Building gaming computer-ned help with hardware

[neilthereildeil]

Hey all. i got a few questions. first of all, i am building a new gaming computer, and i am still researching parts to put into it. as of now, im planning to install:

[1][/list]AMD Athlon 64 Dual Core 4400
[2][/list]ATI X1800 XT 512 MB
[3][/list]ASUS A8R-MVP mobo
[4][/list]1 GB of some kind of ram. any suggestions?

My goal is to have a fast gaming PC that will last me a few years and let me play the newest games at good setings and good speed. should i go with Nvidia instead of ATI? Intel instead of AMD? also, this motherboard requires DDR 400 memory, but my processor and motherboard are both 1000Mhz front side bus. would i have a 600 Mhz bottleneck if i install 400Mhz memory on a mobo and CPU set that requires 1000 Mhz? also, i use linux, but i dont play any 3d games on it(maybe tux racer at the most). also, whats the difference between dram and sdram? can i install sdram in an old mobo that requires dram? how long would this computer last me playing the newest games on high settings? any suggestions? thanx in advance

 

[Mishkav]

anh dud check it.. not ati cuz m,eh homeby tteh largeg one for the nvidia, u know : i know? nayway u gots do it for yeself maybe the 600 ne hye bottlenek but i hink ucould and will be haven to upghrde that mobo and s// iiihttit// aneway to pay fo reant and that stuff like child soprt and stuff u know what im saying get cheep stuph// pyce

 

[Bobthelost]

Go for 2gb of RAM, it's worth it if you're going to be using this for a long time, games are starting to want more than 1gb. BF2 for example.

Don't worry about the RAM speeds, PC 3200 is the fastest rated RAM you can use, the A64 is very good at RAM management, to the point where top of the line RAM only makes a 10% difference at most compared to the slowest stuff around. I'd get some CAS 2 sticks if i were you.

 

[Bobthelost]

Originally posted by: Mishkav
anh dud check it.. not ati cuz m,eh homeby tteh largeg one for the nvidia, u know : i know? nayway u gots do it for yeself maybe the 600 ne hye bottlenek but i hink ucould and will be haven to upghrde that mobo and ******, pyce dah

Ali G has spoken, thus it shall be.

 

[neilthereildeil]

so the RAM speed being slower than 1000Mhz won't be a bottleneck to the 1000Mhz FSB?

 

[Heligrin]

Originally posted by: neilthereildeil
so the RAM speed being slower than 1000Mhz won't be a bottleneck to the 1000Mhz FSB?

LOL, 1000mhz FSB would own all. Max FSb is 200(stock). PC-3200 200 mhz stock. You want ram that is PC-3200(ddr 400). w/ timings like 2-2-2-6.

 

[alimoalem]

you are God if you get DDR ram clocked to 1000MHz (at least i think you are if you do it in the time being). the 200Mhz is like this: 200MHz times whatever you have. so 400MHz ram (aka DDR400) is basically 200MHz x 2 = 400. the reason it's 200MHz is because of multipliers, i believe. your CPU (if it's 2GHz) is really 200MHz x 10. hope it helps a bit

 

[ND40oz]

Originally posted by: neilthereildeil
so the RAM speed being slower than 1000Mhz won't be a bottleneck to the 1000Mhz FSB?

The 1000 MHz is the hyper transport speed. You use a multiplier on your board to dictate what that speed is. Most AMD 64s, X2s and Opterons run at a 1000 HTT (older ones run at 800). This is with a 5x multiplier, 5x200=1000 MHz HTT. So when you overclock your front side bus (200 MHz is default) you have to lower the multiplier of the HTT. Most boards let you go 5,4,3. Meaning if your overclocking your 1.8 GHz 3000+ to 2.7 GHz, you'll need to run a 300 MHz HTT. To get this to work, you'll drop the HTT multiplier to 3x, so the hypertransport speed runs at 900 MHz. You use ram dividers to keep your ram running close to it's stock speed, so you don't need ram that will run at 300 MHz (DDR600).

 

[neilthereildeil]

LOL, 1000mhz FSB would own all. Max FSb is 200(stock). PC-3200 200 mhz stock. You want ram that is PC-3200(ddr 400). w/ timings like 2-2-2-6.

so getting DDR 400 (PC 3200) RAM would not be a bottleneck even though it has a slower speed than the FSB(1000Mhz)?

 

[Broly]

I don't know about that A8RMVP.

Many say it's a stripped down crossfire motherboard.

I'd suggest a DFI LANPARTY UT RDX2000 motherboard.

You get 6 stock usb slots, add on intergrated surround sound and great overclocking.

IIf you don't care about crossfire, A8N SLI 32 regular/deluxe is a great addition

 

[neilthereildeil]

how does a ram multiplier work? i tried google, but i dont see it there...

 

[neilthereildeil]

so if i get 400MHz RAM, it wouldnt bottleneck my AMD 4400?