New computer

[Fifty]

I was planning on bying a new computer and I need some advice.
My current system is: P4 2400(Northwood 533fsb), 512 PC 2700
Gforce Ti4200.

I'm planning on buying this: MSI K8N SLI Platinum, Athlon64 3200+ (Venice), Gforce 6600GT and then 1gig RAM, and here's the problem, what kind of RAM am I suppesd to use? PC3200? Is there better memory for this configuration?

Would that configuration do me well in terms of gaming?

And another question, how well would my old system do with a
Gf6600GT and 512 more RAM? Would I be able to play all the new games without problem? (Especially BF2) =)

 

[lonelypauly]

You need PC3200. I use Kingston Hyper X and am pleased with it. AMD Pwnz for gaming, so if you can afford it you will be better off by getting a socket 939 mobo, CPU, Memory, and a PCI Express VGA. Don't skimp on the PSU! You will be sorry if you do! The 939 boards are the most future-proof boards right now...PCI-Express for next generation games that will utilize the bandwidth, and dual core CPU support.

<b><font color=blue>Athlon64 3200+ Winchester/MSI Neo4 Platinum SLI/MSI 6800 Ultra/1 GB Kingston HyperX/74GB WD Raptor/600Watt Enermax</b></font color=blue>

 

[fishmahn]

A 6600GT is a good performing card. That and another 512 will likely make your system pretty decent on todays games. Your P4 may be a tad on the slow side for some games, but its a pretty good match, IMO. If you feel up to overclocking it (and your motherboard can do it), it may hit 2.8 or 3.0 and that'll make it a nice performer.

Why get the SLI mobo? Probably not much point in going SLI unless you're going to utilize it right out of the box, and then only with 6800U's - a single 6800U outperforms 2 6600GTs in most cases, and not all games support SLI in the first place.

You'll see a drastic improvement in gaming performance with the 3200+ over your 2.4. There will be less (but still significant) improvement over your upgraded 2.4. If you can oc your 2.4 to about 3.0, I'm not sure if the extra $ for the A64 will be worth it. It will still show you some performance improvement because AMD is better at gaming than Intel, but a 3.0 is a pretty good performer anyways, so is spending $650US-ish on a whole system worth more than $250-ish for an update?

Yes, you'll need PC3200 for the A64. Good quality, name brand will be fine unless you're overclocking it.

Mike.

 

[Fifty]

Well, I dont know the first thing about OC-ing, I tried to rise the FSB once but it all ended with me resetting the CMOS.

I thought that if I buy a SLI mobo I could buy another graphics card when the need arise. Furthermore that MOBO had a good built in audio processor. Not the ordinary AC97 but a SB Live!.
SLI is not a drawback is it? I mean it wont really matter if I choose a SLI or non SLI compatible MOBO does it?

 

[fishmahn]

If you want to venture into OCing again, check out the guides in the overclocking sections here - they'll help you get started. The key is doing it a couple mhz at a time, and isolating which component you're ocing so you know what parts can go how far.

True about SLI - however, in a year, when that 6600gt isn't enough, another 6600gt will likely still be over $100, and the 6800GT/U that will still outperform both 6600gt SLI'd may be under $200 (speculative prices). Not much savings there, and that's offset by the increased cost of the SLI mobo today, though there is a potential. I guess it's like playing the futures market - some play it this way, some play it that way...

If you have an SLI board and don't use it, it won't harm anything except your pocketbook for the extra cost.

Mike.

 

[Fifty]

Well I'm aware of the fact that 6600GT SLI doesn't even compare to a single 6800GT/U. But I want to keep as many doors open as possible. And the price difference between the MSI K8N Neo4 and the SLI version is only about 25USD, and then like I said, you get a real audio processor that doesnt steal CPU power.

<P ID="edit"><FONT SIZE=-1><EM>Edited by Fifty on 05/19/05 03:08 PM.</EM></FONT></P>

 

[chuck232]

I'd probably save about $70 on the motherboard by going for the EPoX nF4 Ultra and then getting a X800XL with the saved money.

<A HREF="http://nfiniti.blogspot.com" target="_new">nfiniti plus one - my blog</A>

 

[Rugger]

Agree 100% with Chuck on this one - you'll get 6800GT performance today for way less $ than you'd spend in the long run with SLI. The only time that I recommend SLI is when price is not a factor and you must game at high res with AA/AF enabled (max eye candy). SLI's price/performance just sucks IMHO.

__________________________________________________
<font color=red>You're a boil on the arse of progress - don't make me squeeze you!</font color=red>

 

[Fifty]

The price difference between the motherboards is negligible while the difference between the 6600GT and X800XL is not.
Also the Epox doesnt have any x4PCIe slot, I dont know if this really matters but when one look at the features the MSI seems to come out on top. And like I said, if I choose the MSI I dont have to buy a new soundcard.
I will probably live with my mobo for a longer time than I will with my graphics card.

I just read that the NF4 chipset is placed very close to the PCIex16 port wich means that the noisy fan will be hard to replace with a passive cooling solution on the MSI. Thats bad. Might go with the Epox after all, havent read anything bad about that card exept someone complaining about the OC potential, but thats no matter to me. What about that x4PCIe slot, is that an issue?

On another note, what is this issue with the memory controller on the A64? Seems people has a hard time filling the memory slots with a total of 2gig and above...?
<P ID="edit"><FONT SIZE=-1><EM>Edited by Fifty on 05/20/05 04:51 AM.</EM></FONT></P>

 

[Fifty]

EPoX EP-9NPA+ Ultra

AMD Athlon 64 3200+ (Venice) BOXED w/fan

TwinMOS PC3200 DDR-DIMM 1024MB Dual Pack Kit w/two matched PC3200 DDR DIMMs (CL2.5)

Sapphire Radeon X800XL 256MB GDDR3 PCI-Express

How about this? Its about 935$ US.

<P ID="edit"><FONT SIZE=-1><EM>Edited by Fifty on 05/20/05 05:04 AM.</EM></FONT></P>

 

[Fifty]

I dont think that I will be overclocking, and if I did, it woudn't be much. Or do you dont think I would be able to overclock at all with those TwinMos sticks? Wich is better, CL 2,5 or CL 3,0? 2,0 is awfully expensive so I guess the lower the better... Or does it matter at all? What makes memory good? "CL" is a way to measure timing right?

By the way, before I forget about it I want to say thanks for all the advice! So far it has made me change my original setup plans.

<P ID="edit"><FONT SIZE=-1><EM>Edited by Fifty on 05/20/05 12:32 PM.</EM></FONT></P>

 

[dunklegend]

It's the latency and 2.5 is better

Help a man when he is in trouble and he will remember you...
...When he is in trouble again!

 

[chuck232]

Looks generally good. Where are you buying this stuff from?

<A HREF="http://nfiniti.blogspot.com" target="_new">nfiniti plus one - my blog</A>

 

[Fifty]

Im from Sweden and so is the company I'm buying this from.

 

[dunklegend]

From Sweden!
I thought you were fifty the rapper,and I was gonna ask you for an autograph.

If anything can go wrong it will!

 

[Fifty]

I have no idea on how to find out what chip is used in that memory, how am I supposed to find that out?

 

[Fifty]

Haha ok, so thats how I find out. One might think that nowdays with the Internet and all, there would be an easier way of finding out about those things.

 

[Fifty]

Am I able to use faster memory than PC3200 and if so is there any advantage, I read in the OC guide for the A64 that they recommended PC3700. I feel lost...

 

[chuck232]

PC3700 probably isn't your best bet as that'll only allow higher speeds at the expense of low latency. Try to find some Winbond chips (UTT). Those tend to reach higher speeds while maintaining low latencies.

<A HREF="http://nfiniti.blogspot.com" target="_new">nfiniti plus one - my blog</A>

 

[Fifty]

Would Corsair be a better choice also value ram though...