AMD and Intel: What to buy?

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This is what we have so far:

CPU: 1 x ( AMD 64 FX-57 )

Motherboard: 1 x ( Abit Fatal1ty AN8 Sli )

RAM: 2 x ( 1Gb OCZ EL DDR PC-4000 / 500MHz / Gold Series / Voltage eXtreme / Dual Channel ) or

2 x ( 1Gb OCZ EL DDR PC-4800 / 600MHz / Enhanced Latency Platinum / Elite Edition / Dual Spec / Dual Channel )

Graphic Card: 1 x ( BFG GeForce 7800GTX OC Video Card 256 Mb )

Power font: 1 x ( Antec TruePower 2.0 Power Supply - 550W -- TP2-550EPS12V -- ATX 12V 2.01 - 4 Serial ATA connectors - PCI Express graphic card power connectors - Active Power Factor Correction (PFC) - Short circuit protection )

Cooling Case: http://www.koolance.com/shop/product_info.php?cPath=28_43&products_id=200:

Any suggestions?
 
You do not want, or need VX ram. It is for serious OCers, who dont mind the shortened lifespan caused by high voltages. For them, they have spares, for you, it would be down time.
 
So, if I understood you correctly and all other posts, I should go for the 600 and forget the 500. So, in order to use the 600 on a 400 mobo, I am gonna need to change the bios settings, is that all? No cooling, no jumps, no "getting down and dirty"?
 
😵 really? i didn;t realize that... well i guess i won't be OCing it past 3.5 then... (the coverage provide by OCZ...)
Click to expand...
And of course, you have spares so RMA down time is no biggie.
And you wont put so much as a scratch on the heat spreader, which could (at OCZ discretion of course) invalidate the warranty.
In other words, if you cant afford to loose it, dont abuse it.
 
Get 2 vid cards... you are getting an SLi board, and you said budget didn't matter... so get 2.

<b><font color=red>Go date P4man or something, bye!</font color=red><b>
 
Two video cards, the BFG 7800 and run them as dual processing graphic cards for enhanced performance in certain games.

<pre><font color=red>°¤o,¸¸¸,o¤°`°¤o \\// o¤°`°¤o,¸¸¸,o¤°
And the sign says "You got to have a membership card to get inside" Huh
So I got me a pen and paper And I made up my own little sign</pre><p></font color=red>
 
I would go with the XFX video cards running at 490/1300, fastest 7800gtx available...SLi should be a good option. For the overclocking you (might) want to do nothing over DDR500/PC4000 will be needed, the OCZ is good I'd recommand Curcial Ballistix DDR500 top notch ram!
As for the mobo, no big fan of fatality myself...but its a good board, check the MSI, it received top awards for their SLI <A HREF="http://www.anandtech.com/mb/showdoc.aspx?i=2358&p=21" target="_new">Msi/dfi conclusion...</A>

No one talked about the Intel rig so I'll give it a shot!

Pentium 4 670 (3.8ghz) or if you go dual core, PeintumD 840EE...(but that chip is seriously HOT!
Motherboard:ASUS P5WD2 Premium (it does support SLi right?no just dual PCIE cards?)
For ram:Corsair 8000UL (fronm mozzaratus recommandation in another thread, he knows DDR2 really good, no my case =))
Video card:Same recommandation: 2X XFX 7800GTX(490/1300)
Hard Drives: 2X raptor 74gig 10000rpm RAID0 1Xseagate barracuda 7200.8(if you need more storage!)
Case: Antec P180 performance one / Lian-Li PC65
Power Supply: Antec TPII-550
Sound Card: Integrated is good stuff.


Asus P4P800DX, P4C 2.6ghz@3.25ghz, 2X512 OCZ PC4000 3-4-4-8, MSI 6800Ultra stock, 2X30gig Raid0
 
Find and post a link to the ram you are considering. I looked breifly, but did not find it in 1 gig sticks.
See if you can find 2-gig kits of what you want, and post that, easier to comment on that way.
But either should work fine, I would get the one with the lowest timings at the lowest voltage, that way you have plenty of room to play with.

<pre><font color=red>°¤o,¸¸¸,o¤°`°¤o \\// o¤°`°¤o,¸¸¸,o¤°
And the sign says "You got to have a membership card to get inside" Huh
So I got me a pen and paper And I made up my own little sign</pre><p></font color=red>
 
Thanks a lot for your comment.

"I would go with the XFX video cards running at 490/1300, fastest 7800gtx available...SLi should be a good option."
Is this after or before overclocking it?

I have read the review, very interesting and educative stuff, thanks.

As for the Intel, does the PeintumD 840EE require extra cooling?

Regards
 
Extra cooling is only required if you overclock. The Intel runs hotter, but it can handle more heat. At stock the retail heatsink is sufficient. If you overclock much, water cooling is best with Intel or AMD.

<pre><font color=red>°¤o,¸¸¸,o¤°`°¤o \\// o¤°`°¤o,¸¸¸,o¤°
And the sign says "You got to have a membership card to get inside" Huh
So I got me a pen and paper And I made up my own little sign</pre><p></font color=red>
 
I found that one, but it is 2x512MB so you would need 4x512MB for 2-gigs
It would be preferable to run 2x1024MB, which is harder to find such low timings at that large capacity, but some are available at low latencies.

<pre><font color=red>°¤o,¸¸¸,o¤°`°¤o \\// o¤°`°¤o,¸¸¸,o¤°
And the sign says "You got to have a membership card to get inside" Huh
So I got me a pen and paper And I made up my own little sign</pre><p></font color=red>
 
The XFX card comes with what they call: "Factory Overclock" Most fo the time you can reach these clock speed but they sell it already OCed! Less hands on needed and you dont void de mfer warranty!

Standard cooling will be Ok with the 8400EE, with a good case(liek the one I suggested) it will be ok!

That ram is really nice, no doubt, but it is OverKill IMO, I suggested the Crucial Ballistix DDR500, real nice performance, good price and good compatibility!


Asus P4P800DX, P4C 2.6ghz@3.25ghz, 2X512 OCZ PC4000 3-4-4-8, MSI 6800Ultra stock, 2X30gig Raid0
 
You can settle on less, 600 is just what they are claiming it will reach, you can always run it slower, even at 400 with lower latency than they list for 600

<pre><font color=red>°¤o,¸¸¸,o¤°`°¤o \\// o¤°`°¤o,¸¸¸,o¤°
And the sign says "You got to have a membership card to get inside" Huh
So I got me a pen and paper And I made up my own little sign</pre><p></font color=red>
 
None, just a good airflow and likely some more voltage too the ram, altough for 600mhz, you might need to cool the northbridge better, and you will likely need to reduce the multiplier/use memory divider because I doubt the cpu can cope with a 50% OC, at least not on air!

Asus P4P800DX, P4C 2.6ghz@3.25ghz, 2X512 OCZ PC4000 3-4-4-8, MSI 6800Ultra stock, 2X30gig Raid0
 
Thanks.
(1) How do I increase the voltage to the RAM, is there a tech document saying how to do it?
(2) How do I coll the northbridge (as a matter of fact what is this?)?
(3) I assume that one can accoplish that on BIOS or other software, right?
 
Ram voltage and timings are control in the motherboards BIOS.

Two 10,000rpm 74gig Western Digatal Raptors (5 year warranty) would be great for your rig, also.

<pre><font color=red>°¤o,¸¸¸,o¤°`°¤o \\// o¤°`°¤o,¸¸¸,o¤°
And the sign says "You got to have a membership card to get inside" Huh
So I got me a pen and paper And I made up my own little sign</pre><p></font color=red>
 
Thanks a lot.

By coincidence, I was reading AnandTech's review about SATA 1550 and 300....to chose what is the best HD to buy.

So, your recomendation comes on time.
 
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