754 a stupid decision

[Mattd46612]

At this point in time is it pretty much a dumb decision to go with a skt 754? For all you late nighters, I need to decide and order what I want as far as a Mobo/Cpu upgrade. Pretty much decided on the 3000+ Venice but the mobo I have no idea. I am open for anything, skt754, 939, hell even skt A. Keep it AMD though. and in the $200 ballpark.

 

[n7]

Considering that s939 will be replaced with M2 eventually, i wouldn't call s754 stupid.

However, if you do want capability to run A64 X2s on the same mobo later, going 939 is the only way.

The other reason 939 is so recommended is because the CPUs (Winnies, now Venices) OC much higher.
I assume you want AGP?

If so, then grab the Venice 3000+ & DFI nForce 3 or MSI K8N Neo2, or since your budget is lower, look for the Epox nForce 3 mobos.

 

[Mattd46612]

really been leaning heavily into the N3 boards even if it coests me a few extra. I just want the OC ablitiy. And from what Ive read even with the ram I have I should be able to hit 2.5-2.6. Which would be the best OCer? Ive browsed around all 3 of them.

 

[n7]

For OCing, it used to be the Neo2 hands down.

Now that the DFI has come out, i'm assuming it's just as good; likely better.

Those would be the best two s939 AGP OCing mobos though.

 

[Mattd46612]

Could I expect to be in the same ballpark with the Epox? Would a non NF3 Neo2 be any good or do I defienetly want to stick with the NF3

 

[Quino]

There is somebody here on the forums selling one for $50 shipped. A 3000 venice core is $146 so that should keep it on budget.

 

[n7]

Originally posted by: Mattd46612
Could I expect to be in the same ballpark with the Epox? Would a non NF3 Neo2 be any good or do I defienetly want to stick with the NF3

Oh noes, stay away from that other MSI one.

On a budget, the Epox should be great. Lots of people have great success with it here if you search around in the mobo forum here.

 

[Mattd46612]

Figure the VIA was definetly not the way to go. The Asus I have now has a Via chipset and Im not very happy. Looks like Ill just get a the 3000+ Venice and the Epox. 146+95 = 231 shipped not too bad i guess. Would have like to go lower but this will have me set for a long time.

 

[n yusef]

If you have a budget that's big enough to go 939, I would reccomend it. For a new system, you want PCIe (yes, there are S754 PCIe boards, but they aren't nearly as good as the 939 versions), the option to go dual-core, and in my opinion, the better motherboard choices on 939. If you overclock (I don't think you do though), then 939 is worth even more, because the new Venice and San Diego chips are regularly hitting 2.6 or higher. I would say get S754 if you need a new computer, have a really tight budget, and you know you won't want to upgrade to S939 in the future (754->M2).

 

[Mattd46612]

I refuse to get rid of my 6600GT AGP so that pretty much crushed alot of my upgrading paths. For the money I dont see how I can go wrong with the 3000+ Venice and the Epox. Its 30 bucks over what i wanted to spend but when do we ever follow or budgets.

 

[n7]

You'll be happy with that combo, & should be able to run @ 4000+ speeds no trouble (unless you get my kinda OCing luck :frown: )

 

[Mattd46612]

I really dont know very much about RAM so Im sure Ill be on here asking questions. I understand multipliers and the fsb and beyond that nothing. Which I suppose is dumb to go OCing without knowthing the agp locks and memory dividers and whatnot. If I can get it up to 2500 or higher and be a very happy man.

 

[n7]

I see you mentioned your RAM is PC3200 in your other thread.

The thing is, you cannot run 3x512 MB AFAIK on the s939 mobos...

With 2x512MB, here's how i'd hope for things to work out:

Run CPU @ 9*280 (2520 MHz) with a 133 (3:2) divider.

That puts your RAM just under spec at 185ish, & maybe even closer to spec if you get higher.

 

[Mattd46612]

pc3200

 

[Quino]

Here it is the mobo for $50

Epox

 

[Mattd46612]

yeah I ended up havin to take out one of the 512mb sticks in this board also. 1GB will definetly hold me over for a while. Is a divider just talk for Ram timing? is it a bios setting?

 

[n7]

Dividers allow you to run the CPU HTT [akin to FSB] @ a higher speed (asyncronously) than the RAM.

So in my earlier example, your CPU HTT would be at 280 MHz, & your RAM at 185 Mhz, since your RAM is obviously not gonna hit anywhere close to 280

 

[Mattd46612]

So a divider is just a Ram timing setting, nothing physical. And this board should have all the settings to tinker with?

 

[n7]

Yeah...i don't know exactly what the Epox bios would look like, but they're all the same concept.

 

[Mattd46612]

Sweet. Im gonna go ahead and order it through zipzoomfly. $255 for the Epox EP-9NDA3J, 3000+ Venice and a chaintech sound card so Ill be able to use my mic with this mobo. crappy onboard mic In burned out, junk this Asus is.

 

[Mattd46612]

would 4x512mb work on the Epox? I think id have to do some searching for another 512mb golden dragon though, didnt see it at newegg

 

[n7]

Yes. I'd recommend a better video card before getting more RAM, but in certain games, you may find 2GB is very beneficial.

 

[Mattd46612]

Ive been playing bf2 the last few days and it seems to run fairly well, although I dont know how to check framerates. In CS:S I get some big dips in framerates, figured that was a lil more because of processor though. When I get this new setup together I will definetly be Overclocking the 6600GT. Hopefully that will buy me time until the next big game comes out.

 

[superfly27]

http://www.tigerdirect.com/applications...rchTools/item-details.asp?EdpNo=672991
This Duron 1.8 GHz is allegedly a reconfigured Athlon XP 2200+ and some people on the net have OC this thing to 2.4 and even over 2.5 GHz. It?s only $30 US after rebate or $53 CDN after rebate.

http://www.tigerdirect.com/applications...m-details.asp?EdpNo=1174910&CatId=1124
This MSI socket A motherboard has a nForce2 chipset so you can OC. It?s $65 US or $88 CDN.

http://www.tigerdirect.com/applications.../item-details.asp?EdpNo=674108&CatId=0
I don?t know if this is the best heatsink, but it keeps my Duron 1.8 GHz at 45?C with the thermal pad that came with it (CPU is running stock). It?s $19 US or $26 CDN

There you have it, a total of $114 US and you still have some left so you can buy a video card for $70 US or $95 CDN, the Asus 9550 Gaming Edition:
http://www.tigerdirect.com/applications...item-details.asp?EdpNo=1239429&CatId=0

I?m starting to do research on socket 754 motherboards. But if you wanted a slightly better deal without overclocking, the Abit KV8 Pro mobo & Sempron 3100+ and 9600 Pro video card.

Whoops!! I just noticed you have a 6600 GT. Oh well, someone else can use the advice. I have an Asus AV7600-X myself and I am considering buying another CPU, that mobo listed up there and even a stick of RAM to try overclocking for the first time.