Advice on CPU/MB combo please

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FatcatX

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Dec 11, 2004
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63
This is what I have currently:

Athlon XP 1600
1024MB Ram
Epox 8k5a
Gforce fx 5900 Ultra

I need to upgrade my processor, which inevitibly will require changing my Ram (ddr) and Motherboard (socket A). My goal is to have a system that can handle playing newer games with few difficulties. The most recent game I have problems with is CS: Source, where I get 30-50 fps. Other games include Warcraft 3, and some RPG's.

I don't play often. I don't want to spend 800$ on an all star build. I'd like to acquire a CPU, MB, and RAM for under 500$.

If you have recommendations for this 'welfare' system I would appreciate it. Thanks.
 
I am glad you kept me with the EPoX family, they have yet to let me down. I really enjoy my current motherboard.

It seems that newegg offers two twinMOS sticks of 512 for $85, rather then buying them seperately for $51 each:

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=N82E16820218062

I have yet to decide on which RAM stick to get, as I have crucial currently and it has not gone wrong yet. I also hear good things about Corsair and Samsung.

Pricewatch.com has helped me find a CPU/MB combination for those that you suggested. I found a combination price for both the EPoX EP-9NDA3+ and also the EPoX EP-9NDAJ. I currently have RAID on my MB but do not have two hard drives to utilize it. I am doubtful that I will take full advantage of it with the 3+ Motherboard. I'm going to do more research to see if there are other differences, but here are the combo prices:

AMD Athlon 64 3200+ s939 w/ EPoX EP-9NDA3+ $303:
http://www.unitedmicro.com/mbw.cgi?22173141

AMD Athlon 64 3200+ s939 w/ EPoX EP-9NDAJ $285:
http://www.unitedmicro.com/mbw.cgi?22172236
 
well.....thsoe probably aren't venice cpu's..which from what I can see..overclocks really really really really well :)
 
O yah and what's ur current powersupply? these new chips takes alot more power than ur older 1600+
 
Oh that's a good point. I have an Enermax eg365ax-ve. It's about 353 watts...I guess it's time to upgrade to a 450watt supply?
 
http://store.yahoo.com/nexpcusa/enegfma35duf1.html

if it is this one, keep it, don't worry about it.
I ahve an athlon 64 3200+ system @ 3400+ speeds and a 6800 ultra and by the specs of ur psu, it rapes my antec 450w...the amps sucks on mines,a nd ur enermax is alot better..:) 26amp on the 12v raill too..wow..hehe I only have 20 :mad:
 
Is there really that much of a benefit in going with the 3200+ venice instead of the 3000+ venice? The chips all seem to top out in the same area. You just need more tweaking with the 3000+ more often. But yeah, I guess all mobos can't do high HTT, so I guess thats when the 3200+ comes in handy.

Personally, I cannot justify spending $50 more for a possible 50-100 mhz boost :).

Oh yeah, the epox board is fine, except for one thing. It looks like a monkey laid it out. The components, like the sata ports, are everywhere.

You might want to look into the MSI K8N Neo2 Plat, although it is $20 more.

Personally, I am waiting for the NF3 939 DFI board to come out. It looks like it will be the best of all so far.

Just my $.02 :)
 
guys, did he ever say he would overclock it? ;)

fatcat, the ram you linked to is twinmosII, i have twinmosSP, which is slightly better ;)
if you're not gonna overclock, go with the crucial and drop the timings to 2.5-2-2 :D
 
Ah, good catch on that ram. I didn't noticed the type. No, I don't plan to overclock much of anything. That would require me to get better fans, maybe cut some holes in the case to put more in. I don't think I will get to that point.
 
I just bought:
Epox 9NDA3J ($86.50) I bought it last week at $93 :(
3000+ venice ($155)
1GB Cosair Value Select Ram ($80)
Total: $321.5

I don't see how you can go wrong with this setup, especailly if you are not going to be heavy in overclocking.
I have mine stable at 2.52Ghz (280X9) (a 40% increase), and it flys on anything I do, (Photoshop CS, games, ect..."real world" applications). I know some people will debate about synthetic benchmarks, but mine overclocked (in Sandra) compare to the stock FX-55.(of course again, the stock of it)
I not sure, but I don't think you would need the 9NDA3+, since it just includes an onboard firewire option and something else.(I forgot) :confused:
But for the money, you could even do just a little simple overclock on it and still get a great setup. It's AGP, but you can still buy the newer video cards with AGP for a while, if you ever worried about going to PCI-Express in the future.
 
The difference between the 2 epox boards is the extra sata ports and the 3J doesnt have firewire. Also with teh + version, you get a little bag of mosfet sinks, a screwdriver, and a rather nice case badge. Overclocking features etc are the same. Only thing is the SATA nforce SATA ports are right under the AGP card, which is a bit messy.
 
I also got the mini heatsinks and screwdriver with my 9NDA3J. :) Not sure what the case badge is though.
 
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