P4? AMD XP? AMD 64? - Need Honest Suggestions (CPU & Mobo)

[grabbingsand]

This is my first PC build in years, and I'm seeking some honest advice. Four months of research still has me wondering about the best course of action.

I have no brand loyalty. I had an AMD K6 back in the day and I'm running a Pentium 3 now. I've stretched the capabilities of this 600mhz chip as far as they will go and it is time to upgrade. What I want is performance, not flash. It's possible that I'll be OCing, but unlikely. I want to be able to enjoy my 3D MMOs and FPSs with rates above 5fps. If I can delay obsolescence for the next year or so, then great. My existing graphics card will be transplanted to the new box (marked with * in the builds), but I am not opposed to replacing it in about 6 months. Also, we have a budget here. I'd like to keep the total cost of the proc, mobo, memory and HD below or around $500.

So here are the possible new builds that I'm considering:

Build 1:
- AMD Athlon 64 2800+
- ABIT "KV8" K8T800 Mobo
- Kingston 512MB DDR PC-3200
- GeForce FX 5200 256MB*
- Western Digital 80GB 7200RPM SATA

Build 2:
- AMD Athlon XP 2800+
- ABIT "AN7" nForce2 Ultra 400
- Kingston 512MB DDR PC-3200
- GeForce FX 5200 256MB*
- Western Digital 80GB 7200RPM SATA

Build 3:
- Pentium 4/ 2.8E GHz 800MHz FSB, 1MB L2
- ASUS "P4S800D" SiS655FX
- Kingston 512MB DDR PC-3200
- GeForce FX 5200 256MB*
- Western Digital 80GB 7200RPM SATA

Again, I have no brand loyalty here. If anyone has good or ill to say about the memory choice, speak out. Also, if anyone thinks that the oft-bemoaned pain of installing XP on a single SATA drive makes an Ultra ATA or IDE a better choice, say so. If you need clarification from me about anything, ask away.

I'm doing this build as part of an article I'm writing for an online magazine, so I want to make sure that my DIY recommendations are beneficial not only to myself, but also my readers.

Help me, Anandtech Forumites.... you're my only hope.

 

[Algere]

Build 1 (Games)
comment: Would change the motherboard to a Abit KV8 Pro or one based on the nForce3 250/Gb chipset.

Build 2 (Media encoding, decoding, etc.)
comment: Would prefer the Northwood "C" over the Prescott "E"

SATA can be a pain to install WinXP onto without a floppy drive, although not impossible.

 

[grabbingsand]

Further note ... I'll be transplanting the 1.44 floppy from the current machine, as well as the CD-RW and CD-ROM drive. I'll probably replace the CD-ROM with a Combo drive before the summer is out, but I'm trying to recycle as much as possible. So with the floppy, the SATA will be less than painful?

 

[Algere]

Originally posted by: grabbingsandI want to be able to enjoy my 3D MMOs and FPSs with rates above 5fps.

FPS's need way more than 5fps to be enjoyable.

 

[Algere]

Originally posted by: grabbingsand
Further note ... I'll be transplanting the 1.44 floppy from the current machine, as well as the CD-RW and CD-ROM drive. I'll probably replace the CD-ROM with a Combo drive before the summer is out, but I'm trying to recycle as much as possible. So with the floppy, the SATA will be less than painful?

Yea the floppy drive is only needed to install the drivers for the SATA controller since WinXP doesn't have SATA drivers.

Without the floppy drive you'd need to slipstream WinXP with SATA drivers hence the pain part.

 

[grabbingsand]

Originally posted by: Algere

FPS's need way more than 5fps to be enjoyable.

Agreed. You can imagine the headaches I'm getting from playing City of Heroes on a P3. AquaMark benches my current system at 4.7fps (overall score: 7422). Unbelieveable.

 

[Algere]

That's disgusting

 

[mechBgon]

Welcome to the Forums grabbingsand I see you cross-posted this question to another Forum too. That's generally regarded as poor form... give your first thread a few days before you try in another section, k?

 

[DAPUNISHER]

Since your primary goal is gaming and you don't favor overclocking, I'd go with the A64 2800+ setup, but can that craptacular 5200 that can't hope to take adnatage of the 256mb of ram. Get a used ti4200 for $60-$80 or better yet a 9600pro for$100-$120.

 

[grabbingsand]

Thanks, MechBgon. I'll have you know that I plan on using your photo guide for this build... so thanks in advance.

Sorry about the x-posting. I suppose I was wanting to get those individuals that lurk in one section or the other, but not both.

 

[mechBgon]

Originally posted by: grabbingsand
Thanks, MechBgon. I'll have you know that I plan on using your photo guide for this build... so thanks in advance.

Sorry about the x-posting. I suppose I was wanting to get those individuals that lurk in one section or the other, but not both.

No problem We roam around, I think you'll get plenty of good suggestions. I'm just gonna put a "ditto" under what DAPUNISHER said, he knows his stuff (and I think he's more objective than I am, too )

 

[grabbingsand]

Originally posted by: DAPUNISHER
...can that craptacular 5200 that can't hope to take advantage of the 256mb of ram...

That bad, eh? Damn. And I just bought the thing a month or so ago. Is it so limited because it's 128-bit?

 

[DAPUNISHER]

Thanks for the props mech, got you fooled! :laugh:

That bad, eh? Damn. And I just bought the thing a month or so ago. Is it so limited because it's 128-bit?

Along with the 4x1 pipes, whimpy clockspeeds, and nV's underperforming PS2 tech on that gen of cards makes DX9 pointless on the 5200 series IMO. Don't trouble yourself with the technical reasons for why it blows just take a look at where it ranks, and I do mean rank vs a ti4200 and 9600pro across a range of games. link

 

[dennisjai215]

get corsair ram.. for a few bucks more you get better performance i'd prefer using corsair and then mushkin

 

[grabbingsand]

Okay.

We did it.

Dropped cash on a NewEgg order for the AMD 64 3000+ and the Chaintech VNF3-250.

Thanks for your input and I'll probably be right back on here for more advice on the install.

 

[SniperWulf]

oh man, you are gonna LOVe that setup

 

[clarkey01]

good choice

 

[grabbingsand]

And furthermore, I completed the setup today by ordering:

- Hitachi 160GB SATA 7200 (twice as much for less than a third more)
- Mushkin DDRAM 512M|PC-3200

And I'll seek out a replacement video card in a month or so, now that I've heard the bad news about my GeForce FX5200.