Looking to Build an Athlon 64 PC... Things to be aware of?

[TimboAA]

I acidentally broke my other motherboard.....(go head over to the Tech Support forum to read about it). So I was wondering...since upgrading was in my future (next 6 months or so) it seems pointless to replace my existing mb just to replace it again w/new technology.

So I was thinking I should get the AMD Athlong 64 processor. I know I want to go with atleast a 3000+ if possible. But other than that..I have a few questions on my mind.

Anything to look out for performance wise?

What about the O.S.? I know Windows has a 64-bit version availabe for this processor...but thats all I know.

Software compatibility issues?

I run a lot of Adobe and Macromedia programs as well as the Maya 6 Personal Learning Edition. Is there going to be any problems?

what about games?? Will they have problems?

Thank you for your time.

 

[overlordstu]

I have an Athlon64 3000+ based system, and to date I have had no software issues (including macromedia (Dreamweaver, Fireworks, etc), and Adobe programs (photoshop, acrobat etc)) or performance troubles.

I havent tried 64bit Windows yet, although some people reported issues running 32-bi tapps on it. I'd thoroughly recommend going A64, just keep in mind cooling and power

 

[TimboAA]

So if you are using a 32-bit O.S. on it...does it still take advantage of the 64-bit processing power??

Otherwise...wouldn't it make more sense to just get a regular Athlon XP 3000+ Or am I mistaken here?

 

[Somniferum]

Originally posted by: TimboAA
So if you are using a 32-bit O.S. on it...does it still take advantage of the 64-bit processing power??

Otherwise...wouldn't it make more sense to just get a regular Athlon XP 3000+ Or am I mistaken here?

There are other advantages to the A64 -- it's faster, has better architecture and an internal memory controller. You are much better off with the A64 chip, even though a 32-bit OS will not take full advantage of it yet.

 

[CraigRT]

Originally posted by: TimboAA
So if you are using a 32-bit O.S. on it...does it still take advantage of the 64-bit processing power??

Otherwise...wouldn't it make more sense to just get a regular Athlon XP 3000+ Or am I mistaken here?

I am using a 32bit OS, and I can say, just because of the way the CPU is made (the architecture) it's a lot faster than my old AthlonXP in ANYTHING I do with it... and this is on regular XP Pro 32bit.

I can whole heartedly say it's VERY worth it to get an A64, even if you are running a 32bit OS.
I did not but my A64 just because it was 64 bit, I bought it because it's faster than my AXP, and I am loving every minute of it!

 

[walla]

There are at least a few Linux distro's that support 64-bit o/s : SuSE, Mandrake, Debian just to name some.

Athlon 64 can run in 32-bit and 16-bit as well so there should be no problems running any of today's software with it.

The only thing to keep in mind is that you won't be able to run 64-bit apps in a 32-bit O/S. But since Windows XP 64-bit isn't commercial yet, its not likely that any other compatible software is 64-bit either.

 

[TimboAA]

Thanks for answering some of my questions guys. I appreciate the first hand experience. I remember seeing that winxp 64-bit edition was free...for a year...because it was still in beta testing. Thanks for heads up on the Linux distributions as well.

 

[wseyller]

To best thing to do is to not even judge the amd64 by its 64-bit capabilities. There are other reasons more important at the moment that makes the amd64 processors great performers, such as hypertransport and built-in memory controllers. Later down when 64-bit os, and software is availabe and stable, you can think of it as a small free boost in performance.

 

[TimboAA]

Now what are some good combos that allow for overclocking down the road.

I've seen that Asus & Abit both have motherboards out right now. Are there any other ones that are good for the Athlon 64 processor?

I've mainly searched through Newegg.com, TigerDirect.com, and Pricewatch.com

On Pricewatch I saw a lot of cheaper boards pricewise (FIC, ECS, MSI, etc) I've had an FIC board before...and it didn't have any OCing options. Of course this was a loong time ago on my AMD Athlon 750.

 

[Vee]

I certainly don't want to scare you away from A64. I would try to build any system, on any budget, on a A64, currently. On a really rockbottom, low budget, I guess I'd settle for a really cheap KT400/600 MB and socket A. But otherwise I'd start on A64 2800+ and take good chances to finance it with cheap choices for the rest.

But, to the point, I found it a bit tricky to mount third party heatsinks on A64s, in a way I was comfortable with (stock heatsinks just clips on with no fuzz). There have not been any noise about it on this forum, and it might just be me, coming from the sheltered world of Intel.

Anyway, I was not happy with the backplates as supplied with the heatsinks, (Zalman and Arctic Cooling) and eventually found myself with various modifications, to make use of the backplate coming with the mainboards, instead. I have immediate access to a hitech, very complete workshop, filled with very nice, crafty and skilled guys who owes me favors, so it's not really a problem for me.