upgrading from mediocre 3200+ to A64

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kronchev

[H]F Junkie
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Ive decided that my current system is...well I hate the A7N8X now. every little thing about it has gotten to me. The lack of overclocking on my processor has gotten to me. Etc, etc etc. I'm thinking about upgrading to an A64 system but I have NO idea where to even begin. Motherboard is the biggest issue, processor is another one, and I'll just go for generic PC3200 since there isnt much OCing in these things.

I need really good integrated audio, SATA, LAN...thats pretty much it. Firewire would be nice but not necessary.

I also need to do the whole system, processor ram and motherboard, for under 500.

Any help is greatly appreciated.

looking at this processor at this point: http://www.newegg.com/app/viewProductDesc.asp?description=19-103-487&catalog=23&manufactory=BROWSE
 
Do a few searches and you'll find lots of good information, although I'll give you a couple of my opinions. They are only opinions though.

1) Generally stick with a nForce3-250 motherboard for overclocking. Most all of them all offer good 5-6 channel sound, onboard SATA and raid. There are several good socket 754 boards to choose from. I've personally had good luck with the Chaintech vnf3-250, but it does not have firewire or Gigabit so you may want to look at the MSI K8N Neo Platinum or maybe the upcoming DFI Infinity that looks like it will be awesome!

2) The A64 3200+ newcastle generally is a great overclocker and the 11x multi is handy, but if you get a good motherboard that supports a high HTT and some good memory, you might want to look at the 3000+. It is $40 cheaper and generally overclocks as high as it's 3200+ big brother. I've done some fooling with my new 3200+ and I doubt I'll end up using my 11x multi since I can get my HTT up to 340+ in my initial testing with my VNF3-250.

3) Memory is still pretty important. You do not need to run it sync with the HTT like with nForce2, so you can get away with more generic stuff, but I'd still look at at some OCZ PC3500EB or the new crucial Ballistix PC3200 or 4000. Both seem to love the A64 platform and give lots of flexability if overclocking. For instance with my stuff, I did some quick testing to 320x8 (2560mhz) with the 5:6 memory divider which had my memory at 265 or so.

So my personal recommendation for some cheap overclocking fun: VNF3-250 ($80) or Epox 8kda3j ($90), A64 3000+ ($165) and 512MB crucial ballistix PC3200 ($125) = $370+ with money left over for another 512MB or a more feature rich motherboard, etc.
 
I was looking for the same thing as you, but I was coming from a 2.53 ghz p4 with pc2100.

I ordered all this from Newegg today:
$175 Athlon64 3000+ Retail
$82 VNF3-250
$154 1 gb (512x2) Corsair Value Select PC3200 CAS2.5

$411 total


I realize that some places may be a little cheaper, but NewEgg has always done me right and I would highly reccommend them to anyone. I can let you know how it all works out after I get it installed if you would like.
 
Soldur said:
I realize that some places may be a little cheaper, but NewEgg has always done me right and I would highly reccommend them to anyone. I can let you know how it all works out after I get it installed if you would like.
Click to expand...
Yep, you can't go wrong with NewEgg. They rock!
 
A64 3000+ - $175 (retail)
Epox 8RDA3J - $80-90
not sure about RAM, haven't kept up with it
 
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