I'm new to this forum, but not new to building PCs. I just haven't been keeping up with stuff in the last 2.5 years (new marriage and bought a Dell) HA! So, I need some quick advice.
Currently, I'm running a Dell 400SC with a P4 3.0Ghz, 1gig PC3200 Crucial nonECC RAM, and a Radeon 9800 Pro AGP card. I have a Dell 1905FPV LCD Monitor, but also still have my Samsung 955 19" CRT that I'm not using now, and would prefer not to use again. I want a new machine, plain and simple, and I want one that isn't so 'plain vanilla' and so contraining.
I've decided to go with one of the AMD 64 chips, but can't afford higher than a 3800 (and would much prefer to go cheaper if possible). I don't mind overclocking, but I doubt seriously if I will be trying to push any envelopes with water cooling and such (better and quieter fans/heatsinks is about as far as I want to go). I can get a good 450-500 watt case and that shouldn't be too hard. I also doubt that I will ever see a need to go with SLI graphics. I'm 55 years old, and I like games, but find myself less and less willing to put in the time to play them, and less and less atracted to FPS types (I do enjoy DOOM3 and HL2 solitaire). I could care less for Unreal Tournament or LAN parties or multiplayer online. I loved the heck out of Total War Rome and those types of military games and I love COD and MOH. These are my parameters.
Here is where I'm having trouble deciding.
Should I go with a Winchester core with a 3500 and 939 socket. Is socket 754 mostly for notebooks or should I consider it also? A 3500 isn't available in socket 754 right? But a 3700 is. Should I rule out socket 754 altogether? I've heard that 939 runs cooler than 754, is this true?
More... Should I save money and get an nforce3 board and stay with AGP and not have to buy another video card now, or should I bite the bullet and go PCIE and therefore have to buy another video card?
One strong consideration is that I DON'T want a loud and humming case that sounds like a jet about to take off sitting under my feet. (One thing I like about the Dell is that it is quite - I can take a little more noise dbs, but not too much.)
Can some of you 'experts' out there help an old-timer from Radio Shack TRS-80 days out? It would be much appreciated.
Thanks, Steve
Currently, I'm running a Dell 400SC with a P4 3.0Ghz, 1gig PC3200 Crucial nonECC RAM, and a Radeon 9800 Pro AGP card. I have a Dell 1905FPV LCD Monitor, but also still have my Samsung 955 19" CRT that I'm not using now, and would prefer not to use again. I want a new machine, plain and simple, and I want one that isn't so 'plain vanilla' and so contraining.
I've decided to go with one of the AMD 64 chips, but can't afford higher than a 3800 (and would much prefer to go cheaper if possible). I don't mind overclocking, but I doubt seriously if I will be trying to push any envelopes with water cooling and such (better and quieter fans/heatsinks is about as far as I want to go). I can get a good 450-500 watt case and that shouldn't be too hard. I also doubt that I will ever see a need to go with SLI graphics. I'm 55 years old, and I like games, but find myself less and less willing to put in the time to play them, and less and less atracted to FPS types (I do enjoy DOOM3 and HL2 solitaire). I could care less for Unreal Tournament or LAN parties or multiplayer online. I loved the heck out of Total War Rome and those types of military games and I love COD and MOH. These are my parameters.
Here is where I'm having trouble deciding.
Should I go with a Winchester core with a 3500 and 939 socket. Is socket 754 mostly for notebooks or should I consider it also? A 3500 isn't available in socket 754 right? But a 3700 is. Should I rule out socket 754 altogether? I've heard that 939 runs cooler than 754, is this true?
More... Should I save money and get an nforce3 board and stay with AGP and not have to buy another video card now, or should I bite the bullet and go PCIE and therefore have to buy another video card?
One strong consideration is that I DON'T want a loud and humming case that sounds like a jet about to take off sitting under my feet. (One thing I like about the Dell is that it is quite - I can take a little more noise dbs, but not too much.)
Can some of you 'experts' out there help an old-timer from Radio Shack TRS-80 days out? It would be much appreciated.
Thanks, Steve
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