Just placed my upgrade orders, any thoughts?

[GundamW]

Here is what I ordered:

MSI K8N Neo4 Platinum SLI
AMD64 3500+ Venice
Zalman CNPS7700-CU
BFG Geforce 7800GT OC
OCZ 2GB DDR400 Platinum
OCZ ModStream 520W PS
Maxtor Maxline3 300GB SATA

~$1300 A/R

Going to reuse:
full towercase, audigy2 sound, cdrw, dvdrw, keyboard, mouse, 20" LCD.

The only thing I know lacking in the new system is the CPU but I can easily upgrade that later when the X2 comes down in price.


Anything i need to know before I put my toys together?


my current setup (will go into my 2nd computer):
ASUS A7N8X-E DX
AMD XP 2600-M
Thermaltake Volcano 6cu
WinFast Geforce4 TI4200 <-- cant play BF2
Mushkin 2x512MB PC3200
Thermaltake 350W PS
Creative Audigy2

 

[KoolHonda]

That's very close to what I did last month, and I didn't have any major problems. BF2 will be rocking on that setup.

 

[GundamW]

Originally posted by: KoolHonda
That's very close to what I did last month, and I didn't have any major problems. BF2 will be rocking on that setup.

Cool, your rig is very close to my new one.
Try overclocking it yet?

What I really want is to do a benchmark comparison between my old and new rig.
Know of any good benchmark program besides 3DMark05?
I've been using AquaMark3.

 

[KoolHonda]

I was waiting for the AS3 to set in before OC'in, but every game I throw at it runs @ 1600x1200 and high details without a sweat so I haven't bothered.

 

[Budman]

Dump the MSI board.

 

[jiffylube1024]

Are you going to overclock? If so, then a 3000+ or 3200+ would probably take you just as far (although you need good memory for that). Otherwise the 3500+ is an excellent chip, gives you a higher multiplier to play with (although if you o/c, chances are you'll be using a divider for that RAM anyways).

I'm not a fan of MSI either (or the Zalman 7700 for that matter, either go sleek with the XP90/C or XP120 or brute force with a Typhoon).

Buutt - it's still an excellent system you're building. Nice PSU, nice HD. You can use the onboard Audio - it should give you similar results. I'm using onboard audio on my DFI NF4 and it's about as good as my Audigy 2.

NICE video card btw .

 

[Mem]

Dump the MSI board.

It is actually a very good board, nice to see the usual MSI haters back.

 

[sixth]

Nice board? How do you figure that? Do you ever read the msi forums over at MSI? The Bios suck. The support blows. And you cant get above 210FSB unless your LUCKY. I am not a hater at all, i have three other MSI board based on VIa chipsets and i have no issues, just their Nforce 4 boards are flaky. I jsut dont recommend them, ESP if you are overclocking.

 

[Superguy]

At least from what I've read over there, the problems are with the Winchesters and overclocking, not able to get above 219.

Everything else seems to work fine.

 

[sixth]

Yeah, just becareful with BIOS updates. Esp bios 1.9 cause alot of instability issues from what i was reading. I just dont like the board for many reasons, mostly confined to reliabitly and stabilty, just never got my system stable, and i have swapped almost every component in it. But i wish you luck, hopefully you will get a good board and wont have any problems! good luck!!!

 

[Mem]

Nice board? How do you figure that? Do you ever read the msi forums over at MSI? The Bios suck. The support blows. And you cant get above 210FSB unless your LUCKY. I am not a hater at all, i have three other MSI board based on VIa chipsets and i have no issues, just their Nforce 4 boards are flaky. I jsut dont recommend them, ESP if you are overclocking.

In general forums from all motherboards manufacturers are mainly members having problems with boards etc...

So you got a faulty board it happens no manufacturer is perfect.
Taken from Anandtech's review roundup,

The Gold Editors Choice is jointly awarded to the MSI K8N Neo4/SLI Platinum for the combination of robust operation at stock speeds, top-notch overclocking abilities, and the best feature set and feature performance of the available SLI boards. An enthusiast may be happy with either the DFI SLI or the MSI SLI board, but buyers looking for the best feature set that truly enhances system performance will choose the MSI. The 2nd SATA2 controller, dual PCIe LAN, and hardware SoundBlaster Live! 24-bit are a standout combination in a crowded field of top-performing motherboards.

Link.

 

[sixth]

yeah yeah i understand what your saying Mem, forget about my board and issues, i just dont like their bios support. every single bios they release for that board gives issues. thats the only thing i dont like about it, new bios supposed fix problems, not make them worse.

but like i said, good luck, hopefully u get a good board!!!

 

[Superguy]

Hehehe. They could just be like Asus and put a different spin on the same problem with each bios release.

 

[sixth]

haha yeah exactly!

 

[Budman]

Originally posted by: Mem

Dump the MSI board.

It is actually a very good board, nice to see the usual MSI haters back.

Yes i was a MSI hater before & now that i own one i am really a MSI hater.

It's a nice board if you dont OC at all & plan on running stock but for OC it's got too many quirks for my tastes.

MSI bios writters cant write a decent bios to save their lives either,take the mem setting in the bios for example...

When you set your mem timings manualy well you dont get what you set it at,it's either 1 or 2 knotches off as verified by A64Tweaker inside windows if it boots.


So if you plan on running stock speeds and you're really pressed for cash then yeah MSI is an OK choice.

 

[n7]

The MSI hate seems a tad unfounded guys.

Sure, two of you here have had problems, but there also are a lot of happy Neo4, & Neo4-F owners out there.

Also, have you not noticed how a lot of A64-based mobos in general have memory settings issues...it's not just the MSIs...

GundamW: Sorry to say, but the Zalman is not the best choice. At all.

I'd say TT Big Typhoon, or maybe the XP-90, since i don't believe the XP-120 fits on the Neo4.

 

[Budman]

Originally posted by: n7
The MSI hate seems a tad unfounded guys.

Sure, two of you here have had problems, but there also are a lot of happy Neo4, & Neo4-F owners out there.

Also, have you not noticed how a lot of A64-based mobos in general have memory settings issues...it's not just the MSIs...

GundamW: Sorry to say, but the Zalman is not the best choice. At all.

I'd say TT Big Typhoon, or maybe the XP-90, since i don't believe the XP-120 fits on the Neo4.

Unfounded??

When i set something in the bios I expect it to be what i set it as,having to play the guessing game & then booting to see what it's actualy at is not my ideal of unfounded.

I am not alone.

Sure, two of you here have had problems, but there also are a lot of happy Neo4, & Neo4-F owners out there.

These people probably dont oc and run at stock speed with setting all on auto

Also, have you not noticed how a lot of A64-based mobos in general have memory settings issues...it's not just the MSIs...

Weird DFI and Epox dont seem to have that problem.

 

[sixth]

Yeah i am going to have to take the side of budman here, we are not alone with this board. There are ALOT of unhappy people with the MSI board. It has to be one of the MOST UNSTABLE mobos out there straight outta the box. The bios writters are a joke, and i am running all stock timings, no overclock. NOTHING. The board sucks. I am sorry, I was running variious different cores, Winchester and Venice and now my Toledo. I hate this board with a passion. Its POS.

Sorry but i had to throw my .02 cents in, three RMA's and this board still sucks. You say that everyone over at the MSI forums has problems? And only the people with problems post? Dude, have you ever looked at the posts? These boards arent having little problems, more like serious ones.

Sorry, i will admit, i am a MSI hater 100%.

 

[GundamW]

Wow, thanks for all of the inputs. Any input is welcome.

I had a MSI K7T266Pro2-RU before. That went pretty well. Never had any problem.
We will see how this new MSI motherboard goes for me. Crossing my fingers.

Once the new system is Primed, I will be overclocking it. No point leaving it at stock, right?
For the video card, it was either the XFX, eVGA, or BFG. Seem like a lot of people rated, BFG>eVGA>>>>>XFX, so BFG it was.

Hmmmm, Zalman = bad choice? Can't go back now. A lot of newegg reviewer seems to like it. But I will keep XP-90 and other suggestions in mind.

So, any good benchmark tools besides 3dMark?