When to buy a pc

[UkGamer]

-sorry if in wrong section-

I was thinking that i should get a new computer this year , but i was just wondering how long i should wait. new graphics cards are coming out, new proceesors and new os i think . would it be worthwhile to wait or just get one now

[Fatguy]

When to buy a computer.....


When it is no longer a question! :D I had to buy one (or basic parts of one) because one of my computers died (spent alot of time yesterday trying to get it to work - but it is dead as a door nail). Also buy when you can not run needed applications on your present computer. The latest hardware are simply sales gimicks to buy. Unless you are a serious gamer or in the music/video business, there really is no reason to constantly upgrade all the time. The best time to buy is tomorrow.....and tell yourself that same thing tomorrow.....

[saphalline]

I'd have to agree with Fatguy for the most part. If you keep getting caught up in the waiting game for new hardware that's "just around the corner" you'll never get a new system! There's always something else coming - that's the point of new technology! :p

If you find yourself saddled with an old PII 350 system with an 8MB TNT vid card, and if you want to play HL2, then by all means start buying now! But if you've got a P4 2GHz with 512MB of RAM and all you do is email and MS Office, you won't need to upgrade for years!! :D

[classicsoftware]

I normally afree with Saphalline and fatguy, but now is the exception. We are just at a fork in the road. Intel is about to DC anything with a 533 FSB in the P4 line. Eeverything will be 800 FSB with built in SATA and only 1 IDE controller. I think if you can wait a month or so, it would be advisable. I am expecting a copy of the Intel road-map as soon as my sales guy gets back in the office...

[UkGamer]

well say i went for an 'amd 64bit 3500' what fsb are they

[saphalline]

Well, the 3500+ operates at 2.2GHz, and the memory controller is built-in, so the FSB speed is 2.2GHz.

[UkGamer]

well why does classic software say p4 run at 533 or 800 fsb ?
what does fsb even stand for????????

ps whats the differance between a newcastle (http://www.novatech.co.uk/novatech/specpage.html?AMD-64350B) soket and a winchester (http://www.novatech.co.uk/novatech/specpage.html?AMD-64935B)

[classicsoftware]

FSB is the Front Side Bus.

[saphalline]

well why does classic software say p4 run at 533 or 800 fsb?Because it's true. Just because you're confused is no reason to start flaming others.

The newest P4's all run on the 800MHz FSB, and the Celeron D's use the older 533MHz FSB. FSB = Front Side Bus, it's the connection between the CPU and the memory controller. AMD's K8 core, which is used on the Sempron 3100+, all Athlon64's, all Athlon64 FX's, and all Opteron's, has a built-in memory controller. So the FSB for these CPU's is the same as the core speed, because it's all built-in. Intel's NetBurst architecture, used on the P4's and derivative Celeron's, does not have a built-in memory controller, so the FSB is more traditional, and is in fact the connection between the CPU and the Northbridge of the chipset.

whats the differance between a newcastle soket and a winchesterNewcastle and Winchester aren't sockets, they're core revisions of the Athlon64's. Newcastle is most often characterized by a 0.13 micron process and 512KB of L2 cache. Winchester is much the same, except it uses the smaller 0.09 micron process (90nm) and is only found in Socket 939. Paris is the core revision used by the Sempron 3100+ in Socket 754, uses a 0.13 micron process, and lacks 64-bit capability. Clawhammer and Sledgehammer are used by the fastest A64's and all A64 FX's, use a 0.13 micron process, and have the larger 1MB L2 cache.

[UkGamer]

well sorry if i offended you.
So is which is best if you had to choose between newcastle and winchester and there was only £10 of a differance

[saphalline]

I'd tend to lean towards Winchester. Since it uses a smaller micron process, the CPU will run cooler overall. Of course, I'm also more inclined to OC it ;) so that might have something to do with my decision. If you don't plan to OC, if you have good cooling in your case, and if you can think of better ways to spend £10, then by all means go with the cheaper one. There's a fine line between practical spending and braggish spending. :D