New MB/CPU... suggestions...

[cgilroy]

Ok guys, im going to be looking for two suggestions here. The ONLY REQUIREMENT I have is that the MB has AGP and SATA (with raid 0, which I think most if not all SATA mobos have.) Id also like to have onboard lan.

My current setup is a: ASUS A7N8X Deluxe (rev 1.02), Athlon 2600+, 2 WD Raptors (raid 0), GF FX 5700, 1 GB DDR.

Id like to stay somewhat cheap, but yet have AMD-64. I currently have DDR, no DDR2 yet.

 

[o1die]

I have an ecs kv2 lite, not recommended for overclocking. A very cheap board with several accessories ($18 extra with a Fry's combo deal). It claims to have premium caps. Ecs is trying to enter the enthusiasts market, but still has a long way to go. The regular kv2 extreme board has 2 extra sata slots with raid, but is about $50 more. I recommend one of the epox nforce3 boards if you don't plan to switch to pci-e video soon. They run about $85 at newegg, and overclock well.

 

[Rugger]

Great option for upgradeability is a board with the ULi 1695 northbridge - it supports full AGP and PCIe. One board is the Asrock 939Dual

 

[cgilroy]

Another quick question, whats the difference between a 939 and a 754? :-/ AMD CPU...

Also, from the two posts, it seems like they are both no-name brands... what would be wrong with low-end major brands, which I have come to love, such as:

http://www.zipzoomfly.com/jsp/ProductDetail.jsp?ProductCode=247024

or

http://www.zipzoomfly.com/jsp/ProductDetail.jsp?ProductCode=247023

Also, would even upgrading to a 64FX be worthwhile WITHOUT 64-bit OS/PROGRAMS? Even at that, im currently running at 2ghz stock.. so would a:

http://www.zipzoomfly.com/jsp/ProductDetail.jsp?ProductCode=80699-5

technically be a downgrade for me?

 

[Rugger]

:/ For starters - those mobos you linked don't meet YOUR stated requirement: AGP slot. :roll:

The 3200+ processor is a decent upgrade from the XP2600+ - not a huge upgrade. Your best bang/buck will come from getting a better video card. With that rig, you could slap in a 6600GT or even a 6800 and see HUGE performance gains in gaming. If you're looking to improve gaming, then that is what I would do. That upgrade alone will last at least 1-2 years depending on what resolution/eye candy you use when gaming. Start saving now for the next upgrade and when you make the jump, you can go with the AMD M2 socket or whatever is the current leader in price/perf.

 

[fishmahn]

Socket 754 is th older socket, currently used as the 'low end', and doesn't support dual channel memory.

939 is the current mainstream/high end socket and supports both dual channel memory and dual core CPUs (a few mobos excepted)

If you get any single processor rating in both cores (for example, a '3200+'), in 754 it will run a little faster than the 939 (the cpu runs 200mhz faster and the boost from dual channel doesn't quite make that up), but the 939's overclock better, run cooler, and aren't the dead end board (Only Semprons are released new for 754 and that won't last long). If budget is low enough sometimes the 754 can be a good choice, but 939 is recommended.

That ASRock board Rugger mentions is the only one I know of that supports both PCI-E and REAL AGP. I thought there were a couple others coming out, but I can't find them in the US.

Mike.

 

[Rugger]

I haven't seen them either. If they're out there, then they aren't out in force or the major retailers aren't stocking them. It may be that the first to the market wins this round - why stock a lot of baords that do the same thing when there is not a huge market...[/shrug]

 

[endyen]

Going from an xp to an A64 is worth 10% in performance. On top of that the A64s are more responsive. Then you just figure out the difference in PR number. Going form an xp2600 to an A64 3000 gives about a 25% performance boost (plus responsiveness)
Going to the A64 3200 is well worth the extra $20 it generally costs.

 

[Rugger]

But debatable on whether or not it warrants an upgrade from the XP 2600+ to 3200+.

 

[endyen]

Been there done that, and yup IMNSHO it is well worth it. At the time, going to a 3000+ was worth it, and everything was more expensive. The 3200 was more than $50 more then.

 

[Crashman]

I'd go with the Chaintech VNF4 Ultra, the best bang for the buck I've seen. It's actually a very nice board.

 

[cgilroy]

I'd go with the Chaintech VNF4 Ultra, the best bang for the buck I've seen. It's actually a very nice board.

Yea it does look nice, but no AGP slot.

Ok let me ask this, what mobo companys would you stay away from nowadays?