So, my current system is now closing in on two years old. It was the first time I'd ever built a computer, and everything went quite smoothly. But the time has come to do it again.
I've been reading MoBo reviews left and right, doing as much research as possible and have really only managed to confuse myself. SO... let me lay down a bunch of questions, and see who can answer what. I'm not sure what the most logical order for me to pose these questions would be, so forgive me if I'm jumping around a lot. I'm just writing this as it occurs to me.
By the way, I realize that opinions are wide and varied, but I'm hoping to get at least a general sense of the direction I should be headed with things.
Oh, and... my current system is an AMD Athlon 64 3200+ Clawhammer (Socket 754), AOpen AK86-L, OCZ enhanced latency (2x512) DDR 400 memory, WD Raptor 74GB, ATI Radeon 9800 Pro and a Thermaltake Silent PurePower 480W PS.
1. Processor. At first I was married to to the idea of an Athlon 64 3700+ San Diego. I have no idea why. I guess because the Anandtech guide told me so. Now I've decided I'm not averse to paying a bit more for the processor than that. The FX line is out of my league, but what about the Athlon 64 4000+ or the Athlon 64 X2 3800+? Which of those would be a smarter choice for me? There's no single function that best describes my use, so it may be a tough call. The only game I play is EQ2 and (when it's released) Vanguard... and, frankly, even my 9800 Pro has been suiting me fine in EQ2 up to now. I could possibly be convinced to get the Athlon 64 X2 4200+ (Manchester) if the consensus is that the performance increase is worth the extra $60.
2. Motherboard. This one has REALLY been giving me fits. My dilemma is, I don't think I need SLI. I really don't have a need, as far as I can tell, for that kind of graphics processing power... since the games I play aren't all THAT demanding. But the problem is, the whole passive cooling on the motherboard (a la Asus A8N32-SLI Deluxe) makes my nipples hard, and it doesn't seem easy to find that particular feature on a non-SLI motherboard. What I think I need is a high-quality, feature-rich non-SLI motherboard. But those features I admire so greatly ONLY seem to come on SLI motherboards. Should I just accept that I'm going to have to spend nearly $200 on a motherboard with lots of features I don't need, in order to get the few features that I want? If so... how do we feel about the MSI K8N Diamond Plus? I like the upgraded onboard sound it offers. What other alternatives are there for someone who really only plans to use a single video card and doesn't plan to do any overclocking?
3. Graphics card. I've kind of assumed I should just go with the eVGA 7800GT. If I'm reasonably satisfied with a 2+ year old Radeon 9800 Pro, wouldn't the 7800GT completely blow it out of the water, anyway? Even with just ONE? What other options might I consider?
4. Memory. I think I want to upgrade to 2GB of memory. I'll take any recommendations. I've been happy with the OCZ, but I'm not married to the brand. I want something that's good, fast, and high quality at stock speeds. Should I just get a matched pair of 1GB modules... or should I get a matched pair of 1GB modules AND throw the two 512s I already have into the other two slots for a total of 3GB? Is that even possible? Not sure what the best idea would be.
5. Storage. I have the 74GB Raptor. I can just use this again, right? For media files, I have an external hard drive I use to store that crap.
6. Power Supply. Do I need to get a different one? I read somewhere that Thermaltake sucks (which was the opposite of what I'd read when I first bought it). I haven't had any problems with it, other than the fact that it's loud.
7. Noise. I probably should have mentioned this earlier. My current PC? Freaking noisy as all get-out. Why is it that my Dell at work is so quiet, and this thing I created is so noisy? What is the single biggest source of noise in a computer? Because whatever it is, I'm going to smack it with a hammer.
I think that's it for now. Sorry for being so wordy. I write copy for a living. It's kind of a habit.
Thanks!
Jason
I've been reading MoBo reviews left and right, doing as much research as possible and have really only managed to confuse myself. SO... let me lay down a bunch of questions, and see who can answer what. I'm not sure what the most logical order for me to pose these questions would be, so forgive me if I'm jumping around a lot. I'm just writing this as it occurs to me.
By the way, I realize that opinions are wide and varied, but I'm hoping to get at least a general sense of the direction I should be headed with things.
Oh, and... my current system is an AMD Athlon 64 3200+ Clawhammer (Socket 754), AOpen AK86-L, OCZ enhanced latency (2x512) DDR 400 memory, WD Raptor 74GB, ATI Radeon 9800 Pro and a Thermaltake Silent PurePower 480W PS.
1. Processor. At first I was married to to the idea of an Athlon 64 3700+ San Diego. I have no idea why. I guess because the Anandtech guide told me so. Now I've decided I'm not averse to paying a bit more for the processor than that. The FX line is out of my league, but what about the Athlon 64 4000+ or the Athlon 64 X2 3800+? Which of those would be a smarter choice for me? There's no single function that best describes my use, so it may be a tough call. The only game I play is EQ2 and (when it's released) Vanguard... and, frankly, even my 9800 Pro has been suiting me fine in EQ2 up to now. I could possibly be convinced to get the Athlon 64 X2 4200+ (Manchester) if the consensus is that the performance increase is worth the extra $60.
2. Motherboard. This one has REALLY been giving me fits. My dilemma is, I don't think I need SLI. I really don't have a need, as far as I can tell, for that kind of graphics processing power... since the games I play aren't all THAT demanding. But the problem is, the whole passive cooling on the motherboard (a la Asus A8N32-SLI Deluxe) makes my nipples hard, and it doesn't seem easy to find that particular feature on a non-SLI motherboard. What I think I need is a high-quality, feature-rich non-SLI motherboard. But those features I admire so greatly ONLY seem to come on SLI motherboards. Should I just accept that I'm going to have to spend nearly $200 on a motherboard with lots of features I don't need, in order to get the few features that I want? If so... how do we feel about the MSI K8N Diamond Plus? I like the upgraded onboard sound it offers. What other alternatives are there for someone who really only plans to use a single video card and doesn't plan to do any overclocking?
3. Graphics card. I've kind of assumed I should just go with the eVGA 7800GT. If I'm reasonably satisfied with a 2+ year old Radeon 9800 Pro, wouldn't the 7800GT completely blow it out of the water, anyway? Even with just ONE? What other options might I consider?
4. Memory. I think I want to upgrade to 2GB of memory. I'll take any recommendations. I've been happy with the OCZ, but I'm not married to the brand. I want something that's good, fast, and high quality at stock speeds. Should I just get a matched pair of 1GB modules... or should I get a matched pair of 1GB modules AND throw the two 512s I already have into the other two slots for a total of 3GB? Is that even possible? Not sure what the best idea would be.
5. Storage. I have the 74GB Raptor. I can just use this again, right? For media files, I have an external hard drive I use to store that crap.
6. Power Supply. Do I need to get a different one? I read somewhere that Thermaltake sucks (which was the opposite of what I'd read when I first bought it). I haven't had any problems with it, other than the fact that it's loud.
7. Noise. I probably should have mentioned this earlier. My current PC? Freaking noisy as all get-out. Why is it that my Dell at work is so quiet, and this thing I created is so noisy? What is the single biggest source of noise in a computer? Because whatever it is, I'm going to smack it with a hammer.
I think that's it for now. Sorry for being so wordy. I write copy for a living. It's kind of a habit.
Thanks!
Jason
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