Best value motherboard and CPU combination for $150?

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Antoneo

Diamond Member
May 25, 2001
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I need help on CPU and motherboard selection. I have no preference between AMD or Intel, only that I'd like to go with the one that delivers the most performance for the dollar.

My usage will be office applications, browsing, video and photo editing, some 3D rendering, and games like World of Warcraft.

Overclocking is an option that I would like to take advantage of, but I'm not sure if the overclocking options provided by motherboards of this price point will allow for it.

I do not have any upgrade habits and will only do so when components are dying or if the computer cannot run a particular application at a decent clip. I probably won't upgrade for another year or two, so there I don't really worry for socket lifetimes or AGP vs. PCI-E.

My budget is about $150 for both components shipped. Any help is appreciated. :)

I am willing to buy used parts as well!

Cheers,
Antonio

*My secondary computer, ASUS P3B-f with a 1.4GHz Tually Celeron, appears to be finally giving up. :( I haven't introduced any new software or hardware and after years of flawless service the setup is having inexplicable freezes. They don't seem to be restricted to any particular activity either, so rather than risk data loss while doing some work, I've decided to retire the machine and get a new setup. Spending anymore time on it would be wasteful. :brokenheart:*
 
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AMDrulZ

Member
Jul 9, 2005
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I would have to say an AMD Sempron 64 for the CPU i will look for a inexpensive motherboard on newegg.com i will post it here in a little while !!!!:)
 
Markfw

Markfw

Moderator Emeritus, Elite Member
May 16, 2002
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Frys had an AMD Athlon64 3000+ and motherboard for $139....Don't know if its still on.
 
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AMDrulZ

Member
Jul 9, 2005
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that would be good i only said sempron-64 after some reviews that despite being 754 with single channel memory that they managed to keep up with an Athlon-64 in several app's and even in gaming and they overclock well to boot!!!!

but 939 will have more upgrades and stuff but from the looks of it he won't upgrade again for a couple of year's and 939 will be gone by then any way!!!!
 
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AMDrulZ

Member
Jul 9, 2005
199
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$80.00[2 reviews] ABIT NV8 Socket 754 NVIDIA nForce4 ATX AMD Motherboard - Retail

$76.00[7 reviews] AMD Sempron 64 2800+ Palermo 800MHz FSB 256KB L2 Cache Socket 754 Processor - Retail

$2.50 for motherboard shipping

Total $ 158.50


Get the Sempron and Overclock to about 1.8 to 2.0 ghz if you are using stock cooling. i am being a little conservative i don't know how good the stock cooling is for the semprons so i wouldn't go much past 1.8 to 2.0 ghz.
 
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Antoneo

Diamond Member
May 25, 2001
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Thanks for the replies so far.

Ah, I've just spent a few minutes reading posts in the boards and AMD s754 looks like the platform for me. I'll likely get a Sempron 64 2800 or perhaps a little higher, but I think I have to do some more reading to figure out which chip would have the best chance of a good overclock. I haven't much success with past overlocks, my r8500le core and mem didn't go much above default without artifacting, and my P4 1.6a only does 2.1 stable on an epox 4g4a+. I'll have to check motherboards as well hehe.

EDIT: Wow, motherboards are so cheap yet fully featured. Integrated everything and still under $100. Are there any particular recommendations or well known budget overclocking boards? Mloot mentioned the Chaintech VNF3-250, any others?
 
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AMDrulZ

Member
Jul 9, 2005
199
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I would have to say Abit,MSI,DFI,ASUS for overclocking the reason i picked the abit board to post in my price list was because it is one of the few 754 boards with the Nvidia Nforce-4 chipset and PCI Express. that way you will have a good chipset and good graphics options. i belive that the abit board will do well for overclocking also. not to mention it's only $ 80 the only drawback to that board is it only has two memory slot's.

:)
 
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o1die

Diamond Member
Jul 8, 2001
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Fry's has a p4 533 retail boxed cpu with board for only $99 today in the austin area. Check for similar deals at outpost.com.
 
Markfw

Markfw

Moderator Emeritus, Elite Member
May 16, 2002
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Originally posted by: o1die
Fry's has a p4 533 retail boxed cpu with board for only $99 today in the austin area. Check for similar deals at outpost.com.
Click to expand...

I would take the 3000+ and mobo deal for $138 over that. Or the $159 for the 3200+ and mobo deal as said above.
 
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Antoneo

Diamond Member
May 25, 2001
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I was considering the following products:
AMD Sempron 64 2800+ $74

AMD Sempron 64 3100+ $104

CHAINTECH VNF3-250 $59.50

DFI LANPARTY UT nF3 250Gb $94.50

Which combination would likely yield the best performing setup when overclocked? This would be assuming that I'm using basic Corsair/Mushkin/Crucial PC3200 RAM and dividers. I have heard that the higher multiplier (9) on the 3100+ would be better with a board that might not do 300HTT. But if the 3100+ is paired with the Chaintech, am I simply gimping myself? I'd like to stay within the $150 as much as possible.

Oh the choices! :D
 
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Univac

Senior member
Aug 6, 2000
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right now i am dealing with two 90 nm sempron 2800+/Chaintech VNF3-250 setups.

The newest Bios's do not have cpu voltage adjustments, and the older one's that do, seem to have some issues with two double sided dimms and the memory controller in these new semprons.

Right now the VN120921 bios is working best for me.

The CPU I'm working most with,overclockts to over 2.1 Ghz on default Voltage.

I think the other one will do more. :D

with the memory dividers set pretty low, both boards will go up to about 310 htt. but I have not checked them for stability there.


as always YMMV.... heck, mine may too :p

 
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Antoneo

Diamond Member
May 25, 2001
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Originally posted by: Hacp
Originally posted by: Powermoloch
you can't go wrong with 3100+ sempron paris :thumbsup:
Click to expand...

Paris=130NM!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Click to expand...

That's what I thought too, so I was wondering why he would recommend that instead of the Palermo core.

I did a quick search on Anandtech forums and couldn't find the problems you mentioned univac for the Chaintech board. I am planning to put two double-sided 512MB PC3200 sticks in, so memory problems would defer my decision to purchase this board. Are those isolated occurances?
 
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Univac

Senior member
Aug 6, 2000
306
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I think the biggest problems I was having was all the variables,and it being my first foray into the AMD64 world. :p

Three different memory brands,four different bios's.figuring what worked best in what slot ,timings, etc

On the newest bios,my memory would run up to 220mhz with ok timings. but it doesnt have cpu voltage adjustment.

So I went to an older one that was said to be one of the best, and had some odd problems.( Watch out for the reported ram size in the 7/29 bios)

Then another wouldnt let me get my ram above 150mhz as soon as I set a divider.

But with the bios VN120921 things got better. :D

I am checking out my friends ram, which is one stick of old Crucial 266DDR,and another stick of generic ram, and it is running prime95 fine at 150Mhz/300DDR 1T 2.5 3 10 3 . CPU is at 2352 mhz ,1.47 volts,HTT is at 294.

My ram seems to get up to the 180-190s which is ok with me until hopefully a new bios with voltage adjustment comes out.

Because at that speed I can tighten the timings,
And Lower latencies beats memory speed with these systems .

Of course, i woudn't have had these problems if i was happy with at least a 500mhz overclock on default voltage. :D

VNF3-250 Review
 
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Antoneo

Diamond Member
May 25, 2001
3,911
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Alright, I'm going to revive this thread to ask what the best value AMD socket 939 setup would be?
 
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manly

Lifer
Jan 25, 2000
12,997
3,758
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Originally posted by: Markfw900
Frys had an AMD Athlon64 3000+ and motherboard for $139....Don't know if its still on.
Click to expand...
For a budget gamer, is that significantly better than Fry's Sempron 3100+ (retail) combo recently for $99.99 ? The A64 combos still need a HSF.
 
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