So there's a fork in the road

[darkswordsman17]

Ok, here's my dilemma (sorry for the length). Ok, I'm gonna be upgrading and while I was waiting for socekt 939 it seems like they are only going to have expensive processors for it for a while, so I've decided to go with socket 754, or perhaps 478 again.

Things I can carryover: 1GB of Kingston HyperX DDR500 and an Audigy 2 ZS, case with good cooling and 500W PSU

Some of the choices I've come up with so far are:

Chaintech VNF3-250 paired with either a 3000 or 3200 and OC it ($325-350)

Get an SFF Athlon 64 Barebones from Shuttle, Biostar, or Soltek and an A64 CPU ($450-550)

Get an P4 SFF from Abit (Digidice), Aopen (they have a couple of nice new ones), MSI Mega 865, Asus Terminator2, or one of a few other nice ones. ($325-600)

Get an Antec Aria case and put a micro ATX board in it (either A64 or P4). ($425-550)

Upgrade my current 2.4B to a 2.8C or 3.2C ($175-275)

Wait for socket 775/939 and all the stuff it brings (PCI Express, yada yada) ($?)

Some other things to consider: I will be getting one of the newest generation graphics cards. I'm not sure if the SFF's can handle them (probably can handle X800 Pro, but maybe not the others). Does anybody know for sure how they compare power wise to the 9800 Pro?

Any help or suggestions are greatly appreciated. I'm indecisive on what to do, as I would like to go both Athlon 64 with an X800XT/6800 Ultra but also want to go SFF. I might be able to go both routes if I carryover whats in my rig now to an inexpensive one and go with the Chaintech board.

 

[SilentZero]

I would base my decision on 1. Budget and 2. Need of upgrading. There are always new things coming out, but its seems like there is more on the horizon now to look forward too. If I had a ton of money to throw at this project, Id go with the SFF AMD64 shuttle and then go at a new round of buying when the new stuff comes out in the next quarter or two. However, if money is a big factor, just upgrade your processor (at least some sort of satisfaction) and wait till the new gen hardware is released, then drop the cash on it. Id wait personally. Id upgrade to a 2.8c, OC it and just wait awhile until the up and coming hardware is released, then go on a shopping spree.

 

[darkswordsman17]

The budget really isn't that much of an issue, I was just adding the approximate price to kinda have a frame of reference.

Will OC'ing the A64 require a nice heatsink/fan? I'm probably gonna go with the first choice I have listed.

Oh, also, in case anybody cared, Newegg has a Soltek A64 SFF that has an nForce 3 250 Gb board.

 

[EeyoreX]

I would base my decision on 1. Budget and 2. Need of upgrading. There are always new things coming out, but its seems like there is more on the horizon now to look forward too. If I had a ton of money to throw at this project, Id go with the SFF AMD64 shuttle and then go at a new round of buying when the new stuff comes out in the next quarter or two. However, if money is a big factor, just upgrade your processor (at least some sort of satisfaction) and wait till the new gen hardware is released, then drop the cash on it. Id wait personally. Id upgrade to a 2.8c, OC it and just wait awhile until the up and coming hardware is released, then go on a shopping spree.

I agree. I would wait, unless there is a pressing need to upgrade or I am rich. I currently don't have a need to upgrade and I am not rich, so I can afford to sit back and wait for the new stuff to be released in a 2nd generation/more tested versions.

\Dan

 

[Markfw]

The Thermaltake Silent Boost K8 should take care of you. The A64 runs cooler than a 3.2 or better (maybe even 3.0) P4. Mine OC'ed to 2180 was at 47 full load ! I don;t know what SFF is. Is that the super small cases ? Then maybe you would be SOL, especially with a 6800u. The X800pro might make it.

 

[darkswordsman17]

Yeah, SFF is small form factor. I know for sure I'd be SOL with the 6800 Ultra. I know the X800 uses less power than the 9800XT, but thats the XT, and I'm not sure how well it works in SFF.

If I was going SFF I think I'd go P4 right now, as I'd be using it for music, video, etc. the kinda stuff the P4 excels at. Also, it seems like all the trully good SFF are Intel.

The A64 3000 is rated at 1.8 Ghz normally isn't it?