Buying all new comp and really need some help, AMD is so confusing:(:(:(

Laymen

Member
Dec 23, 2002
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hello dear users of this fine forum,

as you can read from my topic, its about watercooling and AMD64. As I have been an avid Intel buyer all my life I think that now really the time has come to finally take the step and go AMD. But as I am a complete noob as far as AMD is concerned I really have no clue what to go for? There are so many AMD models available and I have read quite a bit about many of them but am still left in the lurch. I have listed the prices for my country for the chips available,

AMD Athlon 64 3200+ (2,0GHz, 1MB, Boxed) ? 272,-
AMD Athlon 64 3200+ (2,0GHz, 1MB, OEM) ? 259,-
AMD Athlon 64 3200+ (2.0 GHz, 1 MB, Boxed) ? 332,-
AMD Athlon 64 3400+ (2,2GHz, 1MB, Boxed) ? 422,-
AMD Athlon 64 3400+ (2,2GHz, 1MB, OEM) ? 394,-
AMD Athlon 64 FX-51 (2,2GHz, 1MB, Boxed) ? 745,-
AMD Athlon 64 FX-53 (2,4GHz, 1MB, Boxed) ? 825,-
AMD Opteron 146 (2,0GHz, 1MB, Boxed) ? 314,-
AMD Opteron 148 (2,2GHz, 1MB, Boxed) ? 493,-
AMD Opteron 150 (2,4GHz, 1MB, Boxed) ? 749,-
AMD Opteron 240 (1,4GHz, 1MB, Boxed) ? 228,-
AMD Opteron 242 (1,6GHz, 1MB, Boxed) ? 244,-
AMD Opteron 244 (1,8GHz, 1MB, Boxed) ? 357,-
AMD Opteron 246 (2,0GHz, 1MB, Boxed) ? 496,-
AMD Opteron 248 (2,2GHz, 1MB, Boxed) ? 765,-

I have read on many review sites they speak of AMD 3800+ and 3700+ but I cannot find any of these models on that site I allways buy from(site is basically a gathering of all stores in Belgium and Holland and they offre prices going from cheap to most expensive store), look at link for prices to all models??

http://www.tweakers.net/pricewatch/cat/46/top

So can anyone for starters explain to me why I cannot find these 3500+,3600+,3700+,3800+ anywhere, is it hidden under another name?

My current system is,

Processor : Pentium IV 2.8Ghz
Motherboard : Gigabyte SINXP1394
Memory : 1Gb of 400MHZ DDR
Videocard : Asus Radeon 9800pro 256Mb
Harddisk(s) : 15rpm seagate SCSI disk, 160Gb seagate IDE disk

From all the great stuff i read from this latest batch of AMD's I am really looking for a system that can blow my current 2.8 out of the door(cuz lately games have been running on the slow side). Now the question is, do I go for one of the more pricey FX models or should I stick to the lower AMD64's like the 3800+,3700+ and below or any of the Opterons?? I have no clue as I am typing what the 3800+ and others do as I already mentioned above so hoping this will get cleared up while this topic goes on. You should bear in mind that I am looking to purchase a good watercooling system. When looking at some of the setups here my eye fell on Sokratz's setup,

http://www.anandtech.com/mysystemrig.html?rigid=27628

his temperatures looked real nice(Load:28x43 Idle:25x37)and thats what I hope to accomplish as well, I must stress that I would never get a special watercooling for my HD or VGA card, the main thing for me is a CPU thats watercooled. I don't know if this guy Sokratz's setup only gets these temps cuz he cools both his HD and VGA card with special coolers as well?? Suppose I too bought this Dangerden, the black ice extreme radiator and the waterpump he has would I then get about the same temps for my new AMD when only cooling the CPU and not the VGA/HD? With for example a 3400+ and a good watercooling kit like this sokratz's could you then get speeds faster than any of the Fx-51 or FX53 chips?? As you see I have totally no clue what to do cuz this all seems like a maze to me, so many parts to get and as a total laymen start deciding what to get and what is crap eh, not an easy task I tell you. So best place to ask is a place full of knowledgable people who have tweaked the crap of their systems already:LOL:

From looking at his rig, what stuff from his list do I need to only cool the CPU? So the final question is, what AMD do you recommend, what good solid cooling do you recommend(knowing that my comp sometimes stays on during the night)and what kind of money would I be looking at for all the new goodies. I would need all watercooling parts to cool the CPU, a good motherboard for the AMD you suggest and this mobo has to be rocksolid and should be reasonably good at overclocking and ofcourse it has to be suitable for watercooling. I read on the review pages that the Asus SK8V was a kickass mobo but this ofcourse only for 940 pin processors. So I am gonna wait for your reply what you would recommend I do. I certainly don't want to spend too much, 1100$ would be okay(plus whatever I can get by selling my old parts), so around 1100-1400$ is what I am looking at.

Any replies are most welcome, at the moment I feel like I am stepping into a very dark forest with no lights up ahead, plz be my guiding light;)

friendly greetings for the AMD/Watercooling noob,

Laymen
 

Lonyo

Lifer
Aug 10, 2002
21,938
6
81
I think they haven't made it widely into retail channels yet, and will probably hit Asia first, then the US/Europe (probably in a few weeks).
 

dennisjai215

Banned
Apr 16, 2004
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hey man i just looked at your system.. its very good why the upgrade? not worth changing to amd when you already have such a good computer try overclocking your 2.8ghz ! and that'll boost performance! a64 3200 compares to a 3.2-3.4ghz pentium!
 

Laymen

Member
Dec 23, 2002
86
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0
Well for starters,
1.00 Euro = 1.22237 USD

so not much of a difference really, so 100$ would be 81?;)

Why I want to upgrade, well I have noticed that my CPU is really starting to drag, maybe its my mobo I just don't know and the warranty is over. I am also running at FSB 533Mhz and overly I am not impressed with framerates in all of my games, guess I am spoiled or I just have a bad processor. Another reason I want an upgrade is cuz Doom III and Medal of Honor Pacific Assault is coming and I really don't want to play all of the upcoming games on this slowass comp;) I have allways read - here and other places - if you want a PC for gaming get an AMD, if you want to encode/content create/debug go Intel and thats what I really notice when playing all of the latest games(Far Cry, Manhunt, ...), when alot of stuff is happening onscreen it just is way too slow for me with sudden 25-40fps drops:(

When I get a new system I want it to be perfect, 2 identical memory chips, good cooling, new mobo running at higher clocks(memorywise, FSB wise, whatever). I have calculated that I could get around 400-490? for my current setup so thats something that always helps me buy a new comp just that little bit cheaper.

Another reason I am selling now is cuz if you wait any longer, you can forget about ever getting over 200$ back on those parts, smart thing would be to sell now while its still worth something.

Let the replies come, what to do, what to take, what chip, what mobo for stable overclocks, what watercooling parts that are easy to use and rock solid as far as leakage probs and pump reliability go...... What I also would like to know is, would an FX chip be overkill, could you overclock a relatively cheaper AMD Athlon 64 3400+ (2,2GHz, 1MB, OEM) ? 394,- to speeds similar of the FX-53, could you with a good watercooling set get a 3400+ running at 3.0Ghz at reasonably low °C(low as in 45-50°C at full load)?

thnx again for the quick replies guys, really appreciate it
 

Laymen

Member
Dec 23, 2002
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Originally posted by: dennisjai215
hey man i just looked at your system.. its very good why the upgrade? not worth changing to amd when you already have such a good computer try overclocking your 2.8ghz ! and that'll boost performance! a64 3200 compares to a 3.2-3.4ghz pentium!

Thnx man, didn't know that, thats mighty fast for only 256?:LOL: So already faster than my 2.8Ghz;) Man I wonder then what a FX-51 or 53 would compare to heheheh

Found out the following,

As we reported yesterday, today marks the release of AMD Athlon 64 CPUs rated at 3500+, 3700+ and 3800+, and the seemingly-exclusive FX-53. The gods of non-disclosure agreements have lifted their threats, and you can find reviews at most of the usual suspects (see below). Pricing in lots of 1,000 is as follows: the 3500+ weighs in at US$500, the 3700+ at $710, the 3800+ at $720, and the FX-53 sits a smidgen higher at $799. Got bank? With that pricing spread, you might be surprised to see the FX-53 so close to "regular" Athlons. You can start to see what's up when you look at the clockspeeds. The 3500+ sports a 2.2GHz clock, while the 3800+ runs at 2.4GHz. Both CPUs have 512kb of L2 cache. The FX-53 also runs at 2.4GHz, but it sports a full 1MB of L2 cache (and it must be noted that it comes in two flavors, one for Socket 939 and one for Socket 940). The 3700+ CPU is made for the older Socket 754, and while it has 1MB of L2 cache, it only has a 64-bit memory interface as opposed to the Socket 939 CPUs' 128-bit interface. Does your head hurt yet?

but the FX chips are too expensive, I don't think I really need that for now while they sure are tempting little buggers;) It says however that the 3700+ only has a 64-bit interface, are there any other AMD chips besides the FX series that have 128-bit interface and in a good price range(200-500$)
 

Markfw

Moderator Emeritus, Elite Member
May 16, 2002
26,705
15,756
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The first question I have, is what video card do you have ? Then we can go from there. I love AMD, but as others have said, you may be able to OC what you have, and upgrade the video card. Also what memory do you currently have ?
 

Laymen

Member
Dec 23, 2002
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I have an Asus Radeon 9800 pro,

http://usa.asus.com/products/vga/r9800pro/overview.htm

my memory is,

Samsung 512MB DDR PC400/3200

I also read on quite a few sites that all models from 3500+ and up run at 128-bit, so the memory on mobo can run in dual channel mode, does this affect the speed of your comp much or is it just much added cost for low increases?
 

Wahsapa

Diamond Member
Jul 2, 2001
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the 939 game is to early to tell what it can do yet but it seems it shouldnt be anything astounding.

maybe you should water cool your p4 and overclock? change mobo to an ic7 maybe. see what she can do if you oc your vidcard too.