Computer Upgrade

[the_lone_wolf]

Well i've had my system about a year now, it's starting to creack when i ask it to play things like fear and doom so it's time for an upgrade...

my current system:

A64 3000+ Skt 754
K8v-X mobo
9600Pro 256MB GFX (yeah i know)

now the thing is my mum wants me to build her "a cheap computer that goes like mine" so i figure what could be better than to butcher the good parts from her old coal powered job and transplant them into the mobo/cpu/gfx ystem that i have now, thus enabling me to upgrade.

now i know wht GFX card i'm getting, x800GTO2, will be ordering that before they run out of stock and hopefully OCing it to x850XT PE speeds

the thing is i now need a PCI-X mobo to go with it, and if i'm getting a new mobo then it really ought to be Skt 939, so a new CPU is needed too

so what mobos and cpus do you reckon are alright, i'm not looking for a huge upgrade in speed from the 3000+ (3200/3400 max) just the fact that it's a 939 instead of a 754, mobo should have plenty of pci slots, 3 memory banks, lots of USB2.0 ports and pref firewire, onboard audio isn;t required as i have an Audigy2

suggestions?

many thanks

 

[duffers20]

You can pick up a 3200+ for about £120 and thats with the reference heatsink. There are loads of skt939 mobo's out there with the features you specified above so its just a case of seeing which one is the best within your budget. I would personnaly look at boards from Asus, Abit, MSI & DFI.

 

[the_lone_wolf]

thanks, i figured it was just a case of finding the one which fit's my needs, just wondering if anyone had any major problems with any models. i've heard that asus are meant to be good, i'm currently using an asus bpard now and have had no complaints si i'll probably be buying another.

the other thing is what cpu to get, the price difference bwteen the 3000+ to 3400+ models isn't huge, is the 3400+ going to give me noticably improved performance with the other hardware i'm planning on?

btw i'm currently using 768MB DDR400 RAM

 

[3ssence]

The 3400 64 is a socket 754 CPU, the 939 come in 3000, 3200, 3500, 3700, 3800 and 4000, not including the fx range. Imo, the best bang for your buck product is probably the 3500

 

[koondrad]

You can OC a 3200+ to a 3400+ without much difficulty. For the price the 3200 is great, just make sure you're getting one with a Venice core.


[Off-Topic] Are you the same lone_wolf as the one on the Flexi forums?

 

[duffers20]

3500+ is a great cpu, but it is still quite expensive and i'm not sure of your budget. The 3200+ is still a good cpu and if you are an overclocker, then there is nothing stoping you upping the speed of it to 3500+ speeds.

EDIT: btw it would probably be best for you to include a 1gb dual channel ram set in your budget because I think it can make a difference, although don't take my word for that, check out some comparisons with single and dual channel memory.

 

[the_lone_wolf]

3ssence: thanks for the info, the 3500 does seem to be th emost cost effective from what i've seen.

koondrad: i probably won't be OC the CPU, the GFX card is a one off as i'm not usually up for the OC stuff. and yes i'm the ame TLW as from Flexi, small world huh?

duffers: the 3500 is only £20 more than the 3200 (both venice cores) from ebuyer, so i might well go for the extra. what kind of memory would be best, bearing in mind that if i change that out too price will be a factor, will the value RAM be suitable considering i have no intention of OCing it?

thanks for all the support everyone

 

[the_lone_wolf]

Well i went a ordered it all, my new computer spec looks like this:

A64 3500+ (Venice)
Asus K8N-E
1GB (2x512MB) Kingston Dual Channel RAM
Sapphire x800GTO2 (will be converted to 16pipes and maybe clocked upto x850XT PE speeds, see how the cooling goes but all signs point to go)
Audigy2 ZS + Inspire 6700 6.1 Speakers

I went with the 3500 as it's not that much more than the 3200, certainly not more than the 3800/4000 are over the 3500

i also went with kingston ram as it's what i'm using currently and i've had no problems at all

the nForce4 chipset seemed to win over the Via one so i went with their mobo

not cheap but much less than this time last year and should be fairly future proof

 

[Ren.182]

Not a bad computer you have there
Hope you enjoy it!

 

[duffers20]

I didn't realise that you could pick up a 3500+ for that price. Gone down loads since I bought it but oh well Good componants and I hear that once you unlock and overclock the x800gto, they are pretty good!

 

[the_lone_wolf]

I didn't realise that you could pick up a 3500+ for that price. Gone down loads since I bought it but oh well Good componants and I hear that once you unlock and overclock the x800gto, they are pretty good!

thats the reason i hunted one down in the UK, could only find one place with them in stock and it should get here tomorrow, if all the reviews are correct then it should flash to a 16pipeline card without a hitch and also clock upto x850XT PE speeds and beyond fairly simply, which for a card that cost's £150 is pretty good by me

 

[3ssence]

3ssence: thanks for the info, the 3500 does seem to be th emost cost effective from what i've seen.

np

Those spec look nice, i hope you enjoy your new pc

 

[koondrad]

Asus K8N-E
1GB (2x512MB) Kingston Dual Channel RAM

That's a Socket 754 board isn't it? Duel Channel RAM only works with 939.

 

[duffers20]

That's a Socket 754 board isn't it? Duel Channel RAM only works with 939.

Yeh it is.. Kinda concerned for him now as he has bought a skt939 cpu..

 

[3ssence]

Well if he sees this in time he might be able to change the order.

/waves arms around in the air wildy "hello mr lone wolf, over heeeeere "

 

[the_lone_wolf]

LMAO, what a difference one letter makes

it was a typo from my old board, i *used* to have a K8V-X, my new board is the *A8N-E* - Skt 939 nForce4 chipset

sorry to cause a few folks some concern there

mobo and GFX should be here tomorrow, shame i won't have a CPU to stick in it til Friday when ebuyer get their delivery arses in gear

 

[koondrad]

ebuyer... bleh.

 

[the_lone_wolf]

ebuyer... bleh.

lol, why say that?

they were the cheapest for all the components i wanted to order save the GFX which they didn't stock and the mobo which ran out while i was ordering

i've only ever had one problem with them, i ordered a router/adsl modem combination thingy and they sent the router only version, i got it at ~midday on friday, RMA request instantly, got RMA number and mailed it back friday, new one was sitting in my hall monday morning

can't fault them, so far (touch wood my ram is identical, it's a 2x512MB set so hopefully)

roll on tomorrow, just d/l 3dMark05 and got 1249 points on my current system, once the card is all in and clocked tomorrow i'll run it again whilst kicking back and having a :cheers:

 

[the_lone_wolf]

Well, it's all up and running, and i've done some benchmarks. the GFX card hung at 552/603MHz so i throttled it back to x850XT-PE speeds of 540/590, the GPU core never got above 66degrees and i have no case fans, they'll be coming soon to keep the thing cooler

here are the 3dMark05 scores:

Old HW - 1280 - No AA/AF - 1249

New Stock - 1280 - No AA/AF - 3591

New - 16P - 1280 - No AA/AF - 3052

New - 16P@540/590 - 1280 - No AA/AF - 4530

NB: after flashing the BIOS of the x800 i had to reinstall the drivers for the card, not sure but i think thats why i got a lower score, i suspect this card may have more to give but the drivers are holding it back

 

[koondrad]

lol, why say that?

Because postage to N.I. is £20 ;(

 

[the_lone_wolf]

Because postage to N.I. is £20 ;(

yikes

sorry to here that, their postage rates are a bit ridiculous, but i;ve found a better one, was looking at cases today and to ship via city link from one site is £6, takes 3-4 days, but to upgrade to 1-2 day dhl delivery costs £66:flame: