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New amd64 system questions/suggestions

R

Rumple

Member
I wanted to get some peoples opinion on a new amd64 system i want to build. I have already ordered my skt 754 amd 64 3000+ and the Thermaltake Xaser III lanfire aluminum case with 420w silent pure power power supply.

The rest is what im not so sure about. I use it exclusivly for gaming and not much else(a little surfing the net but not much).

First i was going to buy this:

amd64 3000+ skt 754
Msi K8N Neo Platinum nforce3
Corsair TWINX1024-3200XLPT 1GB Kit DDR400 XMS3200 Dual-Channel Xtra-Low Latency Memory w/Platinum Heat Spreader
Western digital 120gb special edition 7200rpm

But after reading thru these forums i realized i didnt know jack about building an amd64 system and decided on some other parts.

This is what ive decided on now:

amd64 3000+ skt 754
MSI K8N-FSR nforce3
Corsair VS1GBKIT400 1GB Kit DDR400 PC3200 CAS2.5 Value Select Memory
Western digital 80gb special edition 7200rpm
Thermaltake A1744 Venus 12 CPU Cooler

I went with the lesser mobo because i dont need 4 sata drives or any firewire ports. I went with the lesser memory because i read that sticky on what memory to use and this saves me almost $100. I chose to go with the Venus 12 just to be safe. And i went with the smaller hard drive so i could save a little bit more money.

With the money ill save im going to save up some more and get a BFG Geforce 6800 GT.

Ill use my old soundcard and graphics card for now.

My current pc is:

amd 2500+
1gb pc 2100 crucial ram
geforce fx 5900xt 128mb
gigabyte GA-7vaxp
soundblaster audigy 2 zs
an antec case(not sure on model)with stock 300w power supply

Wondering how much better it might perform than this one and any changes or suggestions any of you might make. And remember i already bought my case, power supply, and processor so i cant change those.
 
if you want to overclock at all get the origonal ram you were gonna get and the DFI board. if no overclocking go with the black board withthe purple slots, I can't remember the company.

EDIt: It's the soltek. and I would highly advise getting CL2 ram, you don't have to get the xlpt but the corsair C2 is pretty good stuff.
 
Excpet your paying alot extra for almost 0% performance gain.... Who here actually will want to use a 939 board now with the new processors a year from now? Go ahead and buy 754 now, thats what I am doing.... that way with the $ Im saving put it towards the upgrade a year from now when 939 nforce 4 chipsets are standard and cheap.
 
i agree with arod, why would you go 939 to "futureproof" when it still has agp? By the time you upgrade procs again you'll get a pci-express card.
 
Thing is i would like to go with better memory but i am on a budget and i think that buying a 6800 GT would be a much better performance upgrade than going from cas 2.5 to 2.0. And with the $70+ i would be saving i could have that in about a week.

What do you guys think?

Going from a 5900xt to a 6800gt?

OR

Going from 2.5 to 2.0 memory?
 
I honestly don't think you need better memory. The corsair pc3200 value select can go 2.5-3-3-6. I have two sticks. One of them can actually go 2-3-3-6. I forget exactly what the timings are for the same memory but XMS. If I am not mistaken, it is something like 2-3-3-6. Someone correct me if I am wrong but this does not seem worth spending an extra $100.

Rumple, you should also check "Hot Deals" once in a while. Every so often, there are good deals on brand name pc3200 memory. This is a good deal on exactly what you want but you have to purchase by today (10-5-04)...so I don't think you can make this deal.
 
I would consider a Seagate harddrive instead as it will give you a five year warranty verses the three years from Western.
 
Originally posted by: OSUBeaver
i agree with arod, why would you go 939 to "futureproof" when it still has agp? By the time you upgrade procs again you'll get a pci-express card.
Click to expand...

Because if you have a 6800GT/Ultra or X800 Pro/XT there's a good chance you'll keep it for more then a year. Buying a 939 motheboard now with say a 3200+ chip lets you easily throw in a 4000+ or greater down the line.
 
Originally posted by: OSUBeaver
i agree with arod, why would you go 939 to "futureproof" when it still has agp? By the time you upgrade procs again you'll get a pci-express card.
Click to expand...

Let me get this straight, you don't agree with me and support him wasting his money on a 754 board and proc and tell him to wait for PCI Express when he wants to buy a $469 video card right now. At least try to help him "futureproof" his system a little.

But Rumple if you have this kind of money to spend every 6 months then be my guest. I still stand by my previous recommendation. Get the cheap 939 proc with a nice board. Sounds like you won't be upgrading to PCI Express anytime soon after the ca$h you'll be laying down on that video card.

Edit: Thank you FuFighterStan, you were replying while I was researching.
 
Well as i stated i already ordered my 3000+ skt 754 2 days ago so i cannot change that. I dont plan on doing anything to this new pc for atleast 1-1.5 years. I figure this should carry me at least that long. I am changing my choice of hard drive to the WD 120gb caviar se SATA though since its only about 15 dollars more.

I really want to improve the performance from my gfx card though and i want to be able to run all the newest games at close to best graphic quality while not degrading my performance any. And i believe the 6800 GT along with the amd64 will allow me to do this for atleast a year.

I dont plan on upgrading to pci express for at least 1-1.5 years and by then i will need a new processor, mobo, and memory anyways. Besides the technology is changing so damn fast right now that its practically impossible to safely futurproof. Who knows what else will be out within the next year.

I just want the most bang for my buck RIGHT NOW. Not 1 year down the line. Im not worried about futureproofing because when i decide my pc isnt enough for the latest and greatest i will build a new one and give this one to my wife. She only plays everquest and probably eq2 when it comes out so this pc will be MORE than enough for her. Hell shes still playing on a amd t-bird 1333 with a g4 ti4200 and 512mb SDRAM!! and she just started complaining about it a few weeks ago. (thats how i got the ok to build my pc now).

EDIT *** One more question. Since i wont be overclocking my rig or anything do you guys think it would really be necessary to buy a new cpu fan? i was thinking of going with the thermaltake venus 12 but i have read a few articles about the stock amd fan and heatsink being actually quite decent. ***
 
Originally posted by: FuFighterStan
Originally posted by: OSUBeaver
i agree with arod, why would you go 939 to "futureproof" when it still has agp? By the time you upgrade procs again you'll get a pci-express card.
Click to expand...

Because if you have a 6800GT/Ultra or X800 Pro/XT there's a good chance you'll keep it for more then a year. Buying a 939 motheboard now with say a 3200+ chip lets you easily throw in a 4000+ or greater down the line.
Click to expand...

Sorry i wasn't trying to get you guys all upset 🙂 I'm just assuming if you get a A643000 and a 6800gt now, do you really think you would upgrade procs so soon? I personally have never only upgraded the processor and not changed anythign else in my system. Usually buying a new processor involves getting a new mb, going from barton socket A to A64 s754, and an equivalent upgrade in vid card 9800pro to 6800gt. Otherwise you'll have a super fast proc-slow vid card, or super fast vid card-slow proc. Also maybe my next upgrade would be a super intel system that is the hotness.

I'm not trying to argue anything just giving my advice for what i woud do in the situation.

PS. I think if the noise of the stock fan bothered you then upgrade it, you don't lose anything by using the stock fan for a while. I would assume that since its stock its designed to work at stock speed, I've been running my barton 1.8 at 2.2 for over a year on the stock fan and everyhtings been a ok.
 
Originally posted by: OSUBeaver
Originally posted by: FuFighterStan
Originally posted by: OSUBeaver
i agree with arod, why would you go 939 to "futureproof" when it still has agp? By the time you upgrade procs again you'll get a pci-express card.
Click to expand...

Because if you have a 6800GT/Ultra or X800 Pro/XT there's a good chance you'll keep it for more then a year. Buying a 939 motheboard now with say a 3200+ chip lets you easily throw in a 4000+ or greater down the line.
Click to expand...

Sorry i wasn't trying to get you guys all upset 🙂 I'm just assuming if you get a A643000 and a 6800gt now, do you really think you would upgrade procs so soon? I personally have never only upgraded the processor and not changed anythign else in my system. Usually buying a new processor involves getting a new mb, going from barton socket A to A64 s754, and an equivalent upgrade in vid card 9800pro to 6800gt. Otherwise you'll have a super fast proc-slow vid card, or super fast vid card-slow proc. Also maybe my next upgrade would be a super intel system that is the hotness.

I'm not trying to argue anything just giving my advice for what i woud do in the situation.

PS. I think if the noise of the stock fan bothered you then upgrade it, you don't lose anything by using the stock fan for a while. I would assume that since its stock its designed to work at stock speed, I've been running my barton 1.8 at 2.2 for over a year on the stock fan and everyhtings been a ok.
Click to expand...

No one's getting upset, just presenting another realistic option. The way Socket 939 is being positioned by AMD, it seems that it'll be around throughout 2005 and longer. With refreshes of current cards being uncertain, at least as far as performance increases go, it appears the current generation of 6800/X800 cards will perform strongly for some time. With AGP versions the only ones available at the moment, moving to PCI-Express isn't a big deal, particularly when you'd have to toss aside a 400 dollar graphics card because new motherboards don't have AGP slots. I just think the possibility of upgradability is a bigger plus then some people make it out to be, and being able to drop in a faster Athlon 64 is a great thing when we're seeing CPU limitations with the current generation of video cards.
 
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