Upgrading a 2yr old computer

[Cryption]

I'm about to upgrade my 2yr old computer.

This is my current rig: (An old AthlonXP system)
http://www.anandtech.com/mysystemrig.aspx?rigid=14101

When I set out on this mission to upgrade my computer my only goal was to get my old computer to play new games like HL2 and Doom3. Although I want to leave room for upgrades in the future, which is why I choose a socket 939 mobo. I realize that I could have gone cheaper by going the socket 754 route or by getting a Radeon9800Pro but I don't want to have to upgrade again for another 2 years.

Since I am looking to upgrade my vid card of course I need a nice new CPU since today's GPUs are soooo cpu bound...
...and since I need a new cpu I need a new mobo and a new heatsink.
[Note: I am going to use my old PC-2100 RAM for now]

I am trying to do this upgrade with a very budget attitude and this is what I have come up with.


Parts

Athlon 64 3000+ ................................ $150
EPoX 9NDA3J .................................... $99
XFX GeForce 6600GT ....................... $225
Swiftech MCX6400-V ........................ $50


I know the heatsink is very pricey but no one on the forums has pointed me to a good inexpensive heatsink that can seat an 80mm panaflo fan.

Any comments or suggestions welcome.

 

[Tiamat]

For heatsink, look at THermalright XP90 with 92mm panaflo L1A BX

You want to up your ram. That ram will slow your system down quite a bit.

For HL2, I ran it at 1600x1200 no problem with this:
1800+ @ 2200mhz
1GB PC3200 2:2:2
ATI Radeon 9800pro
WD Raptor 74
ABIT NF7-S ver2.0

 

[Cryption]

Originally posted by: Tiamat
For heatsink, look at THermalright XP90 with 92mm panaflo L1A BX

You want to up your ram. That ram will slow your system down quite a bit.

For HL2, I ran it at 1600x1200 no problem with this:
1800+ @ 2200mhz
1GB PC3200 2:2:2
ATI Radeon 9800pro
WD Raptor 74
ABIT NF7-S ver2.0

Yea I already looked at that heatsink, newegg is out of stock on the thermalright xp90 right now.

What RAM would you recommend ... and if I want 512MB should I get 1 stick or two?
BTW: About how much of a performance hit are we talking about? (I really don't have the ca$h for RAM right now)

 

[fstime]

If your not going to overclock the cpu, just get some corsair value memory cas 2.5, if you are planning to overclock(your cpu can hit 2.2+ghz) get some TCCD, the current ram you have wont cut it.

 

[Cryption]

I've been out of it for a while so I don't quite get dual-channel RAM. From what I think I understand I would want to get 2 sticks of 256 and run them together and this would use the dual-channel?

Edit: When you say the current RAM won't cut it, what do you mean?

 

[Gerbil333]

Originally posted by: Cryption

What RAM would you recommend ... and if I want 512MB should I get 1 stick or two?
BTW: About how much of a performance hit are we talking about? (I really don't have the ca$h for RAM right now)

You don't want to get 512 MBs of RAM in a new computer. 1 GB is the standard now.

To run in dual channel, just get two sticks of memory.

Ask anyone who's gone from 512 MBs with HL2, Far Cry, Doom 3, The Sims 2, UT2k4, etc. to 1 GB, and they should all tell you the same thing. 1 GB stopped stuttering and long pauses (the pagefile catching up) in those games. UT2k4 and other games took about 15-20 seconds to exit to the desktop with 512 MBs, but with 1 GB, the game exits instantly. After exiting a game with 512 MBs, my hard drive struggled as I'd launch my normal programs--IE, Outlook, Winamp, Word, PSP 8, a few folders. When I'd click the IE icon, the hd light would go on and I'd have to wait for probably 3-5 seconds while my homepage was slowly rendered. 1 GB = Instant. Maps and levels load quicker too.

Edit: When you say the current RAM won't cut it, what do you mean?

1) It's too slow. The standard memory speed for an Athlon 64 is 200MHz/400MHz DDR, which is PC3200 DDR. If you use your PC2100, you'll force the memory bus to operate at 133MHz/266MHz DDR, thus severly limiting the bandwidth available to your incredible new CPU. In other words, you'll hinder the CPU performance.

2) 512 MBs is below average now.


I beat HL2 with this:

Everything at High, 1024x768 plus 4X AA and 16X AF

Abit NF7-S 2.0
Athlon XP 2500+ w/Retail hsf
Kingston 2x512mb HyperX PC3200 @ 2-2-2-11
ATI Radeon 9800 Pro 128mb
Sound Blaster Audigy 2 ZS
Western Digital 74gb Raptor

Most of the time it was smooth, except for one level towards the end where I'd estimate the framerate jumped to roughly 20fps for an extended period of time. However, the game looked stunning and played fine. Considering I had such high AA and AF enabled, I don't think the computer did too bad. I'm going to upgrade to a socket 939 system this summer too; this computer will be 2 years old then.

 

[Sparky19692]

If you have a budget in mined Why would you not use the stock HSF? Seems like your just throwing $50 buck away. Unless you plan on going to extreame O/C on air meaning above 2.4 ~2.6Ghz stock will be plenty good. Also before spending a bunch on new ram read Zebos post [=lhttp://forums.anandtech.com/me...90&enterthread=y/l] you may find that you will be happy with what you have. Lets be frank your only looking at a 6600GT IMO memory will not be the problom at all.

 

[Appledrop]

umm, heres what you should do IMO..

ditch the idea of getting an aftermarket fan. The one that comes with the athlon64 is fantastic IMO, i get 30degrees idle, with an overclock of 2530mhz from 2000mhz,... from 1.4v to 1.6v..

and with that extra cash, get 2 sticks of 512mb corsair value select cas 2.5....

good choice on MB+CPU, if you wanted to overclock it, it would hit 2.4ghz no problem (set a ram divider)


g/l

 

[Gerbil333]

I was going to say the same thing about the fan. I built an A64 computer for my friend with the stock hsf. It was quiet, and the CPU idled at about 35C in an Antec Sonata (very slow airflow; designed for silence). I didn't try OC'ing, but with those temps, I'm sure it would be no problem.

Omit the aftermarket hsf and spend put the $ towards 1 GB of RAM.

 

[Cryption]

Ok, thanks for the advice guys.

Here's the new build:

Parts:
Athlon 64 3000+ .............. $153
EPoX EP-9NDA3J ............... $ 99
Mushkin 512MB DDR PC-3200 .... $ 67
Leadtek 6600GT ............... $219

I really don't have the cash to splurge for 2 sticks of 512 right now.

Note: Going to go with stock hsf for the 64.

Last chance to tell me I'm an idiot!

 

[Gerbil333]

Originally posted by: Cryption

Mushkin 512MB DDR PC-3200 .... $ 67

So I guess you'll add a 2nd stick later? That's a good plan.

 

[SKC]

Later, for an aftermarket cooler, I'd recommend the zalman 7000 series.. very happy with mine since I built my a64 system in June. Whisper quiet and very good temps. It can be found on fs/ft for around $20-25, depending on which version (aluminum + copper vs. pure copper). I have the AlCu version.

SK