Got the computer figured out!

[ulty]

Processor AMD Athlon 64 3000+, 512KB L2 Cache 64-bit Processor
Mother Board MSI nForce3 250 Chipset Motherboard for AMD Athlon 64 Socket 754 CPU, Model "K8N Neo Platinum"
Case CHENBRO Silver/Black Mid-Tower ATX Case
Power Supply Antec 480W Power Supply with Blue LED Fan
Memory (x2) Corsair Value Select 184 Pin 512MB DDR PC-3200
Hard Drive SAMSUNG 160GB 7200RPM SATA Hard Drive
Exhaust Fan Aerocool X-Blaster "The Heat Terminator" 80mm Fan
Heatsink Thermalright Copper Heatsink for both Intel and AMD
Extra Fans (x2) Artic Cooling All Clear LED Adjustable 80mm Case fan
Video Card High Tech ATI RADEON 9800PRO Video Card, 128MB DDR, 256-bit, DVI/TV-Out, 8X AGP
Floppy Disk SONY Black 1.44MB 3.5inch Floppy Disk Drive, Model MPF920
CD/DVD RW Combo Sony Black 52x32x52x16 Combo Drive
Mouse/Keyboard Microsoft Black Multimedia Keyboard & Wheel Mouse Optical Bundle PS/2 102keys

What do you think?

 

[hjo3]

You really still use floppies?

 

[FreshFish]

I used one to flash my BIOS...plus theyre only like 10 bucks

Oh and I forgot to say: nice setup, I want an A64 too

 

[Illissius]

If you have any extra money left over I would definitely drop it on a faster video card, GeForce 6800 or GT. The 9800 Pro is currently your bottleneck, as you have an A64. Not saying it's *slow* by any means, but a GT will double your speed in games.

 

[Tostada]

Is there any reason you're getting a SATA drive? Seeing as it's not any faster, and probably the only reason you're getting a floppy is to install SATA drivers every time you reinstall windows... I've started to realize that's $20 I have no reason to spend (but then I think floppy drives are just obnoxious).

Also (and this is a question to anybody), is there any reason to get the $130 MSI NF3 250Gb instead of the $99 Epox NF3 250Gb? They're both the same chipset with 4X SATA connectors. The MSI board has a pretty stupid layout -- SATA connectors behind the CPU, PSU connector in front of the IDE connectors. There are a lot of little complaints with the MSI board that don't seem to be issues with the Epox board, and the Epox board also has the LED diagnostic display and a 6th PCI slot.

The MSI looks a little more geared towards overclocking, but the Epox looks like a better overall board for significantly less. Am I missing something?

EDIT: It looks like the $99 Epox only has 2X SATA connectors and might not have the good GB LAN, but it still looks like a good board.

 

[So]

Don't listen to them, the floppy is convenient to have around and isn't costly. The video card change may be worth considering (just because I hate my 9600's drivers, and the next video card I get is definitely going to be NVIDIA)

 

[So]

Tostada: If you don't need SATA, then there's probably no reason for you to spend the extra $50. I, personally, am sad that the A64 boards don't come w/ 2 parallel IDE ports any more. I have 4 IDE drives and I'm kinda being pigeonholed into replacing two of them with this upgrade .

 

[kaizersose]

i woud drop the CD-R and go with a DVD-R Drive. for $60 you can get an nec 2500 which will last you a lot longer

 

[ulty]

I have two options:

1) Get the mobile 2800/3000+ with the MSI board, and keep my current video card.

2) Get the regular, not mobile, 3000+, with the epox, and a better video card, which I have no idea about. Could someone give me a link to this graphics card that is just 'soooo' much better than the one that I want?

Thanks.

 

[So]

The NVIDIA 6800GT?

 

[ulty]

Someone said something about a better graphics card, the only results with the NVIDIA 6800GT are 400+ from new egg...

I have found a few graphics cards that I think are good?

eVGA nVIDIA GeForce 6800 Video Card, 128MB GDDR, 256-bit, DVI/TV-Out, 8X AGP, Model "128-A8-N343-AX"

http://www.newegg.com/app/ViewProductDesc.asp?description=14-130-202&depa=0

--------------------------------

ATI RADEON 9800 PRO Video Card, 256MB DDR, 256-bit, DVI/TV-Out, 8X AGP

http://www.newegg.com/app/ViewProductDesc.asp?description=14-102-361&depa=0

--------------------------------

GAINWARD nVIDIA GeForce FX5900XT Video Card, 256MB DDR, 256-bit, DVI/TV-Out, 8X AGP, Model "FX PowerPack! Ultra/1300XT Golden Sample"

http://www.newegg.com/app/ViewProductDesc.asp?description=14-128-184&depa=0

--------------------------------

SAPPHIRE ATI RADEON 9800PRO Video Card, 256MB DDR, 256-bit, DVI/TV-Out, 8X AGP, Model "ATLANTIS RADEON 9800PRO"

http://www.newegg.com/app/ViewProductDesc.asp?description=14-102-290&depa=0

 

[ulty]

Any thoughts?

 

[Illissius]

Get the 6800 non-Ultra or a 9800 Pro 128MB, depending on how much money you have. 256MB of memory only comes into play at 1600x1200 + AA/AF, and any of those cards would be unplayable at those settings anyways.

 

[ulty]

This one looks good...

http://www.newegg.com/app/ViewProductDesc.asp?description=14-128-184&depa=0

450/780 faster than the others, reading reviews and seeing people overclocking nicely...

Opinion(s)?

Could I play doom3 real nicely on this do you think?

 

[Illissius]

I'd skip the FX series. They're bad (meaning abysmal) at DX9, have a disproportionately large performance loss when using AA/AF, and ordered grid means the AA isn't very good either. The 5900XT was a good deal when it cost the same as a 9600XT and 9800 Pros were $300+, but now that the 9800 Pro is $200 there really isn't much point.
Get a 9800 Pro 128MB ($200), 6800 non-Ultra 128MB ($300), 6800GT 256MB ($400), or X800XT 256MB ($500) depending on how much money you want to spend.