Building my first A64 Machine

[Fisher999]

Originally posted by: NightCrawler


...Hard drive: 160 gig for $40 after mail in rebate

1. Socket 939 has dual channel memory
2. Socket 939 has the newer sata 300 with hot swapping
3. Nforce 4 ultra
4. dual core CPU ready !!!!!

Buy quality today will save you money tomorrow!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Nightcrawler:

Your system recommendation is almost exactly what I was trying to achieve with my system recommendations except you choose lower quality items and do NOT address the P/S "problem".

1) It isn't socket 939 (in your point 2 above) that provide for SATA 130 with hot swapping but rather the ULTRA version of the nFORCE4 chip itself.

2) You didn't provide a link to the place where one can get a 160GB hard drive for $40 after mail-in rebate.

3) What is the make and model and "interface" of the 160GB hard drive?

4) Where and for how much longer can one utilize the mail-in rebate to get the drive for a eventual total price of only $40?

5) The P/S in the Coolermaster case you suggest is as lame as the generic P/S included with the "green" case he wants. The Coolermaster P/S in the case you suggest is rated at only 18A on the +3.3V rail and MORE IMPORTANTLY only 16A on the 12V rail. That is not good enough for a system such as this; now or in the future.

6) That Chaintech mobo is "iffy". Chaintech = low quality

7) I agree with your "buy quality today..." slogan but you have not really recommended quality items.

 

[imported_bum]

If you are happy with your current system, why upgrade? It can be very tempting to build something new and flashy "just because", but to me it really doesn't make sense. Going for a new case will give you some new flavor, but allow you hold out until some more worthwhile options come around. Maybe by the time that system doesn't cut it for you, dual core will have become a little more mainsteam. You probably won't give it a second thought, but at least I tried .

 

[NightCrawler]

1) It isn't socket 939 (in your point 2 above) that provide for SATA 300 with hot swapping but rather the ULTRA version of the nFORCE4 chip itself.

Yeah but you can't find them in 754 mobo so you need a 939.

2) You didn't provide a link to the place where one can get a 160GB hard drive for $40 after mail-in rebate.

CompUSA had a 120 gig for $40, it's over though and a week or two ago someone was selling a 160 for $40.

It's sunday agian so their will be new hard drive sales on. Best Buy and compUSA have sales every week, it's like waiting for a bus.

5) The P/S in the Coolermaster case you suggest is as lame as the generic P/S included with the "green" case he wants. The Coolermaster P/S in the case you suggest is rated at only 18A on the +3.3V rail and MORE IMPORTANTLY only 16A on the 12V rail. That is not good enough for a system such as this; now or in the future.

Coolermaster has very conservative numbers and uses the continous power rating not the max rating like generic and low grade PSU makers.

OP said:
I just want a decent reliable board to build my first AMD 64 Machine. I dont want onboard video, I do play some games, I do not intented to overclock, and I am on a budget Cheaper is better.

Also 350 watts for a Athlon 64 3000+ system that the OP said he wasn't going to overclock is plenty, only the new high end video cards need 24 amps.

DO THE MATH: http://www.extreme.outervision.com/index.jsp

6) That Chaintech mobo is "iffy". Chaintech = low quality

Chaintech is one of the most tested motherboards on the net. It's not a foxconn or ECS or other lowgrade board. It's also has decent bios updates and support.

It was rock solid in the tests and overclocked OK.

I usually recommend Asus, DFI or EPOX but those are north of $100.

 

[Away]

If you are looking for a budget Athlon 64 system go with socket 754 and drop a 3000+ into a MSI K8N-NEO. This would make an excellent foundation for a budget system and would take anything you threw at it.

 

[FXGuy3369]

Thanks for all the input guys, plenty of info for me to mull over now.....

 

[l Xes l]

http://www.pcper.com/article.php?aid=118&type=expert&pid=9

DFI or MSI...

 

[NightCrawler]

Case: Antec Case = $61
PSU: XCLIO 450W ATX Power Supply PFC: Active = $60
MOBO: Chaintech nforce ***ultra*** for $85.50 or Epox nForce 4 standard for $95 or MSI nForce 4 standard $87
CPU: Athlon 64 3000+ 939 = $147
Hard drive: 160 gig for 33.49
DVD Burner: NEC 3520A = $56

61
60
85.50
147
33.40 plus tax = $4x something { seagate with 5 year warranty }
56
=========================

$450

I've revised it but it might blow your budget but the case and psu are things that will be kept for years.

 

[NightCrawler]

Just thought I would mention that Compusa has the Lanboy and Mad Dog 400 watt smart cable system for $90 after $60 in rebates.

150 plus tax
60 MIR
===============

$90 plus whatever sales tax.

 

[Fisher999]

Originally posted by: NightCrawler




Case: Antec Case = $61
PSU: XCLIO 450W ATX Power Supply PFC: Active = $60
MOBO: Chaintech nforce ***ultra*** for $85.50 or Epox nForce 4 standard for $95 or MSI nForce 4 standard $87
CPU: Athlon 64 3000+ 939 = $147
Hard drive: 160 gig for 33.49
DVD Burner: NEC 3520A = $56

61
60
85.50
147
33.40 plus tax = $4x something { seagate with 5 year warranty }
56
=========================

$450

I've revised it but it might blow your budget but the case and psu are things that will be kept for years.

Interesting, now your system configuration looks a lot like mine.

Now you'r talkin' !!! Except that Chintech and Epox SUCK !!!

He should go with the MSI K8N NEO 4-F

 

[NightCrawler]

Originally posted by: Fisher999

Originally posted by: NightCrawler




Case: Antec Case = $61
PSU: XCLIO 450W ATX Power Supply PFC: Active = $60
MOBO: Chaintech nforce ***ultra*** for $85.50 or Epox nForce 4 standard for $95 or MSI nForce 4 standard $87
CPU: Athlon 64 3000+ 939 = $147
Hard drive: 160 gig for 33.49
DVD Burner: NEC 3520A = $56

61
60
85.50
147
33.40 plus tax = $4x something { seagate with 5 year warranty }
56
=========================

$450

I've revised it but it might blow your budget but the case and psu are things that will be kept for years.

Interesting, now your system configuration looks a lot like mine.

Now you'r talkin' !!! Except that Chintech and Epox SUCK !!!

He should go with the MSI K8N NEO 4-F

You can say what you want about but the Chaintech is a solid board for beginners, it is the only ultra 939 that I would touch at that price.

Epox:

Based on features, implementation, value, overclocking performance and flexibility, the Epox 8KDA3+ emerges as our Gold Editors Choice as the top Socket 754 motherboard. Epox has a long history of producing very fast motherboards with excellent overclocking and tweaking features and the 8KDA3+ certainly follows in that tradition. We were very pleased with the excellent feature set of this nF3-250Gb motherboard, and we believe most users will be very happy with the Epox as the building block for their new Athlon 64 system. Users who require Firewire will need to look at another board or plan to use a Firewire card, since it is not included on the Epox.

Chaintech and MSI

Our Silver Editors Choice is a tie between two very different motherboards, the MSI K8N Neo Platinum and the Chaintech VNF-250.


We are extremely pleased to award our Silver Editors Choice to the Chaintech VNF-250 motherboard. As the first in a new Zenith Value Series, we think Chaintech has a great idea - build an overclocker's dream board with all the performance and none of the frills for the lowest possible price. Chaintech also managed to do it without giving up really important features, which is even more commendable. The fact that Chaintech was a top performer in our overclocking tests at a price of less than $100 deserves our award. The VNF-250 proves that you can build a board any enthusiast will want without breaking the bank. Well done, Chaintech.



The MSI K8N Neo Platinum is a truly excellent motherboard that competes in every way with the best of the Socket 754 motherboards. Its performance is virtually identical to the Epox board, and the feature set is second to none. If Firewire is a requirement, the K8N Neo Platinum belongs at the top of your shopping list. If you want a board that makes top performance easy, then the MSI is also the top choice. Its CoreCell and D.O.T. Ranger auto overclock make the performance of overclocking accessible to even beginners. However, the auto features can be turned off if you like to "roll your own" for top performance. Users will also be pleased with the features that they will find in the box on this high-end Platinum series board.

Personally prefer Asus or DFI and $130 is still a bargain for a 3 year warranty.

 

[Chosonman]

Originally posted by: Son of a N00b
939 is more future proof, while 754 is the older.cheaper socket.

Future proof is what sense? The fact you're going to pay at least $60 on a socket that's going to offer you almost 0% improvement in performance?

For $60 you could upgrade your graphics card and REALLY increase your computers performance.

 

[Chosonman]

AMD 63 3000+ (754) + Chaintech MOBO + 1Gig Corsair DDR400 PC3200 RAM = $238

Total: $238 Shipped

Add a 6600GT AGP for $170.00

Grand Total: $408.00

You've got a kick ass system

Pricewatch.com

From my previous post: http://forums.anandtech.com/messageview.aspx?catid=27&threadid=1580516

 

[NightCrawler]

Originally posted by: Chosonman
AMD 63 3000+ (754) + Chaintech MOBO + 1Gig Corsair DDR400 PC3200 RAM = $238

Total: $238 Shipped

Add a 6600GT AGP for $170.00

Grand Total: $408.00

You've got a kick ass system

Pricewatch.com

From my previous post: http://forums.anandtech.com/messageview.aspx?catid=27&threadid=1580516

True but no dual core and no venice core so your future is limited.

 

[Fisher999]

Originally posted by: NightCrawler

...You can say what you want about but the Chaintech is a solid board for beginners, it is the only ultra 939 that I would touch at that price.

Epox:

Based on features, implementation, value, overclocking performance and flexibility, the Epox 8KDA3+ emerges as our Gold Editors Choice as the top Socket 754 motherboard. ....

Chaintech and MSI

Our Silver Editors Choice is a tie between two very different motherboards, the MSI K8N Neo Platinum and the Chaintech VNF-250....

Personally prefer Asus or DFI and $130 is still a bargain for a 3 year warranty.

I was overly harsh with chaintech and epox! I apologize - was having a bad night when I posted that comment about those two companies.

I prefer Asus and AOpen myself; they usually build stable, reliable motherboards.

Some will upchuck when they hear AOpen but even TOM has said many times that they build mobos second in quality only to Intel. And AOPen is the number 2 seller of motherboards in Asia and parts of Europe.

Sorry I trashed Epox and Chanitech though Nightcrawler.

 

[Fisher999]

Originally posted by: Chosonman
AMD 63 3000+ (754) + Chaintech MOBO + 1Gig Corsair DDR400 PC3200 RAM = $238

Total: $238 Shipped

Add a 6600GT AGP for $170.00

Grand Total: $408.00

You've got a kick ass system

Pricewatch.com

From my previous post: http://forums.anandtech.com/messageview.aspx?catid=27&threadid=1580516

Originally posted by: FXGuy3369
OK I am not a serious gamer I actually just play some warcraft and usually cheapo blizzard games. I dont do any heavy computing of any sort, what are the differences in the different A64 sockets?

He said he is NOT a serious gamer so I doulbt he needs a 6600GT videocard

 

[Chosonman]

If he's not a serious gamer and he says he's on a budget then the AMD 64 3000+ (Socket 754 Newcastle) is the best deal around for him. I still recommend the 660GT because it'll let him run WWC and other games in the future including Unreal Engine 3.

Still for under $500.00

 

[Fisher999]

Originally posted by: Chosonman
If he's not a serious gamer and he says he's on a budget then the AMD 64 3000+ (Socket 754 Newcastle) is the best deal around for him. I still recommend the 660GT because it'll let him run WWC and other games in the future including Unreal Engine 3.

Still for under $500.00

He said he was not a serious gamer. He didn't say he wasn't serious about computers. As Nightcrawler has already pointed out, with socket 754 he will not have the option of a dual-core or venice core CPU as an upgrade optio down the road.