Finally looking to build a 939 system, looking for some advice

LadFromWales

LadFromWales

LadFromWales

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Pembrokeshire
Hey all.

The upgrade bug has been lingering over my head for the past few months, but now its almost too much to bear! Currently getting weird issues with my nf2 system, such as the windows clock going really fast when I run at an FSB of above 166 or so (I run at 220, and the clock gains a minute every 10), so using NTP update every 5 mins to keep it in spec!

Anyway, I'm looking at going back to ATi, I currently have an Nvidia 6800GT, I don't want to spend too much on graphics, but what card will give me an upgrade in performance from my current card? Would an X800 GTO do?

I'm looking at getting a DFI motherboard, are there any benefits in getting one of the SLi boards if I'm going to be running an ATi graphics card?

Memory, I currently have 2x1024MB sticks of Samsung UCCC which happily run at 220MHz at 11-3-3-2.5, but my motherboard won't go much further without being unstable. Would this ram be suitable for new system, or would it need upgrading too?

I'm not sure whether to go single or dual core...the Opteron 148 looks good for the money...

From what I can remember, Tagen PSU's are pretty good, is this still the case, or do other manufacturers offer more for the money?

I know this post has been very poorly laid out, but atm I'm so frustrated, randomly adding products to the cart, then replacing them with other things, as I just don't know whats what in the 64 bit market.

Thanks for any help you can give, I know your all a great bunch :)
 
I'd like to keep the overall spend below £800, but can get funds to go higher if it were needed. I don't see a need in getting an X1900, overpriced, I'd rather buy a card with a better performance to price ratio.

I was looking at going back to ATi as I've read too many people saying the IQ on recent ATi's is better than nVidia's. I would stick with an nVidia if they have a card that offers better performance than a similarly priced ATi.

I want to keep my current case, Yeong Yang 0221 Cube, its a two partition case, but as (I believe) the motherboard side is shallow, I won't be able to use an AC Freezer :( I also want to keep my current ram, as it appears as though it will be more than fit for the purpose, and I can always upgrade it later :) Am keeping optical and hard drives too.

So that leaves me with

-Mobo
-CPU
-CPU Cooler
-Graphics Card
-PSU

Anything I'm missing?

I don't really game much at the moment, I currently only play MTA:SA and NFS:MW, which barely hits 30fps most of the time. As I have a Dell 2405FPW, I try to keep at resolutions that are 16:10, so I play NFS:MW at 1440x900, with AA up one notch, and its still not smooth. Apparently this is because the AMD 32bit processors have poor memory bus speeds?

Don't think I missed any of your questions, thanks for all your help so far all of you! :)
 
Right then, so...

-DFI LanParty UT NF4 Ultra-D Motherboard. Is this the best board to get. As I'm stingey with money, I'd rather buy a lesser processor, and overclock it.

The 4400+ seems expensive for what it is. If I were to get a 3800+, are the chances that it would overclock to 4400+ speeds high. I know it has a smaller cache, but will I notice this playing games with a reasonably high end graphics card?

X1800 XT looks like a good choice, but how much slower is it than a X1900XT, and is it a big jump from an AGP 6800GT.

Tagen PSU seems the way to go, I definately won't skimp on the PSU. I currently have an Enermax 350W which has served me very well :)
 
I think I'd rather pay the £10 premium for a Tagen, heard lots of good things about them :)

So, the spec is as follows (so far)

DFI LanParty UT NF4 Ultra-D £93.94
AMD Athlon 64 X2 Dual Core 3800+ £199.69
PowerColor ATI Radeon X1800 XT 512MB £229.07
Tagan TG530-U15 530W £82.19
Total Cost £604.89

If I go for a PowerColor ATI Radeon X1900 XT 512MB
Total Cost £681.26

If I go for a AMD Athlon 64 X2 Dual Core 4400+ as well
Total Cost £815.21

So we're looking at an extra £200 on top of the base cost for a more 'today' processor and gfx card. Will there a huge difference between the base system and the 'today' system at stock? what about if the base system were overclocked, could it come close to the 'today' system?

If I do spend that much money, I won't wanna look at my credit card bill for a while! Tempted though...
 
Yes, the first system is definately better. The 170 has 1MB cache per core, while the 4400+ has 512K per core isnt it? The Opty is totally unlocked though isn't it?

Ive just checked my case, the motherboard side, from where the motherboard sits, is about as deep as the long side of a compact disc case. Would this be a problem for the AC Freezer 64 Pro?

locutus12:- I've heard those boards have a few niggles, and that they aren't as fast as native pci-x boards. If I were to upgrade to M2 and DDR2 in future, a new motherboard wouldn't cost too much, but I doubt I'd be doing that for a long time. I've had my 32bit Barton system for 3 years now, and I'd hope a new system would last just as long before needing upgrading! On that topic, is there anything part of M2 that is worth holding back my upgrade for? As I can't really afford to upgrade again when M2 is out.

Monstermunch:- Am I missing anything that I'll need as well? cables and such? With all that kit you've suggested me, I'm not gonna be wanting to upgrade a few months down the road am I? My Barton system does me fine really, its just that feeling you get, that you need to upgrade, because it's all so old! :p

Thanks for all your help so far everyone, well technically your helping me spend money, but at the same time your helping me not choose the wrong kit!
 
"its PCI-E not PCI-X"

I'll call it whatever I want, until I have it :p I don't put enough thought into what its called, so I just type whatever comes to mind... :p

MM: Hadn't been paying attention to your sig, your spec isn't all that much different from mine at the moment :) Except I have a newer graphics card.

From all the information I've got from this thread, I think I've whittled it down to the following

DFI LanParty UT NF4 Ultra-D
X2 3800+ or Opteron 170
ATi X1800XT or X1900XT
Tagen Modular 530w

Not fully decided on cpu and gfx yet...I can afford the more expensive of the two, but whether its worth it or not is another thing.

I can prolly get £250 for my cpu/mobo/gfx from a mate, which should help make the decision a lot :)
 
Right, hovering over the checkout button with...

Tagan TG530-U15 530W ATX2.01 Easycon SLi Compliant Modular Silent PSU £69.95
Arctic Cooling Freezer 64 Pro CPU Cooler (Socket 754/939/940) £15.95
DFI LanParty UT NF4 Ultra-D (Socket 939) PCI-Express Motherboard £79.95
PowerColor ATI Radeon X1900 XT 512MB GDDR3 AVIVO TV-Out/Dual DVI (PCI-Express) - Retail £259.95
AMD Opteron UP 170 Dual Core San Diego 2.0GHz 2MB Cache (Socket 939) - Retail £274.95
Western Digital Caviar SE16 320GB 3200KS SATA-II 16MB Cache - OEM £73.95

Subtotal £774.70
Shipping (City Link Parcel Next Day (Delivered Mon-Fri)) £9.95
VAT £137.32
Total £921.97

Is there anything I'm going to need in order to set all this up, harvesting a 32bit Athlon system, any cables etc?
Is the WD 320gb the best value drive to get? The 400gb is twice the price!

Thanks all :)
 
Thanks semi-pro waster, ordered!

Thanks for all the help everyone, especially Monstermunch, although because of you, I've spent more money than planned...but then, I won't need to upgrade for a lot longer :)

I really hope the cooler will fit in my case, if not, I won't be able to close the door all the way... :(

Just waiting for the order accepted email now!
 
Just called OcUK as hadn't received the order accepted email...apparently there are a few email issues at the moment, and my order has actually been accepted, and is being picked/packed :)

It best come tomorrow, or I'll have to wait til Tuesday! :(
 
Still no emails...a bit concerned now...The guy on the phone said the order was accepted and it is being picked, but I've received no email saying its been accepted, or an email saying its packed and is in process of being shipped...

I don't think I'm allowed to talk about shop stuff here, so I'll shut up now.

EDIT: found the order tracking page "Your order is awaiting packing in our warehouse"...it says the page is only updated during office hours only, so fingers crossed that my order is on its way!
 
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I need the stuff first! :(

Still not got a 'shipped' email...called this morning and told that there was enough 170's for my order left instock, and that my order will be out today. Upgraded to Sat delivery for extra tenner while on phone, so it best go out today!

"Your order has been sent to our warehouse but not yet printed.
If your order remains in this state for several hours there may be an out of stock item delaying your orders progress."
 
Finally!

Your order has been despatched
(Click on the link to track your order)

Anyone know where this link is? I've received no 'dispatched' email, so I've got no tracking code :(

EDIT: Entered my order number into Citylink, my stuff is on its way!!
Scheduled Delivery Date: 15/04/06

Yay!

/me thinks he'll be ill on Saturday and as such will be calling in sick!
 
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...I can't get over the fact that the processor idles at 26-29c...although the fans changing speed all the time is quite annoying, is it possible to stop them doing that with the DFI boards?

X1900XT is another story though, idles at 50c (6800GT idled at 46c), but goes to 80c+ at load (6800GT 63c), and the fan only spins at 32% then! madness!

Not overclocking yet, am letting all the components burn in (or whatever), plus I don't really feel the need just yet, the two games I play (at the moment) run even better than they did before, no stuttering what so ever. IQ is much better with the ATi card (in my opinion), even the gf asked why it looked better.

Happy with it all so far, left it priming for 12 hours just to confirm no stock clock instability, all fine...oh, and my clock goes at the right speed now :p

Memory defaults to 3-4-4-8-1T...anyone here with UCCC know what timings they will run at at around 200MHz...save me the trouble of pulling the CMOS reset jumper over and over again :)

Thanks all :D
 
Will take some pics in a bit, seeing as though your all just dying to see :D

The o/b sound uses Realtek ALC650, which will have support for games on par with what my X-Plosion has. It also has totally useless analog out, and it's coaxial output doesnt support high res sound. I will prolly get an X-Fi, even though I don't want to :(
 
Pics as requested : D

All the old kit : p
IMG_2141.JPG


The case...yeah I know it could do with a clean : D
IMG_2143.JPG


Inside left, looks really tidy in there compared to before, as the connector positioning allowed me to put most cables through a hole in the motherboard panel, rather than over the top : )
IMG_2147.JPG


Inside right, not much to see here, just the Tagan and a few fans : D
IMG_2152.JPG


If you'd like any more, I'll prolly take them...comments and/or questions are welcomed :D

EDIT: IMG code not working?
EDIT again: Fixed!
 
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