ME BIGGD01
02-04-2005, 09:38 AM
Ok people, the prices are starting to drop like I mentioned 2 months ago so I will round up some configs for you at what a think are some great deals and at the same time give you one hell of a gaming system.
http://www.newegg.com/app/viewproductdesc.asp?description=19-103-502&DEPA=1 (http://www.newegg.com/app/viewproductdesc.asp?description=19-103-502&DEPA=1)
great price 3200athlon64 socket 939 chip at also 90nm core. ==$235.
http://www.newegg.com/app/viewproductdesc.asp?description=19-103-501&DEPA=1 (http://www.newegg.com/app/viewproductdesc.asp?description=19-103-501&DEPA=1)
AMD Athlon 64 3000+, 512KB L2 Cache, Socket 939 64-bit Processor – Retail=$165.00 (149 for oem chip)(I like this deal)
http://www.newegg.com/app/viewproductdesc.asp?description=19-103-463&DEPA=1 (http://www.newegg.com/app/viewproductdesc.asp?description=19-103-463&DEPA=1)
AMD Athlon 64 3500+, 512K, L2 Cache, Socket 939 Windows Compatible 64-bit Processor – Retail=$295.00 (259.00 oem)(this seems expensive considering that I paid 289 for mine a little while ago from local dealer. This core also is 130nm which I suggest going for the 90nm. I do not like this deal here but I think amd is lowering the prices on their higher end or lower end a64 chips. This chip should be around 269-279 so look elsewhere for this chip because I think it’s probably the best chip that won’t break the bank yet still give you a really powerful chip for you ass kicking system.
I will not suggest anything higher because I really don’t feel it’s worth the price.
Here are some motherboards at a great price.
http://www.newegg.com/app/viewproductdesc.asp?description=13-128-274&DEPA=1
GIGABYTE "GA-K8NS-939" NVIDIA nForce3 ULTRA Chipset Motherboard For AMD Socket 939 CPU –RETAIL=$85.00
This price is pretty tempting for a low budget ass kicking athlon 64 unit. It doesn’t have all the features as the other boards but it still has enough to consider buying it regardless of how I personally feel about gigabyte.
http://www.newegg.com/app/ViewProductDesc.asp?description=13-131-510&depa=1 (http://www.newegg.com/app/ViewProductDesc.asp?description=13-131-510&depa=1)
ASUS "A8V Deluxe" VIA K8T800 Pro Chipset Motherboard For AMD Socket 939 CPU –RETAIL=$134.00
This board is really good and will please you all the way. I have built 2 systems with this board and I will tell you that despite some problems with revision 1 it ran flawless but I liked the second one better because the voltages read right and it had the agp/pci lock that worked. All in all, I am going to suggest this board to everyone because it scored very well against my sli system (it actually is faster then nforce4 chipset but that could be because of the ****ing drivers have not been updated yet (sorry for that little outburst).
http://www.newegg.com/app/ViewProductDesc.asp?description=13-130-469&depa=1 (http://www.newegg.com/app/ViewProductDesc.asp?description=13-130-469&depa=1)
MSI "K8T NEO2-F" VIA K8T800 Pro Chipset Motherboard for AMD Socket 939 CPU –RETAIL=$98.00
This is another board that has received some pretty good reviews and for this price it seems to offer great bang for buck. Again, it will help you put together your first athlon64 system at one hell of a price.
http://www.newegg.com/app/ViewProductDesc.asp?description=13-128-263&depa=1 (http://www.newegg.com/app/ViewProductDesc.asp?description=13-128-263&depa=1)
GIGABYTE "GA-K8NS Ultra-939" NVIDIA nForce3 ULTRA Chipset Motherboard For AMD Socket 939 CPU –RETAIL=$116.00
This is based on the nforce3 chipset that is pretty solid. Actually all of the 939 boards are really solid between via and NVIDIA. Each chipset will perform just a few percent better from each other but nothing you would ever notice. I do actually like the packages NVIDIA offers with their chipsets suck as nvraid and their network controller seems to use less cpu then via’s offerings. This board seems to come with many features such as the 1394b etc. These prices really make it hard for one to choose because all these boards will run pretty close to each other in performance so you have to look at price and the goodies that come with the board. I still am not crazy about gigabyte but other do like them.
My suggestion is the a8v board.
Now if you plan on going crazy and building the ultimate system….
http://www.newegg.com/app/ViewProductDesc.asp?description=13-131-517&depa=1 (http://www.newegg.com/app/ViewProductDesc.asp?description=13-131-517&depa=1)
ASUS "A8N-SLI Deluxe" nForce4 SLI Chipset Motherboard For AMD Socket 939 CPU –RETAIL=$239.00
Ahhh yes, be like me and throw your money away on stuff that is really ready. I suggest getting this only if you plan on getting 2 pci express cards. The drivers are not fully there yet to give you leading performance but this board has every feature. Now here is how I feel about this chipset…. The nforce4 chipset is really the best chipset out there. Regardless of sli, you can buy the nforce4 ultra chipset to get all the features except sli. Ofcourse if you were planning on running your old agp card on this board or chipset, forget it. you will need a new pci express card which I truthfully feel offers nothing and will offer nothing until late 2006 or 2007. Even sli does not offer enough to justify the price of those cards times 2. Not all games support sli and you are probably better buying 1 geforce 6800 ultra card. Sure this board offers the latest and greatest gadgets but as far as the video cards go, I will pass on it. now, looking at all the other great features such as sata2, firewire2, nv-raid, nv-firewall, 8 channel sound, raid 5 etc etc, this chipset offers some pretty kick ass stuff. Of course most of you will not use this stuff and if you do it will cost you a lot more to get the parts to add in. One really must want all these features as I did to want to pay for such a board. Still no update chipset drivers yet which has me believe NVIDIA is taking on too much.
Memory
I suggest buying low latency ram for this system. Will it give you that much more performance the cas3 pc3200? Not really but 2-3% difference. Depending on your budget, you do what you have to do. One thing to consider is if you plan on over clocking, go for good quality ram. Corsair or Crucial are really good for fast memory. Kingston is ok but not as good.
Here are some good deals that will keep your system nice and smooth.
http://www.newegg.com/app/viewproductdesc.asp?description=20-144-310&DEPA=1 (http://www.newegg.com/app/viewproductdesc.asp?description=20-144-310&DEPA=1)
Geil Ultra Series Value Dual Channel 184 Pin 1GB(512MBx2) DDR PC-3200 w/ Blue Heatspreader – Retail=$154.50
http://www.newegg.com/app/viewproductdesc.asp?description=20-145-522&DEPA=1 (http://www.newegg.com/app/viewproductdesc.asp?description=20-145-522&DEPA=1)
CORSAIR XMS Xtreme Memory Speed Series, Xtra-Low Latency 184-Pin 1GB(512MBx2) DDR PC-3200 w/ Heat Spreader, Model TWINX1024-3200XL – Retail=$247.25
This is top of the line stuff and some boards have had problems with it because the voltage must be raised in the bios to get it moving. I really think it’s over kill but thought I would throw it in the list for the freaks.
http://www.newegg.com/app/ViewProductDesc.asp?description=20-146-546&depa=1 (http://www.newegg.com/app/ViewProductDesc.asp?description=20-146-546&depa=1)
Crucial Ballistix 184-Pin 512MB DDR PC-3200– Retail=$115.00
Oh yes, this is what I have running in my rig. i suggest buying 2 sticks of this and calling it a day. The timings are perfect and will give you that extra few percent with out worrying about stability. I have not had one problem with this stuff and give it 2 thumbs up. Just look at the latency and the timings of this stuff and you will be impressed.
Power supply
http://www.newegg.com/app/viewproductdesc.asp?description=17-148-008&DEPA=1 (http://www.newegg.com/app/viewproductdesc.asp?description=17-148-008&DEPA=1)
Aspire 520W 12V Black Triple Fan Aluminum Power Supply, Model "ATX-AS520W BLACK" –RETAIL=$59.00
This will be more then enough for your system. I actually run less on my sli system and this power supply here will make your setup give that extra kick with looks and power. Really I don’t care what power supply you buy as long as it’s name brand. It really is one of the most important pieces to your computer. You risk damaging your hardware when you buy cheap power supplies. Always go with name brand for something that will be pumping the current into your computer.
Hard drives
Buy what’s on sale but make sure you get a hard drive with 8mb cache. Staples is having a sale on the diamond max 10 ultra 16 for 129.00, 16mb cache 250 gig drive. No rebates. This is a steal and I will be buying a few of these to raid up for my media station I am designing for my house. Don’t be so quick to order a hard drive online because your local stores usually have some great sales.
Dvd burner
Just buy a multi-format, dual layer drive. The media is not worth it right now but it’s good to have the drive for the future. I suggest lite-on because of the firmware issues plagued by al this drm stuff.
Ok, now I will suggest a computer case to end this. For anything else like a video card I suggest you buy what you feel is good for you. You probably have a decent card but if not and want to upgrade, I think the bfg line of cards are the best and having owned the bfg 6800 oc 128mb ram, I will rate it the best for anyone because eit can be bought for 255 bucks and using riva tuner, you can enable the 16 pipeline to turn it into a full fledged 6800 gt/ultra. Regardless of the 128 mb’s of ram on the card, it will run great and no hiccups. Will it be the best? No but damn near close and offering all the latest technology in the geforce chips like shader 3.0 etc etc. if you want the best, go pay 5-600 bucks for it. to me I think that’s nuts.
As far as cases go I will pick a few I think are pretty nice and quality.
http://www.newegg.com/app/viewproductdesc.asp?description=11-133-146&DEPA=1 (http://www.newegg.com/app/viewproductdesc.asp?description=11-133-146&DEPA=1)
Thermaltake SOPRANO VB1000SWS Silver ATX Mid Tower Case With X type side panel window –RETAIL=$82.99
http://www.newegg.com/app/ViewProductDesc.asp?description=11-133-147&depa=1 (http://www.newegg.com/app/ViewProductDesc.asp?description=11-133-147&depa=1)
Thermaltake SOPRANO VB1000BNS Black ATX Mid Tower Case –RETAIL=$77.99
http://www.newegg.com/app/ViewProductDesc.asp?description=11-133-119&depa=1 (http://www.newegg.com/app/ViewProductDesc.asp?description=11-133-119&depa=1)
Thermaltake Xaser V Damier Black Full-Tower Case, Model "V5000A" –RETAIL=$100.00
I am going to say that this is the best case with a lot of features. How do I know? This is what I am housing my sli board in. I did find the wiring for all the fans to be a pain in the ass but I managed to get it all right and I control every fan in the box. I hate noise and I hate people that buy cases with too many damn fans. This case really does it right and it looks nice except for that stupid checkerboard crap which can be easily changed. I actually paid more for this case then what new egg is selling it for. The sensors are also very accurate as I tested that myself compared to bios readings. For 100 bucks you will have the luxury of having every fan placed in the proper spots to keep your system cool and not only that but each fan has a removable filter that is easy to take out and rinse off the dust that accumulates. You will not have to be be buying new fans for this case. Another great feature which I think is second best is that you will not need to screw any drives in. The clips work great for your hard drives and cd/dvd drives. I can not explain how easy it is to put in and or change a drive. Really it will take you less then a minute. This case is huge but you do not want to put your athlon 64 in some crappy case. Oh and you are going to want to have that window to show off your goods.
Ok this took some time so I am going to look forward to anyone who treats themselves. Putting a system like this together will not break your bank and actually be easier for people who just want to upgrade some of their parts. I am sure once you have your athlon 64 system built; you will experience a whole new gaming experience along with a system that can do anything. Even if one chooses the lower end athlon64 chip, you are sure to be impressed, that I can be sure of.
MEBIGGD01
GM’S GEEK
http://www.newegg.com/app/viewproductdesc.asp?description=19-103-502&DEPA=1 (http://www.newegg.com/app/viewproductdesc.asp?description=19-103-502&DEPA=1)
great price 3200athlon64 socket 939 chip at also 90nm core. ==$235.
http://www.newegg.com/app/viewproductdesc.asp?description=19-103-501&DEPA=1 (http://www.newegg.com/app/viewproductdesc.asp?description=19-103-501&DEPA=1)
AMD Athlon 64 3000+, 512KB L2 Cache, Socket 939 64-bit Processor – Retail=$165.00 (149 for oem chip)(I like this deal)
http://www.newegg.com/app/viewproductdesc.asp?description=19-103-463&DEPA=1 (http://www.newegg.com/app/viewproductdesc.asp?description=19-103-463&DEPA=1)
AMD Athlon 64 3500+, 512K, L2 Cache, Socket 939 Windows Compatible 64-bit Processor – Retail=$295.00 (259.00 oem)(this seems expensive considering that I paid 289 for mine a little while ago from local dealer. This core also is 130nm which I suggest going for the 90nm. I do not like this deal here but I think amd is lowering the prices on their higher end or lower end a64 chips. This chip should be around 269-279 so look elsewhere for this chip because I think it’s probably the best chip that won’t break the bank yet still give you a really powerful chip for you ass kicking system.
I will not suggest anything higher because I really don’t feel it’s worth the price.
Here are some motherboards at a great price.
http://www.newegg.com/app/viewproductdesc.asp?description=13-128-274&DEPA=1
GIGABYTE "GA-K8NS-939" NVIDIA nForce3 ULTRA Chipset Motherboard For AMD Socket 939 CPU –RETAIL=$85.00
This price is pretty tempting for a low budget ass kicking athlon 64 unit. It doesn’t have all the features as the other boards but it still has enough to consider buying it regardless of how I personally feel about gigabyte.
http://www.newegg.com/app/ViewProductDesc.asp?description=13-131-510&depa=1 (http://www.newegg.com/app/ViewProductDesc.asp?description=13-131-510&depa=1)
ASUS "A8V Deluxe" VIA K8T800 Pro Chipset Motherboard For AMD Socket 939 CPU –RETAIL=$134.00
This board is really good and will please you all the way. I have built 2 systems with this board and I will tell you that despite some problems with revision 1 it ran flawless but I liked the second one better because the voltages read right and it had the agp/pci lock that worked. All in all, I am going to suggest this board to everyone because it scored very well against my sli system (it actually is faster then nforce4 chipset but that could be because of the ****ing drivers have not been updated yet (sorry for that little outburst).
http://www.newegg.com/app/ViewProductDesc.asp?description=13-130-469&depa=1 (http://www.newegg.com/app/ViewProductDesc.asp?description=13-130-469&depa=1)
MSI "K8T NEO2-F" VIA K8T800 Pro Chipset Motherboard for AMD Socket 939 CPU –RETAIL=$98.00
This is another board that has received some pretty good reviews and for this price it seems to offer great bang for buck. Again, it will help you put together your first athlon64 system at one hell of a price.
http://www.newegg.com/app/ViewProductDesc.asp?description=13-128-263&depa=1 (http://www.newegg.com/app/ViewProductDesc.asp?description=13-128-263&depa=1)
GIGABYTE "GA-K8NS Ultra-939" NVIDIA nForce3 ULTRA Chipset Motherboard For AMD Socket 939 CPU –RETAIL=$116.00
This is based on the nforce3 chipset that is pretty solid. Actually all of the 939 boards are really solid between via and NVIDIA. Each chipset will perform just a few percent better from each other but nothing you would ever notice. I do actually like the packages NVIDIA offers with their chipsets suck as nvraid and their network controller seems to use less cpu then via’s offerings. This board seems to come with many features such as the 1394b etc. These prices really make it hard for one to choose because all these boards will run pretty close to each other in performance so you have to look at price and the goodies that come with the board. I still am not crazy about gigabyte but other do like them.
My suggestion is the a8v board.
Now if you plan on going crazy and building the ultimate system….
http://www.newegg.com/app/ViewProductDesc.asp?description=13-131-517&depa=1 (http://www.newegg.com/app/ViewProductDesc.asp?description=13-131-517&depa=1)
ASUS "A8N-SLI Deluxe" nForce4 SLI Chipset Motherboard For AMD Socket 939 CPU –RETAIL=$239.00
Ahhh yes, be like me and throw your money away on stuff that is really ready. I suggest getting this only if you plan on getting 2 pci express cards. The drivers are not fully there yet to give you leading performance but this board has every feature. Now here is how I feel about this chipset…. The nforce4 chipset is really the best chipset out there. Regardless of sli, you can buy the nforce4 ultra chipset to get all the features except sli. Ofcourse if you were planning on running your old agp card on this board or chipset, forget it. you will need a new pci express card which I truthfully feel offers nothing and will offer nothing until late 2006 or 2007. Even sli does not offer enough to justify the price of those cards times 2. Not all games support sli and you are probably better buying 1 geforce 6800 ultra card. Sure this board offers the latest and greatest gadgets but as far as the video cards go, I will pass on it. now, looking at all the other great features such as sata2, firewire2, nv-raid, nv-firewall, 8 channel sound, raid 5 etc etc, this chipset offers some pretty kick ass stuff. Of course most of you will not use this stuff and if you do it will cost you a lot more to get the parts to add in. One really must want all these features as I did to want to pay for such a board. Still no update chipset drivers yet which has me believe NVIDIA is taking on too much.
Memory
I suggest buying low latency ram for this system. Will it give you that much more performance the cas3 pc3200? Not really but 2-3% difference. Depending on your budget, you do what you have to do. One thing to consider is if you plan on over clocking, go for good quality ram. Corsair or Crucial are really good for fast memory. Kingston is ok but not as good.
Here are some good deals that will keep your system nice and smooth.
http://www.newegg.com/app/viewproductdesc.asp?description=20-144-310&DEPA=1 (http://www.newegg.com/app/viewproductdesc.asp?description=20-144-310&DEPA=1)
Geil Ultra Series Value Dual Channel 184 Pin 1GB(512MBx2) DDR PC-3200 w/ Blue Heatspreader – Retail=$154.50
http://www.newegg.com/app/viewproductdesc.asp?description=20-145-522&DEPA=1 (http://www.newegg.com/app/viewproductdesc.asp?description=20-145-522&DEPA=1)
CORSAIR XMS Xtreme Memory Speed Series, Xtra-Low Latency 184-Pin 1GB(512MBx2) DDR PC-3200 w/ Heat Spreader, Model TWINX1024-3200XL – Retail=$247.25
This is top of the line stuff and some boards have had problems with it because the voltage must be raised in the bios to get it moving. I really think it’s over kill but thought I would throw it in the list for the freaks.
http://www.newegg.com/app/ViewProductDesc.asp?description=20-146-546&depa=1 (http://www.newegg.com/app/ViewProductDesc.asp?description=20-146-546&depa=1)
Crucial Ballistix 184-Pin 512MB DDR PC-3200– Retail=$115.00
Oh yes, this is what I have running in my rig. i suggest buying 2 sticks of this and calling it a day. The timings are perfect and will give you that extra few percent with out worrying about stability. I have not had one problem with this stuff and give it 2 thumbs up. Just look at the latency and the timings of this stuff and you will be impressed.
Power supply
http://www.newegg.com/app/viewproductdesc.asp?description=17-148-008&DEPA=1 (http://www.newegg.com/app/viewproductdesc.asp?description=17-148-008&DEPA=1)
Aspire 520W 12V Black Triple Fan Aluminum Power Supply, Model "ATX-AS520W BLACK" –RETAIL=$59.00
This will be more then enough for your system. I actually run less on my sli system and this power supply here will make your setup give that extra kick with looks and power. Really I don’t care what power supply you buy as long as it’s name brand. It really is one of the most important pieces to your computer. You risk damaging your hardware when you buy cheap power supplies. Always go with name brand for something that will be pumping the current into your computer.
Hard drives
Buy what’s on sale but make sure you get a hard drive with 8mb cache. Staples is having a sale on the diamond max 10 ultra 16 for 129.00, 16mb cache 250 gig drive. No rebates. This is a steal and I will be buying a few of these to raid up for my media station I am designing for my house. Don’t be so quick to order a hard drive online because your local stores usually have some great sales.
Dvd burner
Just buy a multi-format, dual layer drive. The media is not worth it right now but it’s good to have the drive for the future. I suggest lite-on because of the firmware issues plagued by al this drm stuff.
Ok, now I will suggest a computer case to end this. For anything else like a video card I suggest you buy what you feel is good for you. You probably have a decent card but if not and want to upgrade, I think the bfg line of cards are the best and having owned the bfg 6800 oc 128mb ram, I will rate it the best for anyone because eit can be bought for 255 bucks and using riva tuner, you can enable the 16 pipeline to turn it into a full fledged 6800 gt/ultra. Regardless of the 128 mb’s of ram on the card, it will run great and no hiccups. Will it be the best? No but damn near close and offering all the latest technology in the geforce chips like shader 3.0 etc etc. if you want the best, go pay 5-600 bucks for it. to me I think that’s nuts.
As far as cases go I will pick a few I think are pretty nice and quality.
http://www.newegg.com/app/viewproductdesc.asp?description=11-133-146&DEPA=1 (http://www.newegg.com/app/viewproductdesc.asp?description=11-133-146&DEPA=1)
Thermaltake SOPRANO VB1000SWS Silver ATX Mid Tower Case With X type side panel window –RETAIL=$82.99
http://www.newegg.com/app/ViewProductDesc.asp?description=11-133-147&depa=1 (http://www.newegg.com/app/ViewProductDesc.asp?description=11-133-147&depa=1)
Thermaltake SOPRANO VB1000BNS Black ATX Mid Tower Case –RETAIL=$77.99
http://www.newegg.com/app/ViewProductDesc.asp?description=11-133-119&depa=1 (http://www.newegg.com/app/ViewProductDesc.asp?description=11-133-119&depa=1)
Thermaltake Xaser V Damier Black Full-Tower Case, Model "V5000A" –RETAIL=$100.00
I am going to say that this is the best case with a lot of features. How do I know? This is what I am housing my sli board in. I did find the wiring for all the fans to be a pain in the ass but I managed to get it all right and I control every fan in the box. I hate noise and I hate people that buy cases with too many damn fans. This case really does it right and it looks nice except for that stupid checkerboard crap which can be easily changed. I actually paid more for this case then what new egg is selling it for. The sensors are also very accurate as I tested that myself compared to bios readings. For 100 bucks you will have the luxury of having every fan placed in the proper spots to keep your system cool and not only that but each fan has a removable filter that is easy to take out and rinse off the dust that accumulates. You will not have to be be buying new fans for this case. Another great feature which I think is second best is that you will not need to screw any drives in. The clips work great for your hard drives and cd/dvd drives. I can not explain how easy it is to put in and or change a drive. Really it will take you less then a minute. This case is huge but you do not want to put your athlon 64 in some crappy case. Oh and you are going to want to have that window to show off your goods.
Ok this took some time so I am going to look forward to anyone who treats themselves. Putting a system like this together will not break your bank and actually be easier for people who just want to upgrade some of their parts. I am sure once you have your athlon 64 system built; you will experience a whole new gaming experience along with a system that can do anything. Even if one chooses the lower end athlon64 chip, you are sure to be impressed, that I can be sure of.
MEBIGGD01
GM’S GEEK