How limiting is my motherboard?

[Theo Cupier]

I have a PC which is a few years old, it's based on an Asus A7V600-F motherboard.

It presently has:
1.5Gb PC2700 RAM
2800+ Athlon CPU
NVidia GeForce FX 5200 AGP

I know the MoBo can take up to 3GB RAM, which seems plenty at present. I'm limited to AGP for graphics but that's still supported to a pretty high end specs (certainly to 7600GT).

I'm not 100% clear on what sort of processors are supported, the manual says "The A7V600-F supports AthlonTM XP and AthlonTM processors with Thoroughbred/Barton core support." In terms of currently available retail CPUs, what does that get me?

I'm not a particularly heavy gamer - more into Age of Empire / Sim City type games than Quake - but was thinking about using it as a media PC, for example.

Is it worth keeping the MoBo (and hence PSU, case etc) at the heart of this PC as I start to think about upgrading, or will it be a bad decision?

[George Hallam]

well if you are using it just for media there is not much point in upgrading. but....... if you plan on ANYTHING else you need new stuff the problem with swapping your MOBO is that everything revolves around it :S so new MOBO means new RAM GPU CPU maybe a new PSU. how much do you have to spend?

[Theo Cupier]

Short answer is I don't have much to spend. But that just makes me wonder whether spending more building around this mobo is not a good strategy. Am I just wasting money that could be put to better mid-long term use?

Exactly what does that comment about "processors with Thoroughbred/Barton core support" mean, in terms of what I can buy?

What makes the best next upgrade? A CPU or GFX card?

[jlreich]

Exactly what does that comment about "processors with Thoroughbred/Barton core support" mean, in terms of what I can buy?
Those are core revisions of the socket 'A' AMD Athlon series of CPU's with the Barton core being the best. Very hard to find anymore. Newegg doesn't even carry them anymore. And the best CPU made for socket A was the 3200+ @ 400FSB. An improvement but not worth the cash if you can even find one.

That system isn't worth putting any money into in my opinion. Socket A motherboards are many generations behind current technology. They can still make a good second system, but don't sink any real amount of cash into it. Anything you buy for that system will not be able to be reused in any new system.

If you can find a better v-card for a really cheap price, maybe. But I would save up any cash you have for a new system.

[Fruss Tray Ted]

but was thinking about using it as a media PC, for example.

Your PC is slightly better than two that I have at home and are my main systems. I know I'm behind the curve on current technology but this is because I have not upgraded in several years.

I have a 2500 and a 2800, both Barton cores, with about a gig of DDR RAM each. Your video card is better than mine also, and as a multimedia pc, I have no complaints with either of mine at all. I suppose it could be faster but I could also drive a Ferrari instead of a (rock solid) truck. I use a TV capture card and record LOADS of programs, also streaming media, FLV files etc, from the www and it works effortlessly. Converting and burning DVD's at full speed also. The definition of a successful person is someone who's satisfied with what he's got.

As has been said, you're best off buying into an entirely new system if you want any substantial improvement. The one you have would be just fine for my needs but games are the least of my wants, your mileage may vary...
:)

[jlreich]

Yeah these old socket A and s478 era systems are great for moderate needs. I have two that I am using right now and they fit the needs for what they are being used for very well, one is a Linux box and one is a dedicated firewall. And I have a couple more that I am going to be giving to family that don't have a computer at all.

But to upgrade around one of these systems is a money pit. Heck the newest hardware is generally cheaper than that old stuff. For instance I just paid $70 for 2x512MB DDR400 to use for testing. Not bad really. But considering right now you can get 2x1GB DDR2-667, even DDR2-800 with the right sale, for less than $90... :p