New A64 system

[DV8]

My Christmas was pretty good?I bought myself a new system this past week >> I had it custom built by a friend for just a lil over $500 which I thought was a deal I couldn?t pass up on. Here are the specs:

Black casing (don?t know what brand has extra fan
AMD Athlon 64-bit Processor at 3000+ (754)
Asus K8V SE Deluxe K8T800
512MB Samsung DDR Memory
120 GB SATA Maxtor HD
80 GB ATA Maxtor HD (back up)
Asus 128mb Radeon 9550
Sound Blaster live Platinum 5.1
16x Optorite DVD-RW burner
Samsung Combo drive DVD/CDRW
Multi-card reader
10/100/1000Base-T integrated Gigabit ethernet adapter

I?ve been visiting anandtech for some time now and I know there is a lot I can do to modify my system. I
have never done any modding b4 so bare with me. I have a few questions:

What can I do to optimize my new system? Drivers? Bios?
<< Which should I be using and where can I get them? I was told in a previous post that I could flash
the drivers on my video card to get a better performance, etc.
Also if I decide to o/c what is a realistic speed I can get with no extra cooling?

I will be using this system for maya, 3dmax6, photoshop, illustrator, dreamweaver, director, flash, premiere pro and a few other applications. I don?t do much gaming.

All the help is appreciated, Thanks

 

[alexXx]

why all the high end programs?
and why would you use maya AND max6

 

[DV8]

<< work related....started on max--@ school i was trained on maya. << i like to use both....

 

[meltdown75]

Originally posted by: DV8
My Christmas was pretty good?I bought myself a new system this past week >> I had it custom built by a friend for just a lil over $500 which I thought was a deal I couldn?t pass up on. Here are the specs:

Black casing (don?t know what brand has extra fan
AMD Athlon 64-bit Processor at 3000+ (754)
Asus K8V SE Deluxe K8T800
512MB Samsung DDR Memory
120 GB SATA Maxtor HD
80 GB ATA Maxtor HD (back up)
Asus 128mb Radeon 9550
Sound Blaster live Platinum 5.1
16x Optorite DVD-RW burner
Samsung Combo drive DVD/CDRW
Multi-card reader
10/100/1000Base-T integrated Gigabit ethernet adapter

I?ve been visiting anandtech for some time now and I know there is a lot I can do to modify my system. I
have never done any modding b4 so bare with me. I have a few questions:

What can I do to optimize my new system? Drivers? Bios?
<< Which should I be using and where can I get them? I was told in a previous post that I could flash
the drivers on my video card to get a better performance, etc.
Also if I decide to o/c what is a realistic speed I can get with no extra cooling?

I will be using this system for maya, 3dmax6, photoshop, illustrator, dreamweaver, director, flash, premiere pro and a few other applications. I don?t do much gaming.

All the help is appreciated, Thanks

Well, modding and optimizing are kinda 2 different things. anyhoo, yes definitley get the newest certified drivers for all your hardware. Your motherboard's bios can be flashed and you should do it especially with a new build to ensure you are getting the most features &amp; stability your mobo can offer. Check the manufacturer's website for more details - usually found under 'support'. For your video card, you will have to check if that card is flashable to something else (if that is what you are referring to ). imho if it's a 9550 it might not be worth the trouble either looking for the info on how to do it, or worth the risk. it will most likely always perform like a 9550. i know there were a few radeon cards that could be flashed up quite a bit - ie. 9600 pro to 9600 xt. i'm sure results vary though - i wouldn't try it unless you knew what you were doing. of course if all you need to do is update the drivers, i recommend the Catalyst 4.12 or the Omega drivers that I currently use. Go with the Catalyst drivers just to keep things simple. lastly for your OCing enquiry, check to see what types of speed you can hit with your cpu and cooling setup at www.overclockers.com ... handy database there.

 

[meltdown75]

oh and don't go with the highest OC result someone has 'achieved' with air/stock cooling (anyone can post anything and most likely do just to brag or act "l33t" ) . i'd search for results that use the default core voltage and same motherboard, and look for a pattern. you should find a safe speed to shoot for without getting too crazy.

 

[biostud]

buy more memory if you use these programs for heavy editing.

 

[DV8]

@ meltdown75 > thanks for the info...i will look in to all that....what is catalyst 4.12 and Omega drivers?

@ bio > that is my next move for sure....is samsung good ram or should i make the switch to something else?

thanks

 

[DV8]

NE1 ??

 

[meltdown75]

i googled "what is a video card driver"...

LOL here's a link to the thread that you need... Text

 

[P0ldy]

Err... how was all that $500?

 

[igowerf]

Get more memory.

 

[DV8]

Originally posted by: P0ldy
Err... how was all that $500?

> they guy who built it had some of extra parts:
i added:
80 GB ATA Maxtor HD (back up)
Sound Blaster live Platinum 5.1
From my old system

<< Is that a good price for a sys??

 

[SrGuapo]

Originally posted by: DV8
<< Is that a good price for a sys??

CPU: $150
Mobo: $115
RAM: $75
HDD: $100
gfx: $75

That's over $500 right there, plus the case, optical drives, card reader and ethernet adapter...

 

[cmp1223]

meltdown is right concerning overclocking, stick to a safe speed. Also, don't expect it to overclock as much as a 939 3000+ on an nVidia chipset, whick would overclock significantly better. It also depends on your cooling, PSU, memory and other bus issues. What i'm trying to say is, dont go out and see that a 939 3000 can OC 30% or more on a great setup and then you fry your CPU when you try stuff like that! Also, get an aftermarket HSF.

As for system optimization, you can use blackviper's guide to create a custom hardware profile that turns off some of the stupid RAM-hogging services that Windows runs in the background. Also check your startup for any programs that you might not know are running in the background.

 

[DV8]

Originally posted by: SrGuapo

Originally posted by: DV8
<< Is that a good price for a sys??

CPU: $150
Mobo: $115
RAM: $75
HDD: $100
gfx: $75

That's over $500 right there, plus the case, optical drives, card reader and ethernet adapter...

<< thats why i had to jump on the deal!

@cmp1223 >> Thanks...i already shut down much of the services. now im just looking for optomization and maybe over clocking to a safe speed....this comp has to last me 2-3 yrs.

--->can NE1 else direct me? Thanks for all the help

 

[DV8]

is samsung ram good?? and if i decide to buy another 512 stick do i have to buy samsung or can i get any kind?