PC Upgrade

Well, I am looking to upgrade my rig this year and wanted to just get some suggestions on what to get, here is what I am currently looking at:

Asus - A7N8X Deluxe - nVIDIA nForce 2 Chipset: $119.99
Athlon XP2800+ Barton 333FSB: $136.99
PC3200 (400MHz) 512MB: $74.99

Total: $331.97


If anyone can come up with a better setup for, mostly, a gaming machine feel free to post it. I am looking for just those 3 components, video card I have works fine on all the games I play. Also, the prices I have quoted are from: www.tigerdirect.com

They opened one a few miles down the road so I started looking there =)

Nice spec m8... but your motherboard wouldn't be my first choice...

Here's my spec (from TigerDirect)

Motherboard: Gigabyte 7NNXP
URL: Gigabyte 7NNXP
CPU: AMD Athlon 2600XP Barton Core
URL: AMD Athlon 2600XP Barton Core
Memory: Corsair CL3 512mb DDR PC3200
URL: Corsair CL3 512mb DDR PC3200

Total: $344.97

You'll notice i've upgraded your motherboard to something which will really give you some raw power. I've downgraded the CPU from a 2800 to a 2600... purely because of the price/performance difference! A 2800XP CPU on an Asus mobo... won't run any faster than a 2600XP on a Gigabyte mobo... because with the Gigabyte option, you can modify (in the BIOS) settings between

1. Optimal (The best your setup can be without risking instability)
2. Turbo (Pushes more from your CPU, but will create a few degree's more heat)
3. Expert (Which allows you to modify items like CAS Latency ((Which is the CL3 part of your memory choice)) and really get the most from your setup.

I've never been a fan of Asus... as i've found them to be very unstable and cheaply made!

If you're going to build a PC to that uber-spec... you may as well have some really decent kit! It may have cost you $10/12 more, but trust me, it's well worth it.

You MUST make sure you have a decent heatsink, to keep your CPU cool when playing the most complex games. I'de recommend the Coolermaster HAC-V81... which is only around £10 / $18... but it's a variable fan allowing you to alter the speed without opening your case. It's VERY VERY loud at full speed though... so at nearly 6000RPM, you'll be deaf in no time! :)

Hope that helps.

:wave:

I bought a Peltier Heat pump last year, (£20 from Maplin's)
My CPU is running at less than room temperature now, and that's when running Unreal Tournament. You've got to be prepared to do some soldering though. No fan , no noise.

Sweet. :cool:

VisionIT:

Well I was looking into ASUS again because the current machine I am on has been extremely stable for the past year and a half.

As far as the CPU, I think I agree with you, I checked out some benchmarks from the guys at tomshardware.com and an overclocked 2600XP outperforms the 2800 in every category, or almost every category.

The fan most likely won't be a problem because I use headphones when playing games anyway so it dulls most outside noise, however, I might look into the pump.

wossname:

Was the heat pump difficult to install, as far as soldering goes I have no experience, however, my father was a former electronic technician has experience with complex circuits so I would imagine he has done some soldering in his days.

Regards,
David Sheller

VisionIT, you do realize those "modes" on that motherboard just OC the cpu and/or adjust the FSB, right?

I wouldn't choose a motherboard for those "modes" when you can do a better job of manually doing it.

I've had many friends use ASUS and zero problems and have been very stable. My graphics card is an ASUS and has never let me down.

Just NEVER buy a VIA chipset. ugh, worst mistake ever

Quote:

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Originally posted by kasracer
VisionIT, you do realize those "modes" on that motherboard just OC the cpu and/or adjust the FSB, right?

I wouldn't choose a motherboard for those "modes" when you can do a better job of manually doing it.

I've had many friends use ASUS and zero problems and have been very stable. My graphics card is an ASUS and has never let me down.

Just NEVER buy a VIA chipset. ugh, worst mistake ever

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Gimmie a break... course I realise they OC memory latency and FSB... how else would you force it to be faster... send it thought signals? :p

I think you'll find most decent motherboards have VIA chipsets... and when configured correctly... they rock! I've had litterally thousands of Gigabyte motherboards with AMD & VIA chipsets... and granted they can be a real pain if you don't know what your doing... but they work perfectly well with the right setup.

dsheller:

I don't know how old your current system is... but IMHO, Asus has been getting worse over the past few years... hence all the problems.

Obviously, it's entirely up to you which you go for... but speaking purely from experience, Asus, Abit & MSI have all given me real problems... Abit being the worst! AT7-MAX2... probably an acronym for Absolutely terrible 7 most are 'Xchanged 2 :p

I found a site once for watercooling etc.... it was something like www.ubermodz.biz ... but i dont think it works anymore. :(

Quote:

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Originally posted by VisionIT
I think you'll find most decent motherboards have VIA chipsets... and when configured correctly... they rock! I've had litterally thousands of Gigabyte motherboards with AMD & VIA chipsets... and granted they can be a real pain if you don't know what your doing... but they work perfectly well with the right setup.

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Where'd you hear this bull**** from? Check out nvidia's support pages, or ATi's, or even AMD's. All of them talk about VIA having problems with their products.

I've had a VIA chipset motherboard for a while, and it is quite a piece of ****. Several people I know also have them and they are ALL unstable. Check out the forums for UT2K3 and UT. They have serious problems with people running the VIA chipset.

As a matter of fact, alot of games have problems using the VIA chipset. There are alot of 3rd party patches made to help with the problems, but none of them fix the problems.

Check out any hardware reviewing site worth a grain of salt, they'll say the same thing.... VIA sucks.


FYI: I hate VIA incase you haven't noticed

Everyone listen to VisionIT he knows what is good and also knows everything else...:bigyello:


VisionIT, of course your gonna think what you have yourself is the best...


"Look at my motherboard, it has pretty colors on it", it has to be AWESOME!:D

Quote:

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Originally posted by dsheller
Well, I am looking to upgrade my rig this year and wanted to just get some suggestions on what to get, here is what I am currently looking at:

Asus - A7N8X Deluxe - nVIDIA nForce 2 Chipset: $119.99
Athlon XP2800+ Barton 333FSB: $136.99
PC3200 (400MHz) 512MB: $74.99

Total: $331.97


If anyone can come up with a better setup for, mostly, a gaming machine feel free to post it. I am looking for just those 3 components, video card I have works fine on all the games I play. Also, the prices I have quoted are from: www.tigerdirect.com

They opened one a few miles down the road so I started looking there =)

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My advice, go with whatever you thinks is best and just make sure that you won't have any compatability issues. I don't think that anyone has tried EVERY new mobo, so no one really knows whats the best.

It's not good because I own one... I own one because it's good! ;)

The only trouble i've had with VIA chipsets are with the old apollo motherboards... back in the days that 350Mhz was quick! :p

IntelSucks... do I detect an element of sarcasm in the comment? :D :D :D

Quote:

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Originally posted by IntelSucks
My advice, go with whatever you thinks is best and just make sure that you won't have any compatability issues. I don't think that anyone has tried EVERY new mobo, so no one really knows whats the best.

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Thats got to be the worlds most stupid comment.

"Go with whatever you thinks is best, and just make sure you won't have any compatability issues"

How can he make sure of that if he only goes on his judgement? :rolleyes:

I'd take a nForce2 board over a VIA, thats my opinion. I'd also seriously consider getting some RAM that is CAS 2.5 at least instead of 3.

Hmm... my little thread has grown quite a bit.

VisionIT:

Currently I have an ASUS Mobo, A7N266-VM with nForce chipset, using a 1.3 TBird. This has done me fine for quite some time, I just thought it was time for an upgrade.

Quote:

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Originally posted by VisionIT
Thats got to be the worlds most stupid comment.

"Go with whatever you thinks is best, and just make sure you won't have any compatability issues"

How can he make sure of that if he only goes on his judgement? :rolleyes:

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No it wasnt.

Quote:

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Originally posted by Edneeis
I'd take a nForce2 board over a VIA, thats my opinion. I'd also seriously consider getting some RAM that is CAS 2.5 at least instead of 3.

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Oh my goodness, I think its time to start another poll.


VIA or NForce2

I started a poll in the General PC section...just for the fun of it.


VisionIT, I don't have anything against the VIA chipset or the nForce2 chipset. I am currently using them both.;)

Quote:

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Originally posted by dsheller


wossname:

Was the heat pump difficult to install, as far as soldering goes I have no experience, however, my father was a former electronic technician has experience with complex circuits so I would imagine he has done some soldering in his days.

Regards,
David Sheller

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In fact the most tricky part is getting the pump to stick to the CPU. Being an active refrigeration unit (unlike passive heatsinks and fans) it tends to bring about much higher fluctuations in surface temperature (namely at startup/shutdown). So getting a thick silver conductive paste is good. I had to carve up a bit of plastic and form it into a kind of tension clip in order to get it to stay put without sliding about.

The soldering I mentioned is just adding a standard 12 volt PC plug (like the kind that goes into the back of a hard disk or CDROM).

It is possible to add a thermostat to this setup that varies the amount of cooling provided by the peltier but this should only be done if your PSU has power to spare.

So basically just add a power plug to it (10 minutes) and find a way to mount it to the motherboard (1 hour max). Then run the PC with the lid off for a few hours / days and play some games to get the heat up. the Peltier gets HOT so be careful. I advise adding a normal heatsink to the hot side of the peltier and channelling all of the hot air out of the back of the PC with a quiet fan.

In the UK, Maplin sells peltiers in a few different sizes. A 40mm square one will be about £20

Quote:

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Originally posted by kasracer
Where'd you hear this bull**** from? Check out nvidia's support pages, or ATi's, or even AMD's. All of them talk about VIA having problems with their products.

I've had a VIA chipset motherboard for a while, and it is quite a piece of ****. Several people I know also have them and they are ALL unstable. Check out the forums for UT2K3 and UT. They have serious problems with people running the VIA chipset.

As a matter of fact, alot of games have problems using the VIA chipset. There are alot of 3rd party patches made to help with the problems, but none of them fix the problems.

Check out any hardware reviewing site worth a grain of salt, they'll say the same thing.... VIA sucks.


FYI: I hate VIA incase you haven't noticed

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I have had problems with KT133 (?) shipset - random freezing and restarting. Zero problems with KT333. Also, KT600 seems stable.

I have had no instabilities on my KT333 platform.

Instead of going through the expense of a heatpump, just buy a Zalman cpu cooler ($32-$39). You won't even hear the fan with your ear up to the case. IT comes with a variable switch, I set it at the lowest, and my 1800 XP runs at 102F.

http://www.endpcnoise.com/

or

http://www.zalman.co.kr/english/intro.htm


I don't care what anyone says, 3 to 4 hours listening to a fan is draining on ya. Once you go quiet, you never go back!