Building my first AMD based rig

A

alext5

Limp Gawd
Joined
Feb 19, 2004
Messages
169
I just had the opportunity to sell my rig in my sig to a friend so I'm looking to buy a new rig based on A64. However I have no experience with AMD stuff so I hope you guys can help me out. Here are the specs of the comp (don't jump because of the prices, they are in CDN and they are the cheaper I know here in Montreal:
-Lian Li PC70 255$
-Asus K8N-E deluxe : 191$
-AMD64 : 3400+ 369$
-DDR400 2*512 253$ (Kingston)
-Ati Radeon 9800 Pro 318$
-DVR108 116$
-Maxtor 200GB : 168 $
My main concerns are for the RAM/ Mobo because like I said before I don't have any experience with AMD. So tell me what you think about it and you can give me some recommandation concerning all parts.
 
Thnaks for the comment, anyone have experience with this mobo, is there any special ram needed to run well or just any ram will do the job?
 
Yes those prices are cdn and if the names you state before are online retailer nop I won't be ordering from any of them I will buy it from LCI( La centrale informatique for Montreal People).
I was also wondering if any fans come with this processor.
 
Why in the world would you buy a 9800 pro now after the release of all the cheaper NV40 cards?

Get yourself a 6600GT, 6800nu, 6800GT or anything but that 9800 pro. A 6800GT is twice as fast as a 9800 pro and a 6800nu overclocks really well while still outperforming a 9800XT at stock speeds.

Also, drop that 3400 s754 and get yourself a 90nm s939 chip. A 90nm s939 3000+ or 3200+ would both be good options. And get an nForce 3 Ultra chipset s939 board.

For RAM you want low latency Mushkin, OCZ, Kingston, Corsair, Crucial, or one of the other quality brands. Get the 2-2-2-5 stuff because it will overclock well.
 
Why in the world would you buy a 9800 pro now after the release of all the cheaper NV40 cards?
Click to expand...
Because it cost at least 100-150 CDN more than a 9800 Pro
Also, drop that 3400 s754 and get yourself a 90nm s939 chip. A 90nm s939 3000+ or 3200+ would both be good options. And get an nForce 3 Ultra chipset s939 board.
Click to expand...
Again, I can get my hands on anything lower than a 3500+ for an other 150-200$ more and let say I'm pretty tight on budget I can't afford more than this because even with that config it will cost me about 2000$ CDN and let's say even now I am so tight than I will probably need to wait a few weeks beofre buying it so I'll stick with it.
As for the ram the model I am getting is 1024mb and here is the model : KVR400X64C3AK2/1G will it do the job ?
*I forget to say I don't plan on overclocking.
 
kingston is fine, you're rig seems great. if you dont wanna overclock try and get some value ram and upgrade the video card, if not, the 9800 will hold you over for another year maximum.

je sais il est vers le haut là ;)
 
lol I'm so crap at French, but I managed to get an A* in GCSE french without even knowing the alphabet :D

Anyways I agree, if you're not overclocking you might want to try and go for some Kingston ValueRAM and from the money saved from that get a vanilla 6800. I know for sure that over here in the UK a 128mb 256bit 9800 Pro costs about £30 less than most vanilla 6800s.

EDIT: Just realised that £30 is a lot of $CDN (just under $70) and that 9800 Pro here would cost $380, so I guess we're too used to paying too much over here :rolleyes:
 
Some of the plain 6800 cards are approaching 9800 Pro prices (Say US$250 vs. US$200), you MAY be able to find a really good deal on a 6800 so you only pay a little more. But the 9800 Pro is still a great bang-for-the-buck card. The 6600 GT AGP is still vaporware, and its specs don't look so hot... I'm guessing its edge over the 9800 Pro will be modest.

I'd tend to go with the best ram you can get for the 3400+, rather than go cheap in that department.

I'd suggest going with a 939 and a 3500+ too. The cost will be about the same, but your upgrade path will be much better than with the older socket, all the way up to at least the not-released-yet FX-57/4200+ level. Also, you get dual-channel memory support.
 
Thanks for all your answers I will be considering what you said but I have a few other questions that I worry about: Do the 3400+ come with a fan and Do the PC70 case come with a PSU because right now I am going to have to wait for an extra month because I am short of money. Merci beaucoup d'avoir répondu à mes diverses questions et je suis content de voir que certains Britanniques et/ou Américains connaissent mon langage.
 
Let's say I would go with a S939, which Asus Nforce MoBo would you consider?
 
I just checked out and you are right Dillusion, what about the A8V-DX ? or you may have other suggestions? As for the 6800 I checked out and the cheaper one in vanilla flavor is 444$ so it become more than 150$ more expensive than the 9800Pro. Here are the updated specs:
Athlon 64 3500+ (S939) 392$
Asus A8V Deluxe 189 $
Lian Li PC61 150$
Kingston KVR DDR400 Dual Channel 246$
Pioneer DVR108 116$
Maxtor 200GB : 168$
Radeon 9800Pro : 318$
Total :1817$ w/ tax which is 150$ cheaper than with S754 because I also decided to go with the PC61 instead of the PC70 which also make a big difference.
Thanks for all your advices, that way I'll get a 3500+ S939 for almost the same price than the 3400+, but for the 6800 it's definatly too expensive for me.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top