Upgrade

[Asus]

I just thought I'd pass this by you guys and see what you think.

I've got a AXP2800+, Asus nForce2 DX and 1GB (2x512mb) Corsair XMS PC2700 memory. (See sig).

I know a guy who would like to upgrade his system but he only can spend 200$.
I was thinking I could sell my AXP 2800+, Asus board and 1 512mb stick to him for 200$.

I could then buy a AMD Athlon 64 2800+ for 187$ and a MSI K8T800 or Chaintech nForce3 250 board for <100$ with using my remaining 512mb PC2700 stick for now.
That's <100$ out of my pocket for that upgrade.

Other things to consider would be:
Only have 512mb of PC2700 (instead of the 1gb)
I would want to sell/replace that with 1gb PC3200 down the road.

Is it worth it? Should I go with the deal?
Comments plz.

btw my PC2700 stick is OCable to PC3200.

 

[ewilson248]

i have not run the numbers using pricewatch for both sides of the deal, but i like the idea of getting into an A64 for $100 .. thats a no brainer.. currently, my 1gb system does not use much over 512, never seen it get over 600 yet in farcry, ut2004, etc..
but i would try and resolve to get into 1gb of 3200 ASAP in the next 3 months, you just never know.

 

[blahblahblah]

You should stay with your current rig. The A64 2800+ isn't a spectacular performer x). Plus, you will only have 512 of RAM and who knows when you will get another 512 of RAM (not to mention current memory prices :x :x). Don't forget, you also lose your awesome soundstorm audio x :x :x).

Uhhh....Thats three little dead people...which means, three strikes and your out (in case you didn't get the point, don't do it, )

Wow, I'm really tired right now.
I'll probably edit/change my post when I wake up.

 

[Maxi]

Yeah, IMO that upgrade would be worth it. Check to see if you can use your 2700 stick with the amd 64, im not sure what fsb they run at.

 

[blahblahblah]

Also, this deal will cost you around $200 in the end ($100 for the processor/MB, and another $100 for another stick of quality RAM).

Also, keep in mind that Socket 754 is about to hit that proverbial brick wall.

If I were you, I would save that $100 for an upgrade when your Athlon XP 2800+ is really out of gas. I think this upgrade would be worth it if you were planning on upgrade to a X800 or 6800 (even then, you have to wonder if you CPU would be fast enough).

PS - I changed my mind about the peformance of the A64 2800+. It has decent performance (+10% over Athlon XP 2800+).

 

[Asus]

I'm mixed on the deal myself. I am leaning towards it though.
I am not using digital speakers so I'm not really using the good features of the soundstorm audio.

I don't think I will notice that much difference going to 512MB and when I do buy PC3200 I would sell this stick. Not to mention I can OC my current PC2700 Corsair XMS stick (2-2-2-5) to PC3200 w/out increasing voltage (2-3-3-7) which would run very well. The timings aren't a big deal since A64 has such a low latency controller.

I don't mind the issue about Socket 754 with the 3700+ as the last CPU because (just like I might now) I would just upgrade the board/cpu combo.
If I sold my 9800pro and bought a X800pro I would be still spending a lot more there.

I like the idea of just spending 100$ and getting a good boost in gaming and being on a more efficent architecture/design because it is just 100$.

Selling my 9800Pro also and buying a X800pro would give me a good boost in all games/resolution but that is also at least another 200$.

I like the idea of 100$ for a new toy (64bit ready) with a boost.

 

[Asus]

Alright!
MSI K8N Platinum nForce3 250gb MS-7030 and Athlon 64 3000+ 2GHz Retail has been ordered from newegg.
Should be here on Thursday. Perfect timing! That's my day off.
$370.00

Have to wait and see how it all works.

Then next week my current Board/CPU will be sold for $200.

 

[blahblahblah]

You upped it to 3000+? Not Bad.

Don't forget to update your sig.

 

[Asus]

I'll updated it soon enough. Thx for the reminder.
Link
Someone has done some pretty nice things with the same CPU and Board that I ordered.
/dreams
9x300 = 2700GHz A64

I could live with 9x250 (2.25Ghz).

 

[kickass2009]

What a huge performance boost that must be. Would it be faster then an FX-53?

 

[blackeye]

I would like to see some benchmarks. Thats a great OC. I didnt read the whole thing but did it still run stable at 2.7 ghz

The timings aren't a big deal since A64 has such a low latency controller.

Really? So what would you recomend becuase i am getting a new system soon and i saw the new corsair memory with 2-2-2-5 timings. It looks great and is great for overclocking. Would it be more beneficial to run it at 433 speeds or just keep it at 400 with low timings. I dont think the timings at 433 would be to bad would they? 2-3-3-5 maybee?

 

[lePobz]

bah ASUS you wont have the same rig as me any more ;(

I've ordered an X800 XT Platinum Edition though, will be interesting to see who gets the better 3DMark03 score

 

[Asus]

bah ASUS you wont have the same rig as me any more ;(

Oh No!
We won't will we.

I've ordered an X800 XT Platinum Edition though, will be interesting to see who gets the better 3DMark03 score

That's easy...the X800XT since it's almost only a GFX benchmark.

It would be more interesting to run 3Dmark2001. hehe
Although still a graphics benchmark.

When is that coming to your door?

Fedex tracking says my stuff is on its way to my door yet my estimated time of delivery is tomorrow. We shall see.

 

[lePobz]

Should have it within a week or two can't wait, although its not like my 9800pro has given me any framerate challenges in any games. I just like new kit

That ruby demo looks like nice eyecandy when it runs in realtime too.

 

[Asus]

Got the stuff today at noon.
Ordered it Monday morning.
2 Days from newegg/fedex (CA->IA). Awesome.

I'll have to get it setup tonight after work.

Here are some pic though.
It's the AX stepping so its the CG revision which runs cooler and they changed something with the memory controller I know.

 

[blahblahblah]

In the first picture, is that the stock heatsink in the top right corner? That looks gigantic...

 

[blackeye]

Is the passive heatsink on the motherboard going to give you any troubles with overclocking? Asus when your done can you give me some benchmarks or something. I am buying a new system and i dont know if i want to spend a lot of money or just overclock an underperforming chip.

 

[FictiousWill]

Yes that's the stock heatsink for the 64's. I installed one the other day. Not only are they huge and excellent coolers, but they have a great little lever on them so you don't have to force the cooler clip onto the chip socket hooks - it's like a ZIF lever for the chip heatsink. Easiest cpu heatsink installation ever.

 

[Asus]

Pulled out my motherboard tray and installed the board fairly quick.
Popped the CPU in and installed the heatsink after some AS3.
Slid the tray back into the case and hooked up the power and front port pins.
Held my breath and hit the power button. No POST error code beeps at all and I went right into bios.
Formated and Installed Windows XP in 10mins and I am installing drivers right now.


This board does use the extra 12V power connector (Like a P4).
I have that connection on my PSU which was handy.

I have heard the temp sensors on this board (or at least this bios version) are reading rather high. They are reading around 60C CPU temp and 40C board temps. That is probably ~20C higher than they really are.

I am having no issues with my 2 sticks of 512MB Corsair XMS memory which are double sided. I will have to dive into bios settings and other settings tomorrow.

 

[blahblahblah]

Today was a good day for upgrading computers Asus. Mine went perfectly as well.

Roughly 2 times performance increases in all my games. And thats before I overclock my processor with my new heatsink.

Good luck with your new components.

 

[Asus]

bah ASUS you wont have the same rig as me any more ;(

I've ordered an X800 XT Platinum Edition though, will be interesting to see who gets the better 3DMark03 score

Just so you know, I get a 6105 3Dmark2k3 and 19000 3Dmark2k1.
I surely hope your X800 can beat that score, especially in 3Dmark2k3.

 

[DiSTuRbEd]

Yeah X800XT you should get at least 10k. When I saw the my X800 Pro get 8k I knew the X800XT would probably easily get 10k with minor tweaking.

 

[blahblahblah]

Yeah X800XT you should get at least 10k. When I saw the my X800 Pro get 8k I knew the X800XT would probably easily get 10k with minor tweaking.

I get a score of 8500 with an X800 Pro and a Athlon XP 2800+. After my Artic Silver sets (in about 100 hours), I will overclock my processor to 3200 speeds (maybe more). That should easily push my 3D Mark 03 scores in to the 9K range.

 

[chris_3]

Asus, im thinking of upgrading my Rig:

- 9800 pro
- amd 2800xp+
- 2 sticks of 512 ddr 2700
- a7v8x-x Mobo

We have the same rig except Motherboards, and i've been thinkin of updgrading it. What is your 3dmark03, Aquamark3 and/or 3dmark01 mark? With your Deluxe mobo...

 

[Asus]

Um, my 3dmark2k3 was around 5900 with my 9800Pro OCed but around 5500 with stock speeds.
3Dmark2k1 was around 16000 I think.

The reason I choose this upgrade path was pretty simple. I had someone wanting to buy my motherboard/CPU for 200$ not my gfx card. So i upgraded for only 170$.
Plus I do more CPU work (encoding/compiling) than just games.