A64 upgrade questions

[exodus454]

alrighty then. I'm really not sure what to do about this. I'm in the market for a new motherboard to replace my NF7 and tonight i got the idea of upgrading to a socket 754 A64 2800+. would this make any sense performance-wise (i would probably go nForce3)?

(see sig for system specs)

The way i figure it, is why buy another motherboard to replace my NF7 when i;m going to want to upgrade in the future anyways? (it NEEDS to be replaced, im having all sorts of issues with it, so its not just money burning a hole in my pocket, incase you were wondering) should i just go for the gold now? ii figured that through newegg, i could get CPU and mobo for alittle under $250 which doesnt seem too bad at all, especially if i can offload my 2500 onto someone and get some cash for it. sorry if this post isnt too clear guys, its late.


can someone give me some help though?

ps- what is the main difference between opteron and a64? would opteron be any better? (certainly is a few dollars cheaper)

 

[Sonic587]

What's the max budget?

 

[exodus454]

if i stick with the athlon, $75 (just for a new board)
if i upgrade to new board and cpu (can sell old stuff), $250-$275

EDIT: After surfing the web for awhile, i've looked at the Chaintech Sk8T800 mobo, does anyone know if this is a good board? for $60 i have to be skeptical. If there isnt anything wrong with it, then i think its going to be a64 time. $191 for processor and board isnt bad at all.

 

[exodus454]

bump

 

[Sulaco]

I'm not sure what your needs and preferences are, you might want to post that, but I'm in a pretty similar situation. About as much money to spend, and looking at similar boards.

I haven't heard anything at all about the Chaintech SK8T800, and all the places I've asked around for good boards for my budget, nobody has brought it up once.

I would suggest maybe looking at the Chaintech VNF250 board though. It's about $9 more ($69 at Mwave), and has been recommended to me by a number of people on these forums, ad other tech boards. It's also done well in reviews on tech sites (Anand gave it a silver award).

It all depends on what you're looking for in your board though (stability, O/C, features, compatiblity, etc), but if you don't need too much, I'd look hard at the VnF250 board.

 

[exodus454]

thanks, i will take a look at it as i really am not looking for too much. built in RAID is just about the only feature i would ever use, i have no use for gigabit ethernet, dual ethernet ports, and i dont overclock much.

Another board you may want to have a look at is the AOpen AK89 MAX, its a bit pricey, but the dual bios chip option is a real pro on that board. I dont know about other people, but i've fried a few.

My uses are pretty much for light gaming (occasional CS, quake III, etc) but mainly for just listening to music, watching movies, ripping cds and cruising the net. I'm still undecided as to if the 64-bit architecture is worth the extra money at this point in time, or if I would really even see a noticible performance increase over my 2500+ at all (at least until 64-bit XP comes out)

 

[Sulaco]

Originally posted by: exodus454
thanks, i will take a look at it as i really am not looking for too much. built in RAID is just about the only feature i would ever use, i have no use for gigabit ethernet, dual ethernet ports, and i dont overclock much.

Another board you may want to have a look at is the AOpen AK89 MAX, its a bit pricey, but the dual bios chip option is a real pro on that board. I dont know about other people, but i've fried a few.

Yeah, there are a number of good 754 mobos out there from what I hear. Its just a shame for me that my budget is so low. I can't really go any higher than $100..and thats pushing it even.

The Chaintech caught my eye because it is so well priced, and has received alot of praise from users and reviewers alike.

 

[exodus454]

yeah, i know what you mean. The only way i can justify more than $100 (which is pushing it for me as well) is with the hope that i can offload my 2500 and nf7 onto someone and try and gain some money back.

why cant i have a money tree?

 

[RockGuitarDude]

I have the chaintech sk8t800... Its a good board, especially for the money. I can get my 2800+ up to 9 x 220 (1980MHz) The only thing that stops me is the lack of PCI/AGP lock. Aside from overclocking, the board has no issues whatsoever.

 

[dennisjai215]

btw if you want OEM, the cheapest would be monarch, if you want retail a64's best would be zipzoomfly

 

[exodus454]

thanks guys, youre all helping a hell of alot. now comes the next question.

Its not really worth the (negligable but still) extra money to go for a 3000+ instead of a 2800+ is it?

 

[Sulaco]

After endless hours researching different s754 mobos, and choosing between as many as 10 at one time, I think I'm going to go ahead and get the Chaintech VnF250

The price simply cannot be beat, for one. The reviews of it have all been stellar. And it seems a large majority of people who have it are really liking it.
Plus, I don't have to pay a premium for stuff I really am never going to use.

I'll spend about another hour or two mulling it over, but unless I find some stuff that really repulses me, I think I'll just bite the bullet and spring for it.

 

[exodus454]

I think i'm already convinced. VNF250 is the one i think i'll go for. Now the question of to spend $20 more for 200mhz more..

 

[dennisjai215]

i would spend 20$ more for 200mhz =]

 

[SickBeast]

Originally posted by: dennisjai215
i would spend 20$ more for 200mhz =]