Upgrade should be the first choice, only buy new if the costs exceed the benefits, and building from scratch is always better than buying a prebuilt new computer. A 3ghz chip will still outperform a 2ghz C2D. A good heatsink as well, P4s have massive heatsinks stock, you can get one half the size or less that performs better. Upgrading the CPU to an AMD 3ghz would have a slight increase in performance from the P4. RAM, get at least 2 1g sticks of 667mhz. Hard drives have gotten really cheap since last year, you can get a 750g 7200rpm now for >350 dollars. Motherboards, just dont spend over 100 on one, not worth spending anymore considering the rate things advance. Im going to assume your running XP? I would keep it till MS quits supporting it entirely and forces everyone to switch to Vista :\ Im a little late in the thread, other people have already given some good suggestions.
I am not sure about the benefits/losses of a barbone, just that it seems you get them a bit cheaper for buying a bulk item (saying it has several pieces of the comp in it) http://www.tigerdirect.com/applications/se...u=P450-9102%20D Ram, something like http://www.newegg.com/product/product.aspx...N82E16820231098 Than you might want to upgrade to a better heatsink if you're going quad core, or a better gfx card if you plan on gaming. Cause People don't just use their comps to edit movies . Even movie editors these days need render farms and such to put the 3d into the movie . Also is it true the US and Canada won't ship to each other? Thats the rumor I've heard and its quite gay if its true. Mr. Rogers didn't teach us to be good neighbors .
For RAM...im guessing you want something under 50 dollars? http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx...N82E16820178154 I dont trust brands I dont know, go with PNY or Kingston. By benifits, I mean which is cheaper, to build a new computer(around 500usd) or buy a new one(300-2000usd). That barebones 'kit' doesnt even have any RAM or 3d card...and its already 500 dollars with tax and shipping... Something about C2D and Quads, they dont produce anywhere as much heat as P4s did, so unless your planning on overclocking to rediculous speeds, you dont need a expensive heatsink. Heard of people overclocking a 2ghz C2D to 4ghz and it only put out 120F in heat. When buying a 3d card be sure to never buy top end cards that lose half their value in a years time. http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx...N82E16814127309 Example, no need to go GTX, its too expensive and wont be worth anything in a years time, and this GTS can do just about anything you need. Yes, technically shipping anything to CA is considered out of country and most businesses dont do it.
Dothedew, please stop giving advice. First off, dont go AMD. A 2ghz C2D will outperform a 3ghz X2 in many situations, not to mention it has much more overclocking headroom. Secondly, DDR2-800 is so cheap atm, going for 667 is a waste of time and money, as it will ultimately limit your overclocking potential (unless you find some extremely good D9 stuff, which would cost a fair amount anyway). Also, I've never seen a 2ghz C2D running at 4ghz in anything short of High end watercooling (even penryns). I've seen E8200's tweaked to 4ghz with a TRUE120, which is top air cooler currently. Also, barebones kits take a fair amount of the work out of building a PC for those who have little experience. AND DO NOT BUY THAT 8600GTS. Total waste of money. At least buy an HD3850, as it's around the same price, but a MUCH better performance.
in a few. certainly not many. it's generally held that a 2.4Ghz c2d and a 3.0Ghz athlon x2 are on par. also on the RAM, if you're an overclocker, the chips in the RAM are what matters, not the rated speed. right now I have DDR2-533 in my system I've run it at 1200mhz 5-5-5 before. right now this is my official RAM recommendation http://www.tankguys.com/product_info.php?m...roducts_id=1806 $42 no rebates, guaranteed micron d9GHM ICs in it. I will all but guarantee you some crazy overclocks and you can go up to 2.2V under warranty. No heatspreaders, but most tests have found that heatspreaders are more of a marketting gimmick and that they usually drive temps up more than they help also screw the 3850, and DEFINATELY screw the 8600(8600GTS= miserable failure) 9600GT http://www.newegg.com/Product/ProductList....eForce+9+series
maybe you want to get a new video card aswell, this 1 is pletty old already... i would say, buy a whole new computer...
I think I'll probably end up buying new and as a package, I've seen Quad's starting at around $599.99 - $699.99 and up. It just sucks because I just spent over $1500 on a camera and now I have to spend another grand on a computer that can edit the video.
