Need Your Opinion on This Rig

[MrControversial]

Originally posted by: ts3433

Originally posted by: MrControversial
As far as PCI-E is concerned, I'm on a budget and I can't afford $150 for a motherboard. Plus I'm not too sure about the maturity of the NF4 PCI-X platform.

You can if you go for a 6800GT, which provides nearly the same level of performance as a 6800U or X800XT at a significantly lower price point (considering the small gains of the other cards). It's a much better value, and there are some PCIe 6800GTs you can actually get closer to MSRP now ($425 sound good?). The savings can go towards a Chaintech VNF4/Ultra or MSI K8N Neo4 Platinum. You can also go for Corsair value RAM, as the others have said. Expensive RAM provides very little benefit on an A64.

The RAM is for overclockability.

 

[ts3433]

Even for overclocking, the benefit's minimal at best running 1:1 versus a divider. Link

 

[MrControversial]

Okay, swapped the board for a Gigabyte NF4 with PCI-X and a 6800GT PCI-X. Still keeping the same RAM for overclockability.

 

[Ike0069]

Not to confuse the isssue, but I would stay with the AGP NF3 version.
First, I must say that the 6800 Ultra is a better comparison to the X800XT. Those are about the same price, whereas the 6800 GT is almost $100 less.
Second, I believe that when it's time to upgrade that VC, it will likely be time to upgrade the MB anyways. At that time, ther will a much better selection of PCI-e MB's available. I also agree that the NF4 chipset still has plenty of bugs to work out.

 

[MrControversial]

Wow, there sure are lots of opinions on this topic. But I may have to ditch the NF4 board anyways since I just did my taxes and found out that I owe the IRS $80. Yes, this antiquated tax system punishes those who live single and successful lives. So I'm going to have to dump the NF4 board and go with the NF3 one. Secondly, I'm going for value memory and going to the AGP version of the 6800GT.

 

[MrControversial]

Okay, I think I have come to a final decision. This decision was based on many factors such as you guys' helpful feedback (thanks alot), reading the various links you provided, the fact that I'm not getting a tax refund, and that I really need a system now. Here's what I'm going for:

Gigabyte GA-K8NS-939 "Vanilla"--It has most of the features of the Ultra, but since I'm not running RAID, I really don't need the Ultra.

AMD Athlon 3200 "Winnie"--I want the extra 200MHz overclock and I've had my eye on the 3200 Winnie for weeks. I'm in love and I'm ready for a commitment.

XFX 6800GT--Face it, I won't be upgrading for two years and when I do, I'm going with PCI-X which should be mature. I don't trust all the new techs like SLI and PCI-X at the moment. Hell, maybe BTX will be out by that time as well.

1 GB GEIL Value Dual Channel PC3200 --This should allow me to bump my Winnie up ~600MHz. Plus it's $40 cheaper than the other kind. I know GEIL works with Gigabyte boards which I love alot.

WD 250GB SATA HDD--I will add another hard drive later on if I need to. What I'm going to do is make two partitions, one for the OS and the other for apps. When I get the other HDD I'll just blow away the OS partition and reinstall Windows on the new HDD.

KDS Dyna Flat 19" CRT I decided to upgrade to 19" since I saved some bones on components.

 

[ts3433]

Though I would've gone for an Epox board myself, I like it.

That RAM is close enough to value RAM. Remember, RAM doesn't affect your overclock on an A64.

 

[Ike0069]

I think you've made a wise decision here.