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Give me suggestions

D

Dra

Limp Gawd
Joined
Feb 4, 2004
Messages
196
With all of the new technology coming out now, like pci-e and new sockets and chipsets, and the existence of the "old stuff" I need some help building a new computer.

Budget=600-700 for just the tower (no monitor)

My main concern is the motherboard. CPU comes in second, then everything else. I want something that will have a bit of "longevity" to it, and something that will support future upgrades when the time comes (and the money).

Although 700 dollars is far from an Alienware, I do want to play some games on my new PC (HL2 and Doom 3), and I want something that will perform well in general, no matter what task it is.

I'm open to all suggestions AMD or Intel, Nvidia or ATI.

Basicall, I'm looking for the best and most upgradeable PC for 700 dollars.

Thanks.
 
mmm athlon 64 3000 with A8V deluxe. 6600GT AGP. Corsair XMS. should be set really...
 
The link you provided directs me to a socket 754. but it's okay, the 939 costs the same. lol.:p

It's a good thing you found that Corsair XMS ram. haha i was gonna go for two sticks of 256 Kingston ValueRAM with a price difference of 7 dollars. :rolleyes:

hmm...How well do you suppose that setup will run, as far as day-to-day tasks, and the occassional game (HL2 and Doom 3?).

the board is 939 socket, so I'm hoping my system will be future-proof for at least a year or two. Am I correct?
 
could someone also recommend me an HSF? lol I just realized that OEM CPUs don't come with one, and I can't seem to find a retail Athlon 64 3000+ in retail packaging at newegg.com

Also, I'm aware that not all HSF's are compatible with all motherboards, so I'll most likely be using the MSI K8N Neo2 Platinum as my MB.
 
alpha. Ill recommend them without question. just go to newegg and hit heatsinks > alpha co ltd.
 
Dra said:
The link you provided directs me to a socket 754. but it's okay, the 939 costs the same. lol.:p

hmm...How well do you suppose that setup will run, as far as day-to-day tasks, and the occassional game (HL2 and Doom 3?).

the board is 939 socket, so I'm hoping my system will be future-proof for at least a year or two. Am I correct?
Click to expand...

Yeah... Sorry bout the bad link... :D
To my knowledge, that system will run anything thrown at it. I do not have one of these systems, so I can't tell you from personal experience, however, this is a damn good system with plenty of power behind it.
Also, I'm not sure how long AMD will stick with the 939 architecture. I used to keep up with facts like this, however I simply don't know the longevity of this architecture. I would have to say that this system will be up-to-date and be able to run things for a few years.

Dra said:
could someone also recommend me an HSF? lol I just realized that OEM CPUs don't come with one, and I can't seem to find a retail Athlon 64 3000+ in retail packaging at newegg.com

Also, I'm aware that not all HSF's are compatible with all motherboards, so I'll most likely be using the MSI K8N Neo2 Platinum as my MB.
Click to expand...

Again, I don't personally have a A64 system, so I cannot speak from experience, only from what others have said and what I have read.

The Zalman CNPS7000B-Cu is an excellant performer on P4 systems, it keeps my friend's temps down really well. I'm not sure how this translates over to the A64, however I would assume that it will perform very well, far better than a stock Al HSF.

As jaqie stated, Alpha is a very good company. They have fallen behind in recent years though. On my system, I have the Alpha PAL 8045 HSF and it keeps my antiquated T-Bird 1.33 very cool. However, I would have to say that you stick with Zalman, Swifttech, or ThermalTake as they are better performers.

Hopefully, someone with an air cooled A64 system will post giving you first hand accounts of which HSF to get. Nudge nudge. Wink wink. Waddya say. Waddya say. :p

Hope this helps.

~PW
 
actually, I havent checked actual wattage output of the A64s yet but I seem to remember the T birds kicking out enough to make a room HOT and I dont hear the same about the A64s, so I dont think that alpha's technology being 'old' is relevant... after all watt output is watt output, and its all the same to the heatsink...
Besides, they even have a new socket A HSF which I am planning to get, the S-8055F or somesuch...
 
I didn't mean for it to sound that because Alpha was an "older" company that they performed worse than other companies. It's just that they aren't as popular as they were. When I built this T-Bird system a few years back, the PAL 8045 was the best performing HS on the market, from the reviews and shootouts that I read. And it is. When the case is dust free, CPU temp is around 100*F.

The A64 HS from Alpha may be a great performer, I'd just need to read reviews before making an informed decision. I guess what I should have said is that Alpha isn't as popular as they once were and aren't talked about as much as other companies. But, one shouldn't pick a HSF on it's popularity or how purdy it looks (don't pick the Zalman over the Alpha because the Zalman looks like a pretty copper flower whereas the Alpha looks like a black square). Pick it because of performance.

Is this the new A64 HS from Alpha you were talking about jaqie?
 
The Zalman seems to be a good choice, but i'm not sure if it will fit. It's not listed on Zalman's website as a compatible board, but similar boards from MSI are.

Could someone confirm if it will work or not?

Zalman says for it to be compatible, there should be no obstruction within a 55mm radius of the CPU. Like this.

EDIT:

oops. nevermind, I wasn't looking hard enough. It does fit. lol.
 
First off, i would suggest you getting 1GB of RAM. There is a big performance difference between 512MB and 1GB of RAM in today's systems.

atomicnacho said:
Thermalright XP-90

Out of stock but the ETA is today
Click to expand...

There are cheaper places to order the XP-90 from. Try Froogle.com.

I would suggest him just going with like a Thermaltake K8 solution if he's not wanting the best and most expensive cooler. One of them will cool real well and its what Anandtech and several other hardware sites use in all their A64 reviews.

jaqie said:
actually, I havent checked actual wattage output of the A64s yet but I seem to remember the T birds kicking out enough to make a room HOT and I dont hear the same about the A64s, so I dont think that alpha's technology being 'old' is relevant... after all watt output is watt output, and its all the same to the heatsink...
Besides, they even have a new socket A HSF which I am planning to get, the S-8055F or somesuch...
Click to expand...

The A64 130nm cores dissipate around 89w while the new Winchester 90nm cores dissipate around 67w. There really isn't much of a heat issue. The 130nm cores run around the same temp as a Pentium 4 Northwood.
 
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