I need an opinion

[Tokinbudz]

Im hoping someone who really knows their stuff can give me their opinion. I had bought an Intel 550 and an Asus P5AD2 Deluxe with a gig of 533mhz Kingston ram, but decided to cancel the order (after they already got it all lol) but i promised when i decided what i would get id get it all from them. I game lots and lots (Bfv, Bf1942, Mohaa, Madden) and currently have an athlon 1800+ and geforce ti4200 4x AGP which is officially a weak ass system now.
I notice lots of benchmarks saying how much Athlon outperfoms Intel for gaming, so first thing i want to know is is it worth getting a 3800+ and spending 2x the price of a 3500+? Could i overclock the 3500 so it runs like a 3800? I notice the 939 doesnt have support for DDR2 yet, now first i didnt care because i has heard that the DDR2 wasnt that great yet. Now im reading that its getting better and fairly fast. If i go and spend over 2 grand on a 3800+ and an A8N-SLI, with some killer Corsair ram, i'd be pissed if DDR2 quickly became the standard and id have to totally upgrade again, so thats the positive i see from Intel and downside from Athlon. Also what i dont get is how a 3800+ running at 2.4 can outperform a 550 3.4 with same specs.
Im looking to spend about $1200 - $1500 cdn on the processor and video card, then the A8N-SLI and cooling items on top of that. As for ram, i definately want Corsair after researching it more, i think its worth it to spend 3-4 bills on a gig of kick-ass ram what would be my best choice latency-wise? Any feedback or opinions would be greatly appreciated, I just cant figure out what to buy. Best Regards, A Hardcore Gamer.

 

[Tokinbudz]

Oh 1 other inquiry, what motherboards support the DDR2 675? I notice the max on all the ones i looked at was 533.

 

[Praetor]

I notice lots of benchmarks saying how much Athlon outperfoms Intel for gaming, so first thing I want to know is is it worth getting a 3800+ and spending 2x the price of a 3500+?

If I had the money id get the 3800 (kinda regretting not waiting a bit more to get the 3800 but oh well). As for why..... the 3800 that I do play around with, I find the 12.0x multiplier it comes with a lot more flexible than the 11.0 I have here. Really a somewhat minor technicality. So for all intents and purposes, the 3500 is prolly the best all around valued A64-939 proc

Could I overclock the 3500 so it runs like a 3800?

So easily its silly

I notice the 939 doesnt have support for DDR2 yet, now first I didnt care because I has heard that the DDR2 wasnt that great yet. Now im reading that its getting better and fairly fast.

1. Good DDR2 will be a ways out -- even in light of the new OCZ stuff -- DDR2 still has a long way to go
2. I suspect that DDR2 will be a fizzle in the end ... the way things are progressing it seems like all these "minor tweaks" to the architecture are all leading to wards a major revision (i.e., DDR3). If you read up on the developments with Registered memory (and intels push for multiple FSBs), there seems to be a definite change to happen with future memory.

If I go and spend over 2 grand on a 3800+ and an A8N-SLI, with some killer Corsair ram, i'd be pissed if DDR2 quickly became the standard and id have to totally upgrade again

1. It shouldnt cost you over 2K USD.
2. You wouldnt have to upgrade again -- whether you do or not is your choice

so thats the positive I see from Intel and downside from Athlon. Also what I dont get is how a 3800+ running at 2.4 can outperform a 550 3.4 with same specs

.
EVEN if DDR2 takes off and all this fancy mumbo jumbo. Intel doesnt have an on-die memory controller solution yet. That's what lets the Athlon64s dominate in the gaming arena .... not the fact that DDR2 hasnt kicked up to speed yet

Im looking to spend about $1200 - $1500 cdn on the processor and video card

Shouldnt be too hard. I spent $1300CAD on [the core components of] this box (minus two of the HDDs)

i definately want Corsair after researching it more, I think its worth it to spend 3-4 bills on a gig of kick-ass ram what would be my best choice latency-wise?

Well you wont go wrong there .... as for latency ... naturally their "low latency" series Have a read by http://www.computerforum.com/announcement.php?f=7 for some aspects of OCing

Oh 1 other inquiry, what motherboards support the DDR2 675? I notice the max on all the ones I looked at was 533.

The P5AD2 that you were considering as well as the flagship Abit boards