ASROCK K8 COMBO-Z 754/939 board?

[arredondo]

I've been eyeing this board at New Egg ever since I read the review at OC Clockers.com:

http://www.newegg.com/app/View...=13-157-035&depa=0

I'm getting a new rig and think if this is decent I can start with a 3200+ now, then get an FX-53 or better after 12-18 months without having to change my board. I don't need too many extra frills, just enough to play games. I don't OC or switch parts more than once every few years, so this sounds perfect... IF it's stable and runs well that is. I've been to OCC forums but there's little info there. Any guinea pigs here that's tried it out?

 

[ChineseDemocracyGNR]

There's a review here. Their forums have one thread for users to post their experience, but nothing there yet.

 

[arredondo]

Yeah, that's the one I read (I typed it wrong above). Have you tried it yet?

 

[ChineseDemocracyGNR]

Nope, I won't upgrade to A64 until after I get a new video card (I'm just waiting for the 6600GT right now).

I haven't had any problems with my ASRock K7VT6, and the K8S8X is highly recommended around here. If you decide to give this board a try let us know how it goes.

 

[arredondo]

Heh, this is my first computer purchase in almost five years. I don't want to experiment without some more general information. I've seen one reveiw and no user comments... perhaps this site can review it. I wonder if they will.

 

[ChineseDemocracyGNR]

In that case, can you wait a little more? I believe the s939 A64 3000+ should arrive in a month or two.

 

[Peter]

The board is a nice marketing stunt - but what are the odds of getting that expansion board for a reasonable price in, say, eight months?
Wait a bit until lower speed CPU speed grades for S939 are introduced, and/or save up a bit to get one. Or stay with socket-754 and its cheaper CPUs.

 

[ChineseDemocracyGNR]

That board doesn't need an expansion card, it's ASRock's "Combo" series. They also have an "Upgrade" series.

MonarchComputer.com has the s939 A64 3000+ for pre-order, ETA is Oct. 01.

 

[arredondo]

Originally posted by: ChineseDemocracyGNR
That board doesn't need an expansion card, it's ASRock's "Combo" series. They also have an "Upgrade" series.

MonarchComputer.com has the s939 A64 3000+ for pre-order, ETA is Oct. 01.

THAT'S the answer! Thanks buddy. I'll consider the 939 3000+ or 3200+ for $180-$210. Then I'll only need to upgrade my processor to the FX-53, add another GB of RAM (total 2 GB) and upgrade to a new vid card over the two to three years.

Spreading these purchases out this way keeps the value to performance issues stable while allowing me to play the games of the future that will build off of the Doom3/HL2/Unreal 3 engines. I was able to keep my 2000 rig fully functional (WinME, 1.0Ghz Athlon, GeForce 2 Pro) for all this time.

I've only upgraded the vid card to a 9600 Pro recently and have been getting 40-60 fps on all games purchased so far (even with the GeForce 2 Pro until recently) since the games have been based on the Quake 3 and HL engines to run well on rigs like mine (Counter Strike fiend here).

I plan to stick with this low cost strategy again now that the new engines are out, which will likely be the engines that control gaming for another four - five years. Once I max this rig out, I'll then buy a new system with the latest options.

Thanks for the info.

 

[DevilsAdvocate]

Got mine up and running... feels pretty quick

Running a Sempron 3100+ with future upgrade plans...

 

[hg321]

Hey Devil...any problems with the board so far? That's the combo I was thinking about.

 

[LED]

Lil help as I got this board and 1 Sempron 3100...it boots but no screen...I've switch RAM and hooked a speaker to it so I know the CPU is good and the RAM+ PSU as it all works and gives beeps when I disengage them, so I have it down to the Vid card. The Mobo doesn't beep when I have it hooked up via the AGP slot and have tried a couple (ATI7500AIW and a NVidia) so am I missing something here...I'm looking for my PCI Vid cards but can't find the box
any suggestions would be appreciatted...TIA

Items tried PSU=MGE 400wts(ok) and a Demon 480wt(OK)
RAM=Samsung and Kingston HyperX both OK
CPU=3100Sempron(OK)
Vid cards =ATI7500 and 850oAIW= a Nvidia MX400 (dunno cause I get no screen via my IOGear KVM switch

 

[LED]

Originally posted by: DevilsAdvocate
Got mine up and running... feels pretty quick

Running a Sempron 3100+ with future upgrade plans...

DevilsAdvocate...Before I RMA the Mobo...let me ask you this: Does it Beep once before booting up?
TIA

 

[DevilsAdvocate]

Hmmm... mine beeps once. Is that bad?

 

[LED]

Originally posted by: DevilsAdvocate
Hmmm... mine beeps once. Is that bad?

No that's what most do and mine doesn't but I was just checking so it's RMA time...Thanks