Im thinking of upgrading my comp or getting a new one.

[Yoshigizmo]

Hi I know there are some other threads that are about getting a new comp or building one but I think mines will be slightly different.

The thing is Im in my second year of my course in college and now we are creating 3D animations and really high quality digital art and I think my comp will start to struggle with all this new stuff (it already is, but thats partly because of viruses).

Would it be cheaper getting a new computer already built or building my own from scratch or just upgrading bits of the comp I already have?

The specs of my computer are;

Intel Pentium Processsor 515 (2.93GHz, 1m L2 Cache, 533 Mhz FSB)
512mb dual channel memory
ATI/ABIT Radeon VGuru Series RX600 Pro-Guru 256mb DDR (TV-Out/DVI)
link (http://www.abit-usa.com/products/graphics/techspec.php?categories=2&model=217)
160GB SATA Hard Drive
7 USB Ports
Media reader 8 in 1
Dont know what the mother board is though.

Whats the deal with dual CPUs and graphics cards, whats the advantages and cons?

I dont really know what my budget is the now is because christmas is coming up and a couple of holidays as well. Maybe once I have had some advice from techy savvy people then I might have an idea for my budget.

Thanx in advance for posting. :-D

Edit:
I live in Scotland so prices need to be in pounds and any shops in the uk would be useful.

[Sendok]

Firstly I must say that if you are doing animation and digital art why not use a Mac? (you'll also rid yourself of that nasty viri problem)

If you don't want to switch thats fine so lets look at your PC.

My first few suggestions:
-Upgrade your RAM, idk about your motherboard so idk if you can just throw a 1GB chip in and call it good.
-Get another HD. A smaller one to load your OS. and use your 160 to store your data. *yet another great way to help stop your viri problem.

w/a FSB of only 533 i'm not sure if just upgrading the ram and adding a second HD will be helpfull or not...

I would wait and see how much cash you have to throw into this puppy before any major plans.

[Yoshigizmo]

Thanks man, the motherboard has four slots i.e. 2x2 and two chips at 256mb.
Would it be more useful to buy two 256mb sticks or buy a single 512mb stick so that I would still have a slot left?

How does adding a smaller HD work with loading the OS and the viruses? How big would it need to be?

Why is a Mac more useful? Also how would changing to a Mac effect my files and stuff I already have, and compatability with other PCs?

Would it be cheaper just buying a superfast CPU or two CPUs instead of upgrading everything else?

My budget is roughly around about £500.

Sorry for all these questions, Im kinda a noob at all this stuff.

[Moses]

Macs are the industry standard when it comes to graphic arts and animation. Your files such as word docs and what not will all be fine. Your games and software won't work on it however. You can get a iBook starting at £566 and a PowerBook at £850. So they are a little more expensive, but you can easily get a refurb for much less than that. The real reason they are the norm is because the color management is unbeatable.

[WolfmanNCSU]

With dual channel, its better to split your RAM and use two of them to make the total that you want. Better performance. In this case, two 256s to total to 512.

However, I would recommend going with two 512s and make a full gig.

[Crow]

ive heard the Mac's are the best for doing anything graphic related, however it depends on what else you'll be using the system for...i bought a laptop myself a few months ago and had no virus problems at all, it cost me like £730, it isn't the best but its great for what i use it for

[Scrilla]

(I've heard this somewhere before) Why exactly is splitting the RAM better for the computer?

[WolfmanNCSU]

With dual channel, it will double data throughput in the FSB of a motherboard form the RAM to the CPU/Mem controller. It will also decrease memory bottlenecks which will increase performance.

Think of it as making a one way street into a two way one.

[Yoshigizmo]

Thanx to everyone who has replied.

I was looking at CPUs earlier and was wonder who is better AMD or Intel?

I dont think I will get a new comp, the powermacs look great though. I will probably upgrade the cpu and increase the memory.

What are the differences in the different types of RAM i.e. DDR2 etc.

Sorry again for all the questions.

P.S. One of my fans in the computer is making a rattling sound so I will try and get the warranty people to come fix it and upgrade my memory at the sametime.

[WolfmanNCSU]

I was looking at CPUs earlier and was wonder who is better AMD or Intel?

Hmmm, this one depends on who you ask. AMD is usually more geared for gaming and graphics, and is usually better priced. They recently slashed some prices

Intel is supposed to be geared for applications and realibility. More companies use Intel (Dell, IBM/Lenovo), mostly because they have a hard time getting supplies from AMD.

Personally, I have used both, they both work just fine, and I usually just get the best chip/mobo for the speed and value at the given time. I am currently happy with my Intel main PC, Intel work PCs (both desktop and Laptop), and AMD server at my home.

What are the differences in the different types of RAM i.e. DDR2 etc.

Speed is key here. SDRAM is the oldest and has the slowest FSB (speed at which data flows from devices on the mobo). DDR is twice as fast as SDRAM and DDR2 is the newer, fairly recent DIMM. DDR2 is the new wave in which memory is heading, does have faster speed than DDR, but in benchmarks have not show enough performance boost to go all for it. Only a matter of a couple frames per sec in some popular FPSs. We are talking less that 10, more like 1-6.

[Yoshigizmo]

Thanx Wolfman. :)

So it doesnt reaaly matter who I get wether it be AMD or Intel? In my case would I be "slightly" better of getting AMD because of the graphics and what not or does it not really make a difference?

This is one of the cpus I was looking at, it's going for £155. Is that a good deal at that price or can I get a better cpu at roughly the same price?

Athlon 64 ADA3500BPBOX AMD Processor
Socket Size 939 Venice Core
2200 mhz Core Speed
512 Kb Level 2 Cache
90nm Nanometer
2000 System Bus
Up to 14.4GB/sec Processor-to-System
HyperTransport Technology

pcworld.co.uk/martprd/product/seo/987032

How do you get dual cpus to work? Do you need a specific motherboard that can take two cpus, can you stick in any two cpus together or do they need to be very similar?

So I will have to look for DDR and DDR2 memory then, thanx for the nfo.

[Yoshigizmo]

Sorry for the double post, dunno whats happening ith me computer the now, its goin a bit crazy.

[Yoshigizmo]

Hello again, :)

I have been reading a couple of computer magazines about ugrading and what not and Im a bit confused about what to get. There are so many different things that are available and all the different ways you need to connect them and so on. A better explanation would be if I wanted a specific cpu whether it be AMD or Intel I would need to get a specific Motherboard that the CPU can connect to. Then I would need to look for a Graphics card that can connect with the mother borard and so on. Do you get what I am saying?

So I was wondering if someone could make up an imaginery computer for about £200 to £500, then put it in a list like I have put in the first post.

The things I dont need are:
Case
Monitor
Speakers
Mouse/keyboard

I already have 512mb RAM, but I am going to expand it to 1GB.

So basically all I need is:
CPU
Graphics card (does mine actually need upgraded? See first post)
Motherboard.

I want my comp to be flexible so in the future it can be easily upgraded i.e. two graphics cards by SLI/Crossfire.

Your advice would be muchly appreciated. :cheers:

[Garfunkel]

what sort of ram is it, do you know?

[Yoshigizmo]

Sorry, I dont know the now, I will need to wait till I get home to try and find out what type it is.

[Yoshigizmo]

Hi, I checked what the type of RAM I had (I looked at the sticker on the stick, lol). I have Samsung 256MB DDR PC3200 CL3. Should I keep these or get replace them?