Best Bang for the Buck CPU and Mobo combo

[jackace]

topic says it all. i want a 6800gt and a good cpu motherboard combo. i prefer AMD since i play games...especially world of warcraft.

Please link if you can any good places to get a good deal on combos. im finally able to afford to upgrade my p4 1.7.

If you know an good places for ram post those too. i have found these so far and they sound good null

Any good places to get a 6800gt either AGP or PCIe depending on the Motherboard format you suggest would be greatly appreciated.

thx for the help ahead of time

 

[Concillian]

Best total bang for the buck would be a 2800+ and a S754 motherboard for around $200. I play WoW fine at 1600x1200 with that setup and an x800Pro. Makes no noticeable difference to performance when I OC to 2300 MHz.

For future video card upgrading, I'd go to PCIe if you can and in that case you're talking a 3000+ and S939 MB, but then you're looking at about $250-300.

An x800XL is adequate for 1600x1200 in WoW and significantly cheaper than a 6800 GT. Though a 6800GT will probably be slightly faster than the x800XL, it's not much faster. And the x800XL can be had for significantly less than the 6800GT if you choose PCIe.

Value RAM PC3200 should be fine.

 

[Lark888]

I went for a Monarch bundle (AMD 3200+ Winchester) on DFI NF4 Ultra Motherboard. Could have saved a few bucks by getting AMD 3000+ and most likely would have overclocked just as well. Picked up ATI X800XL from CompUSA Business for about $275 in the PCIe variety. Wasn't "cheap" but seemed a good balance between cost and performance that would last a year and still be a good hand-me-down to family member.

There are a number of combos in with the AMD 939 socket 3000+ with MSI Neo4 motherboard for about $225-$240. Have to factor in a PCIe Video card if you choose that route.

Also got a copy of FarCry and Half-Life2 with bundle - both programs that I have been thinking about but not purchased - came free with bundle. Monarch pre-builds these bundles and ships them. In my case, I asked for the piece parts since I was going to use different Heatsink/Fan and like to put system together.

Oh - and a link as requested:
MC Bundle - AMD 939

You will have to edit the order as the default one is for 3200+ and mid/high range MB.

 

[jackace]

thx for the replies guys i was wondering if PCIe is really worth the add'l cost?

 

[rise]

keep your eyes on monarch daily, especially towards the weekends. i locked in this quote for 7 days this past weekend--

Code Name Quantity Price/Ea. Total
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
80152 Pre-Tested and Setup AMD Athlon 64/FX (939) Combo 1 $0.00 $0.00
Motherboard: 110630 - DFI Lan Party UT nForce4 SLI-DR Audio/GB- $179.00 $179.00
Processor: 120428 - AMD Athlon 64 3200+ 512K 90nm (939) (Reta $166.00 $166.00
Heatsink Fan: None
Memory: None
2nd Memory: None
Round Cables: None
Warranty: 800056 - Motherboard-CPU Warranty - 90 Days
Far Cry Promotion: 270846 - FREE Full DVD Version of Far Cry - 39.95
Napster Promotion: 270136 - FREE Napster Music Download for 4 Months
Half Life 2 Promotion: 27F854 - FREE Half Life 2 Full Version Coupon with
Sales Tax: $0.00
Shipping: $0.00
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Total: $345.00

i'll give it a couple days until maybe the venice appear, but i like the price. and unless you have a good agp vid card you don't want to part with than definitely go pci-e. even then, maybe sell your agp and get the pci-e.


edit, sorry for the copy paste, but i couldn't link the quote and the prices went back up. just illustrating that monarchs prices fluctuate alot.

 

[Mucker]

Originally posted by: rise4310
keep your eyes on monarch daily, especially towards the weekends. i locked in this quote for 7 days this past weekend--

Code Name Quantity Price/Ea. Total
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
80152 Pre-Tested and Setup AMD Athlon 64/FX (939) Combo 1 $0.00 $0.00
Motherboard: 110630 - DFI Lan Party UT nForce4 SLI-DR Audio/GB- $179.00 $179.00
Processor: 120428 - AMD Athlon 64 3200+ 512K 90nm (939) (Reta $166.00 $166.00
Heatsink Fan: None
Memory: None
2nd Memory: None
Round Cables: None
Warranty: 800056 - Motherboard-CPU Warranty - 90 Days
Far Cry Promotion: 270846 - FREE Full DVD Version of Far Cry - 39.95
Napster Promotion: 270136 - FREE Napster Music Download for 4 Months
Half Life 2 Promotion: 27F854 - FREE Half Life 2 Full Version Coupon with
Sales Tax: $0.00
Shipping: $0.00
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Total: $345.00

i'll give it a couple days until maybe the venice appear, but i like the price. and unless you have a good agp vid card you don't want to part with than definitely go pci-e. even then, maybe sell your agp and get the pci-e.


edit, sorry for the copy paste, but i couldn't link the quote and the prices went back up. just illustrating that monarchs prices fluctuate alot.

What he/she said....Monarch bundle's are the way to go.....

m

 

[Concillian]

Originally posted by: jackace
thx for the replies guys i was wondering if PCIe is really worth the add'l cost?

If you are planning to upgrade video card and motherboard I would say absolutely. Manufacturers want to cut off AGP ASAP. You won't be able to find video card upgrades forever.

The additional cost is minimal when yo factor in that there are significantly better values in PCIe than AGP (primarily x800XL).

When you look at PCIe you're looking at +100 on the MB/CPU, but -100 on the video card. A wash but you end up with significantly greater flexibility moving forward. Not just in terms of PCIe, but also the S939 is more forward looking than S754.

I went S754 a few months ago, when PCIe was immenent but not available yet for A64 platforms. Were I buying today, I would definitely go S939 and PCIe.

 

[jackace]

my only concern is i usually only have enough money to upgrade every 1.5 years so i usually do Mobo/cpu/video card all at the same time.

Is 939 and PCIe performance far enough ahead of the 754 and AGP to justify the $100-$200 increase.

Im definatley leaning toward it though =)

 

[Jeff7181]

Originally posted by: jackace
thx for the replies guys i was wondering if PCIe is really worth the add'l cost?

Only for the sake of being future proof right now. The switch is being made from AGP to PCI-E... eventually AGP cards will be gone, since moving to PCI-E means you have no AGP port at all. So AGP cards will become even less common than plain PCI cards are right now. If you get a PCI-Express motherboard now, you'll have the ability to use pretty much any new card that comes out for a while. And if you go with a socket 939 platform, you'll also be in good shape for dual core processors.

If you don't intend to upgrade, just replace your whole computer in a couple years, socket 754 would be a great choice right now.