Purchasing my new PC's hardware soon! Last minute advice!

[atybimf]

Well I am purchasing the parts for my build very soon, and I just wanted to run my parts by the Anandtech community.

AMD Athlon 64 3200+ Venice
XP90 w/ Zalman 92mm adjustable fan
Epox EP-9NPA+Ultra
Corsair Valueselect 2x1GB
eVGA GeForce 7800GT
Samsung Spinpoint P Series 160GB SATAII
Cooler Master Centurion 5
FSP Group (Fortron Source) 450W
Lite-On DVD Burner

So, how's it look. Any advice? By the way, I do not want the DFI Lanparty Ultra-D instead of the Epox board. Also, will my PSU be sufficient? It has 2 12V rails @ 16A or 18A, I cannot remember which.

 

[harobikes333]

Whats your total cost?

 

[atybimf]

At the moment I have $1000. The described system is roughly $1020, but I am willing to go $20 over my budget.

Edit- I'm cotemplating going from the 3200+ with XP90 to the 3500+ without, because I am not a big overclocker. If it's worth it, I may even spring for the 3700+. But only if the 1MB L2 Cache will make a big difference.

 

[chieftang]

Depends on what you'll be using the machine for, but in general, the extra cache won't make much real world improvement. I'd be tempted to go with the 3200+ and overclock some. You're getting a great board for OCing, and even if you only do a moderate OC, you'll easily jump into the next price bracket for CPU without having to pay for it.

 

[atybimf]

Yes, I was planning, if I get the 3200+, to overclock it to at least 2.2GHz, and if I feel comfortable with it and can, maybe even 2.4GHz.

 

[atybimf]

bump for the night.

 

[imported_electron]

Originally posted by: chieftang
Depends on what you'll be using the machine for, but in general, the extra cache won't make much real world improvement. I'd be tempted to go with the 3200+ and overclock some. You're getting a great board for OCing, and even if you only do a moderate OC, you'll easily jump into the next price bracket for CPU without having to pay for it.

I gotta disagree with that. IMHO 1MB of L2 should perform better than 512k.

 

[chieftang]

I gotta disagree with that. IMHO 1MB of L2 should perform better than 512k.

Cool, give me an example of a situation where the performance gain will be noticeable. I'm simply saying for general use you probably won't see it.

 

[atybimf]

I don't care if there is a performance gain from 1MB L2 rather than 512KB L2 unless it is a noticeable gain.

 

[Cooler]

I would get the x3800 Dual core if you have a little exta $$. Otherwise its good.

 

[imported_electron]

Originally posted by: atybimf
I don't care if there is a performance gain from 1MB L2 rather than 512KB L2 unless it is a noticeable gain.

Right noticeable, i agree with you 100%, if it's not noticeable, it's not worth spending more on. The question now is do you believe AMD when they name their processor a 3700+ over a 3500+ which is supposed to correspond to 3.5 and 3.7ghz? or an equivalent of a 200mhz clock speed gain by the addition of 512kb of L2.

 

[eXx08]

Yea I'd spring for the X2 3800+ too. Get that and don't get XP-90.

 

[atybimf]

Hmm. The X2 3800+ is quite a price jump from the $185 I would be spending for the 3200+ and XP90. I'm not sure if I can raise that kinda cash before Christmas or so. Keep in mind that I'm 13, and the $1000 I have saved right now was not easy to come by (many hours of yardwork ) so I'm not sure how much more cash I'll be able to raise. If I can get the cash, I'll get the X2 3800+, but otherwise, what would most reccomend? The 3200+ and XP90, the 3500+, or possibly even the 3700+?

 

[w00t]

go dual core its worth it. 3200+ is nice trust me i have one but i am getting a dual core soon opteron 170 hopefully.

 

[atybimf]

That brings up another question I've had - what's the deal with Opterons? What gives the Opty 175 the "Opteron" name tag rather than X2 4400+ when they have the same specs?

 

[imported_electron]

Opterons are better overclockers and have a better coating from what I've heard in another thread. Is this computer going to be used primarily for gaming? If so, the CPU is not nearly as important as the GPU. If you're going to use it for rendering or encoding, then the CPU becomes more important.

 

[atybimf]

I will be using this for gaming, web surfing, schoolwork (I'm only in 8th grade however, so not a whole ton,) but probably a good deal of multitasking, which is why the X2 is so appealing. But, if I went ahead and purchased the X2 3800+, I would have to hold off on 2GB of ram, and just get 1 to start out with. I would then add another stick when I get the money.

 

[Hacp]

Your rig sounds nice, and should work for you just fine. If your not big of an overclocker, I would suggest AGAINST having the XP-90 and just running the stock HS/Fan. That would save you some $$$ def. Also, the extra 512 mb of cache from the sandiego CPUS don't much much of a difference at all. Should be around a 100MHZ difference depending on the applications on average. That isn't enough to warrent the increased price tag imo.

Also, unless your doing something like

Encoding DVDS while rendering an image, the X2s don't "multitask" any better in terms of noticibility. You will not notice much of a real life difference when talking on aim/using bittorent/ having firewall on/ and also playing a game in the background.

 

[atybimf]

Thanks for the advice. I've pretty much made up my mind that if I have to go single core, I'll pick up the 3500+. Otherwise, X2 I hope.

Edit: Hacp, everyone(!) raves about X2's. But you think that I really won't notice a difference as long as I'm not doing encoding and such?

 

[atybimf]

Well, if what Hacp says is correct, I'll probably stick with single core. But Opterons look very appealing right now, and I was wondering if getting the 2GHz Opty Over the A64 3200+ would be wise?

 

[Hacp]

Yes it won't make a difference. I have had an X2 before and compared it to my single core. Very little difference in terms of my regular daily use.

 

[Hacp]

Originally posted by: atybimf
Well, if what Hacp says is correct, I'll probably stick with single core. But Opterons look very appealing right now, and I was wondering if getting the 2GHz Opty Over the A64 3200+ would be wise?

Single core OPPy is always a good choice, If you can get it for less than 170 dollars.

 

[atybimf]

Any idea where I could pick one up for that price ?

Edit: I went to Pricewatch, and the lowest I found was $200. So I think I'm just going to go with the 3500+, because it is 2.2GHz rather than 2.0GHz for the same price.

 

[atybimf]

bump for the night