Now help me complete the rest of my combo please

[Razor1973]

Thanks to you guys, I've already decided I'll go with an A64 X2 3800+ (although I am pretty sure I will be getting the 4200+ for $30 more instead). MWave definitely has the best price ($152).

Now I need to decide on the motherboard and memory.

Since I have so many legacy PCI devices, I want to make sure my motherboard has at least 3 slots. Of the ones recommended on the MWave site, only the following do:

+ ASUS M2N-SLI Deluxe ($144)
+ BIOSTAR TForce AM2 ($71)
+ EpOX EP-MF4-J ($73)
+ EpOX EP-MF4ULTRA ($94)
+ EpOX MF570SLI ($130)

The 3 MSI boards also also have 3 slots, but one is a different color and the website says it's for communication devices, so I'm not sure what that means. Just in case, I'm leaving those out.

Of the 5 above, I am really liking the BIOSTAR. Not only is it cheaper, but it's the only one of the bunch with 4 legacy PCI slots and 3 PCI-e slots. It also has the works like the rest of them: DDR2, 4 EIDE, SATA RAID, USB 2.0, 6-channel audio, etc.) Only thing it doesn't include is video, but I have my own card. --- Oh, shoot! I just went back to double-check the specs as soon as I typed this and realized these boards don't have an AGP slot! I am guessing PCI-e x16 made this obsolete. Guess I'm going to have to buy yet another card. (I have a new one sitting around.) :|

Keeping in mind I am not interested in overclocking and that I am not a gamer (what am I doing in this board, right? *LOL*), what do you guys think? I read a couple of reviews and most people seem to like it a lot. Only thing I did see is a suggestion to check my power connector, as many have 20 pins and this board uses a 24-pin one. I'll need to check once I get home.

So how about memory? I am planning to buy a 1 GB stick for now. Could I go with the cheapest (MWave/generic brand) and be safe with this configuration?

Thanks once again in advance for your feedback! :thumbsup:

 

[avi85]

are you sure that you need a dual core?
and why are you buying am2 and not waiting for the conroe e6300 or so...
most people buying x2's now are people who already have a 939 platform and want a cheap upgrade.

 

[Razor1973]

Originally posted by: avi85
are you sure that you need a dual core?

Certainly.

Originally posted by: avi85
and why are you buying am2 and not waiting for the conroe e6300 or so...

Because, from what I read in the reviews, most of the apparent advantage of the Core 2 over the AM2 processors is seen when overclocking and that's not something I'm planning to do. If I remember correctly, the "stock" performance of an E6300 falls between a 3800+ and a 4200+. The price will be around that of a 4200+, but availability and, especially, price of motherboards for this processor won't be helping factors.

It comes down to value. What I can have for less than $260 with AM2, I cannot have for the same price with a Core 2 CPU. That would almost be the price of only the board. And, again, I don't overclock.

Am I wrong in my reasoning? If I realize that I am, I will wait for the Core 2, but I am already spending more than I initially planned ($200).

Thanks!

 

[avi85]

Originally posted by: Razor1973

Originally posted by: avi85
Am I wrong in my reasoning?

no, although it falls somewhere along the 4600+ sometimes scoring slightly below and sometimes slightly above depending on the benchmark being performed

your logic is sound

 

[LW07]

Originally posted by: Razor1973
Thanks to you guys, I've already decided I'll go with an A64 X2 3800+ (although I am pretty sure I will be getting the 4200+ for $30 more instead). MWave definitely has the best price ($152).

Now I need to decide on the motherboard and memory.

Since I have so many legacy PCI devices, I want to make sure my motherboard has at least 3 slots. Of the ones recommended on the MWave site, only the following do:

+ ASUS M2N-SLI Deluxe ($144)
+ BIOSTAR TForce AM2 ($71)
+ EpOX EP-MF4-J ($73)
+ EpOX EP-MF4ULTRA ($94)
+ EpOX MF570SLI ($130)

The 3 MSI boards also also have 3 slots, but one is a different color and the website says it's for communication devices, so I'm not sure what that means. Just in case, I'm leaving those out.

Of the 5 above, I am really liking the BIOSTAR. Not only is it cheaper, but it's the only one of the bunch with 4 legacy PCI slots and 3 PCI-e slots. It also has the works like the rest of them: DDR2, 4 EIDE, SATA RAID, USB 2.0, 6-channel audio, etc.) Only thing it doesn't include is video, but I have my own card. --- Oh, shoot! I just went back to double-check the specs as soon as I typed this and realized these boards don't have an AGP slot! I am guessing PCI-e x16 made this obsolete. Guess I'm going to have to buy yet another card. (I have a new one sitting around.) :|

Keeping in mind I am not interested in overclocking and that I am not a gamer (what am I doing in this board, right? *LOL*), what do you guys think? I read a couple of reviews and most people seem to like it a lot. Only thing I did see is a suggestion to check my power connector, as many have 20 pins and this board uses a 24-pin one. I'll need to check once I get home.

So how about memory? I am planning to buy a 1 GB stick for now. Could I go with the cheapest (MWave/generic brand) and be safe with this configuration?

Thanks once again in advance for your feedback! :thumbsup:

I think the rig is very good. I would get the 4200+ like you said instead of a 3800+ since you don't OC. The 4600+ would be great also if you can afford that.

 

[acegazda]

The 4200+ is a solid choice. Maybe the price will soon be $184 as it was supposed to be according to AMD's price cut charts. If you're not a gamer, then you can cross off the asus m2n-sli deluxe and epox sli off your list... the biostar looks good on paper as well as the m2n-e. The only problem with the m2n-e is that it is very picky with memory, however I would suggest corsiar valueselect 667mhz since you won't be gaming and 2gb will serve you well in any application, plus you won't need to upgrade for a while if you don't eveolve into a gamer. It's also cheaper to buy a 2gb kit than buy 2 separate 1gb kits. This RAM works well with any board from what I'm told. Two detractions for me for the biostar are the active cooling (and often noisy) fan on the chipset and the placement of the 24 pin power connector, which needs to be wired around the cpu cooler to aviod obstruction. The msi k9n platinum is a really good board and that orange pci slot can be used with any card... but It may be overkill for you for all the features it has. All three boards have different onboard sound, with the biostar I think being the best by a little bit. For your purposes, the biostar would be good because the integrated graphics boards with 3 or more pci slots cost even more than that... and you said you had a brand new gfx card lying around? If I misinterpreted that, I would go with this one. It's a gigabyte board with nvidia 6100 integrated gfx.
OK lets review: go with either the biostar tforce 550 am2 or gigabyte GA-M55plus-S3G am2 with nv6100 gfx. For RAM i'd suggest corsiar valueselect 2x1gb found here.
Happy building!

 

[brokejumper]

I am in a pretty similar situation to Razor but am trying to build a bit on the quiet side. Can someone suggest a board with a quieter cooling system?

 

[Razor1973]

acegazda,

#1, YOU ARE THE MAN! (Regardless of sex.)

#2, But the 4200+ is already that cheap. Check here.

#3, About the memory, either I don't understand what you mean, you didn't understand what I meant or what I said made absolutely no sense and you subconciously chose to understand something else. :shocked: I wasn't planning on buying two 1GB sticks, but only one. Must these be installed in pairs and that's the reason why there are two banks of different colors in all of these AM2 boards? In that case, I will have to buy the two 1GB sticks. God, that's a lot of money! I'd rather not go with the expensive Corsair... Any other recommendation?

#4, About the board, I do have a new video card, but it's AGP, so no good with AM2 boards. Therefore, I think the Gigabyte you suggest is a perfect choice with the GeForce 6100! Not only that... It also supports RAID 5, has 8-channel audio and RAM is expandable to 16GB!!! The Biostar doesn't have any of those. It also has a 24-pin connector, though. I need to check my power supply once I get home

#5, YOU ARE THE MAN! :beer:

 

[acegazda]

Originally posted by: Razor1973
acegazda,

#1, YOU ARE THE MAN! (Regardless of sex.)

#2, But the 4200+ is already that cheap. Check here.

#3, About the memory, either I don't understand what you mean, you didn't understand what I meant or what I said made absolutely no sense and you subconciously chose to understand something else. :shocked: I wasn't planning on buying two 1GB sticks, but only one. Must these be installed in pairs and that's the reason why there are two banks of different colors in all of these AM2 boards? In that case, I will have to buy the two 1GB sticks. God, that's a lot of money! I'd rather not go with the expensive Corsair... Any other recommendation?

#4, About the board, I do have a new video card, but it's AGP, so no good with AM2 boards. Therefore, I think the Gigabyte you suggest is a perfect choice with the GeForce 6100! Not only that... It also supports RAID 5, has 8-channel audio and RAM is expandable to 16GB!!! The Biostar doesn't have any of those. It also has a 24-pin connector, though. I need to check my power supply once I get home

#5, YOU ARE THE MAN! :beer:

1. Yes, I am a man
2. True dat
3. Oh... are you planning on adding another 1gb stick in the future? If not go with the 2x1gb version of the corsiar value select.
4. Yeah... check your power supply...
5. No... you da man!

 

[Razor1973]

Originally posted by: acegazda
3. Oh... are you planning on adding another 1gb stick in the future? If not go with the 2x1gb version of the corsiar value select.

acegazda, you're confusing me here. What I initially wanted to do was buy one 1GB stick, install it and be done with it. Maybe upgrade in the future. Can I do that or do they have to be installed in pairs?

 

[Zebo]

Memory is very expensive right now and you don't game heavy just get one gig. I do game and never use over a gig. Historically prices during spring are usually half what summer and fall prices are so even if you want 2G it will cost you half later.

I get two of these
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=N82E16820146090

Low latency and high bandwith and cheap and Mushkin one of the best.

Board ? Are you using a graphics card or on-board video? What video card do you have?

 

[acegazda]

Originally posted by: Razor1973

Originally posted by: acegazda
3. Oh... are you planning on adding another 1gb stick in the future? If not go with the 2x1gb version of the corsiar value select.

acegazda, you're confusing me here. What I initially wanted to do was buy one 1GB stick, install it and be done with it. Maybe upgrade in the future. Can I do that or do they have to be installed in pairs?

srry, you don't have to install it in pairs, but dual channel memory of the same size (2x512=1x1gb) will run faster. So if you want to be done with it get 2x512mb. Still, that wont be enough for future games. This is why I say If you buy one stick now, and one stick later, you'll have dual channel later.

 

[Razor1973]

Got it! So how about this?

1GB DDR2 800 (PC2 6400) (cheapest is $85)

1GB DDR2 667 (PC2 5300) (cheapest is $70)

1GB DDR2 533 (PC2 4200) (cheapest is $67)

Help me pick please. Are the higher speeds overrated and not worth paying for? Any brands to stay away from? Etc...

Thanks.

 

[avi85]

Originally posted by: Razor1973
Got it! So how about this?

1GB DDR2 800 (PC2 6400) (cheapest is $85)

1GB DDR2 667 (PC2 5300) (cheapest is $70)

1GB DDR2 533 (PC2 4200) (cheapest is $67)

Help me pick please. Are the higher speeds overrated and not worth paying for? Any brands to stay away from? Etc...

Thanks.

see this thread and the article that it links to, you will see that there is a relatively large difference between the lower and higher speeds when using am2

 

[acegazda]

Originally posted by: avi85

Originally posted by: Razor1973
Got it! So how about this?

1GB DDR2 800 (PC2 6400) (cheapest is $85)

1GB DDR2 667 (PC2 5300) (cheapest is $70)

1GB DDR2 533 (PC2 4200) (cheapest is $67)

Help me pick please. Are the higher speeds overrated and not worth paying for? Any brands to stay away from? Etc...

Thanks.

see this thread and the article that it links to, you will see that there is a relatively large difference between the lower and higher speeds when using am2

he's right, ddr2 speeds are really the only difference between am2 and s939. The only noticable difference in performance will occur if you use ddr2-800. There is still a slight advantage that ddr2-667 retains, however it is nominal. That g.skill for $89 is very good. More for overclocking, but any ram is good for everyday use. Generally the only brands you want to buy from are: ocz>corsiar>g.skill>crucial>kingston and geil, pqi and patriot are gaining popularity, but no others than that I don't think.

 

[Razor1973]

acegazda, avi85, thanks a bunch! System configuration is now complete!