Finally completing my A64 rig!

[darXoul]

Well, I'm finally completing my new rig based on socket 754 Athlon 64. I decided to get s754 since I don't want to wait for s939 mobos or pay the price premium, plus I upgrade my comp once per approx. two years and current s939 are not the future in my eyes because of no PCI-E (SLI ). Here is the list of my PC components:

AMD Athlon 64 3200+ (hesitating, see below)
Zalman CNPS7000B-AlCu (bought)
ASUS K8N-E Deluxe (waiting for availability)
2x 512 MB Kingston HyperX DDR434 (to be ordered)
Leadtek GeForce 6800 GT (to be ordered)
Creative SoundBlaster Audigy 2 ZS (to be ordered)
Seagate Barracuda 200 GB SATA 7200 rpm (to be ordered)
Seagate Barracuda 160 GB PATA 7200 rpm (keeping)
NEC ND-3500A DVD-R Double Layer black (to be ordered)
NEC FDD black (to be ordered)
Aerocool AeroEngine Jr Black (bought)
Philips Brilliance 109P4 19" (keeping)
Altec Lansing ACS 54 4.1 (keeping)
Logitech Internet Navigator SE black (bought recently)
Logitech MX510 blue (bought recently)
Allsop Raindrop black (bought recently)
Microsoft Sidewinder Precision 2 (keeping)
HP OfficeJet PSC 2175 (to be ordered)

As you can see, I want to order a lot of stuff but I'm also keeping some of my old hardware. Initially, I wanted to get Logitech Z-640 or X-620 but I think I'll just keep my Altec Lansing speakers. I think they are still fairly nice, they don't hiss or blind me with crazy bright LEDs and the subwoofer fits under my desk which the Logitech 'woofers do not What do you say?

I also changed my mind concerning mobo. I wanted to order MSI K8N Neo Platinum but I'm getting the aforementioned ASUS instead since from what I've read, it's simply more solid and reliable and comparable in terms of features/performance.

As for my choice of case, I ordered a Tt Tsunami (black with window) first but delays on availability were ridiculous so I got the Aerocool instead. It also comes with 3 large fans, cool appearance, lots of blue LED flair and low weight. It just doesn't have all those fancy screwless mounting mechanisms that the Tsunami boasts but I don't really care... Besides, it's MUCH cheaper (Aeroengine: $123 in my country, Tsunami: $274 ).

Now, my primary question is (and yea, I'm quite familiar with benchmarks, but I want you to help me decide ) - which CPU should I get:

- A64 3200+ (Newcastle) for $286 (OEM) / $297 (box) or
- A64 3400+ (Newcastle) for $426 (box)?

(keep in mind that I live in Europe and hardware is more expensive here than in the States)

Which one would you get?

Thanks for any feedback.

 

[Nickel020]

If it is going to be a gaming rig then the $130 for the 3400+ more would be better spent on a video card upgrade imho.

 

[Quasmo]

KEEP AWAY FROM THE HP 2175!!! That thing has more driver issues and start up problems than any other HP. Look at HP just not that one.

 

[UK Frost]

That looks a very nice set up.The whole post is really around the choice of CPU.
Theres not a lot in it at all so i would be tempted to save the money and go for the 3200 Newcastle.
Personally i would have gone for the MSI board which uses DOT technology and with that RAM you would probably be able to get better performance than the 3400 with its overclocking feature without you having to do anything.The Asus is still a very good motherboard though.
As suggested above you could use the saving on the CPU for the Ultra graphics card rather than the GT but even then theres only about a 10% increase in performance so it depends on whether the extra performance is worth $130.
I would stick with the GT and the 3200 Newcastle and the extra money in my bank.
Good luck with your new system....Regards.

 

[HeroOfPellinor]

Do 3200+ or 3400+ overclock higher than a 2800+?

 

[darXoul]

Thanks a lot for your feedback.

Quasmo, now that is something of concern. I didn't realize the PSC 2175 had such issues. I simply chose it because of one reason: I wanted the best possible multifunction printer without fax (I don't need it at home) and for a reasonable price. All models above 2175 carry a pretty large price premium, plus they have a fax.

What would you recommend instead, guys? PSC 1350? Lower resolution...