Some input, please...

Ridge

Ridge

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Okay, time to upgrade my mobo, its the bottleneck in my system nowadays...here is what Im looking at:

K9A Platinum ATI RD580 Crossfire-Ready AM2 ATX Motherboard - $174.99
http://www.microcenter.com/byos/byos_single_product_results.phtml?product_id=253218

Form Factor
. ATX Form Factor
Chipset Type
. ATI RD580 Chipset
Processor Socket
. Socket AM2
Compatible Processors
. Athlon 64 X2; Athlon 64 FX; Athlon 64 Processors
Supported Processor Speeds
. Up to 5200+ Processors
Memory Technology Supported
. Supports Dual Channel Memory Interface
Memory Speeds Supported
. DDR2-667, DDR2-800
Maximum Memory Supported
. Upgradeable to 8.0GB
RAM Expansion Slots Total
. (4) 240-pin DIMM Slots
Drive Controllers
. (2) IDE UltraDMA ATA 133/100/66 Channels; (1) Floppy Drive Channel
Serial ATA Drive Controller
. (4) Serial ATA 2.0 (3.0GBps) Connectors
Serial ATA RAID Drive Controller
. (2) Serial ATA 1.0 (1.5GBps) Connectors
Serial ATA RAID Supported
. RAID 0, RAID 1, RAID 0+1
Sound Card
. Realtek ALC883 High Definition CODEC Audio Chipset
Sound Output Mode
. 7.1 Channel Audio Surround Sound
Networking
. (2) 10/100/1000 Gigabit Ethernet Network
PCI Express Graphics Expansion Slot
. (2) PCI Express x16 Graphics Interface Slots
PCI Expansion Slot
. (2) 32-bit Bus Mastering PCI Slots
Ports and Connectors
. (1) PS/2 mouse port, (1) PS/2 keyboard port, (1) serial port, (1) parallel port supporting SPP/EPP/ECP mode, (1) IEEE 1394 FireWire port, (4) USB 2.0 Ports, (2) RJ-45 Network jacks, (5) flexible audio jacks
Dimensions (WxD)
. 11.96" x 9.6" (304mm x 245mm)
Manufacturer Warranty
. 3 Year Limited Warranty


AMD? Boxed Athlon 64 X2 Dual Core Processor 5000+ - $215.00
http://www.microcenter.com/byos/byos_single_product_results.phtml?product_id=253283

3D and Multimedia Instructions
. 3DNow! Professional technology, SSE, SSE2, SSE3
Processor Type
. Athlon 64 X2 Dual Core Processor 5000+
Processor Speed
. 2.6GHz
CPU Voltage
. 1.30 Volts - 1.35 Volts
Thermal Design Power
. 89 Watt
Processor Architecture
. 90nm SOI Process Technology
Processor Data Width
. 64-Bit Technology
HyperTransport Technology
. One 16x16 link @ up to 2000MHz
HyperTransport I/O Bandwidth
. Up to 8.0GB per second
Socket Required
. Socket AM2
Level 1 Cache
. 2 x 128KB Level 1 Cache
Level 2 Cache
. 2 x 512KB Level 2 Cache
Integrated Memory Controller
. Integrated DDR2 Memory Controller
Memory Controller Width
. 128-Bit + 16-Bit
Type of Memory Supported
. Unbuffered DDR2 Memory
Total Processor-to-System Bandwidth
. Up to 20.8GB per second
Included Accessories
. AMD? Designed Thermal Solution (Fan, Heatsink, Clip Assembly)
Manufacturer Warranty
. 3 Year Limited Warranty


Any thoughts on this? Its well within my price range, and supports what I want (major RAM, Crossfire, and duo core)
 
My current specs are:

VG33 mobo (Socket 478)
Pentium 4 2.8Ghz
ATI Radeon X1600XT 512mb AGP
ATI Radeon X1300XTX 256mb PCI-e (won it last year, just sitting, as I have no pci-e ports)
2Gb PC2700 RAM
250Gb IDE HD (XP Pro)
80Gb IDE HD (Vista HP)
Sound Blaster X-Fi XtremeMusic

The setup Im looking at here is well under my price range, which leaves me room to get RAM and some ATA drives for it as well...I think it would do better in my case than this 3 year old eMachines mobo

10042818ol.jpg
 
Hello!

Upgrading your hardware huh? Right on! Thats always an exciting time. The mobo and CPU you post info on are great. They will give you very good performance. I take it you hang out in the AMD & ATI court? Have ATI card(s) or plan on making a Crossfire setup?

However, if you care more about performance than about brands, you would get much better performance if you went with what I link to below. Granted you'll not be able to have Crossfire, but the performance tradeoff needs to be kept in mind.

CPU
Intel Core 2 Duo E6400 - $218
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16819115004

Motherboard
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813130081- $165
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813141002- $190
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813131025- $209

Benchmark Scores. (From a site I trust. You'll see I list the mobo that is used in their tests.)
http://www.anandtech.com/cpuchipsets/showdoc.aspx?i=2802

There are thousands of articles out that say either Intel or AMD is better than the other. However, the custom PC's that I build for my clients, I only use the Core 2 Duo, because at this time, it's simply better than AMD.

This is of course only my own opinion. Everyone has their likes and dislikes.

-MRG
 
Ridge said:
My current specs are:

ATI Radeon X1300XTX 256mb PCI-e (won it last year, just sitting, as I have no pci-e ports)
Click to expand...

Any plans for that card? I have been looking for a cheap PCI-e card to install in my Daughters PC. Want to sell it or trade for it?

-MRG

Edit: LOL! IF you sold that PCI-e, what would you use in your new PC to hold you over until you get a better card?? You prob don't want to sell it. How about the X1600 instead? I have my Core 2 Duo in an ASRock 775Dual-VSTA mobo. Has both an AGP & PCI-e slot, not to mention DDR1 & DDR2 slots.

-MRG
 
When the time comes, and I drop the pci-e card in, I'd probably be willing to sell the X1600XT :)

Your input is definately appreciated, MRG. But, I would prefer Crossfire. Im just an ATI fanboy, not too fond of nVidia...never have been...one reason why is the overly complicated version numbers for the drivers :p I just find 7.1 easier to remember than 98.56, lol.

And I admit, it is pretty damn hard to find a Crossfire mobo with dual core support, at least at the local micro center...they sell a couple crossfire boards on the shelves there, but no processors to go along with em...
 
Ridge said:
On another forum, they suggested these:

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16819115004
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813131045

What is your opinion on these?
Click to expand...

Thats the same CPU I posted. :p

Thats a decent mobo, ASUS is always a safe & Great choice. The 3rd mobo I post in the upgraded version of that mobo you listed. Its $30 more, but much better.

No shame in being an ATI fanboy. I was one for years & still love my 9800Pro. The Athlon XP-M 2600 OC to 2.2ghz I had worked great for years. ATI and AMD makes great products. Are you set on the AMD CPU & Crossfire mobo you originally post about? Care if I look around to see if I can find you something better?

Either way, you'll love the performance boost.

-MRG
 
Well my primary concern is getting something locally. I dont have a credit card, and its just shy of impossible finding a retailer that takes paypal...
 
Well, I picked up the SLI mobo I linked to above and the E6400 processor...cost me $381 after tax...not too shabby...might pick up the harddrive locally for a little less than advertised on NewEgg, so thats some cash saved there...then all thats left is for the RAM!

EDIT: Here are a couple pics:

1004618xi5.jpg


1004619og3.jpg


1004624oa0.jpg


That fan is too freakin huge, though...Im gonna watercool the processor...
 
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