question about socket 754

[parlee]

i have a 754 mobo/cpu with an 8x agp card (x700pro) the cpu is a 3700+... im wondering would it be worth it to get a pci express mobo for that cpu and get a 7800gt or somthing, or to just wait a while and get am2 in another year or so?

 

[chocobocorey]

id wait

 

[luminaris]

I would hold off till AM2 comes around.

 

[parlee]

well i could do that but the thing is i dont mind spending another 40 on a mobo and using a 7800gt/x1800xt in my new rig with am2... but since a 3700 is still a very fast chip, even on socket 754, i doubt ill get an am2 this year... so id spend about 50 on a mobo, and reuse the pci-express video card, would it be worth it to buy now, well i might wait until 7900 comes out for price drops, since im in no real hurry, im just eager to build a new comp

 

[luminaris]

Well, you could certainly do that and have a good machine for at least another year or so. Go for it

 

[parlee]

yea, thats what i was hoping for. do u think that x1800xt/7800gt prices will drop when the new nvidia card comes out? by say, 50 bux or so? im kinda a cheapo

 

[parlee]

i think im changing my mind on what im gonna get, still gonna get the pci express motherboard, and an x850xt which retails at only 170! so im only gonna be paying arond 220 for the entire setup. im so amazed that the x850 is only 170, the only bad this is no SM3.0... but im not too sure that the card can handle hdr at max settings anyways... unless i can find a 6800gs or somthing arond the same price as the 850 i may be ordering that this weekend.

forgot to add, is there a way to put in a new motherboard and not have to reinstall windows? i just got it exactly how i like it and reinstalling would make me steer clear of upgrading for a while...

 

[Battleofcarnage]

evga 6800gs on newegg for $154 after rebates and $169 normall + $4.69 shipping either way. evga has lifetime warranty and even covers overclocking "unoficially".
About the new motherboard thing, i am not sure on this but have seen it work before on other peoples computers. May cause instability problems though. Take with a grain of sault as the saying goes.

 

[parlee]

well since the x850 pretty much whipes the floor with a stock 6800gs, and id rather not overclock too much, ill go for the 850xt... i guess what im going to decide to do is to partition my hd so windows is on 1 small partition (i duno why i didnt before) and keep my games on the rest, i read that u need a pci card to see the over 128mb of hd space? is that true? is there another way to do it...

 

[MadModMike]

well since the x850 pretty much whipes the floor with a stock 6800gs, and id rather not overclock too much, ill go for the 850xt... i guess what im going to decide to do is to partition my hd so windows is on 1 small partition (i duno why i didnt before) and keep my games on the rest, i read that u need a pci card to see the over 128mb of hd space? is that true? is there another way to do it...

1) I have both the x850XT and the 6800GS. At speeds of 425/1000 for GS and 512/1080 for the x850XT, the x850XT is slightly better. GS @ 515/1240 vs. x850XT @ 615/1200, they again nearly perform the same. I also have an x800GTO2 w/ the pipes unlocked, if it's overclocked to 550MHz Core and 1300MHz Memory, it beats a 6800GS by 6%.

2) No you don't need any PCI Card to see over 128GB on an HDD. There are certain PCI cards that don't allow for over 137GB though. Windows XP Professional needs Service Pack 1 to see over 137GB as well.

3) You don't have to reformat just because you changed your motheboard. Changing your motherboard is known as a "severe hardware change" to M$ and it requires a new Activation, that is all.

~~Mad Mod Mike, pimpin' the world 1 rig at a time

 

[parlee]

"Windows XP Professional needs Service Pack 1 to see over 137GB as well. "

do u mean service pack 2? i have sp1 on xp pro and cant see over 128gb binary...

"You don't have to reformat just because you changed your motheboard. Changing your motherboard is known as a "severe hardware change" to M$ and it requires a new Activation, that is all. "

i dont really understand... so i can just install the new bios over my old ones and windows will make me re-enter my cd key?...

 

[MadModMike]

1) No I don't mean Service Pack 2. I double-checked, and my Microsoft Certified Professional Windows XP Pro book says SP1 to use over 137GB, and I knew that already but figured I'd get confirmation. Not sure what's the problem with yours, maybe it's a 120GB HDD?

2) Are you talking about buying a new motherboard and throwing in your old HDD's with your OS, or are you talking about just updating your BIOS? If you're talking about the Former, you're going to have to reinstall your Chipset Drivers and others, if it's the Latter, you don't have to do anything.

~~Mad Mod Mike, pimpin' the world 1 rig at a time

 

[parlee]

if it was a 120, itd show like 118 not 128 ... im sure its a 160... maybe ill turn on windows update to see if theres any updates with hds... also could it be becase its a bootleg xp pro .. and as for the mobo, im going to be taking everything out, put in a new pci express mobo (i have agp now) and reinstall everything with a new x850xt (i have ati drivers now so thats plug and play) so with the new mobo (probably a different brand too) ill be able to just install the new drivers and go, or wold a reformat be required? i may just reformat to get a partition, depends how mch time i have and how lazy i am...

 

[MadModMike]

Actually 120GB's show as 111GB I've had enough 120's to know.

You're sure it's a 160? lol just look on the top of the drive. No it doesn't matter that it is a bootleg, I'm on a "bootleg" version of XP x64, f*ck the $150 M$ wants. You won't have to reformat if you just throw the drive with the new motherboard, put in your CD in that comes with your motherboard, and install the drivers. Don't partition your drive, seriously, don't. Creating multiple partitions is an easy way to hurt performance on your drive, especially if you try to write to them both at the same time.

~~Mad Mod Mike, pimpin' the world 1 rig at a time

 

[parlee]

well the only thing i can think of as to why it doesnt show 160 is because i didnt install the WD driver that came with it, i decided that it wasnt worth the time since its been running fine and i didnt install them... i didnt know hd's needed drivers anyways... as for the motherboard thing, i hope it works, ill either be ordering a new video card or an ipod... i cant decide, but my dell mp3 player is close to dying

 

[crazypyro]

well if you want to keep your socket 754, but want to play the greatest and latest games, get this:

Epox EP-8NPA SLi
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=N82E16813123257


I love my epox 9N3PA SLi for 939, uber stable, great overclocker, even though the memory voltage is limited to 3.0v. Epox is a company on the up and up, and certainly an SLi socket 754 system will keep you good for atleast another year, when dual and quad cores will become mainstream in 2008.

 

[parlee]

well since the mobo is 90 dollars and honestly i would never sli on this rig, especailly since sli is overrated... im looking for a board closer to the 50-60 range, im trying to keep my costs low because im going to be ditching that board soon, and i already have a 754 that im gonna be ditching for that board... know what i mean? dont want 2 extra boards laying around when i upgrade...

 

[MadModMike]

I recommend an SLI board even if you don't plan on getting SLI. The reason is because the chispsets in Non-SLI boards are usually older ones and don't perform well.

~~Mad Mod Mike, pimpin' the world 1 rig at a time

 

[parlee]

eh, i heard that but dont really believe it. im sure the difference is less than 2%... i hear sli boards let the cpu overclock higher, which could be due to a better chipset... but i dont plan on ocing, and if i do it will be very minimal just so i can get a feel for overclocking... but then again if u could prove me wrong by showing me benchmarks, id be glad to kiss ur feet.

 

[parlee]

also to answer ur question about the hd and the 48 bit whatever, it pretty much went over my head..

http://www.chaintechusa.com/tw/eng/product_spec.asp?MPSNo=13&PISNo=276

thats the motherboard i have.. since its old i have a feeling it doesnt have the 48 bit thing... now to see if the updates show anything! if u could help me out thatd be fabulious...

 

[MadModMike]

also to answer ur question about the hd and the 48 bit whatever, it pretty much went over my head..

http://www.chaintechusa.com/tw/eng/product_spec.asp?MPSNo=13&PISNo=276

thats the motherboard i have.. since its old i have a feeling it doesnt have the 48 bit thing... now to see if the updates show anything! if u could help me out thatd be fabulious...

What "48-bit" thing are you talking about?

~~Mad Mod Mike, pimpin' the world 1 rig at a time

 

[parlee]

i guess that was a different thread... or i imagined it? but anyways... what exactly do u need for windows xp pro to see over 128 of hd space? (other than a hd bigger than 128gb, mines 160) its not really a big deal that im missing 20 somthing gigs, its just that... if i knew i wouldnt be able to without fucking with stuff i would have gotten a 120 gig... do u think a bios update would find the rest of my hd? and what do u use to open a .bin?

 

[crazypyro]

well based on your new information it seems that your not to keen on the longevity of your 754. If this is the case then wait for 2nd generation AM2, if you want an upgrade get the 7800 agp card its around $300, it'll keep you safe in gaming till then.

I just bought a X2 3800+ that i'm gonna drop into a modded DFI Ultra-D to SLi board... with the right memory this system should last me atleast till DDR3 1600 comes out, when my system will get totally annhilated, but then thats when it becomes my new home server

 

[parlee]

the thing is i really want to keep my socket 754 till i graduate, in a year and a half... i just have a NEED (kinda like i havnt had crack in a week or somthing) to upgrade and mess with my computer, i swear i wont be done until its burning down the house... the reason i dont want a 7800gs is because of the crippled perforamnce for a huge pricetag, id rather have a pci-express motherboard and video card so when i graduate if i dont have enough cash ill just upgrade to a fast gpu since the 3700 will still be half decent processor, and if not ill overclock the balls off it until it dies... but the thing with the video card is my friend at school offered to buy my x700pro for 100 bux, i got it for 129 so im thinkin hes a sucker... also its 255 at compusa now, so maybe i can show him that and get 150 for it (some friend i am huh) :lol: if i do that itll be pretty much a free upgrade from a x700 to an x850xt, which is argurably the fastest agp card (ill have the pci express version though)

so in the end! i really do want to keep my 754, its stable and suits me well. i just know agp is pretty much dead and id like to have a machine using pci express so that if i get a new card sooner or later ill be able to just pop it in,since we know pci express will be here for a long ass time. also the fact that the x700pro is crap

 

[MadModMike]

Actually, PCI-Express 32x is set to replace 16x in a year or so .

~~Mad Mod Mike, pimpin' the world 1 rig at a time