amd system recommendations

[stutters]

hi guys (and gal).

 

whether or not you're familiar with my intel 865pe sata woes (and the stutter), i've decided to leap off the intel bandwagon. after deep and thorough research (about 10 miuntes), i've made a preliminary decision. i know little about intel, and even less about amd. want to make sure i'm getting bang for the buck.

 

i'd like your constructive criticism:

 

AMD Athlon 64 2800+ Newcastle Integrated into Chip FSB 512KB L2 Cache Socket 754 Processor - Retail

GIGABYTE GA-K8NS Socket 754 NVIDIA nForce3 250 ATX AMD Motherboard - Retail

 

i'll migrate over the following components:

ati 9800se (128mb)

sblive audigy 2 zs

1gb pc3200 generic ddr

200gb seagate sata1

optical drives

antec true power 430w

 

any glaring mistakes or good recommendations? this is pretty much the top end of the budget i have to use. thanks for the input!

 

Edited June 5, 2005 by stuttering.john

[Cujo]

looks like a good upgrade to me. you won't notice a huge gain but then again you're not spending much money.

 

did you eliminate the power supply as the possible cause of the stuttering? i would recommend solving that problem before upgrading. you don't want to be spending money in vain.

Edited June 5, 2005 by *|CsLs|*Cujo

[stutters]

no, i haven't resolved the stutter. i'm at a dead end for troubleshooting. one way or another, i need to purchase additional parts to eliminate:

 

-the chipset

-the sata hd itself

-the psu

 

for my board, i'd have to step down to the intel 848 chipset...which still uses the southbridge ICH5 (although the 865pe/current board uses the ICH5R).

 

my gut hopes its all stemming from the ich5/865 which leads the thought of switching back to amd.

[NOFX]

hm. given my experience. I would say NO WAY DUDE!!!

I used to be an AMD junkie, 450Mhz K-6, 700Mhz, 1800+ XP, 2500+XP but when I switched from my 2500+ to the P4, I was set with intel

I have a 2.6 P4 Oc'd to 3.0 on a 865pe chipset....

1 gig of PC3200

and a 9500 pro

 

I built my friend a system with a 2800+ AMD and my P4 smokes it, well not smokes, but it installs XP faster and I do alot of multitasking and my machine runs smoother. The cost of the upgrade wouldnt justify the performace gain, if any gain....

If your going to upgrade to an AMD 64. I think you want to go with a 939 PIN and you might see some performance gain. Only reason Im staying away from the 64's is because I think this hyperthreading makes a difference when multitasking... Also, by the time you get some mainstream 64 bit software, it will be time to upgrade your processor again. I might get an AMD 64 if it was a dual processor setup.

[Batman]

NOFX is now an intel fanboy!! lol.. I watched an awsome video with intel vs. amd WITHOUT a heatsink/fan to see who lasted longer!!! The intel blew the amd away, the amd lasted like 7.4 seconds while the intel was ok without and never melted.... SO intel is probably better for OC'ing BUT amd beats intel with games I believe.. I wont go back to intel...

 

OH I use sata with my nforce mobo and it rocks smooth as silk..

Edited June 5, 2005 by Batman

[shep48]

"Today, having software that's properly coded for a CPU's architechture is almost as important as the CPU's clock speed. In general, the 3.46Ghz Pentium 4 Extreme Edition is faster in audio, video, and general applications than the 2.6Ghz Athlon 64 FX-55. However, the Athlon 64 FX-55 is WAY faster in games thanks to its on-die memory controller." PC GAMER

Edited June 5, 2005 by shep48

[Ice_Berge_00]

I like the choice john,

 

For the record i have

AMD Athlon 64 bit 3200+

GA-K8NS Pro (slightly diff than yours)

 

I love the setup. If you really wanna get the best gains though go for the 939 socket and chip. It has dual channel memory controlers where if I'm not mistaken the 754 only has single (Correct me if I"m wrong on this guys). Main reason I did the 754 last fall was the 939's were much more expensive at the time.

 

The board and chip should work great though. Heat should never be a prob with that either. Mine only ever gets up to 45C max under heavy loads and I just use the stock HSF!

 

You may wanna just see what the differences bettween the reg and pro version of the board is, just to see if there's any features you want.

[Preacher]

http://www.tigerdirect.com/applications/Se...1384950&CatId=0

 

This would be a much smarter upgrade because it has the 939 chipset. This is the new standard and will be more upgradable than the 754 set-up.

 

Here is another good deal if you are not stuck on the Gigabyte MB

 

http://www.tigerdirect.com/applications/Se...&Tab=2&NoMapp=0

 

or

 

http://www.smksuperstore.com/catalog/viewitem.asp?ID=13379

[Cujo]

the reason i suggest sticking to s754 is because there are VERY FEW s939 mobos out there that are not pci-e mobos. the differences between s754 and s939w/o pci-e are negligable.

 

he is on a pretty tight budget here guys. all 3 of those last solutions are 50-100 dollars more than what he has selected.

Edited June 6, 2005 by *|CsLs|*Cujo

[NOFX]

right shep, but what if you dont get the AMD FX series, how well do the lower class 64's perform? Of course how the software is coded in relation with the CPU architecture is going to determine performance. If your software is not written for 64 bit, a 64 bit CPU wouldnt really benefit you that much. Fortunatley, AMD's architecture on the 64's are designed very well to handle 32 bit application as well. AMD's processor that does far less calculations a second will be on par with an INTEL that relies on pure horsepower(clock speed)

 

Its like a Honda Civic vs. a 65 Fastback.

 

Also depends what you use your computer for, I use mine for maybe 20% games......What type of P4 do you have preach? is it hyperthreading?

[NOFX]

if you have a hyperthreading P4 and your on a budget, I would suggest finding your problem and replacing the faulty component.

[shep48]

you sure your done troubleshooting??

[stutters]

no, i'm not done troubleshooting. i'm just done troubleshooting with the parts i have.

 

my system locks under heavy loads when running sata (either primary with the os, or ide as master1 and sata as master2).

 

that in mind, i need to further isolate the source of the problem. it's either the a\ chipset, b\ hard drive), or c\ pwr supply. i'm pretty sure i can cross c off.

 

in order to check the chipset (and not change processors), i'd have to degrade down to the 848 based motherboard. i could order a new drive, instead. or i could give all logic based troubleshooters the finger and throw two new variables....a new amd based mobo and processor. wouldn't eliminate the drive as a potential bad, but it would the chipset. most likely i'll try to rule out the drive, first.

 

again, based on all power tests, i doubt the psu is to blame.

 

and yes, i've otherwise isolated this as much as possible (disable onboard nic/audio/usb/etc, remove all pci devices, remove optical devices, etc.). this is the end of the line.

 

but my word, thanks for the repsonses. keep em coming.

Edited June 6, 2005 by stuttering.john

[Cujo]

still sounds like a power supply or harddrive issue. it 100% isn't the chipset. have you tried formatting the entire drive and installing windows fresh with newest drivers? have you tried updating to the latest bios?

 

btw, you could test the drive with ANY other sata system.

 

i guarantee you that getting a new cpu and mobo will not fix the problem unless it is software related... which it very well could be.

[stutters]

i reinstall in my sleep. i've done it twice in the past week. really. including full formats. hard drive is ordered, hoping this is it. if not, go go gadget rma.

[Preacher]

What type of P4 do you have preach? is it hyperthreading?

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

I have an AMD 64 939 3700+ running on an Asus A8V DX

[Guest zerodamage]

It would be silly to buy an Intel system right now if you are a gamer. Intel is lacking in 64-bit support and their gaming performance is well behind AMD's. Comparing the Extreme Edition P4 and the FX55 is pointless here because those are extreme high end systems that most people will not buy. Big waste of money IMO.

 

As for what to get. I would definetely look at picking up a 939-pin system even if you get a sempron CPU to start with. Your upgradability is better in the long run and this cpu will cut down on cost.

 

Use a combination of Newegg.com and Zipzoomfly.com to find what you want and you will have this system for cheap.

 

but what if you dont get the AMD FX series, how well do the lower class 64's perform? Of course how the software is coded in relation with the CPU

 

The FX costs signifigantly more and the performance diference is barely existant.

 

 

Here is this mobo at newegg. http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?...N82E16813128286

 

Here is the cpu: http://www.zipzoomfly.com/jsp/ProductDetai...uctCode=80699-2

 

You are talking about 40 dollars more than your setup above with a faster cpu and with better upgradability later. Ideal way to go is to pick up a PCI-e mobo and vid card too but you gotta do what you gotta do. With the 939-pin you get dual channel memory also. I know you are on a budget but if you can swing the additional 40~ dollars, you will feel better about what you've spent.

[NOFX]

I have an AMD 64 939 3700+ running on an Asus A8V DX

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

 

haha I mean john, not preach

[strangefamous]

hi guys (and gal).

 

whether or not you're familiar with my intel 865pe sata woes (and the stutter), i've decided to leap off the intel bandwagon. after deep and thorough research (about 10 miuntes), i've made a preliminary decision. i know little about intel, and even less about amd. want to make sure i'm getting bang for the buck.

 

i'd like your constructive criticism:

 

AMD Athlon 64 2800+ Newcastle Integrated into Chip FSB 512KB L2 Cache Socket 754 Processor - Retail

GIGABYTE GA-K8NS Socket 754 NVIDIA nForce3 250 ATX AMD Motherboard - Retail

 

i'll migrate over the following components:

ati 9800se (128mb)

sblive audigy 2 zs

1gb pc3200 generic ddr

200gb seagate sata1

optical drives

antec true power 430w

 

any glaring mistakes or good recommendations? this is pretty much the top end of the budget i have to use. thanks for the input!

 

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

 

 

n00b

[stutters]

"constructive"+"criticism"

 

go play with your cartoons.

[Bothrops]

How long can you wait?

Keep in mind that dual-core processors are due to be released very soon (allegedly a couple weeks), which will compress prices of all the current CPUs quite substantially. If you look at Athlon 64 prices over the last 2 months, they've been recently *rising* in price, which isn't uncommon before a big release like this (though there are other factors that play into that, too). I intend an upgrade from my Athlon XP 2800, but plan to hold off until this price change sweeps through.

 

Hate to be too contradictory to the highly-regarded and ever-on-target Cujo, but finding 939 boards that aren't PCI-X isn't difficult anymore. Not only is 939 pretty commonly recommended as The Way To Go for the near future, it seems that you've a good bet that any 939 board you get will have the latest chipset BIOS, and save you the hassle of upgrading that right away. To see a list of choices, some pretty cheap, see this here list: This here list

 

Final, probably minor, point: I've had many different motherboards, but between myself and a few other friends (including one who builds many computers/day), we've found the Athlon XP -era Gigabyte boards seem to run a bit warmer than many others. That may or may not apply to the 64s.

 

--FBothropsy

[Preacher]

I have had 3 go bad on me and will prolly never buy the Gigabyte boards again, I'm a huge Asus, Abit and Soyo fan simply because they have always been bug free and set-up friendly.

[Cujo]

bothrops, where i buy my stuff they only have 2 939 nf3 boards. both gigabyte. all the rest are nf4 and therefore pcie. they have abit, asus, msi, gigabyte, dfi nf4 boards. so what they carry is not the reason they don't have many. abit never even made a 939 nf3 board. nor did dfi i believe.

 

i have a s754 setup and it runs cs quite awesome with my agp card. he is goin for the cheapest upgrade. what use is it buying a 939 board so you can get dual core when you still have a 9800pro holding you back?

[Preacher]

http://www.newegg.com/Product/ProductList....Submit=Property

[Primus]

This one looks great! I also like th msi board, but if I had the choice i would go with the ASUS. Lots of options with this board!! Oh ya---go with at least a 64 3000

 

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?...N82E16813131510

Edited June 7, 2005 by Primus