old school socket 939 ?'s

[montec]

Ok so here's the thing my socket A athlon XP 2500+ OC'd to 3200+ is finally dieing After 4-5 years and now am looking to do as inexpensive upgrade as I can and am looking @ getting a Asus V8V-X mobo but need help on the CPU.

looking @ a amd athlon 64 3800+ Venice
http://www.tigerdirect.com/applications/SearchTools/item-Details.asp?EdpNo=3636400&sku=CP2-A64-3800B

and a amd athlon 4000+ san diego
http://www.tigerdirect.com/applications/SearchTools/item-details.asp?sku=CP2-A64-4000A

Now since it has been a long time since I have done really any major upgrades I have just replaced my AGP graghics card(you can see my post on that) and new ram within the last year I am kinda restricted on what I can get but I can work thru the restriction and hopefully come out with a fairly decent pc till I can afford the Laptop I want, and turn my desktop into the server as planned.

Any help is much appreciated!

 

[review_benchmark_hun]

S939 is pretty much dead, I would rather you go for a dual core sempron or celeron e1000 series instead.

 

[pauldh]

Hmm, Socket 939 mobos are hard to find new now and usually somewhat expensive. S939 X2's are very rare and expensive too. While The single core A64's like you mention are cheap.

How much is the Asus 939 mobo? You can buy this mobo, a cheap S775 dual core, and some DDR2. Sell your current DDR to pay for the ram as it's worth more than DDR2. Then you are ready for PCI-e and also a faster cpu if need be. Wish it were pci-e 16x though like the 939 dual sata II.
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813157115

 

[pauldh]

Ah, you beat me to it.

 

[mtyermom]

I certainly agree with the replies so far. I do NOT recommend that you invest any money in socket 939. I suggest either an AMD AM2/AM2+ motherboard or Intel LGA775 board and an appropriate processor. You should be able to manage that and a cheap 2GB of DDR2 for well under $200. The problem, it sounds like you have an AGP video card. You'll either have to buy a PCI-E video card or choose a motherboard with integrated graphics.

We definitely need more information on your situation and budget.
How much money are you willing to spend?
What is this computer used for, what applications/games do you run?

I have a couple ideas, but definitely need to know your budget and needs before I post them.

 

[spuddyt]

maybe you can buy my old x2 4200 and mobo its fine, just dont try supcom 4v4 - you WILL be reduced to 6 fps

 

[montec]

ok my budget is pretty much nil @ this point. I found a mobo and processor combo using either of those processers and felt it was a good deal. Currently My specs are:
HD- 80, 160, 250 IDE
Rom drives: cd burner, dvd burner, and dvd rom for just reading( I prefer to do cd's and dvd's on there own drive since I had both)
internal memory card reader
3.5" floppy(yes I still use it for word docs and stuff{just my own saves})
EVGA geforce 7600GT agp graphics card @ 512mb ddr2
2gb OCZ platnum dual channel pc3200 ram(cost me $200 last year)
OCZ 850watt Game Xstream power supply
PCI wireless network card

oh and my current mobo is a Gigabyte 7n400 pro 2 rev 2
with a athlon xp 2500+ oc'd to 3200+

there are my specs for all now I use it mainly for normal word docs and stuff, The newest game I own so far(and I do plan on getting some newer stuff) is halo, UT2004 and the tried and true Total Annihilation. These are the main games I play on it. This is all in an Antec soho file server case so space isn't a concern.

Oh and for how much I am willing to spend is very little just to keep it up and running @ this point as I originally planed it as a server for games, Media, and anthing else that I could eventually put in it.

 

[pauldh]

Unfortunately you need to forget what you paid for that RAM. I also have that same OCZ Platinum 2GB kit, two actually and the first cost me about $220 AR. it will never be worth that again by any means. But, Selling it should bring in enough to buy 2GB of DDR2 and I'd expect to have money left over to go toward the CPU/Mobo. Watch this and see what it goes for. Anything under $80 is a bargain IMO as it's $100 after $30 rebate new right now. http://cgi.ebay.com/OCZ-Platinum-2GB-PC-3200-RAM-184-Pin-DDR-SDRAM_W0QQitemZ320223037632QQcmdZViewItem?hash=item320223037632

I had given you AM2 AGP mobo/CPU combo options, but then edited it out. It's ABout $100 for an AGP 8X AM2 mobo and X2 4200+. Add $40-60 for RAM.

Anyway, I tend to hold onto my hardware too long. I have a few Bartons still and they are terrible for new games. Despite you not playing new games now, Consider this. What would it cost you to do a nice PCI-e 16X AM2 or S775? On ebay your 7600GT and OCZ PC3200 should bring in good money right now. This may change shorty down the road. The Mobo and CPU will not bring in much. But it's cheap to grab a PCI-e card that spanks a 7600GT. Shoot, you can grab an HD2600XT or 8600GT for $65 AR. HD2600 pro for $50 AR with a free game is another option. SO for about $200 you could have a new mobo, dual core CPU, 2GB DDR2, and a PCI-e card better than a 7600GT. You'll get $100+ for your used stuff on ebay. And you will have a system you could upgrade or OC the cpu, and add any PCI-e card to if you desire more performance. Since you are doing a new OS install anyway, I really think going S939 is a mistake. It's more work to sell all those components, but look at the machine you would have after all is said and done. And the cost after selling your PC3200 and AGP 7600GT should not be alot more than just buying the S939 mobo and A64 3700+.

 

[montec]

Thanks for the info there pauldh. Here is the mobo cpu combo's I was looking @ originally

http://www.tigerdirect.com/applications/SearchTools/item-details.asp?EdpNo=3680382&CatId=1619
http://www.tigerdirect.com/applications/SearchTools/item-details.asp?EdpNo=3680381&CatId=1619

now with your input on the newer stuff here is what I am lookiing @ now
there is lots of choices but with the new stuff I Am definatley out of the loop
mobo's
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813138106&Tpk=biostar%2ba770
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813138081
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813138102
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813127035&Tpk=an52v
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813135069&Tpk=a770m-a

cpu
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16819103774

graphic I am not sure as I am a Nvidia fan(please no flamming)
@newegg.com
items: N93E16814130290, B82E16814150260

Any more info is greatly appreciated as this is the biggest rebuild I have done in many years. Also I was looking @ single core processors to try and save as much as possible, as I wish I had enought money to do a complete rebuild(gotta have a new quad amd)

Also I am planning on getting some newer games like supreme commander and would love to get crysis(more of a racing fan but can still do that on my PS2)

 

[pauldh]

That $65 Biostar, X2 4000+, and a $34 2GB kit like this http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820211066


That's about $160 after the $10 rebate, and you get a free tshirt.


I don't seem to be getting anywhere with your GPU item numbers. Going with NV, you can grab an 8800GS for $120 AR. http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814150275
I have that card and it's far better than any of the $100 or under options (8600GTS, 8800GT, HD2600XT).

But if that is too expensive you could grab an 8600GT for $70 AR, even comes with the Witcher game for free. http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814127310

or forget the game and save $10 more on an evga 256MB version: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814130085

 

[montec]

I was actually looking @ this kit for ram
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820227284

and was looking for a 512mb graphics card for about $100 as that is what I paid for my agp.

here are the links if that helps for the gpu
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814150260
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814130290

 

[post36]

If ure on a tight budget u could:

a: buy an used opteron 165 or higher and overclock it a bit

b: buy an Asrock 4CoreDual-SATA2 motherboard witch has agp, ddr and socket 775 support, so u can re-use most parts except for the proc

 

[pauldh]

The 8600GT I linked to for $70 was 512MB. But honestly, your money would be better spent on a better video card and cheaper RAM. You are on a budget, so Why go nuts on that ram when the extra $30 could grab you a $120 8800GS instead of an 8600GT. edit: I see it was 4GB. That changes the picture, although I'd still rather have 2GB and an 8800GS vs 4GB and an 8600GT. I assume you are on Vista and want 4GB?

 

[montec]

no on XP and will stay that way don't want that vista crap that isnt even an OS just a data miner for Microsoft.

How about that ECS A770M-A which is the last link I posted under my mobo section? its $50 there is just so much similarities on them and I really don't know what the diff is. same ram, cpu, and other specs but the only diff was on had a max of 32gb vs 8gb for ram.

think I may just go with that ECS N8600GT that you recommended. Also is it necessary to have that extra 4 pin power connector on the newer graphics cards?

 

[pauldh]

I don't care too much for ECS mobos, but must admit that price is right. I just ended up getting beat by a few of the many K7S5A models of theirs that down the road blew caps or developed strange problems. But that said, I bought a PCCHips mobo and Celeron 420L combo ($60 total). Did a pin mod on it today and it's been running great as a 1066 bus chip. Difference is I don't care about the system, so if the $20 mobo dies it's not the biggest deal to me. I would never build a rig for anyone else with that mobo without them hearing and accepting the consequences before hand.


For Win XP you really don't need 4GB IMO. Are you doing video editing? The MSI 8600GT for $70 is a good value if you want the free Witcher game. I still think 2GB and an 8800GS will totally smoke 4GB and an 8600GT though, and for roughtly the same price.


Oh, forgot to bring up the two games you mentioned. Crysis is the most GPU demanding game and Supreme Commander is a very CPU demanding game. DOn't skimp if you want to play those well. Grab the 8800GS and OC that X2 4000.

 

[montec]

I am a big fan of OCZ as there products did a world of difference when I upgraded with them a year ago definitely made UT2k4 smooth.
so I should get the x2 4000+ and the 8800gs not sure on that as I have seen more with the GT's and go with the biostar a770 a2+(I think was a good recommend thank you pauldh) but for $65 after rebate 4gb I paid $200 for 2gb. I think its worth it there. now how much of a diff if anyone knows with either the 8800gs or the 8600gt be over the 7600gt?

 

[pauldh]

8600GT >= 7600GT. Better in new games, about the same in old games. Better for sure, but not a big leap. The 8800GS offers twice the performance of 8600GT, equal to an HD3850 and 8800GTS 320MB. There aren't too many reviews, but you can see the 8800GS crush the 512MB 8600GT and hang with the HD3850's in this 9600GT review. http://www.fudzilla.com/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=5911&Itemid=40&limit=1&limitstart=1

 

[pauldh]

Oh, yeah, my first 2GB kit of OCZ platinum smoothed out BF2 bigtime (vs 1GB). Not that any 2GB kit couldn't have done that, but the 2-3-2-5 timings were nice too. Some games 2GB helps for sure.