Help on new parts, I'm a generation or two behind.

[Melectricus]

A friend of my son's had his epox 8rda and xp2500 go south. Popped capacitors on mobo and the processor is also dead. All the parts were about 2 years old. He wants to replace with new - good - fast and overclockable parts. This computer would be used about another year or two and then he'll go up to alot faster and more expensive build. He's watching his checkbook but is willing to pay for better parts if it actually buys more performance and speed since it is his only game rig.

The parts to reuse are
Case, fans, fan controller, floppy, lights etc. ATX mid tower-10bay typical side window type.
160gb ata133 7200
80gb ata 133 7200
Radeon 9800pro
audiology sound card 7(?)channel
Lite-on 52x cdrw

1. What is a good 939 mobo recommendation? AGP not sli on this build
1a. On the mobo...combo PATA and SATA? 0r maybe up to 6ide if not, he may want a controller card for future better and more capacity HDD's?
2. What is a good value overclockable amd 939?
2a. Air cooled has an slk900 but may want to replace with better - recommendation?
3. What is good memory and what rating to match above. Assume 1gb.
4. Afraid of his old allied 500w psu would like to replace with good?
5. Assume a NEC 3520 burner is a good value since he wants to add a dvd burner

any help would be appreciated, as I said I'm just trying to help him and have been out of the loop on building for 2+ years. Thanx.

 

[DerwenArtos12]

Gigabyte motherboard
Any of the 90nm A64's overclock pretty well
If you want to overclock I would go with a thermalrigh xp-90 or xp-120
Seasonic s12 has bot 500 and 600 watt powersupplies that are really nice.
memory on A64 is really not that important as latencies are pretty negligable, personally I like OCZ.

 

[t3h l337 n3wb]

The 3200+ Venice is a pretty good overclocker. Grab some $100 or less 2x512MB value RAM and run a divider. I would recommend an nForce3 board, and if you don't mind spending a bit of money, you can get the MSI Neo-2 Platinum. It's a great board and should overclock pretty well.

 

[Melectricus]

Well the gigabyte sure looks like it has the specs he needs. Thanks.

Interesting, he has 2x256mb buffalo 3200 ch2 chipset that looks like it could be reused - it tested ok in my computer at 200mhz (400) Maybe he'd only have to buy a 512 for now since it has 4 slots. I assumed I couldn't reuse.

I have an SI-97 that is amazing so I assume the xp's would be the way to go from what I have read.

Still wondering about which processor tho, in the 90nm range venice or winchester?

I read about the Seasonic and really like it, but, I'm guessing he'll choke when I add up the part prices.

 

[Melectricus]

Neo...drool. Somehow, I know by the time I'm done with his, I will be forced to upgrade because I will be unable to deal with envy

 

[rise]

Originally posted by: Melectricus
, I'm guessing he'll choke when I add up the part prices.

then you won't like my suggestions

ultra-d
ocz el plat rev2 kit
3200+ venice
evga 6600gt

the prices listed are just reference, you can find them cheaper, even at newegg as they have combo specials on the venice and dfi boards right now. that ram on that board clocks unbelievably at low voltages, 2.8-2.9v. some people get 310mhz and up on it. my damn winnie keeps me around 9x275.

the 6600gts seem to be a flavor of the week specials lately, always some brand on sale, but imo i'd stick with evga, leadtek.

as for the psu, i'd definitely look for something new. keep in mind all nf4 boards recommend a native 24 pin connector. dfi also recommends a 480w unit. again, stick with a top brand like ocz, enermax, seasonic, antec etc. as mentioned, the fortron 500 is a great buy, directron usually has it around $90.

i love the nec-3520 but honestly its the only dvd burner i have bought (3 of them) as they match my silver cases. j/k, they perform well, are priced right and are quiet to boot.

 

[t3h l337 n3wb]

Originally posted by: Melectricus
Well the gigabyte sure looks like it has the specs he needs. Thanks.

Interesting, he has 2x256mb buffalo 3200 ch2 chipset that looks like it could be reused - it tested ok in my computer at 200mhz (400) Maybe he'd only have to buy a 512 for now since it has 4 slots. I assumed I couldn't reuse.

I have an SI-97 that is amazing so I assume the xp's would be the way to go from what I have read.

Still wondering about which processor tho, in the 90nm range venice or winchester?

I read about the Seasonic and really like it, but, I'm guessing he'll choke when I add up the part prices.

The Venice is a bit better for overclocking. I'd go with that, since it's only a couple bucks more. If you want a cheaper PSU, try the XClio 450W with dual +12V rails @ Newegg for ~$50.

 

[Melectricus]

Thanks guys, these are really good suggestions.
Venice:
3000 = $139
3200 = $196
3500 = $275
This is quite a spread on price. Is it worth it to pay almost $60 to go to a 3200. Is a 3500 worth double the cost of a 3000?
Just noticed I should probably go retail to get the warrenty?

 

[FoxyProxy]

Defintely go retail on processor. It includes a fan too!

The fan on AMD64 is plenty strong unless you like to overclock with voltage boosts and everything else but that just makes your system likely to fail anyways so keep it stock and be happy. LOL like you can see the difference!

 

[theMan]

go for the 3200 venice (retail). get some corsair valueram. msi k8n neo2 platty. get the seasonc s12 430w. and a thermalright xp-90