I need some HELP!!!

[bigphill]

Hi all!
this is my first thread here, so please be gentle!! Id like to upgrade my system... i need some help doing it as im unsure as what to buy
i have a xp1800 with 512mbs of ram and a gigbyte 9700 pro graphics card and all the other normal things (sound card, modem (56k sadly...) scsi adaptor and network card) and i would like to have more speed, although i would like to make it a subtancal upgrade, ie, when i upgraded to the 9700 pro, i had a geforce 2 ultra.. you know what i mean? id like to have that sort of increase (ie a big jump not a small jump)
if anyone could give me any clues whatsoever i would be most happy to hear them.. i am looking at either intel 4 or amd xp 26/2700, but the motherboards are the ones that are confusing me the most.. also so is the memory side of things..
please could someone, anyone!!, help me out here..
i do a lot of gaming and i will be doing video capture (hence why i have a scsi drive), for which i would like someone to recommend me a capture card... i have been told that the pinncle models are good, the dc10 plus was recommended to me..
i look forward to a reply!

 

[pelikan]

Okay, a major upgrade...
You've got the right video card.
I would get an NForce2 motherboard, the Asus A7N8X-Deluxe, Expox 8RDA+, or Abit NF7.
If you don't have pc2700 ram get True Samsung pc2700 (NewEgg.com). Unless you overclock, then this (or their 512MB sticks since you do video capture): http://store.yahoo.com/memx/gn256pc3200.html.
In either case you want 2 sticks of ram with the nforce2 dual channel memory.
If you don't overclock the XP 2600+ or 2700+ are great. If you do, get a 2100+ T-bred B, week 0248, 0250, or 0302 from PCNut or ExcaliberPC.
Make sure your power supply is good. If not I would recommend the Fortron FSP 350W at Directron.com.

 

[mechBgon]

Also, consider getting a Maxtor Atlas 10k IV or Seagate Cheetah 15k.3 hard drive (or more than one) if you have an Ultra160 or Ultra320 SCSI adapter. If the CPU is bottlenecked by the drives when you're doing video editing, then the faster drives will help you too.

 

[bigphill]

i do have a nice 36 gig scsi drive, the ultra 160 interface with a 10k spin..
do i need a faster cpu for video editing?
i want to upgrade it anyway, i want more from the pc.. it sometimes slows down and it bugs me during games and stops when dialing up. its really annoying so i want to try and change it
please, could you give me some ideas on upgrading this slowed down beast?

 

[bigphill]

thanks for all the advice!!
the only thing is that i live in england and i think postage would be a killer!
how come you recommend certain weeks for the cpus? where they different or something? overclocking the xp26/700 is that a good idea or wont it make much of a difference?
what about the corsair memory, the xms stuff, is that any good? which one out of the 3 motherboards mentioned would be the best? i have been reading about the abit being a little slow.. what do you think?
thank you ever so much for the help!

 

[pelikan]

Corsair is great memory. The 2100 B will overclock beyond stock 2800+ speeds if you get a good one. The odds of getting a good one increase depending on what week it was manufactured.
I like the Asus, but I have one and have used them before so I am biased. You will notice though that the review sites use the Asus to test various parts, so...

 

[bigphill]

thats cool, i was just wondering really.
how would i find out when the cpus where made? could i ask someone the might despatch a particular model? or would i have to go to a more 'specific' pc retailer? would you recommend the corsair over the samsung memory? i dont want to pay £5 or so less to get something not as good, i would rather pay out more to get something better.. its how i look at everything.. you get what you pay for.. unless its a year old in the computer business!!!
do you know what the weeks are that i should be looking out for?
what you mean overclock the cpu past 2800 speeds? just up upping the fsb or by changing the multipier or both? would it be best to get the 2100 or the 2600 then?

 

[pelikan]

Corsair XMS pc3200 will run at faster timings than Samsung. It is better.
The week of the cpu is in the serial number, you want an AIUHB 0248, 0250, or 0302. If you look at the serial number you'll see it. Some retailers will cooperate with you in finding the week you want, others won't. Some won't know what the hell you are asking for.
The thing with the 2100+ is that a lot of the time it seems like people are getting the same quality chip that is used for a 2800+ because it will run at that speed or faster. So its not better, its just cheaper. It's a gamble, but if you get the right week the odds are in your favor that you will be running at over 2200MHz. For example I got a 2400+ awhile back that turned out to be a bad stepping (AIUCB) and week (0239). It won't go over 2150MHz. So I'm actually considering a 2100+ instead. Its funny.
To overclock it, you lower the multiplier and raise the front side bus. The NForce2 boards allow you to adjust the multiplier of Tbred cpus without any modification. Sometimes you have to flash the bios of the board you get to a newer version to be able to do this.

 

[EXman]

If you are doing any video capture I would stay far away from OCing you need stablity above all else. Get a 2700 or 2800 and do not OC. Nothing worse than stability issues when working with video. Just get something nice stable and Fast! Keep the SCSI and Corsair is good ram too. Expensive but good.

 

[bigphill]

the question i have for the overclocking side of things, do i need to spend a lot on the cooling side of things? i know through overclocking older thunderbirds that the cpus got very hot and i had to have a delta fan on there which was a right screamer.. but it did cool it down..
some friends at a computer shop in town are saying that they are finding it hard to get the newer xp cpus (2600s for example) above 10 degrees c under load... is that right or are they wishing a little there? i havent been to see, but i would like to test out which cpu would be best.. either the intel cpu setup they have or the amd setup..
which would you recommend?
im not so bothered about paying more for something that will last me longer.. and overclocking the xp2100s, are they going to be stable?

 

[bigphill]

how come you didnt say anything about intel? i thought that their faster cpus where better for video editing and so on?
the amds are so badly priced and i must admit, would it be enough of a speed increase for the 9700 to show a difference?
i am curious about one thing with the video editing.. how much memory do i need for it? and if i use an nforce 2 board or a granite grey board, what dimms are best to get? two 512mbs or 2 256mbs? im looking for it to be fast, but not have too much memory that will start to slow it down... and i have been reading that the nforce 2 boards need 2 dimms to use this dual memory thing? whats all that about? also, what speed corsair would be best? the xms 3200 or the 3500?
thank you so much for your help!

 

[pelikan]

10C is dreaming, total b/s. If you get a good heatsink, like the slk-800, you only need a 2500 rpm fan to keep it cool. That's what I have an I run 48C under load, and its nice and quiet.
When you overclock you test for stability with programs like Prime95. That way you can be sure.
People that I know who do video editing like to have at least 1GB of ram.
AMD vs Intel is an endless debate with no right answers in my opinion.
Boards with dual channel memory controllers benefit from two dimms. The performance increase varies with the application - from 3% to 10%.
I have read reports of the Corsair XMS 3200 being just as good or better than the 3500. I don't know why.
And about showing a difference with the 9700 Pro: That card's performance will scale very well with faster cpu's.

 

[bigphill]

so for that they are talking a bit of crap, yes? well, i wasnt sure and i have had no experience with the new cpus... i was hoping that they where cool, because i dont like having so many fans etc in the pc.. but life goes on..
where would i find prime95? is it something that i can download freely or would i have to buy it?
i know the debate is useless, but what i was asking was, what would be best to get? im not siding or anything, i would just like to know, bang for buck (so to speak) whats the best cpu/upgrade i could go for that would do everything that i would want it too.. and what would your answer be for that?
with the memory, would the xms 400 be a better bet or would it be best to get the xms 3500? i know it will be more expensive, but is it worth it?
with regards to the 9700 pro, its something that i want to keep or when and if i upgrade i would possibly upgrade that as well too a newer model (r400 perhaps?)..
so what would be best to get the most from my 9700 pro? please help!

 

[pelikan]

You can download Prime95 for free. Search on Google for it.
Sounds like you want some specific advice. Okay, buy this:
Asus A7N8X-Deluxe
2100+ AIUHB
2 x 512MB pc3200 (Corsair is good)
slk-800 cpu heat sink
2500-3000rpm fan for heat sink

 

[bigphill]

right, the only question i have with that setup is, would an MSI motherboard be best? they seem to be getting a lot of good reviews and good benchmarks against the other boards that are reviewed with them.
one other question, would it be worth waiting to get the sis 745 fx boards and a barton? i was told to 'skip' the nforce 2 boards...
thank you so much for the help!! oh what week chip would i need for great overclocking?

 

[mechBgon]

Skip the nForce2 boards? Any particular reason, or is this from the same guys who are miraculously running AthlonXP's at 10C with air cooling? The nForce2 (edit: and nForce classic) boards have exceptional PCI efficiency (as long as you pick the right drivers, anyway) and work well with SCSI adapters as a result. Peruse my selection of nForce and nForce2 rigs here, I am very satisified with them (more than I can say for "Zippy," my KT333-based system, which has "issues" with my SCSI card).