Planning out (upgrading to X2)

[keitaro]

Okay, that upgrade bug is really biting hard this time. I've been looking at the X2 3800+ with anticipation and the price at Mwave is quite attractive. And so I've compiled up this post to gather your insights and comments about the path I am choosing.

CPU -- X2 3800+ (duh!)
Motherboard -- MSI K8N Neo2 Platinum
Heatsink -- ???
RAM -- ???

Here's where I'll need some help on. The heatsink is unknown at this point. I would like to plunk down and get a Zalman but then there's the "modest" overclocking I intend to do. I do not plan on going extreme but it'd be nice if I could. I'm not heavy on o/c'ing so perhaps a conservative heatsink will do. Any suggestion and idea is appreciated.

The RAM is also unknown at this point. However, I did noticed this while looking through some RAM prices. I had originally thought that PC3700 will do in case I do bump it up a notch but oddly enough the pricing on this one is very attractive. What do you guys think of this? I've a pair of PC3200 from Crucial that has served me well for my Athlon XP 2100+ but I doubt it'll get me anywhere much if RAM becomes a limiting factor.

The CPU and motherboard are set in stone. Right now the variables are heatsink and RAM. The investment is considered large in my opinion. And I'd like to avoid spending a lot. Waiting is an option, but one has to wonder about that $25 rebate on selected MSI motherboards. What do you guys think?

 

[SketchMaster]

Well here is some advice on the Heatsink.

I would go with a good heatsink like a XP-90 or a Zalman. So even if you don't overclock that high you will have a HSF that can cool good without a fan spinning at ungodly speeds making allot of noise.

Most people say they don't mind noise. But trust me, when you have a computer that barley breaks 30 decibels you can't stand anything louder.

 

[NetZeroZeus]

Yeah, I would go with the XP-90 with a low or medium speed Panaflo fan, when people say these fans are good, they really mean it.....

 

[CrimsonCutie]

Hey
I'd recommend the XP-90 and mount this Panaflo 57cfm 35dba fan

 

[Markfw]

Originally posted by: CrimsonCutie
Hey
I'd recommend the XP-90 and mount this Panaflo 57cfm 35dba fan

That is a noisey high speed panaflo. Go with the low or medium speed one. (M or L at the end of the nomenclature)

 

[CrimsonCutie]

Mark, you have to realize i measure "nosiey" against the 110 CFM Delta in my case LOL so 35dba is quite to me

 

[enwar3]

i agree with the others on the heatsink, get the XP-90 with a panaflo on top.

for the ram, are u looking at 512 or 1gb? ive had no experience with patriot, but others say they run well, id just get pc3200 and overclock it.

 

[Markfw]

Originally posted by: CrimsonCutie
Mark, you have to realize i measure "nosiey" against the 110 CFM Delta in my case LOL so 35dba is quite to me

Well, I have an Antec Sonata, the XP90 with s 92mm panaflo, and no fan on my video card. I think the thing is about 21dba for the loudest part. Go for the silence. Once you experience it, you can;t stop.

 

[n7]

Don't get Zalman. Get the XP-90 (120 won't fit properly on that mobo).

I have one (a Zalman), & while it's very quiet, it sucks for actual cooling, & i have seen countless threads complaining about high temps.
90% of those threads are by posters using Zalmans.

Also, prepare for a host of idiots to come in this thread & tell you that you need an nForce4 mobo to run dual-core, & you should upgrade to PCI-e, etc.
Ignore them. You & I know that PCI-e & nForce4 are great, but our nForce3 setups with AGP are great too

For RAM, i'd look for 2x1 GB, unless you don't need that much RAM.
Get some nice OCZ value stuff, or maybe Corsair VS (though be warned, it usually sucks for OCing).
I wouldn't waste too much money on ultra tight timings, etc.

If you do feel the need to splurge though, this is what you should splurge on: http://www.tankguys.com/pc3200-high-performance-p-1235.html

Not cheap, but excellent for OCing.

 

[AthlonPowers]

I got an XP-90 for my X2 3800+ on the Neo2 plat and it's a nice fit, although it hides two of the memory slots a little. It keeps the chip cool though - getting 44C load (2 x Prime95 blend torture test) in a room at 28C using a Nexus quiet fan putting out only 25cfm (until I can get me a low speed panaflo) - in Antec Sonata with only the included rear 120mm fan installed (not connected to fan only, noisiest part of the rig!)

 

[11427]

Hmmm,... and I thought I was the only one that noticed 90% of the threads about cooling problems the poster was using a Zalman of some sort.
I like a lot of the Cooler Master products, not too many around here do (everyone is on the XP-90, XP-120 bandwagon) but have a look at the Cooler Master Hyper 6+ looks pretty impressive. As for ram, I like Mushkin Black on the upper end, OCZ Gold for mid range, and plain old Samsung or Mushkin Green for value stuff.
Personally I use the Mushkn Black and AMD's heat sink and fan on my Neo2 Platinum.

 

[Velk]

Actually, just to be different, the stock copper heatpipe heatsink that comes with the X2s is actually very good. If you are actually only considering modest overclocking, I'd recommend trying it out first before buying an additional one. This has the disadvantage that you need to clean the thermal paste off if you do decide to change, but on the upside installation of the heatsink is trivial and hard to damage anything while doing it, something which can't be said of the more elaborate coolers like the zalman 7700 etc.

 

[AthlonPowers]

Stock copper heatpipe heatsink? All I got was a regular aluminum heatsink

 

[Topweasel]

Should Have a copper Heatpipe in the center then alluminum around it.

 

[gwag]

high speed ram is nice but even PC 2100 will work faster on an A64 based chip vs XP.

 

[Duvie]

When you are ready to build and have any questions about the Neo2 and X2's give me a PM...Both I and Mark are some of the first around these parts to have an X2 with a Neo2...I have gone through a lot of the bioses so I can help you there...

Are you trying to save a vid card you already have and thus staying with an NF3U board??? If not, I would recommend just taking the dip into the PCI-express world and get an NF4 mobo...

 

[AkumaX]

which zalman?

 

[rchiu]

Originally posted by: keitaro
Okay, that upgrade bug is really biting hard this time. I've been looking at the X2 3800+ with anticipation and the price at Mwave is quite attractive. And so I've compiled up this post to gather your insights and comments about the path I am choosing.

CPU -- X2 3800+ (duh!)
Motherboard -- MSI K8N Neo2 Platinum
Heatsink -- ???
RAM -- ???

Here's where I'll need some help on. The heatsink is unknown at this point. I would like to plunk down and get a Zalman but then there's the "modest" overclocking I intend to do. I do not plan on going extreme but it'd be nice if I could. I'm not heavy on o/c'ing so perhaps a conservative heatsink will do. Any suggestion and idea is appreciated.

The RAM is also unknown at this point. However, I did noticed this while looking through some RAM prices. I had originally thought that PC3700 will do in case I do bump it up a notch but oddly enough the pricing on this one is very attractive. What do you guys think of this? I've a pair of PC3200 from Crucial that has served me well for my Athlon XP 2100+ but I doubt it'll get me anywhere much if RAM becomes a limiting factor.

The CPU and motherboard are set in stone. Right now the variables are heatsink and RAM. The investment is considered large in my opinion. And I'd like to avoid spending a lot. Waiting is an option, but one has to wonder about that $25 rebate on selected MSI motherboards. What do you guys think?

I just put together a X2 3800+ system. I am using DFI nf4 Ultra-D Mobo with Thermalright 948U and 2GB (4x512) of Corsair Value Ram. The heatsink and the ram are both from my older system, I just decided to invest my money in a new video card instead of the memroy/heatsink.

Right now, I am typing on the new system, with 2 prime95 running to test the stability. I am running it at 2.44Ghz, it seems to be the max I can get it to run prime stable with 1.45 vcore. My CPU temp is a little high at 50/51 full load, so I may benefit from a better/newer heatsink. As for the ram, I am not sure how much memory setting your MSI is gonna give you, but you should be able to set the divider so that your ram won't be the limiting factor if you overclock. My corsair runs fine at 203Mhz with 5/6 divider at default timing. (2.5-3-3-7) If you want your ram to run with better timings, then that's another story. But from everything I've read, better timing won't make a huge diff.

Reading around the web, 2.4 ~2.5 seems to be the range for 3800+ overclocking on air, without crazy voltage increase. So I think using older heatsink/ram shouldn't matter too much, as long they are quality stuff.

 

[nombrecinq]

I almost have all my stuff except that I still need to order some hard drives. Does the AMD64 3200+ come with a decent heatsink/fan? Also I'm wondering if it comes with a thermal pad or paste, and if I should replace whatever it comes with. I haven't decided if I'm going to do any overclocking yet. This is what I have:

Antec P180
Antec TruePower II 550w
AMD64 3200+ Venice
Asus A8N-SLI
ATI x800xl
Corsair VS 2x512 RAM
optical drive, floppy, etc.