Re: No brainer PC buyers guide


"brian" <fake@xxxxxxxx> wrote in message
news:CiqIe.2813$5g.1973@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
>
> "Don" <Don22@xxxxxxxxxxx> wrote in message
> news:hAkIe.169824$9A2.144689@xxxxxxxxxxx
>>
>> "brian" <fake@xxxxxxxx> wrote in message
>> news:cu5Ie.6883$vf.1840@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
>>>
>>> "Don" <Don22@xxxxxxxxxxx> wrote in message
>>> news:6B0Ie.181350$tt5.102693@xxxxxxxxxxx
>>> > So you want a tower case PC:
>>> >
>>> > Apple: $2000 for an entry level dual G5, PC no scroll one button mouse
>>> >
>>> > AMD: $600 for an AMD athlon 64 3200, 2 button + scroll
>>> >
>>> > Add: Free antivirus and spyware protection and security = OS X
>>> >
>>> > So, for approx 400% more $ what are you getting?
>>> >
>>> > - No cpu upgrade options
>>>
>>> Thank god. It puts to rest a really stupid myth for those who aren't
>>> good
>>> at economics. Moore's Law (or the equivalent in dual core technology,
>>> die
>>> size, and cache) guarantees that the technology outraces the savings
>> benefit
>>> of upgrading. Anyone who buys a P4 800 FSB cpu to replace a P4 533 FSB
>> cpu
>>> should really look into a remedial math class.
>>>
>> Duron 600 to Barton 2500 overclocked to 3000 on socket A for under $100.
>> A
>> fivefold increase in cpu performance for peanuts does not require much
>> more
>> than grade 3 math.
>
> Fivefold, eh? Heheh. Alrighty.
>
> The Athlon XPs are rated by "perceived speed." There is no such thing as
> a 2.5 GHz barton chip.
>
Read the benchmarks (video) and compare a duron 600 to a Athlon XP 3000, you
will need to extrapolate (grade 8 math:)
The gain for video is almost exactly 5x
http://www.tomshardware.com/cpu/20041221/cpu_charts-01.html

> Your upgrade just bumped up the FSB. You now have to buy memory. $70.00
> for 512 MB.

Already had 512MB

> You haven't named a motherboard which supports both the Duron and Barton
> cores - although I have no reason to think they do not exist. But I would
> be skeptical that every single motherboard manufacturer planned such a
> jump.

ANY socket A, preferably with overclocking options - current price approx
$60

> You haven't made a noticeable upgrade (despite the incredible 5x
> performance quote). The CPU clock has jumped 3 fold. Your bus speed has
> jumped 140%. So what? These aren't 1:1 gains, obviously.
>

Read the benchmarks again:
http://www.tomshardware.com/cpu/20041221/cpu_charts-01.html
The bus speed went from 100mhz to 200mhz

> And you still have a two year old CPU without addressing any other
> critical component in the system. You went from old and busted to old and
> busted. Cheap comes at a cost.

My point was to illustrate the economical upgrade path, not current cpu
technology but the same will likely apply to socket 939 with future dual
core support for some time yet.

>>> > - Locked into proprietory H/W (PS, MB)
>>>
>>> I haven't had a PS or MB go bad on a home system in the past 10 years.
>>>
>> But try upgrading the mac MB?
>
> Let's consider a PC motherboard upgrade. First chose the socket. Next,
> the memory card bus type: AGP, PCI, or PCI-E? Memory type. Pick a
> motherboard that fits these. Once you're finished buying frugally, are
> you still in the same two year technology window? Yup. Absolutely. If
> that window is the current one, you'll be buying stuff at top dollars. If
> it's an old window, you're upgrading old stuff to old stuff.

>
> Upgrades come in two flavors: old and busted and shoulda bought a new
> system.
>
If you see no benefit to a 5x improvement in video encoding your reasoning
is sadly lacking. Review the article again and notice the dimishing returns
of performance (and price) with current processors. Buying leading edge is
rarely cost effective. ie: Encoding time for an $800 Athlon FX 55 is 2:10 vs
3:03 for a $90 XP 3000 = 9x the price for approx 30% more performance. In
the Duron/Athlon upgrade 500% more performance was achieved with a cpu that
cost $40 more than the original duron.


>> Been running Vista Beta 1 for the last week, looks pretty REAL to me.
>
> Congratulations on your MSDN subscription. Did you also pay to get into
> Mensa?

No, I had to pass an IQ test for Mensa membership.
>
>>> > - Limited applications
>>>
>>> Agreed. Although trends are changing.
>>>
>>> > - A deadend cpu platform
>>>
>>> See the point about CPU upgrades.
>>>
>> See my point re: fivefold performance increase for under $100.
>
> It's a laughable point. Your third grade mathematics have a horrendous
> floating point error.
>
It's your dime. As Fast Eddy said to Minnesota: "Pay the man again Fats"


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