still putting new computer together (need advice)

P

pbrx7

New Member
hello all,

after a little trial and error and some wonderfull advice from several of you on the forum i have finally got my first build up and running. i'll post the specs below. i have a few more queastions and need your input and advice. i have a few more things i want to add and would like to know if the performance increase is worth the price paid. also, which particular piece would increase gaming performance the most. thank you. look forward to your replies.

paul

my build:
amd athlon x2 3800+ (windsor) @ 2.3mhz (am2 socket)
biostar tf570sli motherboard
Coolmax ATX 550w PS /120mm Fan
2gb (4x512) Corsair TWINX PC5400 DDR2
ASUS Chilly Vent Lux 80mm Sleeve CPU Cooler
2- XFX GeForce 8600GT 256MB 128-bit GDDR3 PCI Express (running in sli)
300gb maxtor sata hdd (1.5gb/s) (dont know the particulars)
xp home sp2

all in a well ventilated case. would like to add/change the following:

AMD Athlon 64 X2 5600+ Windsor 2.8GHz Socket AM2 Processor
Western Digital Raptor X 150GB 10,000 RPM Serial ATA150 Hard Drive
CORSAIR XMS2 4GB(4 x 1GB) 240-Pin DDR2 SDRAM DDR2 800 (PC2 6400)

will 4 gb be better for gaming? is the higher speed hardrive better or just go with 3 gb/s sata? looking for everyones input.
 
Forget 4gb for a 32bit OSed gaming build from the start. The best is running 3gb while a good pair of 1gb performance memory will work out well. Games are 32bit while 4gb will remain for the 64bit versions of Windows for the time being. Biostar for the board? You may want to consider an Asus, Gigabyte, or MSI model if not an Abit for any ocing planned. Asus offers a Cpu Recovery Process on their AM2 models if you set the multiplier or voltage too high and the system stalls. You simply shut the system down to see the factory defaults restored. No need to clear the cmos there.
 
My question is, why are you so set on an AMD system? Intel has the speed hands down. Just as cheap if not cheaper for better speed.

I run an AMD, and its a 64 x2 3800 system, it's fine, but if I were going to build myself a new one now, it would be Intel!

So don't get me wrong, I am not down on AMD, I just honestly think Intel is the better choice for the money.

If your going to spend the money, get the best you can.

I agree on the 4 gig of ram, you don't need it, and your system will not see over 3 gigs anyways.

I had a biostar board at one time, I never had any problems with it.
 
Oh wait, duh! I see now you just want to upgrade, not build a new one. How stupid of me.

Still goes for the ram though
 
pbrx7 said:
hello all,

after a little trial and error and some wonderfull advice from several of you on the forum i have finally got my first build up and running. i'll post the specs below. i have a few more queastions and need your input and advice. i have a few more things i want to add and would like to know if the performance increase is worth the price paid. also, which particular piece would increase gaming performance the most. thank you. look forward to your replies.

paul

my build:
amd athlon x2 3800+ (windsor) @ 2.3mhz (am2 socket)
biostar tf570sli motherboard
Coolmax ATX 550w PS /120mm Fan
2gb (4x512) Corsair TWINX PC5400 DDR2
ASUS Chilly Vent Lux 80mm Sleeve CPU Cooler
2- XFX GeForce 8600GT 256MB 128-bit GDDR3 PCI Express (running in sli)
300gb maxtor sata hdd (1.5gb/s) (dont know the particulars)
xp home sp2

all in a well ventilated case. would like to add/change the following:

AMD Athlon 64 X2 5600+ Windsor 2.8GHz Socket AM2 Processor
Western Digital Raptor X 150GB 10,000 RPM Serial ATA150 Hard Drive
CORSAIR XMS2 4GB(4 x 1GB) 240-Pin DDR2 SDRAM DDR2 800 (PC2 6400)

will 4 gb be better for gaming? is the higher speed hardrive better or just go with 3 gb/s sata? looking for everyones input.
Click to expand...

if i were you, i will wait for pheom which will come out with quad core in 3rd quarter of 2007, which is very soon. you could use that chip on your board.
 
Looks good but i'd rather buy 2x1gb sets since they are cheaper and there are better models than the 4x1 with lower latency's, cas etc
 
if u gonna go all out with 2Gb of RAM then i'd reccommend getitn the corsair dominator Twin2X2048 pc 6400 C3DF (or similar) - althogh it is rather expensive, it has very low latencyies of 3-3-4-1 or sumthin like that.

It might also be better off upgrading the Video to a single 8800 if you can afford it (for now).

I agree with pslee though on waiting for phenom, But I have been reading around that it's gonna come out in 4th quater now, with the new barelona earlier than the others.
 
Why amd? ive always been happy with their products and i tend to stick with things i like. thats the best answer i can give you. this biostar motherboard has really been nice and i have performed my first overclock on it. 3800+ running at 2.3 ghz. running the 8600 gt's in sli. i dont have a whole lot to compare this to but they look amazing to me. i never seen shadows, reflections in other objects, or different elements of the game react like they do now. when i shoot out a window, the glass shatters instead of just hearing a shattering noise and the glass disappering! i just ploayed fear for the first time (awesome game) and i ran the in game test. my system averaged 50-60 fps and went as high as 90 fps i believe. dont know if thats good but it played great.

i will look into the new amd chip. havent heard of it until now. and i seen the ram you were talking about on newegg. is there any performance difference from 2x1gb sticks as opposed to 4x512?
 
I believe it is much more efficent becuase the comp doesn't have to decide/think as much to where data is, although I'm not completly sure on the merits of "befief" of mine. Not sure where to go to either to get sure proof that it is.

I suppose that more than anything, it is a "cleaner" solution, if u cathch my drift.

Regarding your video card: you are certainly getting good FPS there so maybe you can afford to hold off on that front till later products come out too!

I think that we all need to keep in mind when chossing on buying a new videocard:

1. the games you want/are going to play, and how taxing it is to the system
2. the size of your monitor and therefore max resolution. It's no use trying to differentiate between buying an 8800 ultra over say a gts for smaller resolutioins (eg. 1278X1024 or wateva it is) as you will not be able to physically appreciate the difference between 80FPS and 120FPS until the computer tells you thats what was happening
3. how much improvement are you going to get on your current system versus with the new setup.
 
well, i havent made any hardware changes since the last time i talked to you guys. i did fix some driver issue's and reconfigure my fans in the case to cool a little better. i managed to overclock to 2.4 mhz and i ran the in game test in fear today and this was the result. min fps- 41, max fps- 238, avg fps- 92. probably wont be upgrading anything soon but am happy with how its running. now, if i could just get steam to work. i hate steam.
 
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