building a new pc...help please :)

hi there. i just registered to ask you fine tech savvy folks advice about building a new PC. here is some info to help you help me.

i want to go the athlon route, but not the pricey 64 bit. i mean, what is the best cpu without going 64? my current cpu is only 2100xp, 1.75ghz. im a gamer so a nice medium range ati graphics card is what im after. atm i have an ati radeon 9000 family. i just bought new RAM. will these fit the new mobo im thinking off. heres their specs...133mhz, sdram. ive 1gb in there now and i want to keep as much of my current pc as possible (hard drives, dvd etc)so i think all i need is a mobo, processor and a graphics card really. what would be a good combo. what is the fastest cpu made by amd athlon withought going 64 bit? thanks in advance guys. ill give any more info if needed

 

Firstly, welcome to MG!
If you're going with gaming and want to stay athlon (which is a good idea) and don't want the 64bit then get at least a 2800 or 3000 amd xp cpu. graphics for gaming - geforce 5900 or higher if you want to go gaming or if you prefer radeon then 9600 and up. 256mb ram in video card is recommended from my point of view, but some games don't take full advantage of it, so if you got the money and can go from 128mb to 256mb then it's something you may want to consider.

you will have to check to see if your current motherboard will be compatible with anything from athlon 3000 and up as some don't and you don't want to lose your current gig of ram i'm sure - that's plenty of ram for games!
happy browsing

 

well i think if you have a xp2100 right now... get an abit nf7-s rev2 mobo and oc that xp2100 to like a xp2700... that mobo is ridiculous so that saves you needed to purchase a higher chip.. and if you do dont go higher than a xp2600 because ive got my xp2600 at a xp3200 right now(comparing to the xp3200 off benchmarks scores and what my fsb is etc etc)

also the radeon 9800 pro is the best mid range gcard circa 200-250
dont get the 5900 as the 9800 will out do it(easily esp wtih aa af on etc)

if you upgrade past that though.. the nvidia cards like 6800 will out do the x800(esp with aa and af on) so just keep taht in mind.... but these cards circa 400-450 so theres a bit of a jump

btw... what psu do you have?

my $.02

 

how much money are you looking to spend?

athlon64's are not as expensive as you might think, so they are certainly the first thing you should look at if you are in the $400 or above price range.

did you just buy pc133 SDRAM? if so... i'm afraid that was a waste of money as all new motherboards use DDR or DDR2 RAM, and you will want at least pc3200.

the simplest upgrade for you would be a Barton core'd athlonXP on your current motherboard, and a video card upgrade. if you go this route
I would recomment an athlon XP 2800+ as you can get one OEM for the same price as a 2600+ barton.

for a video card, you have two options: buy a 9800pro or 5900XT (which DO perform very similarly, and 'better' is only user preference) or wait a few weeks until the GeForce 6600GT is released in an AGP8x model and grab that for around $200, as it will nicely outperform the 9800pro and 5900xt.

however, if you upgrade to a newer nVidia card (like the 6600) you may need a new power supply, as they recommend at least a 450-480w PSU.

if you have some money, i would upgrade your motherboard, processor, and video card, by going athlon64 3200+ socket 939. thats currently the best bang for the buck, (or the 3400+ socket 939), and that motherboard could be upgraded in the near future. the nForce3 chipset is the current leader over VIA, and the nForce4 will be released soon.

thats all i can say for now with what you've asked... feel free to ask more if you need any clarifications

 

actually i looked at some athlon 64 options and i came up with this one example:

http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&category=1244&item=6721586575&rd=1

i think i want to spend the extra so that i wont have to upgrade again in 2 years you know. oh my ram is 2x512 pc2100 ddr sdram

thanks again for the timely replies guys!!

 

Hi,

You are going to need faster ram, if not stay with what you have and oc. If you go with a Athlon XP get the 3000+ 400 fsb and a Abit nf7-s as Arowen said and some pc3200 Ram. This way the cpu mobo and ram run at the same speed and you still oc the chip some if you want.

If you go the 64 bit rout then maybe a Abit KV8-Pro or a Asus board and a Athlon 64 3200+ but make sure it has the 1MB cache( there is also a 512KB model) and some pc3200 ram. These are both 754 pin by the way. When you go 939pin then things get pricey but will upgrade better later on.

Rick

 

if you go athlon 64, try your best to find a nicely priced socket 939 motherboard and chip.

socket 754 is going to be the new 'value' socket, where socket 939 will remain the mid and hihg performance socket, holding the athlon 64 and the athlon 64FX.

if you get a 3200+ or 3400+ winchester (socket 939), you will easily be able to upgrade to a 3800+ or 4000+ (or whatever the baord will support) in the next couple years if you ever decided to., further, the socket 939 has a LOT better performance than the 754's.

 

Huh? In benchmarks maybe. I love this 5900 I have. Never buy a card based on "benchmarks" man. If you are getting it to play games then do some research on experiences that others with similar setups are having. Benchmarks are done in a controlled enviroment & really have no basis on actual game performance. I have run horrible benchmarks & then the game ran just fine.

 

so guys what about this combo ?

http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&category=1244&item=6721586761&rd=1&ssPageName=WDVW

and i dont think i can OC my athlon xp can i?

 

suesman the "benchmarks" inwhich i speak of are both of synthetic and of realtime GAMEPLAY benchmarks... . but as you said sues, laser you shoudl check to see which card outperforms for YOUR specific games as they do interlace with eachother on different games...

 

http://www.newegg.com/app/viewProductDesc.asp?description=19-103-426&depa=0 Go here and checkout this cpu.

Then here for the KV8 http://www.newegg.com/app/viewProductDesc.asp?description=13-127-178&depa=1

As you can see better deal and cpu has 1mg L2 cache, this is the system I plan on building.

You can oc you 2100 somewhat, how much depends on cooling and your ram.

Rick

 

@laserbrain
that ebay link is to a VIA chipset and a socket 754 motherboard... for $350. thats two mid-range components.

check this out.
Athlon 64 3200+ 939 (Winchester core, 90nm)

MSI K8N Neo2 Platinum nForce3 250 Ultra chipset

for less than the ebay sale, you get a MUCH better setup that allows for much more upgradeablility in the future as well. btw, ZipZoomFly is a great site.