Advice on Motherboard Selection

[Teetoe]

Good Afternoon.

Recently I have made the decision to upgrade my 2nd of three PCs to be more like the main machine that I have.

In my main machine I have an Abit AV8 - 3rd Eye, with 1 Gig of 3200 RAM, AMD 64 3500+, and a 6600 gt (256mg). It runs all the games I play without really any issues, rarely ever crashes (when it does I credit it to Windows 64), and overall runs everything that it can run flawlessly.

I wanted to basically mimic that setup in my 2nd machine, however, all the pricing I see on that motherboard and CPU combo are more than what I spent for it almost 9 months ago, or I cannot find someone selling the two of them.

I have a GeForce 5950 AGP card in my 2nd machine, and I dont see any reason replacing it until SLi becomes more performance improving and more affordable. I also have 2 512mg sticks of RAM from the 2nd machine. So all I need, best I can tell is a new board and chip.

My board in my main machine is this one http://www.abit-usa.com/products/mb/products.php?categories=1&model=201 I am looking for something similar that will really make the machine comparable. I do not currently overclock anything, however, I am not afraid to start looking into that.

Beyond that, I also have a 3rd machine that is a dell that came with a x300 ati card, and I would like to spend 200 or less on a graphical upgrade for that machine as well. It has a PCI-E slot, and I tried out a x700 because I came across one for $100, however, performance seems to have gotten worse. So I would also like some suggestions on a good Video Card for that machine under 200.

Thank You in Advance.
Tito

 

[fishmahn]

Ok, I've lost track of the nForce 3 socket 939 boards, but get whatever one that fits with your feature needs. Be aware that buying this board will be a dead end however because of AGP. The newest video cards do not come in an AGP version (and I doubt they will), so your next upgrade for that PC will require a mobo and video.

I went to Newegg to show a selection and give a suggestion, but they don't have many of those boards, so here is the short list. I like the Epox personally (the out of stock one of course :lol: ) because MSI had some quality problems with this model board. I know Asus, Chaintech, DFI, etc., all made boards, but I don't know which ones are still available.

Get a 6600GT for that other machine for under 150, or you can get a 6800GS right around 200 - Newegg has an eVGA model for 213 shipped. (over your 200, but soooo close... and its a durn good card for the $ - besides maybe you can find a sale )

Mike.

 

[Teetoe]

Thanks for information on the Video Card, I am wondering if it would be worth the extra 90 bucks for one of these: XFX GeForce 7800 GT 256MB PCI Express

As for the other MB, I would hate to buy something that would be obsolute in the near future... I know THG rated a combo board, but it was mediocre in review I thought.

Is that still the case, or have they updated the BIOS and other items to make it worthwhile?

If not, what 939 socketed PCI-E board do you suggest for a good board and CPU combo that is reasonable. I am still an AMD 64 fan, I have been throughly impressed with the one I have.

On the MB + CPU + Vid Card I could prolly range from 400 to 500.

Thanks for the response so far.
Tito.

 

[fishmahn]

You must mean the ASRock board. I've heard of 1 person with one, but haven't heard if there were problems or not. No idea if its good/bad other than the few reviews.

Chaintec VNF4 $67 shipped. Good cheap board, decent reviews, good no 'bad press', etc. There are others - Abit comes highly recommended, DFI, Epox, etc. but I think the Chaintech is the best of the cheapest.

A64 3200+ Venice $159 shipped.

Add a 6800gs and you're happy for a nice while. Upgrade to the 3500+ and you have the same machine as your main with possibly better video and probably still under 500.

Mike.

 

[Teetoe]

I was looking at the 3500+ CPUs and I noticed that they have 3 sub names on them.

Venice, Clawhammer, and Winchester...

What are the differences here, just for educational purposes.

Thanks
Tito

 

[fishmahn]

Those are all code names used to differentiate the different 'updates' of the A64 CPU. Clawhammer is the oldest core and is 98% replaced by other cores. Winchester is the first Athlon64 core to use the 90nm production process. Venice is the update to Winchester and has an improved memory controller.

Clawhammer - 130nm, 1mb L2, good chip but older. Only get if no other choice for your needs. (you'll still be happy with it...)
Newcastle - 130nm, 512k L2, like Clawhammer, good chip but outdated.
Winchester - 90nm, 512k L2, OC's well, good but better available.
Venice - 90nm, 512k L2, OCs very well, improved memory controller.
San Diego - 90nm, 1Mb L2, OCs very well, improved memory controller.
There's also the X2s - Toledo is = 2 San Diego's and Manchester = 2 Venices. (well, same specs, maybe different core internally)

Get Venice or San Diego.

Mike.