Buying new system, Question about CPU to get

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spaceghost21

Senior member
May 22, 2004
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I'm buying a new system from Alienware, and I'm wondering, should I go with the FX-53 or 3400+. Money's not a big problem for me but is the FX really worth the extra cash? From what some people have told me the 3400+ is almost as speedy and much cheaper. I'm not planning on any over clocking. Here are the rigs I'm looking at:

AMD Athlon 64 FX-53

Warranty: 1-Year AlienCare Toll-Free 24/7 Phone Support with Onsite Service
Case: Alienware® Full-Tower Case (420-Watt PS) - Cyborg Green
Cable Management: Alienware® Cable Management System
Power Supply: No Power Supply Upgrade
Processor: AMD Athlon? 64 FX-53 Processor with HyperTransport Technology
Motherboard: ASUS SK8V - VIA K8T800 Motherboard
Memory: 1GB Extreme Dual Channel DDR SDRAM at 400MHz Registered - 2 x 512MB
Video Card: ATI RADEON? X800 PRO 256MB DDR3 w/Digital and TV Out
Video Cooling: AlienIce? Video Cooling System - Fusion Red
System Drive: High Performance - Serial ATA - 120GB Seagate Barracuda® 7,200 RPM
Optical Drive One: Lite-On 16x DVD-ROM Drive with Software DVD Decoder
Optical Drive Two: Lite-On 52x32x52x CD-RW
Floppy Drive: 3.5" 1.44 MB Floppy Disk Drive - Black
Sound Card: Creative Sound Blaster® Audigy 2 ZS High Definition 7.1 Surround
Network Connection: High Speed Gigabit Ethernet
Operating System: Microsoft® Windows® XP Home Edition
Speakers: Creative GigaWorks? S750 - 7.1 700-Watt Speakers
Keyboard: Microsoft Multimedia Keyboard - Cyborg Green
Gamespot Complete: Gamespot Complete - Free 90-day Trial
Free Alienware T-Shirt: Free Alienware® T-Shirt - Black
Automated Support: AlienAutopsy: Automated Technical Support Request System

Price:$3,531 US (Not including shipping)

versus

AMD Athlon 64 3400+ Processor System

Warranty: 1-Year AlienCare Toll-Free 24/7 Phone Support with Onsite Service
Case: Alienware® Full-Tower Case (420-Watt PS) - Cyborg Green
Cable Management: Alienware® Cable Management System
Power Supply: No Power Supply Upgrade
Processor: AMD Athlon? 64 3400+ Processor with HyperTransport Technology
Motherboard: ASUS SE K8V Deluxe - VIA K8T800 Motherboard
Memory: 1GB Extreme DDR SDRAM at 400MHz - 2 x 512MB
Video Card: ATI RADEON? X800 PRO 256MB DDR3 w/Digital and TV Out
Video Cooling: AlienIce? Video Cooling System - Fusion Red
System Drive: High Performance - Serial ATA - 120GB Seagate Barracuda® 7,200 RPM
Optical Drive One: Lite-On 16x DVD-ROM Drive with Software DVD Decoder
Optical Drive Two: Lite-On 52x32x52x CD-RW
Floppy Drive: 3.5" 1.44 MB Floppy Disk Drive - Black
Sound Card: Creative Sound Blaster® Audigy 2 ZS High Definition 7.1 Surround
Network Connection: High Speed Gigabit Ethernet
Operating System: Microsoft® Windows® XP Home Edition
Speakers: Creative GigaWorks? S750 - 7.1 700-Watt Speakers
Keyboard: Microsoft Multimedia Keyboard - Cyborg Green
Gamespot Complete: Gamespot Complete - Free 90-day Trial
Free Alienware T-Shirt: Free Alienware® T-Shirt - Black
Automated Support: AlienAutopsy: Automated Technical Support Request System

Price: $2,976 US (Not including shipping)

Another question I have is if I do go the the 3400+ system listed above, would I later be able to upgrade to a 64 FX-53 or even 55+? From I can tell the mobo's seem to be pretty much the same but I'm pretty new to this. Anything other advice would much appreciated as I said earlier I'm fairly to the whole computer buying buisness .

PS. Sorry if this is a little( ...a lot...) long.
 
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RadioHead84

Platinum Member
Jan 8, 2004
2,166
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I realize that you may have a lot of money to spend on nice computers...and i am all for that if you got the cash. But with 3 grand you coudl build yourself one bad ass computer. I am buidng a comp for 2 grand that compares to that computer. and it comes with a monitor.

if you have all that cash wait for this "ground breaking" technology that alienware is suppose to come out with. that is if u insist on going alienware.

I personally would build my own..and if i was going to go all out on cash..i would go falcon...those are some nice computers.
 
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imported_TheCadMan

Member
Apr 25, 2004
58
0
0
I agree, research building computers before you make such a big purchase. Learn from your old pc, take parts out, reinstall the operating system(service packs), remove drivers or upgrade them, etc. Building a computer is not as hard as you think and it saves you a lot of money.
 
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spaceghost21

Senior member
May 22, 2004
899
0
0
Originally posted by: RadioHead84
I realize that you may have a lot of money to spend on nice computers...and i am all for that if you got the cash. But with 3 grand you coudl build yourself one bad ass computer. I am buidng a comp for 2 grand that compares to that computer. and it comes with a monitor.
Click to expand...

Is building my own system very difficult. I've done some minor upgrades on my current system ( i.e. upgrading RAM CD-ROM drive and my video card and HD) but never done anything as far my CPU or building anything from scratch. I looked into that option before but i'm totaly sure I'm up it.
 
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wampa

Senior member
Apr 26, 2002
657
0
0
Yea, there are couple things I would change in that $3500 setup would be:

For the hard drives I would go with 74gb Western Digtial raptor. I would also get a DVD burner instead of a CD burner. And finally get a bigger PSU like a 550w Antec or better. As well as upgrade to Windows XP pro
 
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spaceghost21

Senior member
May 22, 2004
899
0
0
So regardless of whether or not i build my own computer should i go with the 64 FX or 3400+, is there that big of a difference and what are my CPU upgrade possibilites if I do go with the 3400+?
 
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RadioHead84

Platinum Member
Jan 8, 2004
2,166
0
0
ummm none of these will really be that upgradable if you are looking far down the road. If you want to make yoru system more upgradable wait for the 939 socket to come out.
 
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RadioHead84

Platinum Member
Jan 8, 2004
2,166
0
0
i do realize this is my third post in a row...for this topic..but here it goes..

I myself have never built a computer but i plan to very very soon. As soon as i get the courage to push the buy button and spend two grand lol. It sounds complicated but really it isnt. I have built computers for other people from pretty much scratch but i have never dropped the cpu into the socket..thats the only part of the thing i am worried about lol
 
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3LEMENT0

Senior member
May 8, 2004
221
0
0
go with the FX if you have money to burn anywayz. Both system looks nice though too pricey for me. If you have time to learn how to build it's pretty simple. Just need research and interest and you can practice by disassembling and reassembling a pc in your house. Otherwise just buy alienware if you have the money and dont want to spend time thinking about it. Good Luck
 
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Mloot

Diamond Member
Aug 24, 2002
3,038
25
91
The FX system is probably the more upgradeable one. AFAIK, the 754-socket will continue on in the form of the next gen. Athlon XP's, but those procs might not be much of an upgrade from an A64, plus they're probably not going to have 64-bit capabilities.

As far as the FX system goes, it resides on a 940-pin socket, which is about to go through a transition to socket-939. The FX-53 may be the last (and fastest) 940-pin FX that you could use in that system. But, socket-940 will continue on in the form of the Opterons which, aside from having locked multis (not a problem since you don't want to overclock) and more HTT links, is virtually identical to the FX procs. The FX's and the Opterons even use the same RAM. Lastly, there is a chance that the upcoming dual-core Opterons would be compatible with that Alienware system because, according to top "professional types" (i.e. AMD's CEO) at AMD, the dual-core Opterons will be drop-in compatible w/existing motherboards. Link Just something to think about...
 
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clarkey01

Diamond Member
Feb 4, 2004
3,419
1
0
FX 53 over the 3400 64, the 3400 is close to the fx 51, but slips a bit when it comes to the FX 53, the FX 53 has a 200Mhz increase and duel channl over the 3400.
 
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spaceghost21

Senior member
May 22, 2004
899
0
0
Thanks for all the help. I think I'll probaly go with the FX but I still haven't decided to go with Alienware or build my own.
 
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BlindBartimaeus

Golden Member
Jun 8, 2002
1,601
0
76
I would say the 3400 would be more upgradeable in the future. The dual PCI express motherboards should prove quite cool if they work, but building your own computer is quite easy really. I would save the extra cash so when something cool comes out next year...you have the cash just layin around to get it as well.

Consider it a growth experience.
 
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dennisjai215

Banned
Apr 16, 2004
1,261
0
0
Originally posted by: spaceghost21
Originally posted by: RadioHead84
I realize that you may have a lot of money to spend on nice computers...and i am all for that if you got the cash. But with 3 grand you coudl build yourself one bad ass computer. I am buidng a comp for 2 grand that compares to that computer. and it comes with a monitor.
Click to expand...

Is building my own system very difficult. I've done some minor upgrades on my current system ( i.e. upgrading RAM CD-ROM drive and my video card and HD) but never done anything as far my CPU or building anything from scratch. I looked into that option before but i'm totaly sure I'm up it.
Click to expand...

upgrading those components are like half way done BUILD it urself SAVE $$ and send me 100 bucks so i can upgrade =P
 
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