I've pretty much fallen 2 generations behind on computer technology, and I'm getting that itch for an upgrade, and I was hoping some people could help me on an upgrade decision. It seems that the A64 is the gamers preference these days, so I'm pretty sure I'm going to go with that. I've got about an $1100 budget for a new box, so please give some input on the list below. I dont need a monitor, keyboard, mouse, etc. I'm aiming for the best bang for my buck for a pure gaming machine, and want to achieve maximum overclockability within reason.
I'm pretty comfortable with the following items, but offer any thoughts you have
CASE - ANTEC Life Style Series Black Case With 380W Power Supply, Model "SONATA
MB - CHAINTECH "VNF3-250" nForce3 250 Chipset Motherboard for AMD Socket 754 CPU -RETAIL
CPU - AMD Athlon 64 3000+, 512KB L2 Cache 64-bit Processor - Retail
VIDEO - SAPPHIRE ATI RADEON 9800 PRO Video Card, 128MB DDR, 256-bit, DVI/TV-Out, 8X AGP -BULK
HD - Hitachi 160GB 7200RPM SATA Hard Drive, Model HDS722516VLSA80 Part# 13G0254, OEM Drive Only
CD/DVD - Lite-On Black DVD-Dual Drive, Model LDW-811S/LDW-851S, OEM
My main questions are..
1. Should I shoot for Kingston HyperX 3200 DDR Ram with the lower memory timings, or give myself more overclocking headroom with the OCZ 4000 or 4200 512MBx2 dual channel kits with higher memory timings?? Do lower memory timings offer a significant performance increase, and by performance, I'm only concerned with gaming performance.
2. Since A64's seem to run cooloer and be more heat tolerant, as well as having a decent stock HS, is an aftermarket HS going to greatly improve my overclocking potential?? Whether I use the stock or aftermarket HS, I'll probably pair it with some Arctic Silver 5. If you recommend an aftermarket HS, which one would you recommend for a reasonable price?
I'm pretty comfortable with the following items, but offer any thoughts you have
CASE - ANTEC Life Style Series Black Case With 380W Power Supply, Model "SONATA
MB - CHAINTECH "VNF3-250" nForce3 250 Chipset Motherboard for AMD Socket 754 CPU -RETAIL
CPU - AMD Athlon 64 3000+, 512KB L2 Cache 64-bit Processor - Retail
VIDEO - SAPPHIRE ATI RADEON 9800 PRO Video Card, 128MB DDR, 256-bit, DVI/TV-Out, 8X AGP -BULK
HD - Hitachi 160GB 7200RPM SATA Hard Drive, Model HDS722516VLSA80 Part# 13G0254, OEM Drive Only
CD/DVD - Lite-On Black DVD-Dual Drive, Model LDW-811S/LDW-851S, OEM
My main questions are..
1. Should I shoot for Kingston HyperX 3200 DDR Ram with the lower memory timings, or give myself more overclocking headroom with the OCZ 4000 or 4200 512MBx2 dual channel kits with higher memory timings?? Do lower memory timings offer a significant performance increase, and by performance, I'm only concerned with gaming performance.
2. Since A64's seem to run cooloer and be more heat tolerant, as well as having a decent stock HS, is an aftermarket HS going to greatly improve my overclocking potential?? Whether I use the stock or aftermarket HS, I'll probably pair it with some Arctic Silver 5. If you recommend an aftermarket HS, which one would you recommend for a reasonable price?
