Time to upgrade?

[VoteQuimby]

Currently I'm thinking about upgrading my current system:
A7N8X + Deluxe
XP 2400+
1 gig 2700 DDR
XFX 6800 GT (AGP)

I mainly game on my machine, and I'm wondering if it is time to upgrade or wait. I've been considering upgrading to a 939(future upgrade possibilities) board & getting a 64bit CPU. But I could only spend around $350 for everything (CPU, RAM, MB). I could possibly spend more if I am able to sell my current MB, CPU, & RAM. I've shopped around and I found a few motherboards around $100 (Epox 9NDA3+ and Soltek K8TPro-939). I could also probably score a gig of DDR 400 for $100. That leaves with $150 for a CPU. I've read how 'easy' it is to overclock the 3000 Winchester but I must say that I am a complete newb when it comes to overclocking. How easy is easy? How high could I oc with the stock H/S & Fan? What suggestions do you guys have as far as my budget and upgrading? Any suggestions as far as what RAM to get?

 

[RussianSensation]

Sounds pretty good to me, esp with an Epox board (those overclock well).

Have you tried overclocking that PC2700 ram? Even if it doesnt overclock, I wouldnt spend $100 on new DDR400, just keep the current ram. Zebo showed that performance drop is minimal running a 6:5 ratio (or whatever ratio you'll implement at overclocking to keep PC2700).

If you go A64 with AGP you should know that AGP cards might be slightly overpriced because the demand for new generation cards for AGP exceeds supply given that the emphasis of card manufacturers is on PCIe right now. Also after this new generation, it could get iffy. But if you upgrade every 1.5 years, it's not a big deal. With S939, you'll still be able to get A64 4700+ and Radeon R520 or NV50 I bet.

Try selling your current cpu+mobo for $50. If your short on $$, get retail box because stock cooler is fine.

 

[VoteQuimby]

Thanks for the response!

Because I'm pressed for cash I might just keep my current Ram and put into the new system. I don?t know nor have I ever tried to OC my ram. I know I have 2x256 sticks of Corsair XMS & a pos 512 stick of PNY. I already have the 6800 GT in my current system that is why I need an AGP board. Also, would it be smarter for me to get a 3000 winnie and oc it because it would be cheaper? Or get a 3200 or 3500?

 

[RussianSensation]

Originally posted by: VoteQuimby
Thanks for the response!

Also, would it be smarter for me to get a 3000 winnie and oc it because it would be cheaper? Or get a 3200 or 3500?

I think if you arent confident with overclocking, then you should upgrade using the best bang for the buck. If you were to not overclock and keep the 3000+/3200+ and 3500+ on S939, these are the performance differences you will see across a variety of benchmarks using 6800GT => The Mother of All CPU Charts Part 2

Certainly given A64 3000+ = $144, A64 3200+ = 181, A64 3500+ = 267, we can discount 3500+ because it costs almost 2x as much but is maybe 20% faster. The extra $40 to 3200+ is up to you. I personally would probably go with A64 3000+ and overclock it to 2.4ghz. Make sure to get 90nm Winchester cores (ie. monarch computer offers those). Use www.pricegrabber.com or www.pricewatch.com for price searching or Newegg.com or another good supplier.

You could ask in a separate thread A64 users who overclock whether to get A64 3000+ or 3200+. Remember, even if you get A64 3000+, you can later upgrade to A64 4400/4700+ (which will come out), or dual-core.

 

[VoteQuimby]

Because of money issues again I think I will go with an A64 3000 retail. Again thank you for the help!

P.S. I'm currently using an Antec 350W PS. Will I need to upgrade this too?

 

[Quentin]

Why not keep saving your money for a new system (and research, research, research what's best)? Meanwhile learn to overclock what you have. Might as well learn on this system and apply the knowledge to an A64 later.

You shouldn't hurt anything hardware wise but definitely back up your important data - an image backup would be good, too. Download Memtest86+ and make a boot CD or floppy (it's wise to test your initial OCs outside of Windows so you don't corrupt it with an over-overclock!)

The A7N8X is a very flexible board and you can get a lot more out of what your currently have. I'd learn what's going on in the Advanced Chipset Features of your BIOS and set CPU Freq Multiple Setting to Menu, CPU Freq Multiple to 13, System Performance to User Defined, CPU Ext. Freq. (FSB) to 166, CPU Interface to Aggressive and Memory Freq. to 100% or Sync. Then Save and Exit.

Watch your temps in the BIOS for 30 minutes or so (under 50C for the CPU) then see if Memtest will run for hours without errors. If all is good, try starting Windows (you did back up, didn't you!). It'll probably run fine at 13x166. You'll be running at 2.16GHz, a 160MHz OC over your 15x133 (2GHz) and your RAM will be running at its spec'ed 166MHz/DDR333/PC2700. All in all a nice OC.

Then you can try for more as suggested above. Your RAM may go above 166, you just have to find out. Since it's a hodge-podge, you might run into a wall quick, though. Dropping the multiplier under 13 may be a problem at 166, but that may help you increase the OC even more.

I've had excellent luck overclocking this motherboard and you can, too!

Edit: I am assuming you have an unlocked 2400+ because most of them are - and your system appears to be at least 18 months old. If it is locked you can't change the multiplier.

 

[SNM]

Wait a month until AMD comes out with their new cores.

 

[VoteQuimby]

Yes I believe I have an unlocked cpu. I even have a SLK-800 attached to the thing so I should be overclocking it I'll give what you said a try. Thanks

 

[Quentin]

Thinking more on this, it's possible when you set the multiplier to 13x it actually will be 5. If you boot to 830MHz instead of 2158, that's what happened. Drop to 12.5 and you'll actually be at 12.5 (x166 for 2.08GHz). This happens on processors that have a default multi under 13. But even though its default is 15, your 2400+ may act that way at the higher 166FSB.

Many motherboards only give high or low multipliers at one time. The A7N8X gives 5-12.5 or 13-20.5 depending on what the CPU's default multiplier is (at the current FSB). That's why some people do a "wire mod" to force higher multipliers on an unlocked CPU.

Anyway, let us know how it goes!

 

[VoteQuimby]

Update:

Do I did everything as you said in your first post, and I got it to boot to the bios and saw that it came up as a 2700+ which brought a smile to my face I'm currently watching the cpu temp in my bios as I write this. It started out at 45C but now it?s crept up to 55C. So I will clock it back down and re-apply some artic silver and clean out all the dust in my case. I'll also crank up the fan speed on my cpu fan. Thanks again for the help. I'll post back once I get my temps to stay under 50c.

 

[VoteQuimby]

Another Update:

I've cranked my CPU fan to its max (oh so annoying high pitched noise) and the temps are staying under 50c (around 47-48)

 

[VoteQuimby]

I'm have an issue now. My temps looked stable so I proceeded to boot to windows. Only to find that my computers freezes before the windows loading screen comes up.... Any suggestions?

 

[VoteQuimby]

anyone?

 

[o1die]

If your board supports it, try boosting your cpu vcore by .05 and your memory voltage by .1. Either or both.

 

[VoteQuimby]

I did both & I'm still getting a restart after the Windows load screen. Any other suggestions?

 

[Quentin]

How about 12.5x?