Switching from Intel to AMD - Questions re: mobo/proc choice

[etrusk]

Hi,

I have finally got the money to switch from my old Intel/Asus setup to a more gaming oriented AMD 64 proc. After spending a couple of days looking around at performance charts, reviews and whatnot, I have come up with the following:

AMD Athlon 64 3200+ Venice 90nm (Socket 939)
DFI LanParty UT NF4 Ultra-D (Socket 939) PCI-Express

I was hoping someone with more experience (or any for that matter) could help me with a couple of questions:

1) Is my choice ok regarding proc/mobo? I am going to overclock as much as my mediocre RAM permits.

2) I currently have a 6800GT and for a while I thought about getting an SLi version of the mobo instead in hopes of maybe getting another similar/same gfx card in the future to run in parallel. I have read on these forums though that newer single cards might already be better than that setup. Thoughts?

3) Will my RAM slow anything down in planned setup? Currently I have two units of:

GeIL 1GB (2x512MB) PC3200 Dual Channel CAS 2.5 6-3-3 @ DDR400 PC3200

I would not really want to buy any expensive new RAM, unless what I use now is really going to affect performance.

I think that's about it, thanks for any replies in advance.

 

[fishmahn]

Good choice on CPU. The DFI is a great OCer, but it takes some work configuring it right so if you're not experienced in OCing it may be trouble. You could try the Epox 9npa series or ABit AN8. The Epox OCs almost as far as the DFI and the AN8 is no slouch either. If cheap is a good thing check the Chaintech VNF4 or VNF4/Ultra. They OC pretty well to - heard someone that got 300mhz fsb on it - and its got a great price ($75).

SLI is for those who buy 2 top-end cards right up front. 7800 series is out and the 7800GTX is faster than SLI'd 6800U's.

Your ram is fine. You can run the RAM on a divider (set your ram to run at 166, and when your FSB is 240 your ram is really running 200 - perfectly in spec) if it doesn't OC synchronous far enough. That will only lose you a couple % of performance compared to expensive ram that can OC.

Mike.

 

[mpjesse]

You're good on the RAM. CAS 2.5 is ideal for overclocking.

Question: is that 6800GT an AGP card? If it is, you're going to have issues plugging into that mobo cause it doesn't have an AGP Slot. So you'll need to look into getting a new video card as well. You can always sell the old one on eBay and get a nice return. Some retard just bought a used 3.4Ghz northwood off me yesterday for $300. Another bought a used x800 Pro AGP for $275. People on eBay are dumb. Muahahaha

Anyways, get the SLI version. That way you don't have limited options in the future.

-mpjesse

 

[fishmahn]

Question: is that 6800GT an AGP card?

Good catch.

Mike.