Help me pick AMD 64

[ParatoOptimal]

I was going to put together an Abit NF7-S v.2 /XP-M rig.
Now, I'm thinking it may be better to go the A64 route.

Which processor, mobo and RAM would you go with?
I would like to stay at the price of what the above XP-M rig would have cost a month or two ago btu I don't want to cripple the sys. Maybe a good, better, best list including what to stay away from would be good. I want to keep costs down without losing capability if possible.

I was in the tech field. I was ladd off. Money has pretty ch evaporated but I'm lost without my computer. My current rig is an ancient Asus CUSL2, P3-500 flipchip, PC133 RAM crippled to 100 by the procy.

Is it better to buy a retail CPU/HS/fan from Newegg or to buy OEM and add a HS/fan?

Is Newegg or Monarch better or is there another?
I forget Mnoarch's website.

 

[Quino]

I would go for a 2800 and oc it. Mobo I would go for a chintec VNF3-250 $78 shipped at zippy . Memory I would use any of the value one form kingston, Corsair or mushking since the thight timings do not benefit the Athlon 64s. Of course that is just my opinion (currently builing a similar setup)

 

[imported_tss4]

The 2800 is definately the way to go. Best bang for the buck. Save a little money there and then try to put a decent grpahics card in there. Maybe a 9800. Best overall machine for less money.

 

[Quino]

Here it is a guy selling a nice atractive combo:
2800 Combo

 

[ParatoOptimal]

It's a claw.
Shoudn't I get a castle?

 

[Quino]

It all depends. He is pretty much guaranteeing a 2.25 oc which is faster than the 3200. I like the clawhammer better for the extra cache but this one does not come with it. I am running a 3400 @2.53 clawhammer

 

[ParatoOptimal]

Is one ocable and teh other not?
I know little about 64s.
I got all read up to build an XP-M sys.

Any knowledge is apreciated.
Thanks

 

[Quino]

Nothing is guaranteed hence the atractivness of the combo I linked u. I have had my sahre of dude athlon 64s but I sold them to people that do not care to oc. Most people agrees that the current athlons pretty much top around 2.5 gigs unless u use extreme cooling. The same goes for the mobile xps. I read a lot of posts of people asking how to increase the oc they got (they wanted to be at 2.5-2.6) and it is something that is not granted. I would buy (that is what I have done) OEM and get a 948U with a good fan to oc. I am pretty sure that the guy was using the retail hs abd while good it does not compare with the 948u and I am guessing u should be at 2.3-2.4 with that cpu. Also, most people suggest getting a cg revision than a co revision. peronally I have been able to oc further with the co versions but that is just me

 

[Quino]

Also, the athlon 64 at 2.25 will be considerably faster than a 2.5 mobile xp. I had both and the xp felt soo slugish and plain slow compared to the athlon 64. I just wanted to try it since so many people were raving about it. I had it oc to 2.4 and the athlon 64 I had was at 2.4 too and the athlon 64 smoked the xp mobile in any thing I trew at them. But then again I do lite work and gaiming mainly. Well now I also do DVD backups :evil:

 

[MrK6]

I think you'd be better spending some extra and getting a 3000+ instead of the 2800. The 3000+ let's you o/c a lot higher, and the 10X multiplier you get with it really helps . That chaintech mobo is good. If you can afford it, get a GB of RAM as my A64 flies with it. And athlon 64's do depend on RAM timings. I can make my 3dMark2001SE score go up or down 1000 points just based on the tightest possible to the loosest RAM timings. What's your budget though? It's easier for us to get parts if we know what you can spend.

 

[Jhatfie]

I'd give a nod to the 3000+ over the 2800+, mostly because of the 10x multi that gives additional overclocking headroom, generally overclock a bit better and are only $20 more. I recommend the Chaintech VNF3-250 or Epox 8kda3j for good cheap overclocking motherboards. I personally have 2 VNF3's that overclock my 3000+ to 2.5ghz and my 3200+ to 2.6ghz with more to come once I have time to fool with it more.

For ram, the OCZ PC3500 EB is awesome on A64's, but a bit expensive. Another killer choice would be the crucial Ballistix PC3200, but it is a bit expensive as well. Some OCZ PC3200EL is a bit cheaper and maintains good timings and overclock decent, otherwise some Mushkin blue series PC3200 is a reliable and cheaper alternative.

 

[CraigRT]

Originally posted by: Jhatfie
I'd give a nod to the 3000+ over the 2800+, mostly because of the 10x multi that gives additional overclocking headroom, generally overclock a bit better and are only $20 more. I recommend the Chaintech VNF3-250 or Epox 8kda3j for good cheap overclocking motherboards. I personally have 2 VNF3's that overclock my 3000+ to 2.5ghz and my 3200+ to 2.6ghz with more to come once I have time to fool with it more.

For ram, the OCZ PC3500 EB is awesome on A64's, but a bit expensive. Another killer choice would be the crucial Ballistix PC3200, but it is a bit expensive as well. Some OCZ PC3200EL is a bit cheaper and maintains good timings and overclock decent, otherwise some Mushkin blue series PC3200 is a reliable and cheaper alternative.

My Kinston Hyper-X PC3500 is running at 220MHz CAS2 on my Soltek K8AN2E-GR (which is a tad past it's spec) and it works awesome!

 

[mickles]

If it helps at all, I plan on going A64 with K8N Neo Platinum. Probably OC with plain air cooling. For ram OCZ 3500 EB for it's ability to handle DDR 500 with excellent performance, which would correspond to the 250 FSB that I *might* reach. Then again it might be more than you want to spend.

 

[mrSHEiK124]

personally, i think you should go 3500+ S939, if you have the $$$ that is

 

[edmundoab]

is there a particular favorite for A64 owners? in terms for value of money.. and overclockable result

 

[mjuarez]

The 3500+ would also be my choice, since it's the cheapest 939-pin Athlon64, at around $350. Couple that with an NForce3Pro 250Gb board, and you have one of the best systems out there. If I was budget-limited to less than $200, I'd get the 3000+, no questions asked. The price difference over a 2800+ is ridiculous (around $15), and you get a big fat 1Mb of cache.

 

[MrK6]

3000+ have 512kb caches, but for $15 the 10x multi is worth it :thumbsup: