HiI have some questions that will no doubt make you experienced hardware types groan :-)My motherboard recently melted on me, completely destroying it and taking some of my RAM with it. Anyway, I saw this as a golden opportunity for a long needed upgrade (new processor and RAM), but I'm no hardware expert and need some help.I've just been quoted for an AMD Sempron 3000+. First off, is this like an Athlon64 (which I think I've seen mentioned before)? Second, I think it has a clock speed of around 1.6ghz. I assume because it's 64 bit I'll get somewhere near 3ghz performance, right? How would this compare to a standard 32 bit 3 gig processor? Will FS run as if it's a 3 gig processor, or will I get performance akin to a 1.8 gig? i.e does it make a difference to FS if the processor is 32 or 64 bit? Now for the really stupid question....will I still be ok running 32 and 16 bit programs?I don't remember what motherboard I'm getting, but obviously it's new and compatible with a Sempron 3000+ (!), so will my GF6600GT work ok with it?My old processor was an Athlon 1900+, so I guess I'll be needing a new power supply and cooling. What do you recommend? By the way - I know the hardware I mentioned is hardly cutting edge, but I'm on a budget here - this processor, 1gb of RAM and a new motherboard are about all my budget can stretch to at the moment.Sorry for all those questions!Any help would be greatly appreciated.Mike

Dear Mike,The Sempron is the budget version of the Athlon64. I won't go into the details of what AMD has done in order to lower the speed of the Sempron (in order to differentiate it from the more expensive Athlon64) but suffice it to say that it's not the ideal choice of processor but it works pretty okay if you're on a budget.As for clock speed, no, it is given a 3000+ performance rating NOT because of 64-bit capability. Windows XP in its native state is a 32-bit operating system and so is FS9. So you will not be using any of the 64-bit capability of the processor (you have to use the x64 edition of Windows XP Professional to take advantage of 64-bit but that's not generally advised right now due to the state of the drivers and if you're not a hardware tinkerer, I would suggest against it). The 3000+ rating is a (in a sense, arbitrary) number that AMD has given the processor in order to make it comparable to Intel's processors. The fact that the processor runs at 1.6GHz is actually a good thing because that means it will run cooler. Long story short, your Sempron 3000+ will run fine with 16-bit and 32-bit programs (you won't be able to tell the difference anyway) and performance will be equivalent to the Intel 3.0GHz CPUs.(Edwin now gets onto a soap box)People need to get past thinking that clock speed equals how fast your computer will be. That's why Intel and AMD are both moving towards numbering processors separate from the clock speed. You ideally want a processor that's fast in computing but low in clock speed. That's pretty much what AMD has delivered!(Edwin gets off the soap box) :(As for your graphics card, is your 6600GT AGP or PCI Express? Chances are they are AGP (given your previous processor). If so, you would be restricted to AGP motherboards so I would try to get an nForce3 motherboard. (The latest nForce4 is exclusively PCI Express.)Hope this helps.Edwin

Hi EdwinThanks for that extremely helpful post - it has certainly got me thinking!I've just been looking at some reviews of Sempron vs Athlon64 and they also conclude that the Sempron isn't up to much - in fact one said that if you have a 6600GT or faster you won't get the best from the card with a Sempron. I'd like to be able to make my budget stretch to an Athlon64, and according to the American reviews the gap between Sempron and a comparable Athlon64 is about $50. However, here in the UK, it would appear that the gap is much bigger! Therefore, would it be worth considering instead going for a 3ghz 32bit CPU, rather than a 1.6ghz processor with perfomance equivalent to 3ghz (I did read your bit about not being obsessed with clock speed, just thought I'd ask!)?Many thanks,Mike

Hi Mike,Glad I could be of help.Here in Hong Kong (where hardware tends to be just a tad more expensive than in the US), the price difference between a Sempron 3000+ and an Athlon64 3000+ is US$58. And yes, indeed if you can fit an Athlon64 into your budget, your investment would be very well-spent so I would strongly urge you to consider going for the Athlon64. BTW, the Sempron is a socket-754 CPU whereas an Athlon64 would be a Socket-939 CPU (or at least it should be, you need to check). Frankly speaking, both sockets will likely give way to yet another new socket (socket M2?) 12-18 months from now but socket-754 will likely be replaced first while socket 939 takes socket 754's place for budget CPUs. Long story short, your future upgrade options would be more open with a socket 939 CPU - yet another reason why you should try going for an Athlon64.As for your second question, by 32-bit CPU, I assume you're referring to Intel (as AMD doesn't offer any 32-bit CPUs anymore, as far as I know). Intel's CPUs are not necessarily any cheaper and going Intel would mean changing your RAM to DDR2. Plus, motherboards based on Intel chipsets tend to be more expensive than nForce motherboards for AMD. So I'm not sure how much you'd save there - not to mention that AMD offers better performance.Please let us know if we can be of more help to you!Edwin

Hi EdwinThanks to your excellent and very informative help you've saved me from making the wrong hardware choice. For this I am extremely grateful. I've just ordered an Athlon64 3000+ and an nForce3 motherboard, along with 1GB of RAM. It turns out the price difference isn't as big in the UK as I feared. So now I'm happily looking forward to all the stuff arriving so I can try it out! (And rest assured, I won't be putting the bits in myself!!)Once again, thankyou for your prompt, informative and very helpful replies. All the best,Mike

Mike,You're most welcome. Please let us know if you have any problems with your new rig.Good luck and enjoy! =pEdwin