Need thoughts on CPU choice

[solorigin]

I am attempting to build a system to do a fairly wide variety of things (some of which include design work (non 3d), audio recording and some gaming). I have been thinking about an AMD64 3700+, but when I look at benchmarks the 3500 doesnt look too far off, and I have read a lot about the 3500's overclocking abilities. Should I save money and go with a 3500 or am I out of my mind and should be looking at a dual core (which I know wont do jack for games, but I have a lot of other uses in mind for this rig which would benefit from a dual core). Only problem with that is the price :/

 

[RichPLS]

There is about a $50 difference between the SD 3500 and 3700...
I would save teh fiddy, since they both top out about the same...

<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>

 

[solorigin]

I guess my next question would be: Is a 3500 going to be a bottleneck for a 7800GT in game performance?

 

[RichPLS]

Not any more than a 3700 will, since they both will max about the same OC.

<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>

 

[TheRod]

I guess my next question would be: Is a 3500 going to be a bottleneck for a 7800GT in game performance?

But wait... The 3500+ and the 3700+ don't use the same platform?

If I were you, I would get a 3500+, because it's a S939 CPU. In the future, you will be able to change your CPU for an dual-core (Athlon 64 X2) or a higher PR single-core (Athlon 64).

-
GA-K8NF-9 / <b><font color=green>Athlon 64 3200+</font color=green> @ 3800+</b>
Infineon DDR400 (CL2.5) 2x512Megs
<font color=green>GeForce 6600GT 128Megs</font color=green>
<A HREF="http://www.getfirefox.com" target="_new">Get Firefox!</A>

 

[julius]

there is a s939 3700

 

[Coyote]

I guess my next question would be: Is a 3500 going to be a bottleneck for a 7800GT in game performance?

No

Mobile XP 2600+ (11X215)
Abit NF7-S v 2.0
Maxtor 60GB ATA 133 7200RPM
1 gig Corsair XMS PC3200
eVGA 6800GT
Enermax Noisetaker 420 watts
Win2K sp4

 

[ChipDeath]

It will if he runs at 640x480 with lowest details

---
<pre> (\_/)
|~~~~~|======
|_____| This was bunny. He was tasty.
/\/\/\/\</pre><p>

 

[theholylancer]

well i'd get the 3200 and OC the mother outta of it like i did lol.... then again if you are not confertable with OC or not willing to have a better overall system (better ram and mobo) then go for the 3500, as that as long as that you have matching ram (even the cheap vaule series or any major brand, FYI i don't think you should go generatic though) you could OC just a little outta of it and match the 3700....

AMD A64 3200+Venice @2.65GHZ
DFI Lanparty UT NF4 Ultra-D
OCZ 2x512mb EL Gold VX PC3200 ram 2-2-2-8
evga eGeforce 6800GT 256mb GDDR3 ram
Enermax 485W PSU
Bios 6/23
Windows XP SP2

 

[solorigin]

Thanks for the replies everyone. I ended up buying a 3500, and although I am not very comfortable with overclocking, I suppose I should learn someday! I'll have to read up on it so I know what I am doing (at least slightly) and see if I can squeeze some more performance out of it.

 

[Rugger]

GL on the OC - do yourself a favor and read up on OCing before you give it a shot. I think Anand did a recent article on OCing the Venice A64s.

<font color=blue>(\__/)
(='.'=)This is Bunny. Copy and paste bunny into
(")_(")your signature to help him gain world domination. </font color=blue>

 

[theholylancer]

nah there were problems with that OC article, its a VERY nice directional guide, but not very detailed, there is a long one from DFI street and extremeoverclocking i don't have the link to the extremeOC one but here is to the DFI street one

<A HREF="http://www.dfi-street.com/forum/showthread.php?t=20823" target="_new"> DFI Street OC Guide for A64</A>

AMD A64 3200+Venice @2.65GHZ
DFI Lanparty UT NF4 Ultra-D
OCZ 2x512mb EL Gold VX PC3200 ram 2-2-2-8
evga eGeforce 6800GT 256mb GDDR3 ram
Enermax 485W PSU
Bios 6/23
Windows XP SP2<P ID="edit"><FONT SIZE=-1><EM>Edited by TheHolyLancer on 10/22/05 06:28 PM.</EM></FONT></P>

 

[Rugger]

He needs to start with the basics - then step it up.

<font color=blue>(\__/)
(='.'=)This is Bunny. Copy and paste bunny into
(")_(")your signature to help him gain world domination. </font color=blue>