to take a new machine, so i decided to go again on intel, with those Intel Core 2 Duo, i choosed the lowes model E6300, with 1066MHz FSB, 1GB ram for starters, and an radeon x1300,

until now everything i started wokred perfectly, and am pretty happy with my choice.....

until i installed this Vista thing, even as my PC is rated around 4.5, almost none of my stuff works on it correctly.

hoping on some patches to come out soon....

Re: New system based on Core Duo 2 recommendations?

My P4 3.2 Ghz with 1 GB ram still works great, while I envy the new CPU releases, I dont suspect I will be getting a new one anytime soon

Re: New system based on Core Duo 2 recommendations?

[QUOTE=Kamal;395384]My P4 3.2 Ghz with 1 GB ram still works great, while I envy the new CPU releases, I dont suspect I will be getting a new one anytime soon[/QUOTE]

Same here with a 2.4c and 1 GB ram. I think computers have reach a point where unless you're playing hardcore games (which is more of a GPU issue) or crunching a lot of big numbers, you don't need to chase after the latest specs. Of course when Vista and Office 12 comes out, that'll be a different story :shock: :roll: :x

Re: New system based on Core Duo 2 recommendations?

^^ agreed, but even then you wont need a bloody quad core chipset with 2 gb ram and 2 Terrabytes of HD Space. I suspect the hardware aspect is moving way beyond the actual usability of day-today software - unlike for Gamers + Graphics Designers where it will almost never be enough

Re: New system based on Core Duo 2 recommendations?

What about for music crunchers? i.e. Cubase and the like.

Re: New system based on Core Duo 2 recommendations?

music software sucks the shit outta my machine, i need to upgrad the fucker any time soon. been struggling with my celeron 2400 and only 512 megs of ram since two years now. i don't like working on a slow machine, it's sooo annoying!

Re: New system based on Core Duo 2 recommendations?

[quote=Lorn;397411]What about for music crunchers? i.e. Cubase and the like.[/quote]

yes you can get a reasonably pwerful quad core machine to do your music crunching. While single processor machines will work well, dual / quad core with loads of memory defo will have the advantage