opnions wanted on cpu choice

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Tavelkyosoba

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Oct 14, 2003
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my girlfriend wants to give her computer a face lift(long story wich i wont share now) so im getting her either ASRock "K7S41" or Shuttle "MK40VN"; i like that the asrock supports fsb400 with a Sis741 chipset, it also comes with a modem :smile:

the shuttle only supports fsb333 and has a viakm400 chipset

wich one would be better for gaming?(oh yes, she is indeed a gamer, i am so blessed) the two boards are the same price, so the only difference would be performance.

now to my REAL question...

should i get her a duron 1.8 ghz or an athlon xp 2000? the two chips are the same price after purchase of appropriate HSF. however the duron runs cooler(good because she doesn't have air conditioning) so is there any performance difference that would justify getting the hotter running athlon xp?




"I see" said the blind man to his deaf dog
 
Get ABIT NF7 v2.0 or a nForce2 based mobo. They're much better choice

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Duron 1.8 GHz and AXP 2000+ performs nearly equal in almost all apps, but AXP maybe slightly faster in games, since it has much bigger L2 cache.

IMO, Duron 1.8 GHz is a better buy in this case, since it runs cooler and (possibly) costs less

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I have built a few setups with sis chipsets. They are solid, though not the best for OCing.
Ecs puts out a cheap nforce board. If I had to cut corners, I might look there.
If she is going to OC, follow spitfire's recommendation, and spend the extra cash on the Abit board.
 
Gah! too many decisions! haha. at least i've decided im getting her a duron 1.8ghz...i think...

if i were to go for the Abit NF7, i could also go for this Aopen AK79D-400VN for 5 dollars more. the aopen has an nfroce2 Ultra 400 chipset, will that make a big difference?

also, to get the extra overclocking performance from the abit, would she need to implement more than an axial flow fan and heat sink for cooling? if she does than that extra overclocking will never be utilized(much less if she ever overclocks at all, lol)

the only thing i dont like about the abit(aside from the color, throws my jive off) is that the chipset is activly cooled, does anyone know if that fan is very loud?

i like the idea of duel channel memory from both boards, but i dont know if she'll implement duel channel, it is rather more expensive than getting the single DIMM's that are on sale at newegg. hmm...will two seperately purchased DIMMS work in duel channel? i've only ever used the prematched ones.

"I see" said the blind man to his deaf dog<P ID="edit"><FONT SIZE=-1><EM>Edited by Tavelkyosoba on 06/20/04 10:10 AM.</EM></FONT></P>
 
well i just checked prices again, and getting the aopen board w/512 in duel channel is only 30 dollar more than the asrock with 512 in single. so i think that nearly settles it.

however, will the abit really have that much more overclocking potential, on air, than the aopen?

aopen is good for moderate overclocking, i'm able to oc my 2400 nearly to 3200 speeds(190x11.5) on my aopen ak77-600n

"I see" said the blind man to his deaf dog
 
Make sure you get Crashman's opinion on setting up these Via boards. He LOVES Via to death! :lol:

"I am become death, the destroyer of worlds. Now, let's eat!
 
does he now, why doesn't hey MARRY via then haha.

only MY ak77-600n is a via, the other aopen is an nvidia

"I see" said the blind man to his deaf dog
 
My vote goes for the XP2000+

An AXP 1700+ consistently outperformed a Duron 1600 in this <A HREF="http://www.anandtech.com/cpu/showdoc.html?i=1927&p=10" target="_new"> Anand article </A>, no way a 1.8 would be faster than a 2000+

= The views stated herein are my personal views, and not necessarily the views of my wife. =
 
I agree with P4man. I built a system with the 2800+ and an ASUS A7N8X and it runs as well as my 3.06 p4 system. But, the board may be too expensive (59.00).
 
the only thing i dont like about the abit(aside from the color, throws my jive off) is that the chipset is activly cooled, does anyone know if that fan is very loud?
Click to expand...
I have Abit NF7, I run it without the fan, it's working fine, and temperature isn't high either ~37C
 
I am not a great fan of A-open. They can be great, or they can be shiite. They used to use crappy vregs, dont know if they still do. I gave up on building with thier boards,and optical drives after some major problems on socket A athlons.
Crashman is so anti via it's almost sinfull, and I have had my share of problems as well.
 
rower: yeah that asus board is much too expensive(looks apetizing though), cheapest i can get it for is $85US, wich is much more than the aopen for $69US or the Abit for $64US.

Nights_L: did you change the heat sink on the board then? because that HSF looked like it would be very inadequate without the fan running.

endyen: aopen products must have taken a huge leap since the last time you used them, i have had nothing but GREAT experiences with them in the last year and half or so(since i found them). they're quality parts with nice features(a lot of them are stupid and worthless though hehe), plus the black pcb looks really sharp.


"I see" said the blind man to his deaf dog<P ID="edit"><FONT SIZE=-1><EM>Edited by Tavelkyosoba on 06/20/04 11:20 PM.</EM></FONT></P>
 
NF7's northbridge fan is completely silent, no need to worry about that.

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<A HREF="http://geocities.com/spitfire_x86/myrig.html" target="_new">My Rig</A> & <A HREF="http://geocities.com/spitfire_x86/benchmark.html" target="_new">3DMark score</A>
 
alright that settles it, i have decided and ordered the parts. (thak you spitfire for the clincher)

the system specs have evolved through research, discussion, and much deliberation and soul searching. my main problem was that it was REALLY hard to consider giving my girlfriend a computer that is better than mine, but im past that now, thankfully.

so in the end:

ABIT "NF7"
Kingston ValueRAM Dual Kits 512MB(256MBx2)PC-3200
Athlon XP 2500 (desktop version)
Speeze "Falcon Rock" CPU cooler

Total Cost: $248 US
Original Projected Cost: $190 US

Not too bad, 60 dollar increase over projection, but i think it'll be worth it in the end. i got a 2500 b/c most can go right to 3200 settings whith no problems. i got the speeze cooler because it has an 80mm fan, i have had MANY fan failures from thin 60mm fans and do NOT want another one. 80mm lasts longer b/c it is larger, simple mechanics. even if this fan dies, its super easy to get a new one.

i've learned my lesson from buying things for what i need now instead of what i might need in a year, so i took what i would normally buy and ramped it up a few notches.

I think it'll make her VERY happy. How's THAT for an aniversary present :lol: (and her family gets her old mobo, we all win)

Our aniversary is on the 25th, so ill get the parts and install them in time for it! fantastic, almost like i planned it...



"I see" said the blind man to his deaf dog<P ID="edit"><FONT SIZE=-1><EM>Edited by Tavelkyosoba on 06/21/04 00:11 AM.</EM></FONT></P>
 
Thank you all for your opinions, i think i am MUCH better off after listening(or uh reading, i guess) to you. I am taking a leap of faith with that abit board, so if its no good im gonna shave all of your cats and/or dogs bald!

"I see" said the blind man to his deaf dog
 
well its kinda in a line...maybe i could just do flyby shavings, would save some money.

if not, i will send your computer a virus that will infect your cat and make all its hair fall out.

"I see" said the blind man to his deaf dog
 
I don't have DDR400 to play with Barton. This is why I don't like Barton for me. And T-breds are better at stock speed.

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<A HREF="http://geocities.com/spitfire_x86/myrig.html" target="_new">My Rig</A> & <A HREF="http://geocities.com/spitfire_x86/benchmark.html" target="_new">3DMark score</A>
 
i am very alergic to cats....i hate it.

"I see" said the blind man to his deaf dog<P ID="edit"><FONT SIZE=-1><EM>Edited by Tavelkyosoba on 06/21/04 06:27 PM.</EM></FONT></P>
 
turns out i dont have to shave your cats...this abit board is really nice. runs like a champ, but i am going to replace that chipset fan, i dont want it dying because my girlfriend doesn't pay attention to the mechanics of her computer

I've got a book of matches,
I've got a can of kerosene,
I've got some bright ideas involving you and me.
 
You don't need to replace chipset fan, it's fine. I've been using my NF7 v2.0 for 11 months, and the fan is still as good as brand new.

BTW, I don't pay any special attention to chipset fan.

------------
<A HREF="http://geocities.com/spitfire_x86" target="_new">My Website</A>

<A HREF="http://geocities.com/spitfire_x86/myrig.html" target="_new">My Rig</A> & <A HREF="http://geocities.com/spitfire_x86/benchmark.html" target="_new">3DMark score</A>
 
well the heatsink is coming today...

but i like the security of a passive cooler, i've had a lot of fan failures. plus it was only 8 bucks shipped, i'd rather pay 8 bucks than have fried mobo sometime in the future.

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