[OT]CPU Advice needed

An opportunity has come my way to "upgrade" my POS P3500mhz box. I am currently looking at either a 3.8ghz P4 670 or a 3.2ghz Pentium D 840. The 840 is about $40 cheaper but what I'd like to know is which one would be better for gaming? I'd like to get the best speed possible so I don't have to worry about upgrading for another 5 years. Admittedly, I don't have enough knowledge about HT and dual core technologies to formulate a decision as to which one would be better, so I am asking the masses here as to what you think might be the best option, based on past experiences with these CPU's. Specs on the mobo: MSI P4N Diamond nForce4 SLI Chipset LGA775 DDR2/667 SATA RAID Dual PCIE w/7.1Audio,2xGbLAN,IEEE1394 Obviously I'll be dumping the onboard sound for a "real" card, but the onboard LAN should be ok. I have "legacy" HD's I plan on putting in as they contain all of my info and I REALLY don't want to re-install 200gigs worth of stuff. LOL! Whichever CPU I get, I've already decided on twin GeForce 256mb 6600's as I've seen SLI technologiy is the future in PC's, along with PCI-E cards, and this card fits in the budget I have for this "upgrade".

You're going down the wrong road on 2 fronts: AMD x64 CPU's are the best bang-per-buck going now, and you can get dual-core CPU's for some killer deals. Make sure you avoid VIA-based motherboards - nForce4 seems to be the safest bet. SLI w/ 2 6600's is a waste of money - that setup benchmarks around the same as a single 6800GT. Far better to spend the money on a 7800 GTX and get much better performance to start with, then have the option to go SLI in the future as card prices go down. HTH, Kendt

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> AMD x64 CPU's are the best bang-per-buck going now, and you can get > dual-core CPU's for some killer deals. Make sure you avoid VIA-based > motherboards - nForce4 seems to be the safest bet. > > SLI w/ 2 6600's is a waste of money - that setup benchmarks around the > same as a single 6800GT. Far better to spend the money on a 7800 GTX > and get much better performance to start with, then have the option to > go SLI in the future as card prices go down.

Totally agree. Also, it's unlikely that any CPU will cut the mustard for 5 years. If you can get 3 years out of a CPU, you're doing very well. After that, don't expect to play any of the latest sims.

The nForce4 sound chipset is more than decent, IMO. I recently got a AMD64/754 Mobo with nForce4 and PCI express (and a fairly cheap Radeon X600), and this works like a charm with rFactor (wow, this sim grows with cpu power, definately), GPL and NR2003 without fiddeling with the sound drivers. It works out of the box. From what I heard, the nForce4 sound chips are very good, and it doesn't use CPU at all. The Radeon X600 in a PCI-express slot seems to be ignorant of resolution, I get the same amount of fps no matter what resolution I pick. ---A--- On 05.12.2005 01:05, Steve Simpson wrote:

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>>AMD x64 CPU's are the best bang-per-buck going now, and you can get >>dual-core CPU's for some killer deals. Make sure you avoid VIA-based >>motherboards - nForce4 seems to be the safest bet. >> >>SLI w/ 2 6600's is a waste of money - that setup benchmarks around the >>same as a single 6800GT. Far better to spend the money on a 7800 GTX >>and get much better performance to start with, then have the option to >>go SLI in the future as card prices go down. > > > Totally agree. Also, it's unlikely that any CPU will cut the mustard for 5 > years. If you can get 3 years out of a CPU, you're doing very well. After > that, don't expect to play any of the latest sims. > > >

SO, you gonna build a whole new box, or just CPU/mobo/& ram? and are you buying from anyplace special, I been contemplating upgrading too, It's a bigger jump for me (from intel 2.4) DJSpeedy enlightened us with:

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> An opportunity has come my way to "upgrade" my POS P3500mhz box. > > I am currently looking at either a 3.8ghz P4 670 or a 3.2ghz Pentium > D 840. > > The 840 is about $40 cheaper but what I'd like to know is which one > would be better for gaming? I'd like to get the best speed possible > so I don't have to worry about upgrading for another 5 years. > > Admittedly, I don't have enough knowledge about HT and dual core > technologies to formulate a decision as to which one would be better, > so I am asking the masses here as to what you think might be the best > option, based on past experiences with these CPU's. > > Specs on the mobo: MSI P4N Diamond nForce4 SLI Chipset LGA775 > DDR2/667 SATA RAID Dual PCIE w/7.1Audio,2xGbLAN,IEEE1394 > > Obviously I'll be dumping the onboard sound for a "real" card, but the > onboard LAN should be ok. > > I have "legacy" HD's I plan on putting in as they contain all of my > info and I REALLY don't want to re-install 200gigs worth of stuff. > LOL! > > Whichever CPU I get, I've already decided on twin GeForce 256mb > 6600's as I've seen SLI technologiy is the future in PC's, along with > PCI-E cards, and this card fits in the budget I have for this > "upgrade".

can you tell me more (or maybe link me to something?) I have had via on everything for a while, and since I dont keep up on what is what lately I would like to know what is up? thanks, Im gonna google, but if you have more insight (since common ground is racing games inherently assumed from this group...) you could be a big help. [email hidden] enlightened us with:

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> You're going down the wrong road on 2 fronts: > > AMD x64 CPU's are the best bang-per-buck going now, and you can get > dual-core CPU's for some killer deals. Make sure you avoid VIA-based > motherboards - nForce4 seems to be the safest bet. > > SLI w/ 2 6600's is a waste of money - that setup benchmarks around the > same as a single 6800GT. Far better to spend the money on a 7800 GTX > and get much better performance to start with, then have the option to > go SLI in the future as card prices go down. > > HTH, > Kendt

Anyone in the UK wanting a replacement box with little trouble Dell are doing their XPS600 with �200 off and a second 7800GTX for free. Oh and some McAfee Anti Virus for 15 months. Dual Core P4 systems I think. Andi. "PlowBoy" <[email hidden]> wrote in message news:8%Zkf.45771$sg5.18795@dukeread12...

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> SO, you gonna build a whole new box, or just CPU/mobo/& ram? > and are you buying from anyplace special, I been contemplating upgrading > too, It's a bigger jump for me (from intel 2.4) > DJSpeedy enlightened us with: >> An opportunity has come my way to "upgrade" my POS P3500mhz box. >> >> I am currently looking at either a 3.8ghz P4 670 or a 3.2ghz Pentium >> D 840. >> >> The 840 is about $40 cheaper but what I'd like to know is which one >> would be better for gaming? I'd like to get the best speed possible >> so I don't have to worry about upgrading for another 5 years. >> >> Admittedly, I don't have enough knowledge about HT and dual core >> technologies to formulate a decision as to which one would be better, >> so I am asking the masses here as to what you think might be the best >> option, based on past experiences with these CPU's. >> >> Specs on the mobo: MSI P4N Diamond nForce4 SLI Chipset LGA775 >> DDR2/667 SATA RAID Dual PCIE w/7.1Audio,2xGbLAN,IEEE1394 >> >> Obviously I'll be dumping the onboard sound for a "real" card, but the >> onboard LAN should be ok. >> >> I have "legacy" HD's I plan on putting in as they contain all of my >> info and I REALLY don't want to re-install 200gigs worth of stuff. >> LOL! >> >> Whichever CPU I get, I've already decided on twin GeForce 256mb >> 6600's as I've seen SLI technologiy is the future in PC's, along with >> PCI-E cards, and this card fits in the budget I have for this >> "upgrade". > >

"PlowBoy" <[email hidden]> wrote in message news:8%Zkf.45771$sg5.18795@dukeread12... > SO, you gonna build a whole new box, or just CPU/mobo/& ram? > and are you buying from anyplace special, I been contemplating upgrading > too, It's a bigger jump for me (from intel 2.4) With all the "ancient" hardware I have, a new box is the only way to go for me. Currently looking at http://www.cyberpowersystem.com/ for it. Yes I know about NewEgg, but the less "assembling" I have to do the better. :) Since a monitor won't fit in the budget I have at this point, I configured the box a single GF 6800 GS since it has a VGA connecter for the monitor, whereas the 7800's don't. :( Since I've only had experience with Pentium CPU's, that's what I'm going to stick with. I've found Tom's Hardware Guide somewhat useful, seems I can OC the 840 to 4ghz or so. And since it's about $30 cheaper than the 670, I am planning to go that route. This new box leaves some room for future expansion as I can go SLI later and put a faster CPU in when the time comes. So yes, my plan is to get 5 years out of this new box. :)

DJSpeedy wrote: > Currently looking at http://www.cyberpowersystem.com/ for it. Yes I know > about NewEgg, but the less "assembling" I have to do the better. :) Can't get the link to come up for some reason. As long as the system has a name-brand motherboard, non-VIA chipset, you should be OK (I've always had VIA's too, but that's just taught me to never get another one, especially now that the nForce chipsets are mature). You say you plan to overclock - check to make sure the particular M/B you get is a good overclocker. Correction - link just came up - looks like some pretty good deals. > > Since a monitor won't fit in the budget I have at this point, I configured > the box a single GF 6800 GS since it has a VGA connecter for the monitor, > whereas the 7800's don't. :( It will almost certainly have a DVI-VGA converter, if not 2, included. Don't sell yourself short if you've got the $. > Since I've only had experience with Pentium CPU's, that's what I'm going to > stick with. I respectfully disagree - but this is going to be so much faster than what you have now you'll probably wet yourself ;). > I've found Tom's Hardware Guide somewhat useful, seems I can OC the 840 to > 4ghz or so. And since it's about $30 cheaper than the 670, I am planning to > go that route. Keep an extra $50 in reserve for a really good heatsink if you plan to wring every last Mhz out of it. Good luck! Kendt

Here's the system as it is currently spec'd. I included a DVD-RW combo because I only have a 4x DVD burner, and I'm tired of waiting 15 minutes to burn 1 DVD. :) It'll also replace my current 48x CD-RW. And the SATA drive is there so that I have something to help with in the transition of data. I might just re-install everything and when I get everything that done, just transfer over my "legacy" 160gb WD HD as the current C: drive is only a 20gb IBM POS, and the other is only 40gb. LOL. I've heard good things about ASUS mobo's, and someone said the nForce4 onboard sound doesn't eat the CPU as most onboard sound tends to do. But you're right - thing is will be so much faster than what I have now I probably won't care. :) I WANT to go with the 7800 GTX 512mb, but I'd need to knock the CPU down to 3.0ghz...hmmmm.......decisions, decisions...:) CASE : Xplorer Mid-Tower Case 420W W/ WINDOW & LCD Temperature, upgraded PS to a NZXT PF-500w CPU : (Sckt775)Intel® Pentium® D 840 CPU @ 3.2GHz w/ 800FSB Dual-Core 2x1MB Cache, 64 Bit MOTHERBOARD : Asus P5ND2-SLI nForce4 Chipset LGA775 DDR2/667 SATA RAID Dual PCIE w/7.1Audio, GbLAN, &USB2 MEMORY : (Req.DDR2 MainBoard)1GB (2x512MB) PC5300 DDR2/667 Dual Channel Memory (Corsair Value Select) VIDEO CARD : NVIDIA Geforce 7800 GT 256MB 16X PCI Express Video Card HARD DRIVE : (SATA150) Maxtor 300GB 7200RPM 16MB Cache Hard Drive Optical Drive : SONY DWQ-28A DUAL FORMAT 16X DVD±R/±RW + CD-R/RW DRIVE DUAL LAYER (BLACK COLOR) SOUND : HIGH DEFINITION ON-BOARD 7.1 AUDIO

DJ Speedy, It appears you are certain that you want an Intel processor. I have built 93 systems in the last four years. Right now is the worst time to go with Intel. They slower processor and it costs more money. It is really a lot slower when playing games. Look at this review: http://reviews.cnet.com/4520-10442_7-6389077-1.html?tag=lnav Granted it is dual core but the single core results are close to the same. Bascially the Intel chips cost more and perform less. Things may change in the future but for now that is the way it is. Also consider you can buy a single core AMD processor and later upgrade to a dual core processor using the same motherboard. I do not think this is possible with Intel at the current moment. Brian Bowles DJSpeedy wrote:

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> Here's the system as it is currently spec'd. I included a DVD-RW combo because I only have a 4x DVD burner, and I'm tired of waiting 15 minutes to burn 1 DVD. :) It'll also replace my current 48x CD-RW. > > And the SATA drive is there so that I have something to help with in the transition of data. I might just re-install everything and when I get everything that done, just transfer over my "legacy" 160gb WD HD as the current C: drive is only a 20gb IBM POS, and the other is only 40gb. LOL. > > I've heard good things about ASUS mobo's, and someone said the nForce4 onboard sound doesn't eat the CPU as most onboard sound tends to do. > > But you're right - thing is will be so much faster than what I have now I probably won't care. :) > > I WANT to go with the 7800 GTX 512mb, but I'd need to knock the CPU down to 3.0ghz...hmmmm.......decisions, decisions...:) > > CASE : Xplorer Mid-Tower Case 420W W/ WINDOW & LCD Temperature, upgraded PS to a NZXT PF-500w > CPU : (Sckt775)Intel® Pentium® D 840 CPU @ 3.2GHz w/ 800FSB Dual-Core 2x1MB Cache, 64 Bit > MOTHERBOARD : Asus P5ND2-SLI nForce4 Chipset LGA775 DDR2/667 SATA RAID Dual PCIE w/7.1Audio, GbLAN, &USB2 > MEMORY : (Req.DDR2 MainBoard)1GB (2x512MB) PC5300 DDR2/667 Dual Channel Memory (Corsair Value Select) > VIDEO CARD : NVIDIA Geforce 7800 GT 256MB 16X PCI Express Video Card > HARD DRIVE : (SATA150) Maxtor 300GB 7200RPM 16MB Cache Hard Drive > Optical Drive : SONY DWQ-28A DUAL FORMAT 16X DVD±R/±RW + CD-R/RW DRIVE DUAL LAYER (BLACK COLOR) > SOUND : HIGH DEFINITION ON-BOARD 7.1 AUDIO

Yes, unfortunately there's no compelling reason to buy an Intel CPU at this point in time. It's actually quite annoying that Intel aren't even bothering to try to compete with AMD for price/performance/temperature these days. Intel are holding their market share purely on their history and IT industry ignorance/fear of change (and bribing Dell) and they're milking it for all it's worth. It might backfire on them though.

I was set for an Intel CPU, yes. But after doing some reading on Tom's Hardware, now I'm on the fence, though I'm leaning more towards the AMD at this point. It seems clear to me (thanks to the above reading) that getting a dual-core CPU right now is a waste of money as only future apps would support it. Might be nice to have, but nothing more than a paperweight at this point in time. That being the case, I believe I can get by with a single core HT CPU. So I've spec'd two systems (one Intel, one AMD) for comparison purposes. Also from my reading, SLI is a good way to go, but only if I were to get dual SLI vid cards. From reading the marks on Tom's Hardware, I was suprised to see dual 6800's outperform a single 7800 GTX. But for now I'll settle for the single 7800GTX. Both specs come in under my budget ($1500), and the AMD is $35 cheaper. I tried to select the best match as far as CPU and mobo but don't know for sure if I succeeded. CASE : Xplorer Mid-Tower Case 420W W/ WINDOW & LCD Temperature Display CPU : (939-pin) AMD ATHLON64 4000+ CPU w/ HyperTransport Technology MOTHERBOARD : (Sckt939)Asus A8N5X nForce4 Chipset SATA RAID PCI-E w/GbLAN,USB2.0,&7.1Audio MEMORY : 1024 MB (512MBx2) PC3200 400MHz Dual Channel DDR MEMORY (Corsair Value Select) VIDEO CARD : NVIDIA Geforce 7800 GTX 256MB 16X PCI Express Video Card HARD DRIVE : (SATA150) Hitachi 400GB 7200RPM 8MB Cache Hard Drive Optical Drive : SONY DWQ-28A DUAL FORMAT 16X DVD±R/±RW + CD-R/RW DRIVE DUAL LAYER SOUND : HIGH DEFINITION ON-BOARD 7.1 AUDIO CASE : Xplorer Mid-Tower Case 420W W/ WINDOW & LCD Temperature Display CPU : (Sckt775)Intel® Pentium® 4 660 CPU w/HT Technology 3.6GHZ 800FSB 2MB Cache, 64 Bit MOTHERBOARD : GigaByte GA-8I945P-G I945P Chipset LGA775 DDR2/667 SATA PCIE w/7.1Audio,GbLAN MEMORY : 1GB (2x512MB) PC5300 DDR2/667 Dual Channel Memory (Corsair Value Select) VIDEO CARD : NVIDIA Geforce 7800 GTX 256MB 16X PCI Express Video Card HARD DRIVE : (SATA150) Hitachi 400GB 7200RPM 8MB Cache Hard Drive Optical Drive : NEC 3520A 16X DVD+-RW DRIVE DUAL LAYER SOUND : HIGH DEFINITION ON-BOARD 7.1 AUDIO "Brian Bowles" <[email hidden]> wrote in message news:[email hidden]... DJ Speedy, It appears you are certain that you want an Intel processor. I have built 93 systems in the last four years. Right now is the worst time to go with Intel. They slower processor and it costs more money. It is really a lot slower when playing games. Look at this review: http://reviews.cnet.com/4520-10442_7-6389077-1.html?tag=lnav Granted it is dual core but the single core results are close to the same. Bascially the Intel chips cost more and perform less. Things may change in the future but for now that is the way it is. Also consider you can buy a single core AMD processor and later upgrade to a dual core processor using the same motherboard. I do not think this is possible with Intel at the current moment. Brian Bowles

Hi DJSpeedy, You might want to read some of the comparisons on www.anandtech.com I think they are not as biased as tomshardware. Tom loves Intel. You are correct that single core is probably your best bet at this point in time. A lot of people are buying the opteron chips right now because they have 1mb of cache instead of 512k and the are fantasitic overclockers getting 2.7-3.0ghz on average. If you go this route and want to overclock get a DFI nF4 lanparty motherboard. Do not get the corair ram with this board because it does not work well. The corsair will work in almost all other boards fine. I think they need a bios update for it. I think the AMD chips over the 3700+ have 1mb of cache anyway. If you do not plan to overclock then get one of the regular Athlon64 processors. Also Asus makes nice boards. Keep in mind that the AMD processors over 3700+ all overclock to about the same speed. For that reason most people do not buy the most expensive ones. OCZand G Skill make good ram too. If you plan to go sli you might need more power on the power supply. Unless you need the power the 7800gt is a better value. It all depends on what you want to spend.... I am going to use some parts that I already have to build the following system Opteron 2800+ w/ Thermalright si 120 heatsink DFI Lanparty Expert WD 74gig raptor WD 160gb special edition drive Nvidia 7800GT 1mb OCZ 3200 DDR OCZ Powerstream 520watt ps Thermaltake Tsunami case NEC 3540 DVDr Lite On cd/dvd Leadtek tv tuner Logitech coredless keyboard and mouse Klipsch pro media speakers Dell 2405fpw lcd Sony floppy drive DJSpeedy wrote:

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> I was set for an Intel CPU, yes. > > But after doing some reading on Tom's Hardware, now I'm on the fence, though I'm leaning more towards the AMD at this point. > > It seems clear to me (thanks to the above reading) that getting a dual-core CPU right now is a waste of money as only future apps would support it. Might be nice to have, but nothing more than a paperweight at this point in time. > > That being the case, I believe I can get by with a single core HT CPU. So I've spec'd two systems (one Intel, one AMD) for comparison purposes. > > Also from my reading, SLI is a good way to go, but only if I were to get dual SLI vid cards. From reading the marks on Tom's Hardware, I was suprised to see dual 6800's outperform a single 7800 GTX. But for now I'll settle for the single 7800GTX. > > Both specs come in under my budget ($1500), and the AMD is $35 cheaper. I tried to select the best match as far as CPU and mobo but don't know for sure if I succeeded. > > CASE : Xplorer Mid-Tower Case 420W W/ WINDOW & LCD Temperature Display > CPU : (939-pin) AMD ATHLON64 4000+ CPU w/ HyperTransport Technology > MOTHERBOARD : (Sckt939)Asus A8N5X nForce4 Chipset SATA RAID PCI-E w/GbLAN,USB2.0,&7.1Audio > MEMORY : 1024 MB (512MBx2) PC3200 400MHz Dual Channel DDR MEMORY (Corsair Value Select) > VIDEO CARD : NVIDIA Geforce 7800 GTX 256MB 16X PCI Express Video Card > HARD DRIVE : (SATA150) Hitachi 400GB 7200RPM 8MB Cache Hard Drive > Optical Drive : SONY DWQ-28A DUAL FORMAT 16X DVD±R/±RW + CD-R/RW DRIVE DUAL LAYER > SOUND : HIGH DEFINITION ON-BOARD 7.1 AUDIO > > > CASE : Xplorer Mid-Tower Case 420W W/ WINDOW & LCD Temperature Display > CPU : (Sckt775)Intel® Pentium® 4 660 CPU w/HT Technology 3.6GHZ 800FSB 2MB Cache, 64 Bit > MOTHERBOARD : GigaByte GA-8I945P-G I945P Chipset LGA775 DDR2/667 SATA PCIE w/7.1Audio,GbLAN > MEMORY : 1GB (2x512MB) PC5300 DDR2/667 Dual Channel Memory (Corsair Value Select) > VIDEO CARD : NVIDIA Geforce 7800 GTX 256MB 16X PCI Express Video Card > HARD DRIVE : (SATA150) Hitachi 400GB 7200RPM 8MB Cache Hard Drive > Optical Drive : NEC 3520A 16X DVD+-RW DRIVE DUAL LAYER > SOUND : HIGH DEFINITION ON-BOARD 7.1 AUDIO > > "Brian Bowles" <[email hidden]> wrote in message news:[email hidden]... > DJ Speedy, > > It appears you are certain that you want an Intel processor. I have > built 93 systems in the last four years. Right now is the worst time to > go with Intel. They slower processor and it costs more money. It is > really a lot slower when playing games. Look at this review: > http://reviews.cnet.com/4520-10442_7-6389077-1.html?tag=lnav > Granted it is dual core but the single core results are close to the > same. Bascially the Intel chips cost more and perform less. Things may > change in the future but for now that is the way it is. Also consider > you can buy a single core AMD processor and later upgrade to a dual > core processor using the same motherboard. I do not think this is > possible with Intel at the current moment. Brian Bowles

what is the difference on the "lan party boards" that one says SLI D, next has DR next doesnt say SLI in the but has the 2 same slots, all ate different prices. Lastly I assume there is a reason you said "DFI Lanparty Expert" and same time you getting um, 2 7800gts then? Im wanting to cheapen what your building, as FIAK all Im gonna use is mem, processor board & GPU rest of the stuff I have pretty new. So since I wont be dumping for 2 7800 in to sli mode you still think the gt better than the GTZ? In fact I would probably get by with the non SLI version of the DFI board, since they are so much cheaper, spend the difference on a good vid card, or you think no? Im asking because I see the damn cards are saying more or less "SLI" which of course means cost more? (which is bass Akwards IMHO if Im gonna dole money out, for 2 they should give me a little break, right?) Then of course, I dont get it, unless they are saying they wont work in SLI on boards that do SLI, without sayign SLI on them cards? If that is the case, I cant get one now and on later either then, right? C R A P... Brian Bowles wrote:

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> Hi DJSpeedy, > > You might want to read some of the comparisons on www.anandtech.com I > think they are not as biased as tomshardware. Tom loves Intel. You are > correct that single core is probably your best bet at this point in > time. A lot of people are buying the opteron chips right now because > they have 1mb of cache instead of 512k and the are fantasitic > overclockers getting 2.7-3.0ghz on average. If you go this route and > want to overclock get a DFI nF4 lanparty motherboard. Do not get the > corair ram with this board because it does not work well. The corsair > will work in almost all other boards fine. I think they need a bios > update for it. I think the AMD chips over the 3700+ have 1mb of cache > anyway. If you do not plan to overclock then get one of the regular > Athlon64 processors. Also Asus makes nice boards. Keep in mind that > the > AMD processors over 3700+ all overclock to about the same speed. For > that reason most people do not buy the most expensive ones. OCZand G > Skill make good ram too. If you plan to go sli you might need more > power on the power supply. Unless you need the power the 7800gt is a > better value. It all depends on what you want to spend.... I am going > to use some parts that I already have to build the following system > Opteron 2800+ w/ Thermalright si 120 heatsink > DFI Lanparty Expert > WD 74gig raptor > WD 160gb special edition drive > Nvidia 7800GT > 1mb OCZ 3200 DDR > OCZ Powerstream 520watt ps > Thermaltake Tsunami case > NEC 3540 DVDr > Lite On cd/dvd > Leadtek tv tuner > Logitech coredless keyboard and mouse > Klipsch pro media speakers > Dell 2405fpw lcd > Sony floppy drive > > > DJSpeedy wrote: >> I was set for an Intel CPU, yes. >> >> But after doing some reading on Tom's Hardware, now I'm on the >> fence, though I'm leaning more towards the AMD at this point. >> >> It seems clear to me (thanks to the above reading) that getting a >> dual-core CPU right now is a waste of money as only future apps >> would support it. Might be nice to have, but nothing more than a >> paperweight at this point in time. >> >> That being the case, I believe I can get by with a single core HT >> CPU. So I've spec'd two systems (one Intel, one AMD) for comparison >> purposes. >> >> Also from my reading, SLI is a good way to go, but only if I were to >> get dual SLI vid cards. From reading the marks on Tom's Hardware, I >> was suprised to see dual 6800's outperform a single 7800 GTX. But >> for now I'll settle for the single 7800GTX. >> >> Both specs come in under my budget ($1500), and the AMD is $35 >> cheaper. I tried to select the best match as far as CPU and mobo >> but don't know for sure if I succeeded. >> >> CASE : Xplorer Mid-Tower Case 420W W/ WINDOW & LCD Temperature >> Display >> CPU : (939-pin) AMD ATHLON64 4000+ CPU w/ HyperTransport Technology >> MOTHERBOARD : (Sckt939)Asus A8N5X nForce4 Chipset SATA RAID PCI-E >> w/GbLAN,USB2.0,&7.1Audio >> MEMORY : 1024 MB (512MBx2) PC3200 400MHz Dual Channel DDR MEMORY >> (Corsair Value Select) >> VIDEO CARD : NVIDIA Geforce 7800 GTX 256MB 16X PCI Express Video Card >> HARD DRIVE : (SATA150) Hitachi 400GB 7200RPM 8MB Cache Hard Drive >> Optical Drive : SONY DWQ-28A DUAL FORMAT 16X DVD�R/�RW + CD-R/RW >> DRIVE DUAL LAYER >> SOUND : HIGH DEFINITION ON-BOARD 7.1 AUDIO >> >> >> CASE : Xplorer Mid-Tower Case 420W W/ WINDOW & LCD Temperature >> Display >> CPU : (Sckt775)Intel� Pentium� 4 660 CPU w/HT Technology 3.6GHZ >> 800FSB 2MB Cache, 64 Bit >> MOTHERBOARD : GigaByte GA-8I945P-G I945P Chipset LGA775 DDR2/667 >> SATA PCIE w/7.1Audio,GbLAN >> MEMORY : 1GB (2x512MB) PC5300 DDR2/667 Dual Channel Memory (Corsair >> Value Select) >> VIDEO CARD : NVIDIA Geforce 7800 GTX 256MB 16X PCI Express Video Card >> HARD DRIVE : (SATA150) Hitachi 400GB 7200RPM 8MB Cache Hard Drive >> Optical Drive : NEC 3520A 16X DVD+-RW DRIVE DUAL LAYER >> SOUND : HIGH DEFINITION ON-BOARD 7.1 AUDIO >> >> "Brian Bowles" <[email hidden]> wrote in message >> news:[email hidden]... >> DJ Speedy, >> >> It appears you are certain that you want an Intel processor. I have >> built 93 systems in the last four years. Right now is the worst time >> to >> go with Intel. They slower processor and it costs more money. It is >> really a lot slower when playing games. Look at this review: >> http://reviews.cnet.com/4520-10442_7-6389077-1.html?tag=lnav >> Granted it is dual core but the single core results are close to the >> same. Bascially the Intel chips cost more and perform less. Things >> may >> change in the future but for now that is the way it is. Also consider >> you can buy a single core AMD processor and later upgrade to a dual >> core processor using the same motherboard. I do not think this is >> possible with Intel at the current moment. Brian Bowles

Thought this was good info, didnt know if you knew this, but I didnt know it... about the lan party boards (from newegg). I was lucky in a way, I ordered a new PSU, and I got the this one with the new 24 pin connector that I could NOT use on my old machine... I didnt want to waste shippin it back, figured Ill use it sooner or later (knew I was beginning to look for upgrade boards and all) Pros: I don't know yet, I'm going to have to wait another week to ship an adapter to make it work. Anything I've ever gotten prior to this from DFI meant a smooth fast assembly and competetive build.... Cons: Well, apparently this "ATX form factor" board won't work with the 550 watt ATX Form factor PSU that I've used for all my other DFI builds. The fact that it requires a 24 pin connector instead of the standard 20 should be lit up like a neon sign, but there is no mention in the stats, so now my prized rig is sitting useless until I wait for an adapter to be delivered at the speed of snail. I highly doubt something like that can be found locally. UPS 3 day actually means a week, so if you want a "newegg" like delivery be sure to pay extra for fedex. If you are using 3 dimms of RAM, your 3rd dimm is now completely useless, go box it up or something or buy another identical dimm. This board works in several configurations involving it's 4 dimm slots but none of them involve 3 sticks of ram. Other Thoughts: I realize that if I had studied the picture of the board carefully I may have noticed the power input being as wide as the floppy connector, but honestly "form factor" is supposed to mean "compatible" otherwise they need to make mention IMO. Reviewed By: Badger, 11/30/2005 9:25:58 PM

You should be able to use a 20pin PSU on a 24 pin mainboard. Most mainboards have an auxilliary power connector (IDE HDD type) for compatibility with 20 pin PSUs. In fact, the A64 4000+ (x850XT) machine I'm using right now has a 24 pin board and I'm using a 20 pin PSU.

I am kind of backing away from the Expert board now. I think I am just going to get the DFI UTnF4 board for $125 from newegg. I am not going to go SLI.

I am kind of backing away from the Expert board now. I think I am just going to get the DFI UTnF4 board for $125 from newegg. I am not going to go SLI.

>I am kind of backing away from the Expert board now. I think I am just > going to get the DFI UTnF4 board for $125 from newegg. I am not going > to go SLI. Some would say SLI is strictly for those with more money than brains since there's usually a single card released soon after that outperforms SLI setups but it's the extra heat generated that bothers me the most. Stock PC coolers already sound like vacuum cleaners as it is and I like to be able to hear myself think.