Advice on this OC setup.

[Joerg]

Well ive been sort of out of the new hardware game for awhile.

Anyways im looking at getting a new setup and budget is the word.

So far ive got everythign picked out from mwave.

3000+ retail
msi neo4-F
Gigabyte 6600GT pci E

Basically i just wanted to know what you guys think of the setup. Also will i need a new powersupply? I have an Antec 430 watt true power now but im unsure on all the pci express type things.

Also what heatsink should i be looking at? Im going to be with just the retail for alittle while but i would like to spend maybe $40 on a good one later down the road.

Finnally my current memory is HyperX 1 gig pc3200 wich doesnt seem to have much room above its ratings but we will see.

I just want the ok from you guys that have built A64 systems of have experience with the parts im using. Any advice woudl be great too.

 

[NetDevil]

I`d go for a dfi lanparty motheboard and an xp120 for the HS.

 

[Joerg]

Well the DFI looks great, problem is the cpu socket is to high up. My case is a temjin tjo6 and has the wind tunnel running through it so any board with the memory in that position wont work. Thats not to say i will rule it out though. Could i ask why you recomend it? Also no reason for an xp120 would be to big for my wind tunnel anyways but again i wont rule it out.

 

[GuitarDaddy]

If you are leaning towards the GB, why not go for the gusto!:beer:

Gigabyte GV-3D1 Motherboard (GA-K8NXP-SLI)/Video Card (NV43 GT) Bundled Combo AMD 939

On a more budget minded note. If your not big into overclocking ECS's NF4 board is under $100 and the Chaintech NF4 is only a little more. Either one of these would work well.

 

[BoleCailey]

Wait a few weeks, vince cores will be out as soon as 2 weeks give or take.

 

[fireontheway]

Have you tried it without the wind tunnel?

 

[Joerg]

Ok first im huge into overlocking. Second im always on a tight budget. I game more on my xbox than i do on my PC, but i still would love to play doom3 and hl2 aswell as anything else coming out in the next year or so.

As for the wind tunnel it acctually lowers my cpu temps about 4 degrees celcius so i would like to keep it.

Im open to other options i just dont have money to throw at an SLI setup and the latest ultra ultra board with all the latest technologies i wont need for 3 years.

I just want the bare mimum stable board that i can overclock with Nforce 4 is prefered, a 3000+ winchester core, and a PCI express graphics card that will last me as long as my ti4200 has.

Bole Cailey what are the new Venice cores adding other than sse3? And any ideas what the lower end price range will be? wondering if they will drop 3000+ and 3200+ at that time.

Oh and only reason im chose that gigabyte card is because it was the cheapest ont mwave and a decent brand name with all the features i need.

 

[NetDevil]

Originally posted by: Joerg
Ok first im huge into overlocking.

DFI is the choise. Forget the wind tunnel and buy this one.
The venice cores will be highly overclockable from what i heard.

 

[akugami]

Get a DFI Lanparty NF4 Ultra board if you want the best overclocking board. You don't need the SLI option really. Socket 939 will allow upgrading to dual cores if you ever decide to upgrade your CPU. The board also supports PCI-E so you are guaranteed to be able to install the latest video cards coming out years from now. The S939 NF4 boards will pretty much guarantee you will be able to upgrade the CPU and or video card without needing to buy a whole new motherboard.

Unless you are after a super silent computer or you're after extreme overclocking or you live in the tropics, forget adding a HSF. The stock HSF on Winchester core Athlon 64's are plenty good to get you to 2.5-2.6ghz. A stock A64 3000+ is 1.8ghz and the stock HSF will take you to 2.5ghz (provided your CPU can push those speeds). I really don't see the need to drop $35-50 on a HSF for an extra 100mhz or so. Once you hit 2.7ghz you're really reaching the absolute top speed that air cooling wil take you. After that, to get to 2.8ghz-3ghz you'll really be looking at phase change cooling which still means you won't be buying a new HSF.

Don't listen to everyone who automatically says to replace the stock HSF, the Winchester core A64's do quite well on stock HSF. You'll have to consider whether the extra 100mhz, 200mhz tops, that a replacement HSF will get you is worth the money. Personally, I say no. Ultimately, it's your decision.

If your video card budget is about $200 get a Geforce 6600GT. If it's $300, get a Radeon X800 XL. Both are good cards and the 6600GT might be a little better bang for the buck but the X800 XL will last you longer.

You don't list a DVD drive but if you don't have one already, get an NEC 3500A which is a really nice burner at $60-70. The NEC 3500A can get a bit noisy when you first put a disc into the drive but normally it's at acceptable levels during burning and DVD playback. I've heard good things about the BenQ drives as well but have no experience with them.

The Venice core chips are the newest revision of the A64's to come out and will hit supposedly mid April. That means you shouldn't expect it to ship until the end of April at the earliest and most likely early May is when you'll start to see it in numbers. It uses strained silicon which is suppose to help speed wise as well as add SSE3 which should help for encoding video.

Strained silicon is also suppose to help achieve higher overclocks but you probably won't see more than maybe 100mhz higher overclocks on average at best. Most people probably won't even benefit that much from it. As it stands right now, it's a lot of hype and dreaming since people are hoping they can reach between 2.8ghz-3ghz on air cooling with the Venice A64's. This is not guaranteed obviously.

My advice is if you're gonna upgrade and were looking to do it roughly a month down the line, then keep on waiting for the Venice core CPU's. If you were thinking of getting a Winchester core CPU next week and hoping to get your new setup as soon as possible, go ahead and get the Winchester. Yeah, the Venice core will likely be slightly better but there is always something better around the corner. If everyone kept waiting for the next best thing no one would buy anything.

 

[Joerg]

Hmm maybe i didnt make it clear one what board i was getting. The DFI adds $50 to the price of my setup. The board im looking at now (MSI NEO4-F is an nforce 4 board built on the same pcb as the nforce 4 neo platnium it just lacks sli, and sata II 2 things i will likely never have in the life of this setup. However the msi board im looking at is at this point very new its been on the markety less than 3 weeks. So perhaps when the reviews start popping up and it comes out to be a poor performer i can decide then.

The time fram for my purchase is going to be mid april. So if AMD announces a 3000+ to 3500+ venice in my price range i will wait for venice.

My current setup is a 2100+ @ 2.4ghz and 1 gig of hyperx running ultra tight timimings, geforce 4 ti 4200, Antec 430 watt true power, and 2 80 gig maxtor drives, also i do have a dvd burner its only a liteon 4x dual format but im fine with it for now.

As for the heatsink it will depend on what the temps are looking like for me, im sure i will upgrade it though as i cant stand how noisy most stock heatsinks are. Yah i know im really picky and it may seem like i want more than my budget will allown but im the type of guy that will shop around for months before buying something.

Final thing is im still unsure on my psu the antec true power 430. Will it work with this board and PCIe or should i get a new psu aswell?

 

[NetDevil]

The PSU is more than enough. A guy from here used a 250w antec for a rig similar to that. You don`t need to change it.

 

[ironique]

HSF = Zalman CNPS7700-Cu @ $45. Efficient, silent, excellent for OC'ing on air!

 

[BlindBartimaeus]

The stock HSF will be fine. Quiet enough, but yeah...you have 50 bucks laying around and some patience...the 7700 is a great choice.

 

[WA261]

Dont worry about your mem. Just set your divider and you will be able to crank your fsb without any performance loss. Well, not enough you will notice it in anything.

 

[Joerg]

Thanks for the info guys i will consider the zalman as i appreciate quite time at my computer more and more all the time. ive been used to a 55cfm 80mm fan on my slk800. I just got my dual lcds today and they are amazing thank you newegg. Acctually watching napoleon dynamite on the other monitor while typign this and so far i havent found a single dead pixel on either of them