Pros and Cons of each PC.

[andre1234]

AMD64 AM2 MSI K9N NEO-F NF5 PCIE 119,00$
AMD ATHLON64 3000+ 1.80G/1600/512K/AM2 139,00$
BOIT ATX ANTEC SLK1650B TAC NOIR 350W 89,00$
OCZ 800MHZ DDR2 NO-ECC 512MO OR XTC 75$
OCZ 800MHZ DDR2 NO-ECC 512MO OR XTC 75$
100.0 MAXTOR 7200 8MO 6L100P0 77,25$
ASUS PCIE GF7 7300GS TC 128M TVO BTE 85$

Total Price: 659$ CAD
==============================================================================

AMD64 S939 ASROCK 939DUAL-SATA2 AGP/PCIE 99,00$
AMD ATHLON64 3200+ 2.00G/1600/512K/S939 90NM 169$
CASE ATX ANTEC SLK1650B TAC NOIR 350W 89,00$
100.0 MAXTOR 7200 8MO 6L100P0 77,25$
ASUS AGP GF6 N6200 128M TVO BTE 6200 69$
CORSAIR 400MHZ DDR NO-ECC 512MB C2-3200 79$

TOTAL PRICE: 582$ CAD


Questions:
Which build would perform better NOW?
Which build would get me the highest FPS in Source? (i know its not much)
Which build would be better for the FUTURE? (upgrading and stuff)
Will there be any noticeable difference in windows applications? (browsing, chatting, some videos...)
Which one will handle better VISTA? Any noticeable difference?

Thank you!

 

[gambit6259]

As of right now there is very little performance increase with AM2 based systems, but if you are looking to upgrade in the future AM2 is probably the way to go.

 

[doolittle]

for the budget, the 939 system is the way to go. Good choice of mobo since you *could* upgrade to 939 with the AM2CPU board

For the GPU, I would check out extremetech.com's "Graphics Shootout: 17 Cards for a Better Gaming PC" has a lot of great info:

Sub-$100
Only the MSI RX1300 Pro is worth buying: Avoid the other two like the plague. Sure, they're better than Intel Integrated Graphics, but you can do a lot better without spending a whole lot more. If you pick up a Radeon X550 or GeForce 7300 GS, you're almost certain to be disappointed.

Sub-$200
There are lots of great options under $200. Nvidia's new GeForce 7600 cards lead the pack. eVGA's 7600 GS is passively cooled (look ma: no fans!) and delivers pretty impressive performance for only $139. Similarly, their slightly overclocked 7600 GT is a fantastic value closer to the $200 mark. The only "loser" in this price range is Diamond's X800 GTO. This is dated technology, and we recommend you avoid it in favor of a card from the newer X1000 series (from Diamond or another manufacturer). Doom 3 performance certainly played a role in Nvidia's dominance here, boosting up those cards' average frame rate. The cards based on ATI's X1600 chipset actually represent a better overall value if you don't plan to play games based on the Doom 3 engine.

 

[HYST3R]

if you arent planing on using your current vid card, then dont even bother with that AGP/PCI-E board. the PCI slot is not a full 16X. its probably more like a 4x PCI-E slot.

go with the board with just the PCI_E platform. it may be a lil more, but theres a reason the other one is cheaper.


also i noticed you have a 350w PSU selected, thats ok but kind of small, id recomend going with a 450w power supply at least. 500w would be the best.

 

[waylander]

The first one will perform better but, lets face it, not by much. I'm assuming you are stuck on a budget but neither of those machines is that great. If you get the first one you can upgrade later, if you plan on running vista you will probably need more ram though.

 

[doolittle]

if you arent planing on using your current vid card, then dont even bother with that AGP/PCI-E board. the PCI slot is not a full 16X. its probably more like a 4x PCI-E slot.

go with the board with just the PCI_E platform. it may be a lil more, but theres a reason the other one is cheaper.

I am curious where your source is for that info, it is advertised as x16 slot on both newegg and the ASRock info page. Also I didn't notice any performance problems with 7900gt when I used that mobo on builds. From what I have understood it is the AGP performance that is slightly compromised.
If your source is reliable I probably will not recommend it for 939 builds as well, if the full x16 bandwidth is ever needed or seen over the product's lifetime...

also i noticed you have a 350w PSU selected, thats ok but kind of small, id recomend going with a 450w power supply at least. 500w would be the best.

I think that Antec 350 is plenty since it is a quality unit (not a typical case-bundled lightewight generic unit).
I intentionally went w/ the 7900GTX since it has higher power requirements in the below example.

eXtreme PSU calc[/url]"]System Type: Single Processor
CPU: AMD Athlon 64 3200+ 2000 MHz Winchester
CPU Utilization (TDP): 100% TDP

RAM: 2 Sticks DDR SDRAM
Video Card: NVIDIA GeForce 7900 GTX
Video Type: Single Card

SATA HDD: 1 HDD

DVD-RW/DVD+RW Drive: 1 Drive
Additional PCI Card (avg): 1 Card

Fans
Regular: 2 Fans 80mm;

Motherboard, keyboard and mouse: Yes

PSU Utilization: 100% (peak utilization)

Total: 263 Watts

 

[shadowduck]

if you arent planing on using your current vid card, then dont even bother with that AGP/PCI-E board. the PCI slot is not a full 16X. its probably more like a 4x PCI-E slot.

You know, you should really read the product specs before you make such posts. The slot is full 16x.

 

[INeedCache]

Don't spend money unnecessarily. A 350W power supply in this system would be fine. 400W perhaps if you plan on adding a component or two in the future, and you can get a good deal on one. 500W way overkill.

 

[firepyro555]

Just wondering, if you do have a budget? and if you ever looked at newegg for these parts because their prices are lower. As for the second setup, you can get a dual channel kit (2 x 512mb) DDR 400 for like $60 US

 

[andre1234]

Yeah i have a 500-600$ canadian budget. I'm low :lol:

 

[gt09]

i think u should go with am2,

and maybe downgrade the cpu to a sempron and going with a 7600gs for about $100