Buying A New Processor, MB and RAM (Eventually)- Advise Me!

[St0rmer66]

OK, well i'm about to get to the right amount of money to buy a new processor and MB. First off, and THIS IS IMPORTANT - I LIVE IN THE UK. Which means NO newegg. Just thought id clear that up :) . I'm looking at an AMD64 for sure, but the details im not that sure on.

CPU and Motherboard.

My first idea was a 3200+ and Asus K8V Deluxe. Pros: Cheap, OK performance for this generation of games. Cons: Limited Upgradability due to socket 754, wont last very long before becoming outdated.

I then thought about the same MB with a 3700+ (fastest you can get on a 754). Pros: Fast enough without becoming outdated too quickly. Cons: Limited Upgradability for the future due to 754 socket.

The much more expensive option is a Socket 939 MB (not sure which, ideas?) with a 3800+. Pros: Fast, Won't become outdated, good to upgrade in the future. Cons: Huge cost compared to the other options.

I also want a better Fan & Heatsink (combo prefered) for the CPU as i intend to do a bit of FSB overclocking. No Watercooling becuase i dont need that much o/c'ing. Can you suggest a better 754 motherboard than the Asus? (Thats if you think i should get 754 rather than 939).

RAM

I need a good brand but still not costing me and arm and a leg. 1Gb, in 2x512 or 1x1024, i dont really mind. Possibly leaning towards 2x512 if its a 939 because of dual channel. Again, will be overclocked with my FSB. My current RAM is generic crud, which is unstable at 200mhz unless i go to CAS 3 (which wont boot), so i have to run at 166mhz and CAS 2.5. I can always put it in a second comp though.

Case will be a Super Lan Boy which has two 120mm fans (front and back).

For anyone who's wondering, I have an MSI Radeon 9800 Pro 128mb (R360 Core for teh win) with a VGA SIlencer, and im buying some Copper VGA RAM'sinks for it. Should get me some good overclockage with my new case (current case has no fans = poor ventilation). Its overclocked but only a little.

Will probably update with links tommorrow, but tonight i'm tired (12am here).

All help appreciated.

~St0rmer_66~

[Daleon]

DFI's new board is the king of 754 OC'ers. For a 939 board the MSI Neo 2 Plat is tops.

The new 90nm AMD64's are about to hit.
AMD Athlon 64 3200+ 512K 90nm (939) (ETA 09/28) $208
http://www.monarchcomputer.com/Merchant2/merchant.mv?Screen=PROD&Store_Code=M&Product_Code=120422

So no real reason not to go 939 now. The 3500+ is actually at a half way decent price of $340 range. Going any higher is a waste, especially if you plan to OC. My guess is though the new 90nm chips are going to be monster OC'ers.

As for ram, if your willing to dish out $315 range the best is:
Geil Ultra-X PC3200 2x512
http://www.gameve.com/gve/store/ProductDetails.aspx?sku=MMN-GEIL-X002

Crucial Balistix and OCZ Rev2 are also good.

[Electrofreak]

I quite agree with Daelon, all good suggestions there. If you can get 939, do it. I have a 754 and its great, but you can't run dual channel RAM and just doesn't perform as well as a 939. Also, 939s you can upgrade the CPU for a while yet, while a 754 is a bit limited in what it can offer. If I was building a new system right now I'd definately take that route.

[MattxMosh]

I agree with these guys but, its not as limited as evertone thinks, all the new XPs will be socket 754, while not 64bit nor dual channel, still fast and cheap.

[Rbstr]

well tehre will also be 939 xp's.

I'd go socket 939, w/ a 3500+ or get an FX CPU i think the 53 is 939. They have unlocked Multipliers

[St0rmer66]

Can i not unlock the multipliers on the 3xxx+ ones?

Rbstr, FX53's are a bit out of my price range, though a 939 with 3500+ is at about my "limit" so i may get that (since im overclocking to higher anyway). Looking at some Geli RAM at the moment, serious o/c potential there. The site i usually buy stuff from is www.overclockers.co.uk . It has everything suggested so far AFAIK. Should be ordering it as soon as i get the cash (im getting anywhere from �30 to �80 per week to spend on it). Shouldn't be too long.

Are the timings on RAM really that important? Or is it better to have higher PCxxxx? The reason i ask is because overclocking means me having to slacken the timings to get it stable. Also, on a similar note, is it worth buying it already at PC4400 or should i buy it at PC3200? (both cost practically the same on overclockers.co.uk).

[St0rmer66]

My Current Shopping List:

AMD Athlon 64 3500 (Socket 939) - Retail (CP-086-AM) (http://www.overclockers.co.uk/acatalog/amd_64_bit.html#aCP_2d086_2dAM)
MSI K8N Neo2 Platinum (Socket 939) Motherboard (MB-027-MS) (http://www.overclockers.co.uk/acatalog/MSI2.html#aMB_2d027_2dMS)
GeIL 1GB (2x512MB) PC3200 Ultra-X CAS2 (GLX1GB3200DC) (MY-042-GL) (http://www.overclockers.co.uk/acatalog/Dual_Channel_Kits.html#aMY_2d042_2dGL)
Vantec Iceberq Copper BGA Memory Ramsinks (HS-001-VA) (http://www.overclockers.co.uk/acatalog/Online_Catalogue_Other_Coolers_57.html#aHS_2d001_2 dVA) (for my 9800 pro)
Antec Super LANBOY Aluminum Super Mini Tower Case - No PSU (CA-012-AN) (http://www.overclockers.co.uk/acatalog/Antec_Cases.html#aCA_2d012_2dAN) (the shorter wires could help it be less messy)
Q-Tec 450W Dual Fan Gold PSU (CA-000-QT) (http://www.overclockers.co.uk/acatalog/Online_Catalogue_Q_Tec_139.html#aCA_2d000_2dQT) (the price seems good, but im not too certain on it)

Of course i may change some of this if you tell me something i wouldn't like about a particular thing. Take a look at the links and tell me what you think.

Note: The prices make onions cry, aswell as me :tear: . Good thing I'm not buying this all at once.

[Rbstr]

The 3xxxx have unlock Multi's if you lower the mutli but you can't raise it, thougth its still helpfull in FSB overclocking.

I'd go with some Corsair XL3200 (http://www.overclockers.co.uk/acatalog/Corsair_XL.html) it can clock up for DDR4000 with 2.5 cas especialy if your gona do some serious OCing you have alot of great stuff there.

[Daleon]

As far as major oc'ing, corsair gets hit pretty hard. The Geil ultra-x smokes it. Now the OCZ PC4400EL Gold goes head to head with it, but I'd still go with the ultra-x as it can hold better timings at ddr500. The only other ram to really consider is the OCZ EB stuff. The enhanced bandwidth does improve memory performance nicely on AMD64's but doesn't OC as high. Toss up.

http://www.anandtech.com/memory/showdoc.aspx?i=2174&p=11

[St0rmer66]

OK, well im pretty much decided on everything now. I'm gonna go for the GeIL RAM, 3500+ and the NeoForce 2 (loving the 7.1 onboard sound). Now i just need to save my cash for a bit and im good. First buy will be the motherboard and processor (at the same time), followed by the case and PSU. Finally i'll buy the RAM (theres nothing actually "wrong" with my current RAM) and the Ramsinks for my 9800 pro will just be bought sometime in with one of the other orders.

Thanks for all your help.