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Ok, so let me start off by saying that in preparation for my impending purchases I've been doing a lot of research lately and I've come to a few conclusions:
1. AMD64 processor is a must (Winchester core)
2. I'm almost 100% sure that I'm getting the DFI NForce4 Ultra-D
3. Video card will be something from the ATi X8xx line
4. I will probably want/need a new PSU
Now, here's where I run into a few stumbling blocks:
1. Which one? I've been hearing a lot of the more recent 3200+ chips are horrible OCers. Is that the case for the 3500+ flavor as well? I'd like to get something 2.6+ GHz with my setup. I know nothing is guaranteed, but what's the general concensus as to the best chance of getting into that range? I'd be willing to buy an older chip if someone can point out where I can get one. excaliburpc's down for a month so they're out. Water may be a possibilty if I opt for cheaper components to offset the price.
2. This is almost a no-brainer for me. Most robust overclocking options and I can probably mod it to be SLi capable if the need/want arises in the future. Are there any issues that I should know about with this board?
3. Another "which one" type decision. I know that there are certain X800 Pros that can be flashed to X800 XTPEs. I know that most of these are VIVO cards with 1.6ns ram. Does the same thing apply to the PCI-E variants? I'm willing to take a bit of a risk here if there is a card that will be "very likely" to pull off the mod. Can someone post a link to the "good ones" if they exist? If not, what should I get? I was thinking an X850 XT but most people are saying that all those cards have 2.0ns ram. Should I just not worry about that and just get the X850 XT and overclock it as much as I can? The reason I want the ATi card here is because I almost exclusively play EQ2. The 6800 series cards have some problems with this game at the moment. If I decide to so SLi in the future I can always sell off that ATi card anyway.
4. I have an Antec True Power 480W. It seems people are liking these less and less lately. I've been hearing horror stories of PSUs with non-native 24 pin adapters freaking out on recent A64 systems. Should I get something else? Is the PCP&C 510W Turbo Cool worth the extra $100 over, say, a Neo Power? I will be running standard faire stuff here: CPU, RAM, video card, one or two HDDs, one optical, and potentially an H2O pump. Plus, an upgrade to SLi may be on the horizon for me.
Lastly, this brings us to the budget. I will be keeping some of my original components such as RAM (I'm just going to run dividers. It's been shown that RAM has less impact on overall system speed than CPU/GPU etc.), HDDs, optical drive, case, etc. I'd like to stay in the ballpark of $1000 if possible. Obviously the lower the better. Water cooling is something I've been wanting to get into for a while, so if I opt to get "more moddable" components in lieu of the sure fire things I could potentially get wet 'n wild.
Oh, and I'd like to get this stuff ordered ASAP so responses like "wait until xxx comes out" are not really helpful unless it will be a HUGE benefit to wait.
Linkage to the stuff I'm going to get unless compelled othewise:
Antec 480 watt 120mm fan ATX 12V v2.0 power supply, Active PFC, Model "NeoPower" - Retail
http://www.newegg.com/app/viewProductDesc.asp?description=17-103-924&depa=0
SAPPHIRE ATI RADEON X850 XT Video Card, 256MB GDDR3, 256-Bit, DVI/TV-Out, PCI-Express, Model "100106" -OEM
http://www.newegg.com/app/ViewProductDesc.asp?description=14-102-483&depa=0
AMD Athlon 64 3500+, 2.2 GHz, 512KB L2 Cache 64-bit Socket 939 Processor - Retail
http://www.newegg.com/app/ViewProductDesc.asp?description=19-103-498&depa=0
DFI "LANPARTY UT nF4 Ultra-D" NVIDIA nForce4 Ultra Chipset Motherboard For AMD Socket 939 CPU -RETAIL
http://www.newegg.com/app/viewProductDesc.asp?description=13-136-152&catalog=23&manufactory=BROWSE
Anyhow, that's about it. For all of you that read that whole verbose post, you have my thanks.
EDIT- Spelling/grammar... also added links to the stuff I'm considering the most.
1. AMD64 processor is a must (Winchester core)
2. I'm almost 100% sure that I'm getting the DFI NForce4 Ultra-D
3. Video card will be something from the ATi X8xx line
4. I will probably want/need a new PSU
Now, here's where I run into a few stumbling blocks:
1. Which one? I've been hearing a lot of the more recent 3200+ chips are horrible OCers. Is that the case for the 3500+ flavor as well? I'd like to get something 2.6+ GHz with my setup. I know nothing is guaranteed, but what's the general concensus as to the best chance of getting into that range? I'd be willing to buy an older chip if someone can point out where I can get one. excaliburpc's down for a month so they're out. Water may be a possibilty if I opt for cheaper components to offset the price.
2. This is almost a no-brainer for me. Most robust overclocking options and I can probably mod it to be SLi capable if the need/want arises in the future. Are there any issues that I should know about with this board?
3. Another "which one" type decision. I know that there are certain X800 Pros that can be flashed to X800 XTPEs. I know that most of these are VIVO cards with 1.6ns ram. Does the same thing apply to the PCI-E variants? I'm willing to take a bit of a risk here if there is a card that will be "very likely" to pull off the mod. Can someone post a link to the "good ones" if they exist? If not, what should I get? I was thinking an X850 XT but most people are saying that all those cards have 2.0ns ram. Should I just not worry about that and just get the X850 XT and overclock it as much as I can? The reason I want the ATi card here is because I almost exclusively play EQ2. The 6800 series cards have some problems with this game at the moment. If I decide to so SLi in the future I can always sell off that ATi card anyway.
4. I have an Antec True Power 480W. It seems people are liking these less and less lately. I've been hearing horror stories of PSUs with non-native 24 pin adapters freaking out on recent A64 systems. Should I get something else? Is the PCP&C 510W Turbo Cool worth the extra $100 over, say, a Neo Power? I will be running standard faire stuff here: CPU, RAM, video card, one or two HDDs, one optical, and potentially an H2O pump. Plus, an upgrade to SLi may be on the horizon for me.
Lastly, this brings us to the budget. I will be keeping some of my original components such as RAM (I'm just going to run dividers. It's been shown that RAM has less impact on overall system speed than CPU/GPU etc.), HDDs, optical drive, case, etc. I'd like to stay in the ballpark of $1000 if possible. Obviously the lower the better. Water cooling is something I've been wanting to get into for a while, so if I opt to get "more moddable" components in lieu of the sure fire things I could potentially get wet 'n wild.
Oh, and I'd like to get this stuff ordered ASAP so responses like "wait until xxx comes out" are not really helpful unless it will be a HUGE benefit to wait.
Linkage to the stuff I'm going to get unless compelled othewise:
Antec 480 watt 120mm fan ATX 12V v2.0 power supply, Active PFC, Model "NeoPower" - Retail
http://www.newegg.com/app/viewProductDesc.asp?description=17-103-924&depa=0
SAPPHIRE ATI RADEON X850 XT Video Card, 256MB GDDR3, 256-Bit, DVI/TV-Out, PCI-Express, Model "100106" -OEM
http://www.newegg.com/app/ViewProductDesc.asp?description=14-102-483&depa=0
AMD Athlon 64 3500+, 2.2 GHz, 512KB L2 Cache 64-bit Socket 939 Processor - Retail
http://www.newegg.com/app/ViewProductDesc.asp?description=19-103-498&depa=0
DFI "LANPARTY UT nF4 Ultra-D" NVIDIA nForce4 Ultra Chipset Motherboard For AMD Socket 939 CPU -RETAIL
http://www.newegg.com/app/viewProductDesc.asp?description=13-136-152&catalog=23&manufactory=BROWSE
Anyhow, that's about it. For all of you that read that whole verbose post, you have my thanks.
EDIT- Spelling/grammar... also added links to the stuff I'm considering the most.