Thank you all for your previous advice but I need more...

[Eric]

Archived from groups: alt.games.quake3 (More info?)

I'm persuaded to discard the idea of upgrading this computer at any
time. I'm pretty much settled on the cpu I think. I hope to
overclock it from 1.8GHz to 2.5GHz Total cost is ~$740.00 Canadian.

This is the set up I'm thinking about:

Mobo: $126.00USD newegg
EPoX "EP-9NDA3+" NVIDIA nForce3 ULTRA Chipset Motherboard For AMD
Socket 939 CPU -RETAIL
nForce3 Ultra chipset, ATX size 2.0 GTs HT FSB / DDR 400 / AGP-8X /
8ch audio/ 8 USB2.0 GbE LAN / 4 SATA-RAID / 1394
Support Socket-939 based AMD Athlon-64/ Athlon-64 FX up to 3600+ with
2.0GTs Hyper Transport
Support System Memory:
Four 184-pin DDR SDRAM DIMM sockets
Support single-sided or double-sided 2.5v DDR-333/400 DIMMs with dual
channel architecture in 128/256/512Mb technologies
Support Asynchronous clocking mode between FSB and DIMM
Support up to 4GB system memory
Expansion Slots:
Five PCI connectors compliant with PCI v2.2
One 1.5v AGP- 8X/4X connector compliant with AGP v3.0
PowerBIOS for excellent over clocking features:
Support Asynchronous FSB/DIMM timing mode and 1MHz fine tuning on AGP
clock
Support BIOS adjustable CPU clock and voltage, AGP voltage, DIMM
frequency and voltage settings.
more- http://www.epox.com.tw/eng/products_content.php?ps=322

CPU:$185.00CD
Athlon64 3000+ S939 512K Athlon64 3000+ (1.8GHz) S939 512K 800FSB HS &
FAN (hope to oc to 2.5GHz) (need to get wenchester core)
dual channel mem controller.

Video Card:$240.00CD
N368 6600GT 128M PCX eVGA 6600GT 128M DDR TV-o, DVi-i PCI-Express

Ram:$135.00USD newegg
Corsair Value Select (Dual Pack) 184 Pin 512MBx2 DDR PC-3200 - OEM

1) Since the mobo doesn't seem to have pci-e should I change the video
card and save some money instead of getting a useless feature?
Suggestions?

2) Does anything look totally out of whack? Is the video card too
much for the cpu? Am I wasting money on a component?

3) Is it worth the money to get high end ram at twice the cost? Like,
G.skill (Samsung TCCD) Dual Channel Kit 184-Pin 1GB(512MB x 2) DDR
PC-4400, Model F1-3200DSU2-1GBLE - Retail $275.00 USD.

Thanks again for your help
Eric

 

[Guest]

Archived from groups: alt.games.quake3 (More info?)

On Wed, 29 Dec 2004 17:14:09 GMT, Eric <1@1.com> wrote:

>I'm persuaded to discard the idea of upgrading this computer at any
>time. I'm pretty much settled on the cpu I think. I hope to
>overclock it from 1.8GHz to 2.5GHz Total cost is ~$740.00 Canadian.
>
>This is the set up I'm thinking about:
>
>Mobo: $126.00USD newegg
>EPoX "EP-9NDA3+" NVIDIA nForce3 ULTRA Chipset Motherboard For AMD
>Socket 939 CPU -RETAIL
>nForce3 Ultra chipset, ATX size 2.0 GTs HT FSB / DDR 400 / AGP-8X /
>8ch audio/ 8 USB2.0 GbE LAN / 4 SATA-RAID / 1394
>Support Socket-939 based AMD Athlon-64/ Athlon-64 FX up to 3600+ with
>2.0GTs Hyper Transport
>Support System Memory:
>Four 184-pin DDR SDRAM DIMM sockets
>Support single-sided or double-sided 2.5v DDR-333/400 DIMMs with dual
>channel architecture in 128/256/512Mb technologies
>Support Asynchronous clocking mode between FSB and DIMM
>Support up to 4GB system memory
>Expansion Slots:
>Five PCI connectors compliant with PCI v2.2
>One 1.5v AGP- 8X/4X connector compliant with AGP v3.0
>PowerBIOS for excellent over clocking features:
>Support Asynchronous FSB/DIMM timing mode and 1MHz fine tuning on AGP
>clock
>Support BIOS adjustable CPU clock and voltage, AGP voltage, DIMM
>frequency and voltage settings.
>more- http://www.epox.com.tw/eng/products_content.php?ps=322
>
>CPU:$185.00CD
>Athlon64 3000+ S939 512K Athlon64 3000+ (1.8GHz) S939 512K 800FSB HS &
>FAN (hope to oc to 2.5GHz) (need to get wenchester core)
>dual channel mem controller.
>
>Video Card:$240.00CD
>N368 6600GT 128M PCX eVGA 6600GT 128M DDR TV-o, DVi-i PCI-Express
>
>Ram:$135.00USD newegg
>Corsair Value Select (Dual Pack) 184 Pin 512MBx2 DDR PC-3200 - OEM
>
>1) Since the mobo doesn't seem to have pci-e should I change the video
>card and save some money instead of getting a useless feature?
>Suggestions?
>
>2) Does anything look totally out of whack? Is the video card too
>much for the cpu? Am I wasting money on a component?
>
>3) Is it worth the money to get high end ram at twice the cost? Like,
>G.skill (Samsung TCCD) Dual Channel Kit 184-Pin 1GB(512MB x 2) DDR
>PC-4400, Model F1-3200DSU2-1GBLE - Retail $275.00 USD.
>
>Thanks again for your help
>Eric

Personally, I'd also look at something like a 3.0 - 3.4 GHz Intel Prescott chip (1 Gb L2 cache,
Hyperthreading, 800 MHz FSB, etc.). They can be pretty price competitive now along with a
decent socket 478 mobo. The 3.0 GHz CPU is $188 USD at newegg.com right now, for example, and
should OC to 3.4 GHz easily at least.

I just bought a P4/3.2EGHz 800M 478P/1MB one with a nice ASUS MB ASUS P4P800SE 865PE/ICH5 mobo
(I should get them this afternoon). I'd toyed with the idea of an Athlon 64, but I just didn't
see any benefit in it after considering the L2 cache, the Hyperthreading, and the Hyperpath
transport with a dual channel memory setup (esp. since I really wanted an Athlon FX55 but
couldn't afford one I'm still wondering if I made the right decision overall, but it's been
a long time since I owned a Pentium, so I thought I'd play with OC'ing that setup for a while.

1. Since the mobo I got didn't have PCI Express, I went with a 6600GT AGP model because there's
barely any difference in the performance between the pci-e and the AGP models at this point
(although there's some speculation - from the ATI fanboys mostly - about the HSI solution and
some problems specifically with XFX's model...I got the Chaintech, FWIW). We'll see how that
turns out for me

There are lots of reviews out about the AGP models, but this was the most comprehensive:
http://www.anandtech.com/video/showdoc.aspx?i=2295

2. The package you're looking at is pretty near what I considered for an Athlon64 setup, so I
don't think anything is out of order there. Honestly, I was about to get an nForce3 mobo with
an Athlon64 3200+, so I'll be interested to know how that turns out for you if you stay with
it.

3. If you can swing it, definitely get the best RAM you can afford (something with lower
latencies), you'll be much happier in the long run, esp. if you plan on any successful OC'ing.

My opinion is worth something in the vicinity of a grain of salt...maybe sugar. Frankly, I only
learned what to look for from the regulars in the AGQx newsgroups (buncha' fargin' reprobates
every last one of them), so take that for what it's worth

Apathy[AGQx]
Scientia Est Potentia >>======>
Illiterate? Write here for help:
http://www.p0rn0finish.org

 

[Guest]

Archived from groups: alt.games.quake3 (More info?)

"Eric" <1@1.com> wrote in message
news:gip5t0lt87h50vfrbl766hile4hpoqv1bn@4ax.com...
> I'm persuaded to discard the idea of upgrading this computer at any
> time. I'm pretty much settled on the cpu I think. I hope to
> overclock it from 1.8GHz to 2.5GHz Total cost is ~$740.00 Canadian.
>
> This is the set up I'm thinking about:
>
> Mobo: $126.00USD newegg
> EPoX "EP-9NDA3+" NVIDIA nForce3 ULTRA Chipset Motherboard For AMD
> Socket 939 CPU -RETAIL
> nForce3 Ultra chipset, ATX size 2.0 GTs HT FSB / DDR 400 / AGP-8X /
> 8ch audio/ 8 USB2.0 GbE LAN / 4 SATA-RAID / 1394
> Support Socket-939 based AMD Athlon-64/ Athlon-64 FX up to 3600+ with
> 2.0GTs Hyper Transport
> Support System Memory:
> Four 184-pin DDR SDRAM DIMM sockets
> Support single-sided or double-sided 2.5v DDR-333/400 DIMMs with dual
> channel architecture in 128/256/512Mb technologies
> Support Asynchronous clocking mode between FSB and DIMM
> Support up to 4GB system memory
> Expansion Slots:
> Five PCI connectors compliant with PCI v2.2
> One 1.5v AGP- 8X/4X connector compliant with AGP v3.0
> PowerBIOS for excellent over clocking features:
> Support Asynchronous FSB/DIMM timing mode and 1MHz fine tuning on AGP
> clock
> Support BIOS adjustable CPU clock and voltage, AGP voltage, DIMM
> frequency and voltage settings.
> more- http://www.epox.com.tw/eng/products_content.php?ps=322
>
> CPU:$185.00CD
> Athlon64 3000+ S939 512K Athlon64 3000+ (1.8GHz) S939 512K 800FSB HS &
> FAN (hope to oc to 2.5GHz) (need to get wenchester core)
> dual channel mem controller.
>
> Video Card:$240.00CD
> N368 6600GT 128M PCX eVGA 6600GT 128M DDR TV-o, DVi-i PCI-Express
>
> Ram:$135.00USD newegg
> Corsair Value Select (Dual Pack) 184 Pin 512MBx2 DDR PC-3200 - OEM
>
> 1) Since the mobo doesn't seem to have pci-e should I change the video
> card and save some money instead of getting a useless feature?
> Suggestions?


Why do you feel PCI Express is a uselss feature? It is going to
REPLACE the AGP socket for video cards before long. You have to change
either the video or MB. To Maintain the same price, get the same video card
for AGP. Leadtech, XFX, and Galaxy also have them out now, and more should
be arriving in the next few weeks, which may create some price competition.
For maximum video card upgradability, switch the MB to an Asus A8N-SLI
deluxe. It will increase your system cost by about $100.00, but allow you
to upgrade your video for a lot longer, as well as giving you the SLI option
to play with.


> 2) Does anything look totally out of whack? Is the video card too
> much for the cpu? Am I wasting money on a component?

Except for the AGP MB/PCI Express Video Card mix up - Absolutely not. The
6600 GT is the best bang for the buck right now.


> 3) Is it worth the money to get high end ram at twice the cost? Like,
> G.skill (Samsung TCCD) Dual Channel Kit 184-Pin 1GB(512MB x 2) DDR
> PC-4400, Model F1-3200DSU2-1GBLE - Retail $275.00 USD.

At more than twice the cost -- well, it's up to you. The G.Skill PC 4400s
higher speed and hand tested quality will allow you more headroom for
overclocking, which you intend to do. You'll probably need it if you want
to go from 1.8 to 2.5. Other than that, the Corsair PC3200 is fine.

Bob

> Thanks again for your help
> Eric