Processor Upgrade

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Fret

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My dedicated recording system is currently a HP Netserver with a PIII 733. I am planning on upgrading the processor and I am looking for some opinions on either purchasing a 933 now or waiting for the price of the 1Ghz to come down a little more. Eventually I am planning on upgrading to a second processor since I do have a dual processor capable motherboard. Either way is 100 MHz going to make a difference?
 
I wouldn't worry about upgrading for just 100 Mhz more. Especially when the price difference between processors in that range is minimal. What kind of motherboard do you have and what software and soundcard? This will help answer the question better :)
 
I would weigh the price difference between buying a new processor, and eventually a second one for SMP opposed to upgrading the MB and CPU to break the 1Ghz barrier.

The only reason I say this is because the PIII is for all intensive purposes a dead chip. Your pretty much clipped to just barely over 1Ghz. I have a bad feeling that the same thing is going to happen to the PIII that happened to the Slot-1 configuration. It got to the point where a FCPGA PIII was almost half the price of a Slot-1 chip clocked at the same speed.

To answer your question, I wouldn't recommend going from 733 to 933. I see it as a waste of money. Upgrade your MB and get either a P4(a) or an AMD XP????. Just throw the new board and CPU in your old case and you should be good to go. There are motherboards that also support 133RAM along with DDR so you don't have to upgrade that portion yet although you'll most likely need a new power supply.
 
The system is a HP Netserver LC2000. The Mb is a HP with an Intel chipset. Two slot one slots. I am running W2k, Sonar and a Delta 66. I am looking at a 933 for about $130. The 1GHz coppermine is currently over $400 so buying the 1GHz now is not an option but I think the price should continue to go down. The system is a server and has nice features like a dual PCI bus, dual processor capabilities, dual on-board SCSI, and arguably beefier construction, so imho it is worth dumping a little more money into then a standard workstation.

Currently my problem is that by the time I am finishing a project (all effects running in real time) I am having to push the latency settings all the way up and still having problems with occasional dropouts. I know that going from a 733 to a 1GHz is going to be more of an improvement then going to a 933 but is there enough of a difference between a 933 and a 1000 to justify waiting another six months, by which time I'll want the P5, 6, 7...
 
Since you have a Slot-1 MB, DO NOT UPGRADE! From here on out, the prices are only going to go up since intel is killing the Slot-1 configuration. That explains why a Slot-1 1Ghz PIII is more expensive than a P4 1.6a.

In my opinion, I would save the money and do a full workstation upgrade.

However, since you are running SONAR, and I assume that you're running a load of plug-ins, I would look into getting another 733. Granted, it's may not sound like an upgrade, but since SONAR supports dual processors along with Win2k, you would see more plug-in chugging power this way and still save money.
 
IMHO

I believe adding an extra 733 P3 would be more of a performance upgrade than a single proc. upgrade to either 933 or 1Ghz.
 
I agree with Evil, now knowing you have Slot-1. Sorry about my previous comment about the price difference, I thought different CPUs :o

I would NOT upgrade the single chip. And be sure your software can actual take advantage of dual processors before you decide to stick another one in your machine. Some computer programs are not designed to use dual processors so even if you have 2 in the machine if the software doesn't work that way you won't see increased performance.
 
Thanks for all the advice.

Here is what I am starting to think:

I have always planned on going with 2 1GHz processors but the 1GHz being the 1GHz, will always be overpriced. I think the 933 will be the most bang for the buck. I can’t help but wonder what the 200MHz increase will translate to in the recording world, especially the dual 200MHz increase. I know that upgrading my single processor will not give a noticeable speed increase. Those kinds of upgrades usually translate into an increase in stability if anything at all, but will it allow me to use one more plugin or two more automations????? I’ll have to see. I think the advice on upgrading to the second processor is a better idea then upgrading just one but I also think that two 933s will be a better improvement then two 733s since I’m looking only at an extra $120… Even if it is only a gonad/bragging right upgrade. I’ll probably get one now and then in the next couple of months watching prices closely before they start to climb out of control or the processors disappear completely.

I don’t mean to shut anybody down, I still like the advice even if I am bullheaded and don’t follow it.
 
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