From Intel to AMD, need advice

[Broadkipa]

Right, I am thinking of upgrading my old BX based system to somthing a bit faster and after reading a lot of posts on these boards it would seem that AMD are the way to go. Now I have built two systems from scratch so I know what I am doing, but they were both Intel based. What I need to know is what are the pitfalls if any of building a AMD based system. It would seem that cooling and power supply are far more important on a AMD system than they are on an Intel based one.Any tips or advice would be great before I part with my cash. Also I need a bit of a push to leave Intel as Both my systems run fine and I have had very few problems with either.
THANKS PAUL

 

[Hanpan]

Just wanted tp let you know that 95% of the problems with amd systems in my experience has been the fault of the motherbaord and namely via chipsets. Teh other 5% is cracked cores which if you are careful should not be of great concern.

I can't realy warn you of specific problems as they tend to change but for one thing the motherbaord drivers are very importatn make sure you get updated ones especially for agp performance. I never found this a problem with the bx chipset for example but with via don;t even try running 3d before you ahve proper drivers installed. There are a lot of other little anoyances but if your lucky you may not run across any so why not deal with them as they become problems rather than worry. OF course it is wise to research your purhcase but honestly i don;t hav eth tiem nor the willingness to relate every problem i have encountered with the via/amd combo. Hope this helps at least a little.

 

[hungrypete]

people are pretty amd biased here. me too, i guess, but mostly because im poor and amd is cheap. Get good cooling, probably 300W PS, be VERY careful when mounting or removing a HSF. Getting a low end duron and a conductive pen is probably the way to go if you really want to crank something all the way open. If not overclocking, get a mid-range tbird, they arent too expensive. The most popular boards are definately the Asus A7V, the Abit KT7, and the MSI K7T series, what creative names, eh? Anyways, all of those boards are said to be excellent and I canb personally vouch for the Asus I have, and my little bro's Abit, and Anands servers are on MSI boards I believe. Get a good HSF also, be careful because the Abit doesnt have much room around the cpu, the asus has lots.
I run Intel at work (Compaq DeskPro w/ P3 800eb and i815) and the one in my sig at home, and the duron definitely keeps up with the slightly lower clocked and more expensive p3.

while im at it i may as well pimp another thread I need help with....

 

[Broadkipa]

Thanks for the info, Its what I need, people who have built systems around AMD CPUs. Iv'e learnt a few a things already.

 

[Hanpan]

if you have more speciifc questions i'd be happy to answer tehm as i ahve built many amd systems. PM me if you'd like.

 

[Ulysses]

I can't disagree with the idea of setting up an AMD system, but, depending on what BX board you have and what you do with your PC, you might come out ahead financially if you did something along the lines of what I did with my BX board. An overclocked BX board can be a great performer, and might be a nice bridge to some of the more powerful systems on the horizon. (Personally, I think this is a lousy time to build a new system from scratch.)

For an AMD system I'd recommend a fast Athlon, an AMD-approved power supply, and an AMD-approved heatsink & fan, like the GlobalWIN FOP32-1, and a good motherboard like the MIS (Micro Star)K7T Pro2A. For how to overclock it see this AnandTech article.

 

[Broadkipa]

The BX board is a Gigabyte GA-686bx, as far as I know you can,t o\c this board.There is nothing in the bios that allows you to do this.I dont think I can go much faster with my CPU(500MhzP3)and I'm stuck with a 100Mhz FSB.Thats why I was thinking of a new board and CPU.

 

[Dan]

Broadkipa: I've also built a lot of AMD systems, from 486's up through T-Birds. Feel free to PM me or e0mail me if you have specific questions.

 

[bluesky]

I built my first system about 3 weeks ago.
Everything was easier than I thought I would.
The toughest part was installing hsf over cpu. Man, that was pain in butt. Maybe my finger is not strong enough, but I had to use a screw driver to lock the clip. I was a bit scared that I might crack the cpu with excessive force.
Except that, another minor misstep was that I did put the floppy drive cable upside down. If you built 2 systems already, it's not gonna be much different, just with some guidelines regarding good enough power supply and hsf.
I recommend MSI K7t pro 2-A board. It's very stable, and very easy to work on it. Even it sometimes automatically overclocks cpu. 10 minutes ago, it reported the cpu, which 1 gig, was running 2676mhz. Wow, what a great motherboard!

 

[Budman]

<< Even it sometimes automatically overclocks cpu. 10 minutes ago, it reported the cpu, which 1 gig, was running 2676mhz. Wow, what a great motherboard! >>




hahahaha good one .