building a new system. lotta q's...

[cgilroy]

Ok, first off, Im going to want to spend no more than $1000, would love to stay around 700-800, but i want performance over price.

AMD or Intel? I see everyone saying Athlon 64 I personally dont want to buy into the 64-bit hype yet, but would love to hear comments other than "AMD ALL THE WAY, ROXXORS!" I've always loved Intel and thier products, I currently have a XP 2600+ so I would want to at least hit 3.0 Ghz something I dont think I can do if I go AMD? Also, whats the difference on the regular P4 Socket 478, and Socket T (775)

So, I would love to hear processor choices.

Motherboard, at the moments, whats the best motherboard (for both, AMD/Intel) It will also have to have SATA Raid 0.

Ram, I have a gig of ddr ram currently 333 fs, so id like to get at least 2gb dual channel.


well, thats about it for now,, gimme those choices!


EDIT: for the $1000 I only need those 3 components.

<P ID="edit"><FONT SIZE=-1><EM>Edited by cgilroy on 12/06/04 10:29 PM.</EM></FONT></P>

 

[fishmahn]

And your usage purpose is?

Gaming: AMD 64

Video Editing: Intel usually.

General: AMD 64

The advantage of the Athlon64 isn't the 64-bit hype, it's the memory controller on the CPU. It drastically lowers memory access latency. The 64-bit doesn't do anything for Windows today, and who knows when M$ will release 64-bit windows.

At first glance, to stay within your budget, I think you're not going to see a big upgrade. You will have to limit yourself to a 3000+ or a 3200+ cpu, or approx a 3.0ghz P4. You're right, AMD's aren't going to hit 3ghz, but outside of video editing, they outrun a P4, even though the p4 clocks about 50% faster.

As far as the 2 Intel sockets go; basically, socket 478 uses AGP and DDR, Socket 775 uses PCI-express and can use (but it's not worth it yet - I'd get one that supports just DDR) DDR2 memory.

Are you keeping your Video card? What do you use the system for? What video do you need?

For mobos, AMD64 the nForce3-250 chipset is best, for Intel, 865/875 for socket 478, 915/925 for 775. Most all support sata raid 0/1 in various flavors. Lots of mfg's - MSI, Asus, Gigabyte, etc. Some will say this is better, that is better, etc. When you decide on a platform, then the best mobo for that platform can be discussed.

Mike

 

[Cybercraig]

I would build a nice socket 939 Nforce4 rig with a single 6600GT PCI-E card to start out with. Prescotts just don't trip my trigger for anything right now.


Abit IS7 - 3.0C @ 3.6ghz - Mushkin PC4000 (2 X 512) - Sapphire 9800Pro - TT 420 watt Pure Power
Samsung 120gb ATA-100 - Maxtor 40gb ATA - 100
Sony DRU-510A - Yellowtail Merlot

 

[Rob423]

Well Like fishmahn said...what is your purpose of this system?

and yeah 3ghz is just a number... AMD still outperforms it.

If this system is used for anything other then Video editing, then i'd go with a ..

MSI neo2 platinum with something in the 3500+ range ... 1GB of memory is still fine

Asus A7N8X Deluxe
80gb Maxtor
200gb WD 8mb cache..
Lian-Li PC-60
LiteOn 52X/LiteOn 811s DVD-RW
AMD XP2800+
LeadTek GF4Ti4200 128mb
Hitachi CML174
1GB Corsair XMS PC3200

 

[Vapor]

2gb dual channel

That alone is gonna put you over budget.

My Recs:
A64 3000+ S939
1GB Dual Channel RAM (PC4000 preferably)
S939 board--not sure which is good now using NF3, MSI I think
6600GT AGP
160GB WD HDD (RAID 0 would put you over budget if this doesn't already)

Mouse/keyboard/monitor/etc: your preference

I'm sorry, but for your budget, your hopes really are over the top. Have you actually tried pricing any of this stuff yourself or are you just relying on us to configurate your next system?

BTW, GHz is a throwaway number. AMD has tremendous performance advantages over Intel right now (especially at your budget level) in addition to much lower power requirements and better overclocking.

Maxtor disgraces the six letters that make Matrox.

 

[cgilroy]

First off,

The system is used for both. Work primarily Photoshop, but I do also do gaming more gaming then work actually. So, your saying to get a 64-bit chip, but XP 64-bit isnt out yet? I guess the evaluation would have to do.

First off, I dont see how those 3 components would be within my budget, those are the only three components I need. I have my Raptors, mouse keyboard lcd, geforce 5950 FX, all I need are those three components.

Secondly, yes I have priced them somewhat, right now for a 3500+ it would cost: $267.00

For the mobo Im guessing no where over 200... as for the memory I could get: actually, I cant find any decent 1gb chips hehe..

Just so I can look into this though, the 3500+ operates at 400mhz fs? Just to match up the memory..


For the next question, realisticly how much of an improvement would I see from doing an upgrade like this? i dont want to spend $1000 and see barely any improvment at all.

 

[endyen]

The A64s are the best x86 chips around. They are top dog in 32 bit computing. When Photoshop comes out in 64 bit, then you will be real happy.
We are talking about a 50% increase in cpu function, a big jump in games, though it will do little for eye candy. For photoshop, with the extra ram, you will also see major improvements.
DDR400 is what you want.

 

[cgilroy]

Alright,

do the 3500+ (939 version) have the 1MB L2 option? I havent seen any on ZZF or NE. I certainly dont want to goto a 3700+ and pay another $150 roughly. As far as the comment goes about the getting PC4000 ram, why? Im assuming your meaning is for overclocking purposes?

 

[sparky853]

He said DDR400, which is PC3200 RAM. That runs at the same FSP as the CPU. PC4000 would be if you wanted to overclock.

As for the L2 Cache, IIRC, the 3500+ only comes in the 512KB size. I think to get the 1MB version, you have to go with the Socket 754 FX series.

XP2800+, Abit NF7, 1GB Dual-Channel DDR333, ATI R9800PRO 128MB, TT PurePower 420W, LG DVD+-R/RW
:redface: <font color=red>My wife says I suffer from premature ejaculation...I don't remember suffering<font color=red>

 

[cgilroy]

I recall him saying:

My Recs:
A64 3000+ S939
1GB Dual Channel RAM (PC4000 preferably)
S939 board--not sure which is good now using NF3, MSI I think
6600GT AGP
160GB WD HDD (RAID 0 would put you over budget if this doesn't already)


that was the post I was referring to.