Help Me Choose A Mobo

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zwbuntster

Limp Gawd
Joined
Jun 26, 2005
Messages
384
Hey Guys. I have liked wat everyone has said in the past so I was hoping for some help. I want to build a system that has pretty good performance for not too much money. I have some ins in a couple of different places for price so dont really worry about the when you post back. I was thinking of the following:

AMD Athlon 64 (3000+ to 3500+)
Corsair PC3200 1 GB Ram
120 GB HDD
256 mb Video Card

These are some bare explanations but I was wondering what you guys thought about them and for a possible motherboard?

Thanks
 
well your hardware selections look pretty good there. but ther are some big questions still.

mainly are you going to go pci-express ? are you going to run dual channel DDR ?

socket 754 or 939 ?

you can go cheap and still build a powerful unit going the 754 cpu and apg with the video + best bang for buck

or you could go a bit more $$$ and go 939 -pci-express might cost a little more but will have much longer leggs .

i mostly tell people to build 939's with pci express --for the long haul --but a 939 or 754 socket with the bargins that are going on in AGP are difficult to turn down .

if fact-- i just bought a referb asus a8v delux --just because i got a killer deal on a GF6800gt/AGP i couldn't turn down . i might advise to get the videocard deal you want-- then build around that . or you could get the motherdoard and then build from that-- your pick--LOL
 
Yeah, you need to pick a socket to get good recommendations.

One thing that worried me in your post, a 256mb video, i trust you know that MB is in no way a performance measurement. A 128mb 6600GT will destroy a 256MB 9600pro and so on, 256 only matters when comparing the exact same type of cards. I know this sounds like i'm preaching but i've seen so many people get sucked in by MB and get screwed in thier video card purchases.
 
About the video card I have heard about what you are saying. I was thinking of an X700 or a 6600. I wanted to stay around $200 for one. As for the CPU, I was leaning toward socket 939 with pci express just because I can get some OK discounts from a few places. I am not sure how much I can save but I can check. I am also not sure about dual channel memory at all. What do you guys think?
 
i'm going to guess you'll want a pci-express videocard ? (because i haven't seen any x700's in AGP $$$


then we got another question if your going the PCI-express road --SLI or not to sli ?

now you can have a sli MB and not worry about SLI till later--even way later--lol
 
Dual channel is all about bandwidth. One stick of ram would have 1 lane of data. 2 sticks of ram, in dual channel mode, opens up to 2 lanes of data. This applies to S939 only, in socket 754 even with 2 sticks of ram there is still only "one data lane". However, truth be told, dual channel doesn't do all that much for the athlon 64. Its nabs you a few % points, but nothing major.
 
I was thinking about an SLI motherboard just because of possible future upgrade. The prices are not that much more either. I was looking at the ASUS A8N SLI but not very many other. I was talking about PCI-E for the video card and I don't really want to worry about the memory yet but i sounds like I may not have to. Thanks Again.
 
a question for the DYI'er-- how do you feel about referbs what is your skill in building systems ?
are you going to overclock it and how much of an overclock will this system require??

last question--how many pci slots (the regular ones ) do you need ?
 
As for refurbs, I have heard some good things but I always tend to be a little hesitant. It would matter where it came from. I think that I wouldn't need more than 3 PCI slots. The only things I could see myself putting there would be maybe sound, network, tv tuner. I don't think any more. I have never actually built an entire system but I have played enought with them and fixing them that I know what I am doing. I have taken parts out and so on and switched them so its no big deal. I have never overclocked howwever and I am not sure wether I would or not. I dont think I would do any major overclocking if thats what you are asking.
 
the least expensive sli mb will run from $125 --can't say i have built one most will run around $150 to $160 in a asus or MSI

if your experinced enough you could get the dfi-lanparty ultra D and "mod" it for SLI .

egg has got referbs for $86 --but their bare bones --which is not a problem normally EXCEPT
for the karajuan audio module (didn't come with the one i got) is not included.

you can get the module direct from DFI for $18 . so now your in for $86+$18= $104

but ther is still the bridge--the egg has got them for $14 so were now talking $128 and the hassle of hunting stuff up -- if your not going SLI right away and sli is in the maybe way later deal --then all you need is the module . if you can live without the on board sound -- then this is a good deal . however it has only two regular PC slots . if you put a sound card in one you'll only have one left--
 
If you are talking about the LAN PARTY UT NFORCE 4 ULTRA-D then I can get it new for about 130.
 
humm the only really cheap sli mb i know of is a biostar -- i have seen them on the egg for like $125 . now since i haven't built one i don't know how good they might be.

the few biostars i have worked with had some overclocking stuff--but not enough to be considered a real overclocking MB -- i would give it a look anyways
 
yes that is like the one i got as a referb-- it is an excellent MB and not bad for $130 however it is not a true SLI MB . it is a extream overclocking MB-- so if you go with it you will have to sepnd a bit more time setting it up.

my lanparty ultrad needed a bios flash -- after the bios update it has been great --

only thing about it-- it has voltages and settings that go --into-outerspace --and thes high settings in the ram cpu-vcore can kill stuff -- most mb' have a safty margin --the DFI can go to and beyond the limit.

it is safe if used with the proper respect voltage wise--
 
can't say about the biostar--but it is a nf4 ultra and it is sli-- i have been temped to buy one myself .

i'm sure the ultra D is a better MB for the most part --but the biostar could be a good deal esp if it is stable and provides SLI.

new egg usually has some good deals on 6600gt videocards --and they can sli-- say $135 or so
 
Yeah that same DFI board is on the egg for 116 without the bridge. Which bridge would I get and what would be the total.

Also, if I didnt go SLI what else should I look at?
 
best deal i saw in the referbs was a sapphire x800pro for $190 great card overclocks to xt speed 12 piplines and 256 mb of fast memory .

the VIVO version is the best
 
newegg referb.

be aware it's barebone-- just a card ina box and youll nee the pci-express power adaptor ,

you can make one out of an old atx powersupply 20 pin molex .

or you can buy um form places like e-bay

i think it was $196 or something like that --pci-express radeon x800pro vivo
 
OK,
so back to the topic. Do you guys think that the DFI is the best board for me or what? Should I buy for example like a 3000+ and overclock it or buy a 3400+ or something? What kind of cooling/how much cooling should I use?
 
well overclocking with the DFI is pretty easy , stay withen the stock-type voltages and you should be fine.

the DFI lanparty ultra d , the sapphire x800pro , a nice stable PSU of 450w or better --think like an antec ,

if your not going to get crazy going 1to1 on the ram value ram should work-- something like pqi turbo should be enough-- try something like 2x256

or the corsair 2x 256 --min you can go --say 2x512 would be a bit better .

on the cou i would go either 3200 or 3000 winchester or venice core . you can do a very mild overclock and get 2400 or so no problem. you can get crazy overclocking the DFI but for a daily driver i do like to go much beyond the cpu's origional design speeds
 
i like the thermalright xp-120 , but there some cheeper units that do about as good -- i got a coolermaster hyper 6 from some guy off ebay for $25 --super heavy copper unit --with adjustable fan . does a great job cooling esp if your not moveing the case around to lan-partys and such
 
ok So those are heatsinks but wat about case fans. Are like 4 case fans enough or what? Also, if I go with that motherboard is it going to be hard to set p compared to like an Asus for example?
 
Yet another question: Whats the difference between the DFI Ultra-D and the normal LanParty Nforce4?
 
what kind of case do you use ?

as far as case fans go you will need a few-- not because the cpu is getting that hot --but because the mb chipset is warm and the videocard is also a heat maker . as for what kind of fane and how many that would depend on the case--

as far as cases go i like chieftec, chenmming and antec --for quality --

but a generic case will work if it is layed out--just don't go with a generic PSU unit--lol
 
i'm not totally sure

but i think the dfi-lanparty ultra D is the exact same MB as the SLI version, except it has fewer sata devices-- ie mine has six sata 2's with no sata 1's

as for the others you'll have to look at the fine print as the ultre d's and sli's are the only DFI's i have worked with--lol :eek:

PS get a venice core if you can find one right-- it has a better memory controller than the winchester --as far as overclocking their about the same --the venice might be a little better--but the improved memory deal is the thing to look for anyways --
 
I wasn't planning on overclocking that much if at all. I was told to get an ASUS board but I know others are good as well.
 
i have an asus also it is a good stable and pretty good overclocker --it is also super easy to set up . you might want to upgrade the bios on any nf4 though .

my experience is to use the award flasher rather than flashing through windows .

the a8n-sli deluxe is a good MB -- ive had this one a rev 1 for half a year running 12hours + everyday --super stable .

hey e-whize has the 3000 venice core 939's on sale for like $119 + shipping today.

i just bought one --
 
e wiz is a place that sell computer stuff --kinda like newegg

the retails have a better warrenty-- i think 3 years by amd -- i think oem are only 30 days.

well if your not overclocking but a little consider the 3200 paris core also

it has a 10x multi for the cpu --so you won't have to push the FSB up as hard but to me the 3200 vs 3000 usually comes down to $$$ cause i have got just as high overclocks out of the 3000's as the 3200. i do like the 10x multi but i don't know if i like it $50 mores worth--lol
 
No I haven't really decided about the video card. Also, I am not 100% sure exactly what 10X for the CPU is. Anyway, I thought I might run by a budget and see what parts you guys could come up with. It may be to much to ask but I would appreciate it. I was thinking about 500 to 800 and keep in mind I can get some good prices. Thanks for all your help.
 
well do you have anything that your going to use in your new build allready ? case or PSU ?
hardrive ?

are are you going to build from scratch ???
 
zwbuntster said:
About the video card I have heard about what you are saying. I was thinking of an X700 or a 6600. I wanted to stay around $200 for one. As for the CPU, I was leaning toward socket 939 with pci express just because I can get some OK discounts from a few places. I am not sure how much I can save but I can check. I am also not sure about dual channel memory at all. What do you guys think?
Click to expand...


Aren't there x800s for $230?

It's worth it.
 
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