Looking for advice on system upgrade
 

Hi

I'm looking to upgrade my system as it's getting a bit long in the tooth (like me) and needs a bit of a boost (also like me). I'd appreciate some comments.

Currently
Gigabyte GA-K8NS Ultra 939 with AMD64 and 1GB(2x512) of DDR400
1x250GB IDE
1x40GB IDE (for windows I'm afraid)
2x80GB SATA
CD-Writer
DVD-Write
AGP NVIDIA 6600GT Dual DVI connected to 2 Iiyama Prolite E431s @ 1280x1024
Elsa Synergy 2 PCI connect to 15in CRT
600W PSU - Zalman

What I currently do?
Well, I use it for development, java, web etc., burning DVDs etc. and general computery tinkering.

What I want?
Well, first I want a 22" widescreen LCD for DVD viewing and want to use the 2 Iiyamas either side :)

I also want to do some virtualisation- mainly so I can lock Windows away where it can do little harm, and run some server setups for testing.

My options seem to be:

1. Stick with existing mobo and get a AMD64 X2 Dual Core Processor 4600 or 4800 (max?), add a couple of gigs of DDR400 in the spare dual slots, replace ELSA with a PCI with DVI (Nvidia 5200?). I don't really play games so hopefully the 6600 will handle the bigger display and a 17". Likewise storage is fine as is.

Or....

2. New mobo. Say AM2 and get a AMD X2 6000?. That would however mean new memory, new graphics card etc. which I'm not sure I can stretch to.

It's also been suggested (given the virtualisation aim) to go for Intel Quad E6600 but again, at £160 it pushes the budget.

Would option 1 give the system enough of a boost for its purpose or is option 2 a better route? Albeit more pricey.

I need to be sensible re the budget wise as my laptop has just died so I'll be looking for a new one of those - wife and finances permitting at the end of the year.

Any comments gratefully recieved. Needless to say, every needs to run under Linux (currently Ubuntu 7.04).

Cheers

Andy

The only thing I would recommend is more memory (2GB total). I'm doing all that with a 1GB machine with much lower specs, and memory is my only constraint.

Hi Belisarius -

I can't offer much advice on the specific options you listed, but I can tell you what I did when I recently upgraded. although I've been a longtime AMD supporter, intel has the better current offering it seems. plus, there was some uncertainty about the new amd socket plans and upgrade path, etc. - so I went the 775 route.

you can get a Core2Duo 6600 for ~ $220 (newegg - not sure in the UK), and a decent 775 mobo and 2 gigs of ram for way less than $200 now. I guess that would be around 200-250 pounds. boards with agp are getting scarcer, but there are still a lot to choose from.

I can tell you that my install (C2D6600, ASUS P5N-E, 2GB OCZ DDR2800) went very smoothly, 100% compatible so far, and lightning fast.

I too have been an AMD person for years but the current Intel does look tasty. The AMD X2 6000 I was recommenend was tempting but I've heard AM2 is on the way out so not sure on upgrade options later?

What would be the best socket for future upgrade at the moment?

Never thought of sticking with the AGP. Again, future upgrade is going to be useful. I've also seen a couple of PCIe boards with dual DVI for c.£50-60 ($100US) which do to start. I don't play games so all I would need is something good enough to drive the big displays well. I also don't bother with too much eye-candy either so no Beryl etc.

Lighning fast is what I want :)

Re macemoneta's comments:

I would have though the extra cores would make a big difference on the virtualisation front?

Re. Most boards seem to have 2 16x slots. If I out a card in each (non-SLI) I assume I could run 4 monitors? Assuming I can get X to accept the setup?

Cheers for the comments

Andy

Running virtually involves only a small amount of of emulation; for the most part the guest runs natively on the CPU (only privops are intercepted). If your guest would run well natively on the CPU, it will generally run well natively on the guest. Your primary constraints are usually memory and disk I/O contention. CPU is only a problem if you intend to heavily load the host processor while the guest is running. Most people are either primarily working in the host or working in the guest. I have no problem, even with a P4 1.7GHz CPU. Only you know your work habits.

If you can dedicate 1GB to the guest, you will avoid all/most paging by the guest. A guest page request is very bad. If you can place the guests disk on a separate device (and preferably a separate I/O path), you will eliminate / minimize the I/O contention.

Thanks. That makes things little clearer on that front.

I've been looking at the Q6600 anyway and trying to decide if I'm better with just 2 cores (for improved preformance in general use - not necessarily virtual) as unless I'm using running too many processes I may get better performance from a 3GHz AMD X2 64 vs. a Quad 2.4GHz for most usage?

Andy