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My soon to be new computer, do you think it's good?

J

jibraltor

Member
Hi! I once thought of going the S734-AGP route but now i've finally decided that it would be better to go for S939-PCIE since the price are lower than I expected. Here's what i'm thinking of buying :


CPU : AMD ATHLON 64 3500+ ***Changed to 3200+***

MB : I want an Nforce4 board without SLI but i'm not sure which one between these three : ASUS A8N, DFI and MSI K8N.

VC : ATI X800XL. I'm thinking of getting the one made by ATI itself but is it worth it to pay a little more to get the one made by Powercolor or Saphire? ***I've chosen the one made by ATI since it's the cheapest, quietest and I don't need VIVO and dual DVI***

RAM : 2x512MB PC3200 CORSAIR VALUE SELECT

HD : 120 GB SEAGATE BARRACUDA IDE ***Changed to SATA***

CASE : ANTEC SLK3000B

PSU : OCZ MODSTREAM 450W


So what do you think? Your advices will be very appreciated!


 
DFI for overclocking, MSI for speed and stability, don't know about asus, but its like choosing between Turkish, russian and indian gold 😵. all great products
 
To tell you the thruth I didn't think too much about it.. i just read that the performance of SATA and IDE drives was about the same.
 
I second the suggestion for a DFI ultra and a 3000+. Save some serious money. Don't worry if this is your first OC, it is really very easy (No hassle getting it to 2.2, just raise the HTT to 240).

SATA does not have any speed improvements, but some newer boards (not sure if the dfi is like this) only support two IDE devices, so if you want a couple of optical drives, you are SOL. SATA also has much smaller cables so they won't obstruct airflow as much.

I have no problems with anything else. Great choice of VC, RAM, and PSU. Let us know if you need anything else and good luck!
 
Well I would save my money and get a 3200, apparently they OC MUCH better than the 3500. Go with the DFI, better overclocking. Get a Sapphire card, most often they make the best. And I also think that getting a SATA drive would be more future friendly, and I don't think there is much of a cost difference, if any.
 
Originally posted by: DanDaMan315
Well I would save my money and get a 3200, apparently they OC MUCH better than the 3500. Go with the DFI, better overclocking. Get a Sapphire card, most often they make the best. And I also think that getting a SATA drive would be more future friendly, and I don't think there is much of a cost difference, if any.
Click to expand...

Good advice... I'm just nitpicking, but the 3500+ and 3200+ (and 3000+ for that matter) will all OC to about the same level (Not sure if that is what you meant). If you plan on OCing, I see no reason to get a 3500+, it is just a waste of money.

Good point about SATA. If you have a future build with no IDE ports and need to either reuse the HDD or just transfer, you are going to be screwed (or have to buy expensive converters and extra headache). The SATA drives will only cost a couple of bucks more, and the small cables more than justify that...
 
I was going to get a similar computer, same RAM, same processor, same video card, MSI board, but with two SATA Seagate Barracudas. Yep. I was thinking dropping it to a 3200+ but I'm new to the computer building world and I'm not really wanting to OC hardcore, only lightly. Oh well, good luck.
 
Originally posted by: ComatoseDelirium
DFI for overclocking, MSI for speed and stability, don't know about asus, but its like choosing between Turkish, russian and indian gold 😵. all great products
Click to expand...

You'd go for the russia.

Anyway, buy a DFI board. They rock the most.
 
I like the MSI Neo4 over the DFI. Seems to have less problems than the DFI (more stable) and still will OC very well.
As for the CPU, get the 3200+ vice the 3000+ to get the 10X multiplier. Makes OC'ing that much easier.
On the HD, I suggest a SATA drive just so you can use the much smaller SATA cables. I went with an IDE drive and I now regret it.
 
You guys are great, thanks a lot for the advices!

I will go for the SATA HD since I really like the idea of having small cables.

I will also go for the 3200+ since you guys tell me it will overclock easily.

Will the ram be good for overclocking?

About the MB, the choice seems to be narrowing to DFI and MSI. I tend to prefer stability more than overclockability so i'm leaning toward MSI. Would it still be good for overclocking? I also read that the on-board sound was better with ASUS and MSI than DFI, is it true?

About the video card, if I go with Saphire or Powercolor, it would cost me at least 50$CAN more than with the one made by ATI. What would justify the difference?

 
IMO the MSI board is a much better choice. The MSI has more PCI slots, a better layout, comes with better accesories (including SATA cables), and seems to be more stable. And the MSI Neo boards all OC well.
I don't know about the on board sound but it is the same type (ALC850).

BTW for all the Newegg bashers about price gouging, The DFI is $140 shipped at Newegg and $147 at ZZF. 🙂
 
I read a little about SATA hard disks and some people seem to have problem with windows not recognizing them. Do you guys think I could have this problem?

Also it will be my first time builing a pc so do you have some advices or some links to good guides?

 
Here's the situation. I know which components I will buy except for the motherboard. Every Nforce4 based motherboards seem to have problems. I'm wondering if I should choose the Asus A8V-E with the K8T890 chipset instead. What do you guys think? Just keep in mind that for me stability is a lot more important than overclockability.
 
Originally posted by: jibraltor
I read a little about SATA hard disks and some people seem to have problem with windows not recognizing them. Do you guys think I could have this problem?

Also it will be my first time builing a pc so do you have some advices or some links to good guides?
Click to expand...



Load the drivers for the SATA like you would for a SCSI device.

Windows will ask for that during the intial setup.

Ausm
 
I see a lot of recommendations to always buy an A64 3000+ over a 3500+ (& 3200+).

Now while it's often true that the 3000+ will hit 3500+ speeds, not everyone likes to OC, & never is an OC guaranteed.

Every day now i am seeing a new thread about how "my 3000+ won't hit so-n-so speed".

If you do get the lower end CPU, keep in mind, OCing success is never guaranteed.
 
All very good advices... thanks!

Do you guys see a problem if I decide to buy the Asus A8V-E (K8T890) ? As I said, I don't mind if it's not the best at overclocking, I don't need SATA II and I don't care for a built-in firewall. I want stability and compatibility with the other components that I plan to buy. So what do you think?
 
I would go with an NF4 board personally. I'm sure the ASUS is a fine board, but I don't think it is any more stable. It has its own problems too.
You might look at the Chaintech VNF4/Ultra. It's only ~$100 and appears to have no more problems than the rest, while still allowing a decent OC.
 
Originally posted by: Ausm
Originally posted by: jibraltor
I read a little about SATA hard disks and some people seem to have problem with windows not recognizing them. Do you guys think I could have this problem?

Also it will be my first time builing a pc so do you have some advices or some links to good guides?
Click to expand...



Load the drivers for the SATA like you would for a SCSI device.

Windows will ask for that during the intial setup.

Ausm
Click to expand...



He's talking about the F6 command. Have that floppy ready.
 
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