money to spend, what should I get?

[dheffer]

OK, I'll start off with what I have...

IWill KA266-RAID mobo
Athlon T'bird 1.4ghz ALHJA stepping I think... the one with the unlocked multi.
Overclocked to 133mhz x 11.5 = 1533mhz @ 1.775V
Alpha Pal Heatsink w/ 60mmx32mm Delta 5800rpm fan (still runs pretty hot)
2x256mb Crucial PC2100 DDR CS3 RAM (No option to adjust ram timing)
64mb 4.4ns GeForce 2 Ultra
45gb 75gxp IBM Deskstar Hard Drive (was a RAID 0 but one of them died)
52x LiteOn CD-RW
16x Pioneer DVD
300 watt Antec Performance PS
SBLive! MP3+ Sound Card

I have some money to spend on upgrades, as this system is for the most part well over three years old. I was looking to spend around $300. I don't have a problem with any of my subsystems like my hard drive, or cd burner, etc, and no complaints with my videocard. I don't wish to upgrade my videocard unless it would make a very large difference, as I usually only play on 1024 resolution with not that much eye candy. I was focusing on upgrading my mobo/cpu, but the rising price of ram is driving me away. I was looking at www.newegg.com for upgrades because they are a great company, and stumbled upon a very very cheap motherboard, with seemingly good reviews. It is a SOYO SY-KT600 Dragon Plus v1.0. I know that the KT600 chipset is certainly not the newest, but at 49.99 (39.99 after rebate), it seems like a great deal. Motherboard Only complaints that I have seen about it is that you cannot adjust the voltage on anything, which leads me to my next question. I was looking at getting a mobile barton xp 2400+ on the cheap for 77.00 Cpu It runs at 1.45V, and if I couldn't adjust the voltage to even a stock barton of 1.65v, I don't see it doing so well. My plan was to attempt to run it at or around 2.2ghz @ 400mhz bus, which they seem to easily do. Without being able to adjust the voltage, however, this wouldn't be possible. My question now is would the mobo set it at 1.65 or 1.45? 1.65v would be plenty, I believe, to get what I'm looking for. My other route would be to get a retail Barton 2500+ for 80.00 Other Cpu. I'm looking for the most bang for the buck, and I'd really like to have something that ran at 400mhz, especially if I'm going to have to throw some new PC3200 ram at it. I also noticed that the mobile barton ran at 266mhz(PC2100) speeds stock. Could I buy this processor and simply run it at stock speed and attempt to up the multiplier(which the motherboard is capable of) thus letting me keep my old ram? Or would this just cripple my speed? Sorry for this being kind of drawn out, but I'm trying to make the right choice before I invest. Would I see a significant gain? Would I need a new PS? I haven't had any problems yet with my current one. I want the most bang for the buck, so what would that be? Thanks in advance!

 

[cw42]

i refuse to read that 45,252 line paragraph

 

[dheffer]

haha sorry man, let's try this =)

I have some money to spend on upgrades, as this system is for the most part well over three years old. I was looking to spend around $300. I don't have a problem with any of my subsystems like my hard drive, or cd burner, etc, and no complaints with my videocard. I don't wish to upgrade my videocard unless it would make a very large difference, as I usually only play on 1024 resolution with not that much eye candy.

I was focusing on upgrading my mobo/cpu, but the rising price of ram is driving me away. I was looking at www.newegg.com for upgrades because they are a great company, and stumbled upon a very very cheap motherboard, with seemingly good reviews. It is a SOYO SY-KT600 Dragon Plus v1.0. I know that the KT600 chipset is certainly not the newest, but at 49.99 (39.99 after rebate), it seems like a great deal. Only complaints that I have seen about it is that you cannot adjust the voltage on anything, which leads me to my next question. I was looking at getting a mobile barton xp 2400+ on the cheap for 77.00. It runs at 1.45V, and if I couldn't adjust the voltage to even a stock barton of 1.65v, I don't see it doing so well. My plan was to attempt to run it at or around 2.2ghz @ 400mhz bus, which they seem to easily do. Without being able to adjust the voltage, however, this wouldn't be possible. My question now is would the mobo set it at 1.65 or 1.45? 1.65v would be plenty, I believe, to get what I'm looking for. My other route would be to get a retail Barton 2500+ for 80.00.

I'm looking for the most bang for the buck, and I'd really like to have something that ran at 400mhz, especially if I'm going to have to throw some new PC3200 ram at it. I also noticed that the mobile barton ran at 266mhz(PC2100) speeds stock. Could I buy this processor and simply run it at stock speed and attempt to up the multiplier(which the motherboard is capable of) thus letting me keep my old ram? Or would this just cripple my speed? Sorry for this being kind of drawn out, but I'm trying to make the right choice before I invest. Would I see a significant gain? Would I need a new PS? I haven't had any problems yet with my current one. I want the most bang for the buck, so what would that be? Thanks in advance!

Better? =P

 

[dheffer]

TTT I'd like to buy stuff tonight! Also, does the soyo run in dual channel mode? I dont think it does but im just checking. Im also looking at some asus nforce 400 based boards for around 40-50. Please help guys!

 

[Corporate Thug]

NF7-s + mobile barton + 512 ram should be well under $300

then you can sell your old ram, chip, mobo, video card and put that money towards a 9600 pro or something along those lines

 

[dheffer]

Thanks... what would be reasonable prices to sell what I have already...?

The motherboard
The CPU
The Video Card
The RAM?
Thanks! Any other suggestions would also be great!

 

[dheffer]

Also, if I were to buy a regular say 2500+ barton, with the NF7-s mobo, is a 400mhz bus pretty much a guarantee assuming that I use pretty good pc3200 ram? Would all of this be possible with the stock heatsink? Thanks ALSO, would I need to get a new PS with this? And which would be the most cost effective? Thanks

 

[dheffer]

ttt

 

[Corey0808]

No It's not completely a guarantee. I had a regular 2500+ barton and I couldn't get even close to 400FSB. I returned it spent the extra $10 on the mobile and I'm running at 432FSB (11.5 * 216 = 2498mHz) on 1.68v (actual) I think it was well worth the money.

 

[SickBeast]

NF7-S
Mobile 2600+
GF4Ti4200

All for less than $300. :beer:

 

[acebake]

A faster processor, and 512 MB more RAM. Check online, RAM prices are soaring (trust me, I'm needing to do the same to my system ), but I've found a few good deals online. Hope it all works well for you!

 

[dheffer]

Thanks for all the help... anyone have a SOYO SY-KT600 Dragon Plus v1.0? Not the ultra with all the other stuff, but the v1.0 one thats really cheap. Also, how would this or Text mate with the mobile 2400+? What are the major differences between the two? I only see a slightly different chipset. What ram would be best to ensure 400mhz bus operation? 2x256mb pc3200 good enough? Could my Power Supply even handle that? its a 300 watt antec... lets see here, 14A @ +3.3, 30A @ 5+, and 10A at 12+... combined max power for 160watts... eh came with a case... what would be a good power supply? Nothing crazy just something cost effective for what i want

 

[mechBgon]

If you're going to get a KT600 board, get one 512MB DDR400 module instead of two 256's. Also get a new decent-quality power supply (Fortron, Antec, Enermax, PC Power & Cooling), because what you have is an old Antec PP303X, without an ATX12V power cable and with a relatively weak 3.3V + 5V rating (sometimes matters). Considering your overclocking propensity, it might not be a bad idea to score a 400W+ unit for some cushion maybe an Antec TruePower430 or 480 or an Enermax 465-series.

edit: BTW, I urge you to listen to the folks suggesting the nForce2 chipset, especially since your goal is to overclock. You might have a look at the Shuttle AN35N Ultra if you need to stick close to $50.

 

[dheffer]

Thank you for the advice. The A7N8X-X refurb based on the nForce 2 400 + nForce 2 MCP mobo for 29.99 seems to be the best bet. I haven't had any complaints with my antec PS and Im looking at a true380 or a antec 400.

 

[Corporate Thug]

Originally posted by: dheffer
Thank you for the advice. The A7N8X-X refurb based on the nForce 2 400 + nForce 2 MCP mobo for 29.99 seems to be the best bet. I haven't had any complaints with my antec PS and Im looking at a true380 or a antec 400.

the PS is fine

 

[RS3RS]

Shuttle nForce2 Ultra 400 Motherboard - $54
http://www.newegg.com/app/ViewProductDesc.asp?description=13-150-045&depa=0

Mobile 2400+ - $77
http://www.newegg.com/app/ViewProductDesc.asp?description=19-103-400&depa=0

Geil Value Series 512mb pc3200 - $92
http://www.newegg.com/app/viewProductDesc.asp?description=20-144-305&depa=0

Total of $223, not bad. Of course, the processor is OEM, so it won't come with a heatsink/fan, so you'd want to add one of those on. If you don't want to mess with the OEM mobile, you can just get a retail barton 2500+ with heatsink for like 80 bucks...

 

[dheffer]

Thank you so much for all of the help. I think Im going to get that refurb board for 29, the mobile 2400+ for 77, and 2 sticks of 256mb for dual channel mode on the nForce 2 400... sound good? Does that older chipset still support dual channel? I already have a 60mm delta fan... so how is this for a heatsink? Seems really really cheap to me, why is that? shady06, are you saying that I dont need a new PSU? I was looking at a Fortron Aurora Series 350W ATX12V Power Supply but that's 50 dollars I'd like to spend else where. Thanks again for all the great replies!

 

[mechBgon]

Originally posted by: shady06

Originally posted by: dheffer
Thank you for the advice. The A7N8X-X refurb based on the nForce 2 400 + nForce 2 MCP mobo for 29.99 seems to be the best bet. I haven't had any complaints with my antec PS and Im looking at a true380 or a antec 400.

the PS is fine

Well, it's fine as long as his mobo doesn't need an ATX12V auxiliary-power plug or very much 3.3V +5V power That's a three-generations-old Antec 300W unit with a skimpy 3.3V + 5V rating and no ATX12V plug, judging by its 160W 3.3V + 5V rating.

160W 3.3+5 = PP303X
180W 3.3+5 = PP303XP (has ATX12V)
220W 3.3+5 = SL300 (has ATX12V)

(IIRC )

 

[dheffer]

Yeah this PS is at LEAST three years old, but t has done me quite well. It's the PP303X btw... quite knowledgable on such crappy power supplies =) I just have the one ATX P/S plug, no 12v plug... but I didnt think I needed one with an athlon xp. I havent had any problems with it yet, and I cant see a mobile barton, even an overclocked one, even comparing to my power eating overclocked thunderbird that even with an alpha and a delta fan, still runs hot as crap. Could I use my existing Alpha on the new one? That all copper SLK for 13 bucks looks might fine!

 

[mechBgon]

Originally posted by: dheffer
Yeah this PS is at LEAST three years old, but t has done me quite well. It's the PP303X btw... quite knowledgable on such crappy power supplies =) I just have the one ATX P/S plug, no 12v plug... but I didnt think I needed one with an athlon xp. I havent had any problems with it yet, and I cant see a mobile barton, even an overclocked one, even comparing to my power eating overclocked thunderbird that even with an alpha and a delta fan, still runs hot as crap. Could I use my existing Alpha on the new one? That all copper SLK for 13 bucks looks might fine!

Sounds like you have the venerable Alpha PAL6035? I like those lil' guys It is suitable for any SocketA processor as long as you don't get too low on the airflow. However, if you pick up a bigger heatsink that uses an 80mm fan, like a Thermalright SLK-800A, then you can get great cooling with lower noise.

Many SocketA motherboards do expect an ATX12V plug, although the A7N8X-X doesn't. So be careful what you pick, if you're trying to get by with the old PP303X for a while longer.

 

[dheffer]

Thanks, yeah it is the 6035, I think i'll try running that an if i dont like it then ill pick up that cheap SLK. I'll also hold off on the power supply until I cant boot any longer haha

 

[Gurck]

I'd get a 512 stick instead of two 256's. Dual channel barely benefits AMDs, and upgrading later to 1gb (which is becoming the norm, and which is in improvement even now & will only become more of one) will be more simple.