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newbie needing some help

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July 8, 2006 3:27:37 PM

so i just purchased all the necessary parts for my first self build computer. i'm just waiting for the video card to come in. just to give you an idea of what i got for some feedback i'll post what i bought at the end. my main question is when i install the cpu to the mobo do i need to apply a thermal compound. my buddy said he thinks so but then the guy at the store said it's pre applied. any words of wisdom would be greatly apreciated.

System specs:

Asus M2N-SLI-DX AM2 Nf570SLI ATX MB (Raid5 / 2xGbE)
AMD athlon64 3500+
BFG geforce 7600gt oc sli
Seagate 250gb 16mb sata2
2x512 generic ddr2 533
lg dual layer dvd burner
antec tp2 550w ps

please feel free to comment or suggest anything

More about : newbie needing

July 8, 2006 3:48:15 PM

If you bought a retail AMD CPU there will be a themral pad thats on the bottom of the CPU. It does a fair job of cooling, but thermal compound will do much better. All of parts are fine except for ONE big problem.

DDR2-533 will is horrible for AM2. You will not find the speed you expected in that system. AM2 needs DDR2-800 to be successful. See if you can return that RAM and get some better stuff.
July 8, 2006 3:57:49 PM

Quote:
If you bought a retail AMD CPU there will be a themral pad thats on the bottom of the CPU. It does a fair job of cooling, but thermal compound will do much better. All of parts are fine except for ONE big problem.

DDR2-533 will is horrible for AM2. You will not find the speed you expected in that system. AM2 needs DDR2-800 to be successful. See if you can return that RAM and get some better stuff.



Will the ram i have now be completely horrible. i only ask because i was on a tight budget in which i have already exceeded.
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July 8, 2006 4:03:37 PM

Quote:
If you bought a retail AMD CPU there will be a themral pad thats on the bottom of the CPU. It does a fair job of cooling, but thermal compound will do much better. All of parts are fine except for ONE big problem.

DDR2-533 will is horrible for AM2. You will not find the speed you expected in that system. AM2 needs DDR2-800 to be successful. See if you can return that RAM and get some better stuff.



Will the ram i have now be completely horrible. i only ask because i was on a tight budget in which i have already exceeded.

Well not horrible, but it will be slower than a S939 system with the same stuff.
July 8, 2006 4:06:22 PM

Ok thanks for that tip. i will definitely upgrade when i am able to.
as for the thermal compound. you said it would be better than the tape. do you definitely recommend the compound over the tape and if so do i need to take the tape off?
July 8, 2006 4:07:22 PM

Not COMPLETELY horrible but, why 7600GTs in SLi? I would return one of the 7600GTs, return the RAM and get 2GBs of DDR2-800 RAM which would not pass the limit because you're saving $150. And if possible, you can save some money by returning the M2N-SLi and getting the M2N-E which is about $50 cheaper and get a 7900GT? Shadowduck is this a good idea?
July 8, 2006 4:09:00 PM

As Shadowduck said, the stock pad will work, but just barely. No overclocking allowed. So go ahead and use a thermalpaste for better performance.

I would change the ram to a single 1 gig stick. That allows for an easier and cheaper upgrade later. Yes, get DDR2-800, otherwise you waste your money.

If I understand you correctly, you're getting 2 7600GT's in an SLI configuration. Instead, get a 7900GT. One 7900GT is better, IMHO, than two 7600GT's. If you're only getting one 7600GT but putting it on a SLI board,still get a 7900GT if you can swing the bucks. You'll be much happier.
July 8, 2006 4:10:56 PM

Quote:
Not COMPLETELY horrible but, why 7600GTs in SLi? I would return one of the 7600GTs, return the RAM and get 2GBs of DDR2-800 RAM which would not pass the limit because you're saving $150. And if possible, you can save some money by returning the M2N-SLi and getting the M2N-E which is about $50 cheaper and get a 7900GT? Shadowduck is this a good idea?


Wow I didnt even see the 7600s in SLI! Thanks Adifuddin for pointing that out.

Now the RAM might be acceptable, but 2 7600s in SLI is HORRIBLE. Send one of them back, and the motherboard back if you can, and get 2GB of DDR2-800 RAM, and the M2N-E. The 7600GT will be serviceable for all games right now, and when DirectX 10 cards come out, you can upgrade.

The reason why its horrible, is 2x 7600s in SLI is still inferior to ONE 7900GT in most tests, and they use more power and usually cost more money.
July 8, 2006 4:11:20 PM

Quote:
Not COMPLETELY horrible but, why 7600GTs in SLi? I would return one of the 7600GTs, return the RAM and get 2GBs of DDR2-800 RAM which would not pass the limit because you're saving $150. And if possible, you can save some money by returning the M2N-SLi and getting the M2N-E which is about $50 cheaper and get a 7900GT? Shadowduck is this a good idea?


well here's my rational.
i don't have to 7600 gt's, only one. i got the sli mobo so that later on i can upgrade by just purchasing another one and the price will be much lower than it is right now. i thought that this would be an acceptable solution instead of buying a rediculously priced newer video card.
July 8, 2006 4:15:23 PM

Quote:
Not COMPLETELY horrible but, why 7600GTs in SLi? I would return one of the 7600GTs, return the RAM and get 2GBs of DDR2-800 RAM which would not pass the limit because you're saving $150. And if possible, you can save some money by returning the M2N-SLi and getting the M2N-E which is about $50 cheaper and get a 7900GT? Shadowduck is this a good idea?


well here's my rational.
i don't have to 7600 gt's, only one. i got the sli mobo so that later on i can upgrade by just purchasing another one and the price will be much lower than it is right now. i thought that this would be an acceptable solution instead of buying a rediculously priced newer video card. In that case, keep the 1 7600GT, return the mobo and get the M2N-E, return the RAM and get any RAM except OCZ or generic DDR2-800 (2 x 512MB or 1 x 1GB) RAM. It will be faster than your current system. Trust me, SLi isn't as good as it sounds.
July 8, 2006 4:15:38 PM

Quote:
Not COMPLETELY horrible but, why 7600GTs in SLi? I would return one of the 7600GTs, return the RAM and get 2GBs of DDR2-800 RAM which would not pass the limit because you're saving $150. And if possible, you can save some money by returning the M2N-SLi and getting the M2N-E which is about $50 cheaper and get a 7900GT? Shadowduck is this a good idea?


well here's my rational.
i don't have to 7600 gt's, only one. i got the sli mobo so that later on i can upgrade by just purchasing another one and the price will be much lower than it is right now. i thought that this would be an acceptable solution instead of buying a rediculously priced newer video card.

No, thats the worst possible upgrade path actually. SLI seems cool like that, but if you cannot pick up a second card within 90 days it works totally against you. 2 7600s in SLI run about $300 ($150/card). However, you can pick up ONE 7900GT for $250 or so that will beat both of the 7600s in most tests. It uses less power and its $50 cheaper to boot.
July 8, 2006 4:20:56 PM

Quote:
Not COMPLETELY horrible but, why 7600GTs in SLi? I would return one of the 7600GTs, return the RAM and get 2GBs of DDR2-800 RAM which would not pass the limit because you're saving $150. And if possible, you can save some money by returning the M2N-SLi and getting the M2N-E which is about $50 cheaper and get a 7900GT? Shadowduck is this a good idea?


well here's my rational.
i don't have to 7600 gt's, only one. i got the sli mobo so that later on i can upgrade by just purchasing another one and the price will be much lower than it is right now. i thought that this would be an acceptable solution instead of buying a rediculously priced newer video card.

No, thats the worst possible upgrade path actually. SLI seems cool like that, but if you cannot pick up a second card within 90 days it works totally against you. 2 7600s in SLI run about $300 ($150/card). However, you can pick up ONE 7900GT for $250 or so that will beat both of the 7600s in most tests. It uses less power and its $50 cheaper to boot.

why do you say 90 days?
July 8, 2006 4:37:51 PM

Quote:
Not COMPLETELY horrible but, why 7600GTs in SLi? I would return one of the 7600GTs, return the RAM and get 2GBs of DDR2-800 RAM which would not pass the limit because you're saving $150. And if possible, you can save some money by returning the M2N-SLi and getting the M2N-E which is about $50 cheaper and get a 7900GT? Shadowduck is this a good idea?


well here's my rational.
i don't have to 7600 gt's, only one. i got the sli mobo so that later on i can upgrade by just purchasing another one and the price will be much lower than it is right now. i thought that this would be an acceptable solution instead of buying a rediculously priced newer video card.

No, thats the worst possible upgrade path actually. SLI seems cool like that, but if you cannot pick up a second card within 90 days it works totally against you. 2 7600s in SLI run about $300 ($150/card). However, you can pick up ONE 7900GT for $250 or so that will beat both of the 7600s in most tests. It uses less power and its $50 cheaper to boot.

why do you say 90 days?

Because thats about how often new video cards come out that can beat your SLI setup give or take. Its a rule on the board here. NO SLI unless you can do it in 90 days :)  Just ask.
July 8, 2006 4:46:08 PM

stupid computers and their damn coming out with new video cards every 3 months.lol. getting the best of the best doesn't really matter for me. i've been using a actually i don't even know what it is. i think amd K7. it's ancient anywyas. lol. i just wanna be able to play some games. however i do appreciate all of your advice all definitely will upgrade the memory when the cash flow will allow me too. by the way you never answered my question about if you for sure recommend the thermal compound and if so do i need to remove the tape thats pre applied.
July 8, 2006 4:50:39 PM

Quote:
stupid computers and their damn coming out with new video cards every 3 months.lol. getting the best of the best doesn't really matter for me. i've been using a actually i don't even know what it is. i think amd K7. it's ancient anywyas. lol. i just wanna be able to play some games. however i do appreciate all of your advice all definitely will upgrade the memory when the cash flow will allow me too. by the way you never answered my question about if you for sure recommend the thermal compound and if so do i need to remove the tape thats pre applied.
Just do what I recommended and you will be happy :D 
July 8, 2006 5:12:34 PM

Quote:
stupid computers and their damn coming out with new video cards every 3 months.lol. getting the best of the best doesn't really matter for me. i've been using a actually i don't even know what it is. i think amd K7. it's ancient anywyas. lol. i just wanna be able to play some games. however i do appreciate all of your advice all definitely will upgrade the memory when the cash flow will allow me too. by the way you never answered my question about if you for sure recommend the thermal compound and if so do i need to remove the tape thats pre applied.


I use Artic silver 5 as many do here and its absoultely the best you can use. Remove the thermal pad with goo-gone and a knife. However.. it can void your warranty.
July 8, 2006 5:36:53 PM

The other issue with SLI is that it can be hard to find a 2nd card matching the first one if you wait a year until upgrading.

On the thermal compoung, use very little. Most people use too much, not too little.
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