Need advice on upgrade/ Athlon64 + mobo ASAP plz

[termac50]

Today's Saturday, and I'm hittin' the store this morning for a mobo and processor. All I know is I want some variety of an Athlon 64 and a MB to match. I really don't know the difference between a socket 754 and 939. I just don't have time to keep up w/ the technical specs anymore.

My system now is

P4 2.4c
1gb Mushkin pc3500
2 WD 7200 Sata HD's in a raid0
ATI X800XL vid card
Audigy2 sound card
2 flat panel monitors, etc.

I just got the X800xl yesterday, and I can't say I've seen an improvement yet. I have read that the processor probably is the bottleneck. The way I see it, all I need now is a new mobo and processor. I'm NOT looking to overclock. What I've found in the past is overclocking is great until about 6 months to a year later and I get all kinds of errors until I turn it back down. I just don't have the time anymore to troubleshoot that kinda stuff anymore. So plz post just the mobo and processor you would recommend. Mainly for games and multitasking. Thanks!!!

 

[imported_Kensai]

MSI K8N Neo2 Platinum and a Venice 3200+ or SD 3500+.

 

[YOyoYOhowsDAjello]

What videocard did you use before this one?

3000+ or 3200+ 939 are good options. 3500+ if you want to spend extra.

NF4 based boards are a good bet... wait... that's an AGP X800XL..

Well.. for my 939 AGP board I got a Soltek K8Tpro and I it has been working great.

 

[xsilver]

if you're looking for a HUGE improvment over your current p4.... sadly you wont find it -- (I made the same upgrade from a 2.4c@3.0ghz to amd3000+)
but yeah what kensai recommends is the best atm.

 

[termac50]

My previous card was a 9800pro. And yes, it's an AGP x800xl. What do you guys think of the Asus A8V deluxe mobo? Only reason I ask is cause I use 5 hd's and 1 dvd/cd reader for ripping, and a dvd writer. 2 go on Sata, and 4 on the primary ide controller, and the other 1 on the secondary. It's the only reason I went w/ the P4P800...it supports all that nicely. I'm just one of those lazy people who keeps every damn thing. Thx again.

 

[YOyoYOhowsDAjello]

Hmmm... that's strange that you didn't notice an improvement over the 9800pro. Even with the P4, I still would have thought that it would be fairly noticable. Did you do any benchmarking of before and after?

 

[lansalot]

Socket 939 is the future. Plenty of articles on this. I think S939 chips have the integrated memory controller while 754 doesn't.

Also, any dual-core chips will definitely be S939, so don't bomb yourself out of that.

 

[xsilver]

Originally posted by: YOyoYOhowsDAjello
Hmmm... that's strange that you didn't notice an improvement over the 9800pro. Even with the P4, I still would have thought that it would be fairly noticable. Did you do any benchmarking of before and after?

were you reffering to me yoyo?
I dont have a x800xl -- got only a 9800pro

I went from p4c-2.4@3.0 to amd3000+ winnie
games didn't really improve, yes I know im gpu limited
but I was referring to more general windows surfing ripping and stuff -- that hasnt changed much either on the new system
the OP already has 1gb of mushkin ram, so that would have kept his old system running quite well

if you had a x800xl, you'll see more of an improvment in games, but not HUGE, as the p4 isnt cpu limiting your system that much --- i remember seeing anand's cpu scaling articles show that

and to the OP, the asus a8v is one of the few s939 agp boards that have an extra hdd controller which you'll need, so that kinda limits your choices -- but it is a good board nonethless..... the worst thing about it is apparently some memory brands are a bit flakey


edit: and lansalot -- s754 HAS the intergrated memory controller, what it doesn't have is dual channel and future upgradability

 

[termac50]

Mainly I play World of warcraft, guild wars, and some Madden 2005. I can check the frame rate in WOW, and it maybe jumped 10fps. I run it @ 1680x1024. I averaged 25-30fps w/ the 9800, which is ok but not great. Even now, when not a lot of ppl should be on, I get 38-40fps.

I didn't benchmark it, just going off feel. On the other hand, I don't know if the games I play are THAT graphics intense vs say, Doom3. But I've heard of other ppl going to an Athlon64 system and are loving it. And the issue w/ the x800xl being bottlenecked by a slower processor makes me wanna run to the store even more.

I haven't read up on the 939, I apologize. But I was hoping you guys would straighten me out on that

Thx.

 

[imported_Kensai]

Actually, S754 has an onboard memory controller too. They both came from the same line. It's just that the S754 lines don't support 128bit memory controls. (Dual channel)
S939 = Dual Channel + Dual core (Future)
S754 = Single Channel + About to be terminated to budget.

 

[termac50]

I just looked up that K8Tpro board Yoyo, that looks like a good option too if I wanna keep all the hard drives.

 

[YOyoYOhowsDAjello]

Originally posted by: xsilver

Originally posted by: YOyoYOhowsDAjello
Hmmm... that's strange that you didn't notice an improvement over the 9800pro. Even with the P4, I still would have thought that it would be fairly noticable. Did you do any benchmarking of before and after?

were you reffering to me yoyo?
I dont have a x800xl -- got only a 9800pro

I went from p4c-2.4@3.0 to amd3000+ winnie
games didn't really improve, yes I know im gpu limited
but I was referring to more general windows surfing ripping and stuff -- that hasnt changed much either on the new system
the OP already has 1gb of mushkin ram, so that would have kept his old system running quite well

if you had a x800xl, you'll see more of an improvment in games, but not HUGE, as the p4 isnt cpu limiting your system that much --- i remember seeing anand's cpu scaling articles show that

and to the OP, the asus a8v is one of the few s939 agp boards that have an extra hdd controller which you'll need, so that kinda limits your choices -- but it is a good board nonethless..... the worst thing about it is apparently some memory brands are a bit flakey


edit: and lansalot -- s754 HAS the intergrated memory controller, what it doesn't have is dual channel and future upgradability

I was referring to the OP who changed from a 9800pro to an X800XL.

 

[YOyoYOhowsDAjello]

Originally posted by: termac50
I just looked up that K8Tpro board Yoyo, that looks like a good option too if I wanna keep all the hard drives.

I've only used the 2 main IDE channels on mine and use a controller card that I already had for my other devices... (DVD burner + 6 harddrives) but yeah, it sure has a bunch of connectors if you want to load up on drives.

 

[termac50]

Ok thx for all the advice guys. I appreciate it.

 

[YOyoYOhowsDAjello]

Oh, and by "hitting the stores" do you mean you're going out to buy retail?

 

[xsilver]

http://www.anandtech.com/cpuchipsets/showdoc.aspx?i=2330&p=6
cpu scaling article
your p4 will be somewhere in the range of an 1400-1600mhz amd64 -- the x800xl isnt there but its a little better than the x800pro


look at the graph and judge for yourself if its worth it

 

[Upgr8er]

I just did this very upgrade (2.4 P4 to +3200 Venice). I'm using the 9800 Pro as well.

I noticed a very nice improvement. Games load in 1/2 to 1/3 the time. Computer boots faster too.


Games run smoother . . . exit time and switching to "options" section of games is instantanious now . . . everything is rosey!!

 

[knothead34]

are you getting rid of all the spyware you download when you search the web? i know if alot of that piles up on your computer it can act "slow". im just trying to take a stab at what might be making your computer slow assuming your talking about things besides games. your intel system is close to mine and i dont feel mine is slow .

 

[DanDaMan315]

Originally posted by: lansalot
I think S939 chips have the integrated memory controller while 754 doesn't.

WRONG WRONG WRONG. All A64's have integrated memory controllers. 754 is still a viable option.

AMD64 3700+ Clawhammer
and
DFI Lanparty UT

that set up above can be had at newegg for $396, and you can keep you existing AGP card if you want to.