I want to modernize my pc and I need an advice.

[Warchief]

I'll probably buy all that next week, so any help would be appreciated

 

[7H4_D00D3]

you are going 4 an x1900XTX and say that "no can do on the opty"?

You could get the opty AND a Sapphire X1800XT for the same price....

 

[DragonDoc]

I'd aim for either of the Athlon 64 3800+ CPUs to pair with the rest of that hardware.

One is clocked +20% on that A64 3200+

The other has a 2nd core and is clocked the same as that A64 3200+

Then go for the 3500+, its only about $49 more than the 3200+ with a nice performance boost for the dollar:

:arrow: AMD Athlon64 3200+ $152.00
2.0GHz, 512KB L2,
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=N82E16819103535

:arrow: AMD Athlon64 3500+ $201.00
2.2GHz, 512KB L2,
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=N82E16819103603

OR ~
:arrow: AMD Athlon64 3700+ $212.00 ($60 more than the 3200+ - with 1MB L2)
:lol: 2.2GHz, 1MB L2,
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=N82E16819103539

 

[Warchief]

Thanks, I suppose I'll change my mind then.
But what I really need to know is : I have a ATA 133 HDD, will I be able to use it with those components? Another thing is the encasing, it has 2 years...Is that a problem?

 

[angry_ducky]

I've made slight changes :

- Hiper HPU-4B580 (http://www.hipergroup.com/English/products/hpu-4b580.html)
- AMD Athlon 64 3200+ BOX (Socket 939) Manchester (http://www.amdcompare.com/us-en/desktop/details.aspx?opn=ADA3200DKA4CG)
- Corsair TwinX DDR 2x 1GB 400MHz C2(http://www.corsairmicro.com/corsair/products/specs/twinx2048-3200c2.pdf)
- Radeon X1900XTX Sapphire 512MB VIVO / 2xDVI Full BOX (http://www.sapphiretech.com/en/products/graphics_landing.php?gpid=136)

As for the mainboard...My first choice was - Asus A8N-E nForce4 Ultra, but perhaps I should get something better?

By the way...I have a ATA 133 HDD, will I be able to use it with those components? Another thing is the encasing, it has 2 years...Is that a problem?

Bad idea; your CPU will totally bottleneck that beast of a graphics card.

 

[angry_ducky]

Thanks, I suppose I'll change my mind then.
But what I really need to know is : I have a ATA 133 HDD, will I be able to use it with those components? Another thing is the encasing, it has 2 years...Is that a problem?

Yes, you will, but it will be another bottleneck. Get an SATA/II drive.

 

[Warchief]

Well, but that means lots of compromises then...
Are you entirely positive such config would run better :

-Radeon X1900XT Sapphire 512MB VIVO / 2xDVI
-AMD Athlon 64 3700+ BOX (Socket 939) San Diego ?


And about that HDD, would it really affect the performance in a noticable way?
If that's the case...what changes to that list would you suggest? I can spend just a bit more than that...

 

[timberwolf1]

Assuming you don't want SLI, you should go with the ASUS A8N-E.
Real;y reliable, and you can easily clock an Athlon 3800 x2 to 2.4.

 

[Heyyou27]

Don't waste money on the X1900 XTX if you're only getting an Athlon 3200+.

 

[Warchief]

And what about that (It's slightly possible I'll actually buy these) :

- Radeon X1900XTX Sapphire 512MB VIVO / 2xDVI Full BOX
- AMD Athlon 64 3700+ BOX (Socket 939) San Diego
- Hiper HPU-4B580
- Corsair TwinX DDR 2x 1GB 400MHz C2
- Asus A8N-E nForce4 Ultra

 

[Warchief]

I'll be making a purchase this week, so any help would be very welcome

 

[shadowduck]

And what about that (It's slightly possible I'll actually buy these) :

- Radeon X1900XTX Sapphire 512MB VIVO / 2xDVI Full BOX
- AMD Athlon 64 3700+ BOX (Socket 939) San Diego
- Hiper HPU-4B580
- Corsair TwinX DDR 2x 1GB 400MHz C2
- Asus A8N-E nForce4 Ultra

Don't get the X1900XTX, its not worth the extra money. Get the X1900XT and just overclock it. Other than that, nice 😉

 

[Warchief]

I'm placing the order today. Any last advice? Current list is specified in my previous post.

 

[angry_ducky]

I'm placing the order today. Any last advice? Current list is specified in my previous post.

Get the 1900XT and use the money that you saved to get an X2 3800+. Or save even more money by getting the X1800XT. But not the X1900XTX because it's a waste.

 

[Warchief]

I'm placing the order today. Any last advice? Current list is specified in my previous post.

Get the 1900XT and use the money that you saved to get an X2 3800+. Or save even more money by getting the X1800XT. But not the X1900XTX because it's a waste.

Then it is AMD Athlon 64 X2 3800+ BOX (Socket 939) and Radeon X1900XT Sapphire 512MB VIVO / 2xDVI Full BOX. By the way, I was thinking of buying the Arctic Silver 5 thermal compound, what say you? Another thing : is the the mobo suitable for the processor?
And last, but not least : Hiper HPU-4B580-MU 580W "Connects up to 4 SATA HDD"; I just wonder if I'll be able to use my old, ATA/133 HDD with that one...

 

[angry_ducky]

I'm placing the order today. Any last advice? Current list is specified in my previous post.

Get the 1900XT and use the money that you saved to get an X2 3800+. Or save even more money by getting the X1800XT. But not the X1900XTX because it's a waste.

Then it is AMD Athlon 64 X2 3800+ BOX (Socket 939) and Radeon X1900XT Sapphire 512MB VIVO / 2xDVI Full BOX. By the way, I was thinking of buying the Arctic Silver 5 thermal compound, what say you? Another thing : is the the mobo suitable for the processor?
And last, but not least : Hiper HPU-4B580-MU 580W "Connects up to 4 SATA HDD"; I just wonder if I'll be able to use my old, ATA/133 HDD with that one...

The board will work, you should get Arctic Silver, and an Antec TruePower 550 watt power supply rather than the Hiper one. The Antec should work with your old hard drive.

 

[Warchief]

The board will work, you should get Arctic Silver, and an Antec TruePower 550 watt power supply rather than the Hiper one. The Antec should work with your old hard drive.

What's wrong with it? Are you sure it won't work with the HDD? Frankly, I'd rather buy the Hiper. Besides, I can't get that model you've suggested, unfortunately.

 

[spontayo]

I'd aim for either of the Athlon 64 3800+ CPUs to pair with the rest of that hardware.

One is clocked +20% on that A64 3200+

The other has a 2nd core and is clocked the same as that A64 3200+

Then go for the 3500+, its only about $49 more than the 3200+ with a nice performance boost for the dollar:

:arrow: AMD Athlon64 3200+ $152.00
2.0GHz, 512KB L2,
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=N82E16819103535

:arrow: AMD Athlon64 3500+ $201.00
2.2GHz, 512KB L2,
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=N82E16819103603

OR ~
:arrow: AMD Athlon64 3700+ $212.00 ($60 more than the 3200+ - with 1MB L2)
:lol: 2.2GHz, 1MB L2,
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=N82E16819103539

The 3500 would be a waste of money seeing that it's a slightly overclocked 3200.

 

[angry_ducky]

The board will work, you should get Arctic Silver, and an Antec TruePower 550 watt power supply rather than the Hiper one. The Antec should work with your old hard drive.

What's wrong with it? Are you sure it won't work with the HDD? Frankly, I'd rather buy the Hiper. Besides, I can't get that model you've suggested, unfortunately.

Can you get a different Antec model? Thermaltake, Cooler Master, SeaSonic, PC Power & Cooling, OCZ, and ASUS all make good power supplies, which I would trust more than a brand like Hiper. As most people on these forums will tell you, you don't want to go cheap on the power supply because if that fries, there goes your whole system.

 

[Warchief]

Can you get a different Antec model? Thermaltake, Cooler Master, SeaSonic, PC Power & Cooling, OCZ, and ASUS all make good power supplies, which I would trust more than a brand like Hiper. As most people on these forums will tell you, you don't want to go cheap on the power supply because if that fries, there goes your whole system.

Well, actually, the Hiper power supplies are getting excellent reviews everywhere, for being cheap and reliable (which is something that does not come together very often). But I really need to know if I could connect my HDD to that very model...

 

[cmptrdude79]

Warchief, sorry for the answers all over the place here, but it seems you still have one unanswered question. Any PSU you purchase will be able to run your ATA HDD. It uses a standard 4-pin molex power connector, which you will find on any PSU, high or low quality.

Also, I know you had this discussion already, but you are limiting (to a point) your upgrade path with your choice in hardware. You are purchasing a motherboard that is neither CrossFire nor SLI ready. This isn't a deal-breaker in my mind, but I would want to ensure an easy upgrade path for the graphics system, and being able to slap in a second video card (either ATI or nVidia), is about the easiest way to add another 35-40% to your graphics performance.

All in all, though, that looks like a solid rig you have put together. One last thing, though, try and find one of the other recommended PS brands. I know Hiper has been getting good reviews lately, but they just don't have the reputation for quality that you'll find with the Antec, SeaSonic, PC Power & Cooling, OCZ, ThermalTake, or CoolerMaster PSUs. Doesn't mean it won't work, just that it might not work as long.

Good luck with your new build.

-J

 

[Warchief]

Warchief, sorry for the answers all over the place here, but it seems you still have one unanswered question. Any PSU you purchase will be able to run your ATA HDD. It uses a standard 4-pin molex power connector, which you will find on any PSU, high or low quality.

Also, I know you had this discussion already, but you are limiting (to a point) your upgrade path with your choice in hardware. You are purchasing a motherboard that is neither CrossFire nor SLI ready. This isn't a deal-breaker in my mind, but I would want to ensure an easy upgrade path for the graphics system, and being able to slap in a second video card (either ATI or nVidia), is about the easiest way to add another 35-40% to your graphics performance.

All in all, though, that looks like a solid rig you have put together. One last thing, though, try and find one of the other recommended PS brands. I know Hiper has been getting good reviews lately, but they just don't have the reputation for quality that you'll find with the Antec, SeaSonic, PC Power & Cooling, OCZ, ThermalTake, or CoolerMaster PSUs. Doesn't mean it won't work, just that it might not work as long.

Good luck with your new build.

-J

Thanks, for the answer mate!
About that motherboard; I doubt I'll be making any upgrades in the near future. Possibly another major overhaul, so that makes crossfire highly unlikely.

 

[Sekeru]

You could get a 7900GT instead of the x1900xt or xtx.The price diff on the two is high and you will get great performance out of it.And you could get a SATA drive with that setup and get the performance you want.Trust me the performance diff between a SATA and a ATA drive is big and it would only cost like $80 and you would have 200-250 GIGs worht of space i would suggest to please put some thought into getting one i and lots of people can recomend a certain one.PLEASE GET SATA and the X2 3800+.

 

[Warchief]

First of all, I'd like to thank all of you for all the advice you've given
I've just placed an order.
By the way, do you know any good guides on how to assembly the pc?

 

[Sekeru]

It should tell you in the mobo manural but if you want somthing else to go bye then there are tons of guides i think Tom's has some and extremetech.com also has some.