SSE2-->SSE3 upgrade or RAM upgrade?

[want_a_mac]

Hi,

i got an IC-VG61 Socket 478B Motherboard with an intel P4 2.66 Ghz SSE2 CPU and 512MB RAM

Everything works fine on the board besides graphics Intel 82845GE but i am going to buy a graphics card anyway (probably Ati)

I also would like to do an upgrade on my CPU, but because of my board my options are restricted "Intel Pentium 4 Processor 2.4A GHz (Prescott) 478pin/ 533MHz FSB/ 1MB CPU" could be an option for me it has got SSE3

The question is, is it worth it? could anyone who upgraded from SSE2 to SSE3 tell me how much did the performence improve?? Or would it be wise to buy some extra memory? with the same money that i'd spend on the cpu i could buy an additional 1gb RAM..... (oh and i don't want to and actually financially can't change the board...)

 

Cheers

[Colonel]

I upgraded from my old laptop's Celeron M SSE2 only to my Desktop Celeron D SSE3. IMO Rosetta runs PowerPC apps ALOT faster. Also, just the overall performance is much greater.

[New001]

Hi,

i got an IC-VG61 Socket 478B Motherboard with an intel P4 2.66 Ghz SSE2 CPU and 512MB RAM

Everything works fine on the board besides graphics Intel 82845GE but i am going to buy a graphics card anyway (probably Ati)

I also would like to do an upgrade on my CPU, but because of my board my options are restricted "Intel Pentium 4 Processor 2.4A GHz (Prescott) 478pin/ 533MHz FSB/ 1MB CPU" could be an option for me it has got SSE3

The question is, is it worth it? could anyone who upgraded from SSE2 to SSE3 tell me how much did the performence improve?? Or would it be wise to buy some extra memory? with the same money that i'd spend on the cpu i could buy an additional 1gb RAM..... (oh and i don't want to and actually financially can't change the board...)

 

Cheers

 

 

I'd also say SSE3. It'll be much faster with it.

[bigboss]

Do also consider:

 

1) Are you going to be running both Windows and OS X are you going to dump Windows soon? If you have a dual-boot machine, the SSE3 instruction set is not as useful in Windows as it is in OS X since an SSE2 processor will run things very will in XP/2k etc. In that case, a ram upgrade would be more beneficial

 

2) The SSE3 instruction set (currently...) is only useful if you are running a PowerPC application. If you are running a Universal application, you will not take a performance hit since there is no PPC->x86 code translation. Also, since most software will be universal within a few months, the SSE3 instruction set will be more or less useless.

 

3) However, Apple may also release software which is optimized for SSE3 CPUs which means that SSE3 may be worth the investment.

 

Overall, your current setup seems good enough for OSx86. I'd probably just get a really cheap 9800 Pro (still a good 8 pipeline card) which can run most of today's games fairly well (either on medium or high). OS X is also quite memory intensive and people complain even when they have 2x512 sticks. In my opinion, getting the memory and a 9800 pro would probably be better than purchasing an already obsolete CPU just to take advantage of SSE3. The 9800 pro and memory will probably set you back by about $200 - $250 US. Then, when Intel and AMD release their next generation solutions, you can probably grab one of them and you'd have much better performance with them than a Prescott (which is pretty damned hot too).

[cyclonefr]

hi guys ive got a 2.8C HT CPU boosted at 3.6Ghz with a f***ing great FAN

do u think it's usefull to exchange it for a PRESCOTT 3.0E (maybe not overclockable) or i wont increase my overall performance under OSX?? cause IMO lots of apps requires SSE3 and lags on my pc.

What's the point?

[want_a_mac]

Guys thank you all for your answers now the clouds are clearing in my head

 

Do also consider:

 

1) Are you going to be running both Windows and OS X are you going to dump Windows soon? If you have a dual-boot machine, the SSE3 instruction set is not as useful in Windows as it is in OS X since an SSE2 processor will run things very will in XP/2k etc. In that case, a ram upgrade would be more beneficial

 

2) The SSE3 instruction set (currently...) is only useful if you are running a PowerPC application. If you are running a Universal application, you will not take a performance hit since there is no PPC->x86 code translation. Also, since most software will be universal within a few months, the SSE3 instruction set will be more or less useless.

 

3) However, Apple may also release software which is optimized for SSE3 CPUs which means that SSE3 may be worth the investment.

 

Overall, your current setup seems good enough for OSx86. I'd probably just get a really cheap 9800 Pro (still a good 8 pipeline card) which can run most of today's games fairly well (either on medium or high). OS X is also quite memory intensive and people complain even when they have 2x512 sticks. In my opinion, getting the memory and a 9800 pro would probably be better than purchasing an already obsolete CPU just to take advantage of SSE3. The 9800 pro and memory will probably set you back by about $200 - $250 US. Then, when Intel and AMD release their next generation solutions, you can probably grab one of them and you'd have much better performance with them than a Prescott (which is pretty damned hot too).

 

Wow that's a very helpful answer just one more question though?

Would a 9800 pro card from any manufacturer work? I mean QE/CI support? or should i buy a certain one like Gigabyte or Sapphire or whatsoever??

And thank you as well for spending time to answer..

 

Cheers

[Icebreaker]

Are current apps like Aperture optimised for SSE3 or is that just a thing that will happen in the future when the current computers will be very obsolete?

 

I´m asking this because I´m thinking of buying rather Dell Inspiron 1300 (B120) which has Celeron M instead of buying the more expensive Inspiron 6400 (E1505) which has Core Duo (SSE3)

 

I already have an iMac G5 that at home that I would use for the non-native apps....

 

Is it crazy of me to buy the cheap Dell with SSE2 now?