Upgrade

[Piccoro]

Currently I have an AXP 2800+, Asus nForce 2 DX and 1GB (2x512MB) of Corsair XMS PC2700.

I know a guy who needs a system upgrade and I have been thinking about selling him my CPU/Board and 1 of my 512MB PC2700 sticks for ~200$. (His limit for spending)

I was thinking of buying a A64 2800+/MSI K8T800 or Chaintech nForce3 250 board and using my 512mb PC2700 stick for the time being until I could sell and replace the remaing memory with 1gb of PC3200.

Is this worth the upgrade? I would be paying a little less than ~100$ net, yet I would only have 512MB memory and have to buy memory down the road.

I'm a pretty big gamer as I play often (play demanding games) and I have a 9800Pro 128mb as well.

Also, I have a Thermalright SLK800U with the backplate and 4 spring mounting screws. Will this work on Socket 754 or one of those boards?

Any advice is welcome.

 

[P4Man]

I don't think you can use the heatsink, but that is not necessarely a showstopper as the boxed coolers that come with the A64's are pretty decent.

Wether or not its worth it, can only be decided by you. I would think yes, on the condition that you currently feel your system is not fast enough to your liking. The A64 3200+ should be quite a bit faster than the XP2800+, but again, that buys you nothing if its fast enough as it is

512 Mb is enough to take benefit of the cpu/gpu, but will impact the overall experience (especially loading times/occasional stuttering/..). Calculate the extra 512 Mb into your budget to decide its worth it or not.

= The views stated herein are my personal views, and not necessarily the views of my wife. =

 

[endyen]

A nice new toy for only $100. Do it. You get a small bump in framerates, till 64bit gets moving. You have a setup that will last until pci-express is worth it, and when the 3700 is reasonable, you'l have a nice upgrade. I'd do it in a heartbeat.

 

[HardWareBoss]

He said he has 9800Pro.

 

[Piccoro]

I am really leaning toward it.
My PC2700 Corsair XMS memory can OC without voltage increase to PC3200 2-3-3-7 which I don't believe will be an issue on the A64 at all.

I am really thinking of doing it because it is 'only a 100$'.
And it will tide me over for quite a long time.
I just like the better I/O performance on the A64 as well.

I don't OC my CPU. The thermalright SLK800U was so I could use my PC in my room upstairs where it gets very warm and I could still use a low DBa fan.
A64 coolers are good enough for my uses so if the thermalright SLK800U won't work that is just something else I can sell.

Thx guys.<P ID="edit"><FONT SIZE=-1><EM>Edited by piccoro on 05/31/04 03:13 PM.</EM></FONT></P>

 

[Piccoro]

My question for this post is at the end.

I plan to go with the <A HREF="http://www.newegg.com/app/ViewProductDesc.asp?description=19-103-424&depa=0" target="_new">A64 3000+ for $223</A> instead of the <A HREF="http://www.newegg.com/app/ViewProductDesc.asp?description=19-103-452&depa=0" target="_new">A64 2800+ for $187</A> which is bit of an improvment for only $36 more.
The <A HREF="http://www.newegg.com/app/ViewProductDesc.asp?description=19-103-416&depa=0" target="_new">A64 3200+ for $282</A> is out of the question since it's performance is not worth <i>another</i> $59.

I debated going with a Socket 940 dual 242 system but I quickly turned from that great idea when I remembered that I was trying to keep my spending down.
-----------------------
Time is coming up when I must place my order and I'm torn between chipsets and Socket 754 boards.
I'm not conviced that the current nForce3 250 boards are 'better' than the rest or have the features I'd actually use (Chaintech/Gigabyte). Is MSI or Asus coming out with a board anytime real soon (AGP/PCI lock in mind)?

The boards I have been looking at are:
<A HREF="http://www.newegg.com/app/ViewProductDesc.asp?description=13-186-010&depa=0" target="_new">Foxconn 755A01 SiS755 @ $92</A>
<A HREF="http://www.newegg.com/app/ViewProductDesc.asp?description=13-152-043&depa=0" target="_new">Chaintech VNF3-250 nForce3 250 @ $99</A>
<A HREF="http://www.newegg.com/app/ViewProductDesc.asp?description=13-130-449&depa=0" target="_new">MSI K8T NEO-FSR K8T800 @ $92</A>
<A HREF="http://www.newegg.com/app/ViewProductDesc.asp?description=13-131-490&depa=0" target="_new">Asus K8V SE Deluxe K8T800 @ $123</A>

Any opinons between these boards?
To tell you the truth I won't be using any RAID features (although I might down the road since I have a 74gb Raptor) and I don't have a gigabit Router/Switch or LAN setup. I will however be using the Onboard sound. Any of those chips better for the onboard sound?

<P ID="edit"><FONT SIZE=-1><EM>Edited by piccoro on 06/03/04 08:42 PM.</EM></FONT></P>

 

[trooper11]

id say the chaintech board, in the past xp boards, chaintech was great with its onboard sound. also that board has alot of overclock potential if you decide to try such a thing.

 

[endyen]

Asus has a K8N on it's page, no word on shipping though.
The new Nforce boards seem to be fairly inexpensive.

 

[Piccoro]

Asus has a K8N on it's page, no word on shipping though.

It's also expensive. <A HREF="http://www.zipzoomfly.com/jsp/ProductDetail.jsp?ProductCode=240411" target="_new">Link</A>
Ouch.

<A HREF="http://www.zipzoomfly.com/jsp/ProductDetail.jsp?ProductCode=241132" target="_new">MSI's</A> is better but still.
I'm leaning toward the MSI K8T800 or Chaintech NF3-250 boards. Any thoughts on the Foxconn board?

Edit: I checked out TR's review for the Foxconn board and thats out. hehe
I realised I need a Firewire onboard and the ~$100 Chaintech doesn't have it and either does the ~$100 MSI K8T800. I guess it's between the more expensive Asus K8T800, MSI KT800 or jumping up to the MSI K8N Neo board.

I know I can get a Firewire controller card and just add it to one of those boards for less but that's OK.<P ID="edit"><FONT SIZE=-1><EM>Edited by piccoro on 06/04/04 01:44 AM.</EM></FONT></P>