CPU Choices...too many!!! Help me

[Dragon41673]

Holy link's!!! LOL Thanks Zebo!

DFIs web site seems to be down...so I'll check it tomorrow.

Thanks again everyone!

 

[Markfw]

Oh, and another vote for Asus A8N-SLI Premium !!

 

[imported_michaelpatrick33]

Originally posted by: Markfw900
Oh, and another vote for Asus A8N-SLI Premium !!

I don't want to hijack the thread but how does that motherboard overclock? I have Patriot 2 X 1024 2-3-2-7 memory sticks waiting for my X2 upgrade coming in late July early August so I will only really overclock the processor. I have watercooling.

 

[Markfw]

I voted for it, since it seems like the most compatable to the X2 I have seem out there (xbits labs, toms, etc... with no problems), and I trust the ASUS name. I only had one bad one, and the was a K6-2, with an ALI chipset. It was flaky.

 

[IEC]

Originally posted by: Pillager2
Thanks Michael and NIN...

I take it everyone around here are AMD people? LOL Just asking because for the last hour or so I've been floating the board looking at who uses what.

AMD + ASUS (higher end, not their low-end crap) generally treats people well. VERY well

 

[Steeplerot]

I dig my asus a8n sli-deluxe, (was a big Abit fan) no issues and awesome performance.

 

[Zebo]

Yea couple link for ya I got more if you need it


Anyway Asus is best ... but not the best for crazy overclcoking since 1T CMD does'nt work above 240Mhz FSB and it does'nt have crazy high voltage options... But this should'nt bother you at all since you won't be overclcoking that much if at all.

 

[Viditor]

Originally posted by: Painman
DO the Asus boards have higher quality parts? I dunno about that. I'm a long time ASUS/Intel guy now running A64/DFI. Aside from the LanParty boards' finickiness with RAM, these boards are very, very stable. Voltage fluctuation from the PWM circuits on my board are nil, zero. They're designed to be run on the edge and really are overbuilt for stock operation. I'd still consider an ASUS for stock operation/mild OC with lots of bells and whistles, but for the person who wants to squeeze every last drop out of their parts, that's the LanParty's specialty. Its reputation hasn't just been handed to it.

In general they do, but as you point out there are always exceptions...
While some of the newer DFI boards appear excellent, they don't (yet) have that reputation in general...but they are certainly headed that way.
The thing is, you can't really tell with a small sample (500 or less). The more expensive parts (capacitors, voltage regulators, etc...) are more expensive because they have fewer failures out of every 1000 or so.


This is why Asus has grown so much...OEMs realize that there will be fewer RMAs on Asus boards, so they spend the extra few dollars to save on the returns.

BTW, I think GuitarDaddy hit the nail on the head...you buy a mobo based on what you want to do with it. For overclocking, ABIT and DFI tend to be better...because they are more flexible in tweaking

 

[Vegitto]

So, money is NO issue? Let me give you something to think about:

1 AMD Athlon64 X2 4800+
1 Asus A8N-SLI Premium
2 BFG 6800 GT OC
1 ECT Prometeia Mach II GT (refilled with R507a, if you can find a supplier)
1 OCZ DDR DRAM PC4800 CL2.5 1 GB (2 sticks of 512)

If you can afford that, you'd have no trouble of overclocking. Heck, I'd do it for you (even if it means travelling to America, what it probably means).

 

[Dragon41673]

LOL Thanks...but I'm fairly competent when it comes to most of the computer stuff...so no need to travel

Unless you wanna bring some hot babes with you...then by all means...feel free to stop by!

 

[totteryaxis]

I want to know how to upgrade a CPU or do i need another
motherboard; currently i have a PC chips m863g v1.5 c, with a
1.6 ghz Duron processor, i want to overclock, but i dont
know if i can get more than 3.0 ghz in this motherboard, i think AMD anthlon XP
is compatible with my motherboard but am confused with socket stuff,
or is it better to change my motherboard. please help!

 

[Dragon41673]

Just wanted to say thanks to everyone that has responded. I'm definately thinking about the 4800 X2...just need to make up my mind.

How is the stability of the AMD's with normal aps? Windows (probably not going to to XP 64 will Longhorn comes out...if it ever does), Office, and other normal programs? My older K6 was crappy and had issues with windows and crashed a LOT!

 

[NINaudio]

I've had no stability issues with mine that were not related to me oc'ing it. Once I found my stable OC though it has been fine ever since. It's on 24/7 with programs running.

 

[Viditor]

Originally posted by: Pillager2
Just wanted to say thanks to everyone that has responded. I'm definately thinking about the 4800 X2...just need to make up my mind.

How is the stability of the AMD's with normal aps? Windows (probably not going to to XP 64 will Longhorn comes out...if it ever does), Office, and other normal programs? My older K6 was crappy and had issues with windows and crashed a LOT!

If you go over to THG (NOT recommended), they did a "stress test" comparing the dual core P4EE to the X2...the long and short of it is that the X2 NEVER stopped, and the P4 had to reboot several times...
Now, that really doesn't prove anything, neither does the fact that they had to try several different mobos to get the P4 to run properly.
The point is that the X2 spent the whole week under 100% load without a problem.
I'd say that the X2 and an Nforce4 board of good quality is probably the most stable platform on the planet short of a server level platform...

 

[Markfw]

Originally posted by: Viditor

Originally posted by: Pillager2
Just wanted to say thanks to everyone that has responded. I'm definately thinking about the 4800 X2...just need to make up my mind.

How is the stability of the AMD's with normal aps? Windows (probably not going to to XP 64 will Longhorn comes out...if it ever does), Office, and other normal programs? My older K6 was crappy and had issues with windows and crashed a LOT!

If you go over to THG (NOT recommended), they did a "stress test" comparing the dual core P4EE to the X2...the long and short of it is that the X2 NEVER stopped, and the P4 had to reboot several times...
Now, that really doesn't prove anything, neither does the fact that they had to try several different mobos to get the P4 to run properly.
The point is that the X2 spent the whole week under 100% load without a problem.
I'd say that the X2 and an Nforce4 board of good quality is probably the most stable platform on the planet short of a server level platform...

Ditto. I think the ONLY thing that really was proved by the tomshardware article was that the X2 IS more stable then the P4EE at this time, and totally stable in SLI as well.

 

[AnnoyedGrunt]

I'd concur with the general consensus of going with the AMD X2.

My last two computers were AMD (XP 1800+ and now A64 3200+) and both have been extremely stable.

I currently am running a Chiantech Mobo, which I like since it has passive chipset cooling. I like a quiet computer, so that was important to me. I don't think the onboard sound is very good tho, and it does not have 1394. It's probably not that high end of a mobo tho.

I like the DFI boards but haven't had any first hand experience with them.

Overall, I think stability shouldn't be a problem unless you get defective parts or push the system to the very edge. Also, I only use the minimum number of programs to try and keep things as streamlined as possible.

Anyhow, I've been very happy with my AMD CPU's, and will continue to purchase until they let me down or until Intel has something noticeably better/less expensive.

-D'oh!

 

[dedejean]

just wanna drool over your discussions. cant even have a P4 550 above.

 

[Dragon41673]

Ok...I think I've finally decided in whole...but now here's a question...

I know Zebo recomended 2 x 512MB Crucial Ballistix PC3200 2-2-2-7 1T, what else do people recomend? I've had awesome experiences with Corsair memory. I know I read something about memory being pretty much equal as long as the latency is low and it doesn't matter too much about it being some high performance memory. I'm also thinking about overclocking the CPU a little with some water cooling...so let me know what you think about memory for this setup...looking for what would work best and be able to OC a little somewhere between 1Gb or 2Gb total memory...

ASUS A8N-SLI Premium
AMD Athlon 64 X2 4800+
1 (possibly 2) BFG Geforce 6800GT OC
1 Western Digital 250Gb SATA II HD w/16mb Cache
Thermaltake Big Water System with extra Radiator to cool CPU and VGA Card(s)

Also what do you think would be a safe spot to OC the 4800+?

 

[Vee]

Originally posted by: Dragon41673
Ok...I think I've finally decided in whole...but now here's a question...

I know Zebo recomended 2 x 512MB Crucial Ballistix PC3200 2-2-2-7 1T, what else do people recomend? I've had awesome experiences with Corsair memory. I know I read something about memory being pretty much equal as long as the latency is low and it doesn't matter too much about it being some high performance memory. I'm also thinking about overclocking the CPU a little with some water cooling...so let me know what you think about memory for this setup...looking for what would work best and be able to OC a little somewhere between 1Gb or 2Gb total memory...

ASUS A8N-SLI Premium
AMD Athlon 64 X2 4800+
1 (possibly 2) BFG Geforce 6800GT OC
1 Western Digital 250Gb SATA II HD w/16mb Cache
Thermaltake Big Water System with extra Radiator to cool CPU and VGA Card(s)

Also what do you think would be a safe spot to OC the 4800+?

Some stray thoughts that come to my mind, skimming this thread:

This is pretty much the fastest possible PC in the world, at a premium price. Was that really what you had in mind? (OK, - I see that was indeed what you had in mind.)
Still, close enough to the same experience can be had with more modest components.

And on your worries about AMD. I have minute knowledge of the K6. Even so I would hazard to say that there really hasn't been any stability issues with AMD CPUs as such, since the K6. K6 included. A friends mother still uses a K6-2. It runs like a Swiss clockwork. Completely flawless for her uses, all these years.

I would repeat the suggestion, often made on this forum: If hardware related at all, it's far more likely that any issues are related to other components. Like mainboards and chipsets. Or in the case of early K7s, also cooling and PSU.

If you launch yourself into a (b-)leading edge, state of art, machinery, there is some risk you will experience some kinks due to immature technology.
Regardless whether you use AMD or Intel. But it's extremely unlikely to be due to flaws in the CPU itself. (Intel CPUs overheating and throttling is not a flaw. It's a set of features of the Pentium4/D. It overheats in order to be able to boast of high clockspeed. It throttles in order to not burn up. But if you're really considering watercooling, I don't think you need to worry.)

Otherwise, in the days of K6, AMD was a budget segment manufacturer. Intel's Dell deal aimed to kill off AMD. And it has been pretty successful at that, in the budget segment. However, AMD has changed market focus to high-end PC, workstations and servers.
That has put more pressure on mainboard and chipset vendors to provide high-end quality.
Another factor is nVidias entrance on the chipset arena.
I also think that AMD earlier have suffered much damage to its reputation, due to a general slump in VIA, that VIA may well be past, today. Though you get no guarantees from me.

Finally, you should ask yourself this question: If there was anything wrong with AMD's processors, would then IBM, HP, SUN and Cray sell systems that are using them?

Would every hardware enthusiast/PC-hobbyist prefer AMD? (As they pretty much are.)

 

[Fox5]

Originally posted by: Dragon41673
Ok...basically here's the deal. I'm giving my old P4 1.7 that is still running awesome, over to my daughter (she's 9). I am in need of help. I've basically flown into this situation without my usual checking things out for months like I did when I built my P4 1.7, so here's what I need.

I'm the kind of person that wants the best of the best...problem is I am an old hater of AMD. I used to have a K6-233 and it was a P.O.S. My bro-in-law swears, and I have seen the reviews, that AMD has come a LONG way, especially with the FX CPU's. So help me pick something out here.

I want a DAMN good board and the best CPU/Memory combo out there. I am looking at something like the following...

Asus P5ND2-SLI Deluxe
Intel P4EE 2.73 w/1066fsb
Corsair Twin2x-5400UL (2x512mb)

OR

Asus A8N-SLI Premium
AMD Athlon 64 FX-55 (San Diego)
Corsair TwinXP1024-3200XL (with the LED display)

Does anyone have any recomendations? I will have the following in the system...
1 (possibly 2) BFG 6800GT OC
1 Western Digital 250gb SATA II w/16mb Cache
1 Pioneer DVR-A09XLB1
Wireless Keyboard & Mouse

I will be playing a lot of games 1/2 the time and I will be doing multi-tasking the other 1/2 of the time...so what are the pros and cons of the MB/CPU/Memory setups that I am looking at?

If you're multitasking, may I suggest an athlon x2 instead of the fx-55? It'll still offer great gaming performance, and far better multitasking performance.
Also, if you'd like to overclock, athlons can make great use of faster memory, say some OCZ PC4200 DDR.

And yes, AMD stability has improved quite a bit from the k6 and early athlon days, I believe nvidia chipsets have been rock solid from the start, and VIA's finally got their stuff together. Even SIS is decent when you can find their stuff. There's also a newcomer called ULI, and they seem to offer more exotic chipsets(usually paired with an ati northbridge) but I've heard of some significant problems with them.

BTW, is the 6800GT AGP or PCI-E?

For my next system, I'm looking at a DFI Lanparty SLI board, with low latency OCZ PC4200 DDR(4x512MB), and either a single core san diego or an x2 of some sort. And water cooling would be nice to top if off. A 7800 would be nice for the video card, but I do have a budget to keep to.

Oh, and I'm not aware of any problems with AMD's processors(though Intel's had a few, precision errors with the original pentium and the replay feature of prescott), but AMD chipsets were notoriously bad in the past, that or they just used cheaper components because amd was the budget cpu company, it pretty much took nvidia to put some kind of standards into the whole amd motherboard thing and force higher quality components.(nvidia quality control + other companies wanting to compete)

 

[Dragon41673]

Thanks for the two that posted between this post and my last. Since then things have changed a little...thought this thread was dead.

I ordered the following...
1 ASUS A8N-SLI Premium
1 AMD X2 4800+
1 Set OCZ 2GB (2 x 1GB) 184-Pin DDR SDRAM (PC 3200) Platinum Spreaders

And to the one that asked if the 6800GT OC was AGP or PCIe...it's PCIe and now I'm trying to see if buying the second card to do SLI is going to be honestly worth it.

Anyone know of a thread or review that shows the difference in frame rates and (for lack of better wording) cpu marks of the 6800GT vs same in SLI in various games and settings

 

[Kriz]

pfft, if money is really no object, get two BFG 7800 GTXs and put them in SLI mode.

7800 GTX overview and benchmarks:

http://www.anandtech.com/video/showdoc.aspx?i=2451

 

[Dragon41673]

That would have been nice but when I got my 6800GT no one knew what the release dte was for the 7800. Since it's past the return date...I'm stuck with it.