Can you guys help me choose?

[LilHomie13]

I'm gonna be building my first PC in a couple of weeks and I wnat to know on what to get. Is there a much performance difference between the AMD64 3500+ and 3800+? is it worth the extra money? And how much of a difference is it between the Corsair XMS 3200 XLPT and XMS 3200 XLPro? Thanks.

 

[LilHomie13]

Anyone? Please!

 

[TheRod]

3500/3800 difference is not very important. And for the price difference, don't get the 3800+, but go for the FX-53 if you have the money.

The 3500+ is a smarter choice in terms of price/performance.

For your Corsair ram question, if you don't overclock you should buy the cheapest one. Do you have the memery timing of those modules and their prices?

--
It's tricky to use words like <b><font color=green>AMD</font color=green></b> or <b><font color=blue>Intel</font color=blue></b> in a signature some users could think your are biased.

 

[Vapor]

I agree about the processor...get either the 3500+ or the FX-53. As for the RAM, their the exact same, just one has lights on top of a big black heatspreader and the other one has a shiny silver heatspreader with no lights. The PRO's heatspreader might be SLIGHTLY better, but not much.

Maxtor disgraces the six letters that make Matrox.

 

[Tavelkyosoba]

i'd go for the faster RAM, you can get replacment heatspreaders that have lights on em...i dont know if they do the cool flashing thing though.

BTW, heat spreaders dont do anything but sit there and look cool.

I've got a book of matches,
I've got a can of kerosene,
I've got some bright ideas involving you and me.

 

[Ned_Flanders]

last time I checked they spread the heat from the RAM chips, thus cooling the RAM and making the system more stable.

<font color=blue>My dick is so big, that my dick has a dick. And my dicks' dick is bigger than yours.</font color=blue>

 

[Cybercraig]

Especially the copper ones with a side fan blowing right on
them!

Abit IS7 - 2.8C @ 3.30 - Mushkin PC4000 (2 X 512) - Sapphire 9800Pro - TT 420 watt Pure Power
Samsung 120gb ATA-100 - Maxtor 40gb ATA - 100
Sony DRU-510A - EAT ME MSI!

 

[Vapor]

The RAM is the EXACT SAME. Oh yeah, and the heatspreaders do make a difference in overclocking in some cases, but especially when higher voltages are used. Also, you remove these heatspreaders and you void the warrantee...most people don't want to do that.

Maxtor disgraces the six letters that make Matrox.

 

[Vapor]

Yes, they increase the surface area on which to cool.

Maxtor disgraces the six letters that make Matrox.

 

[LilHomie13]

Thanks for all the help I appreciated! and for the timings they are 2-2-2-5.

 

[TheRod]

2-2-2-5 timing is more than enough. I mean, you can even buy cheaper memory (a bit slower) and you will virtually get same performance.

By the way, A64 fastest memory setting is X-Y-Z-10. If you buy 2-2-2-5 modules, you should set them to 2-2-2-10 in the BIOS. If I were you, I would probably only get 2-3-3-7 modules. They will be cheaper and A64 are fast even with slightly slower RAM.

Read this very informative article about A64 memory performance/timing :
<A HREF="http://www.anandtech.com/memory/showdoc.aspx?i=2057" target="_new">http://www.anandtech.com/memory/showdoc.aspx?i=2057</A>

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It's tricky to use words like <b><font color=green>AMD</font color=green></b> or <b><font color=blue>Intel</font color=blue></b> in a signature some users could think your are biased.