Build Question

[Zuddud]

I'm in the process of slapping together a new PC and I've made most of the final decisions, but I'm not confidant in one area: chipset.

I'm going with an AM2 Athlon 64 X2 4200+ (65w) with 1 7950GT 256MB and 2GB RAM at DDR2-800. I'll be sticking with XP, and the system will primarily be used for web surfing, relatively light gaming (mainly Oblivion), and video encoding. 1 Hd and 1 DVD on IDE. Will be sticking with on-board audio (headphones only, no speakers) as well as on-board NIC.

No SLI, and no overclocking planned. Stock fans/heatsinks, and a relatively cool case with a 450W Fortron PSU

So now it's time to look at the MB. I absolutely HATE anything ASUS (very bad experiences) and am leaning towards Gigabyte or MSI But the big question is chipset.

So to make it simple:

Is there a big advantage going to a nvidia 550 chipset as opposed to the older 6100/430 chipsets?

Is there a danger going with the new AMD chipsets? Am I better off just sticking with Nvidia?

I've seen a lot of comments on NewEgg about the 500 series chipsets running very hot. If I'm not OC'ing do I need to worry about that?

Oh, and is it just me, or does the placement of the chipset heatsink on this board seem like it would get in the way of the video card? Especially one with a large fan/heatsink?

Thanks, and any feedback you can provide would be great!

 

[Zuddud]

*BUMP*

 

[JeffreyLebowski]

Your video card will sit higher than the chipset cooler. If you're not overclocking save yourself the few bucks and get which ever is cheaper.

 

[Zuddud]

So basically, chipset means little to nothing if I'm not overclocking? With a variance of only $5 I'm still not sure which way to go.

 

[jkresh]

as AMD chips have an onboard memory controller the chipset doest affect speed much, just overclocking, also difference in features (number of sata ports, gigibayte ethernet, built in firewall...) For $5 I would go with a an nforce 5 board over a 4.

 

[Zuddud]

I guess that only leaves me with one question: Lots of the reviewers of the 550 based boards complain about heat. In particular the MSI board I'm looking at. The catch is that I don't know if they are talking stock or o/c. Assuming I have a well ventilated case (front and rear 120mm fans, and a side cone/duct over the cpu) and no o/c would heat be a concern on a 550?

I think the only other option I'd really have would be the Biostar which has a chipset fan but I've heard Biostar boards work better as replacement boards than long term solutions.

 

[Captante]

NForce 500 seris boards actually do offer slightly higher performance then NForce 4's & given a choice I'd go with Gigabyte over MSI myself ... of course I'd go with a high-end Asus over either of those two myself so what do I know?

 

[Zuddud]

Originally posted by: Captante
NForce 500 seris boards actually do offer slightly higher performance then NForce 4's & given a choice I'd go with Gigabyte over MSI myself ... of course I'd go with a high-end Asus over either of those two myself so what do I know?

Likely a hell of a lot more than me.

So here's where I am...

MSI K9N Neo-F - 550MCP @ $72.99
or
BIOSTAR TFORCE 550 - 550MCP @ $79.99
or
GIGABYTE GA-M61P-S3 - 6100 @ $79.99

Seems like a near coin flip. Anything jump out about any of these?

 

[VirtualLarry]

What does an Nforce chipset newer than the NF4 Ultra on the AMD platform get you, over and above the NF4 Ultra? I personally don't see much reason not to just go with what works, NF4 or NF4 Ultra (if you need SATA300).

 

[Zuddud]

That was pretty much where I was headed as well. NF4 is well established and should be relatively bug free at this point. Plus I really like the idea of going Gigabyte.

One last quick question though...

Since I'm not overclocking, would there be any point in getting memory other than DDR2-800 1.8v? The Gigabyte site specifies 1.8v, but I'm sure the board could go higher. Is there any point?

 

[hurtstotalktoyou]

If you're going to get a 6100-based board, I'd go with the ASRock AM2NF6G-VSTA for $65 shipped. It, as well as its socket-754 and 939 predecessors, has pretty nice reviews and should be able to overclock nicely, provided you install a PCIe x16 video card. Also, a Brisbane 3600+ ($69) should get you to about the same speed as a 4200+ 65W ($103), when overclocking is factored in. So that's $134 shipped for the 3600+ and VSTA, saving you $48 total while sacrificing little if any performance.

However, since the Gigabyte+AMD products you had picked out total to $183, consider this: An E4300 with a Gigabyte GA-945P-S3 (another great overclocking board) comes to only $200--a mere $17 more than your initial budget. If you can afford $200, go for the Intel platform. If not, I'd stick with the Brisbane+ASRock for $134. Anywhere in between and you're just spending more money than required for no significant performance boost.

This is opinion, of course, but I think it is based on sound logic.

 

[Zuddud]

I agree with the logic, however I won't be overclocking. Everything I've read says that Intel's (and especially that board) overclock VERY well.

My problem now is PSU. From doing more research it seems for nearly the same price as the Nvidia 7950GT I could go with a 1950pro or xt. Since Oblivion is my primary game it seems ATI is definitely the way to go in my price range. The PSU is the hard part though. I really would like to avoid shelling out $100+ on a PSU.

I thought the FSG PSU I listed up thread would be fine as it has two 18amp 12V rails, but I'm reading otherwise.

This is what you get when you build your own but wait 3-5 years between builds and don't keep up.