Author Topic: Upgrade from P4 1.7 to AMD64 advice (Read 796 times)

Kaz · « **Reply #15 on:** October 20, 2004, 10:03:17 AM »

I may be preaching to the choir here but just in case

Case and power supply are fairly important. Don't just get any generic stuff.

So compusa, circuitcity, bestbuy, fry's...

Antec makes good cases, sure you can get a cheap case for $40 or less but space inside could be limited or even worse some things just may not fit.

Don't skimp on the case, it'll outlive most if not everything else in your system. Good ventilation, 120mm fans front and rear should be adequate.

Power Supply:

compusa: go with Antec TruePower

circuitcity: Antec (compusa has better prices it seems)

bestbuy: Antec

fry's: Dunno what they have, antec, enermax, fortron, allied true, and maybe enlight good brands for power supplies.

JoeBWan17 · « **Reply #16 on:** October 20, 2004, 10:18:43 AM »

Quote

Originally posted by Kev367th
Memory is VERY important with the 64's.
You want CAS2, anything else cripples it.

My personal knowledge here is quite weak, aside from your comment most of what I have read states anything beyond CAS 2.5 really isn't as important on the AMD 64 due to the memory controller being on the processor. They tend to say that it is better to spend the extra money on a better video card or processor instead of lower latency RAM.

HOWEVER, I only really got the ram I did because it was bundled with my MB and process, and it is only CAS 3. If I had purchased seperatly I probably would have given a good hard look at getting CAS 2.

I really hope I don't end up regretting the high latency RAM, althought I have heard good things about Kingston being rock solid as far as dependability.

Kev367th · « **Reply #17 on:** October 20, 2004, 10:32:17 AM »

The fact the memory controller is on the CPU is exactly why you want CAS2 memory.
The 64s overall speed is due partly to the insanely fast memory transfer speeds.
I don't think I have ever found an article that suggests you use CAS2.5 or higher.

JoeBWan17 · « **Reply #18 on:** October 20, 2004, 11:44:04 AM »

Quote

Originally posted by Kev367th
The fact the memory controller is on the CPU is exactly why you want CAS2 memory.
The 64s overall speed is due partly to the insanely fast memory transfer speeds.
I don't think I have ever found an article that suggests you use CAS2.5 or higher.

I certainly didn't mean CAS 2.5 or higher, I meant CAS2.5 or "better" as in faster (ie lower).

Below is a reference to the forum where I read the advice.

http://forums.anandtech.com/messageview.aspx?catid=27&threadid=1363653&STARTPAGE=1&FTVAR_FORUMVIEWTMP=Linear

They arn't really saying it is "better" to get CAS2.5, only that it if money is an issue it is better to spend it on faster CPU/Video than on lower latency RAM (which you have to admit can be quite expensive).

However in the end I do wish I hadn't gone with the bundled RAM, but the deal was too good to pass up.

JoeBWan17 · « **Reply #19 on:** October 20, 2004, 11:45:12 AM »

Quote

Originally posted by Kaz
I may be preaching to the choir here but just in case

Case and power supply are fairly important. Don't just get any generic stuff.

So compusa, circuitcity, bestbuy, fry's...

Antec makes good cases, sure you can get a cheap case for $40 or less but space inside could be limited or even worse some things just may not fit.

Don't skimp on the case, it'll outlive most if not everything else in your system. Good ventilation, 120mm fans front and rear should be adequate.

Power Supply:

compusa: go with Antec TruePower

circuitcity: Antec (compusa has better prices it seems)

bestbuy: Antec

fry's: Dunno what they have, antec, enermax, fortron, allied true, and maybe enlight good brands for power supplies.

Thanks for the advice. I'll make a stop by compusa today and check out their Antec cases and power supplies.

Any advice on what I should get for a chip fan?

Kev367th · « **Reply #20 on:** October 20, 2004, 12:11:47 PM »

Zalman make a nice range of solid copper, quiet heat sinks and fans.
Interesting read about the ram, one thing though -
Corsair guarentees that their TWINX memory will run at advertised speeds as they are a matched pair of sticks. If they don't you can return them for a free replacement (lifetime warranty also).

Reschke · « **Reply #21 on:** October 20, 2004, 12:32:01 PM »

CompUSA had some of these down here last week Joe. Personally I like the Zalman coolers but if you are grabbing something like this from CompUSA then go with this one.

Thermaltake Volcano 11 + CPU Cooler 39.99 at CompUSA.

JoeBWan17 · « **Reply #22 on:** October 20, 2004, 01:32:26 PM »

Quote

Originally posted by Reschke
CompUSA had some of these down here last week Joe. Personally I like the Zalman coolers but if you are grabbing something like this from CompUSA then go with this one.

Thermaltake Volcano 11 + CPU Cooler 39.99 at CompUSA.

Thanks a lot to both you and Kev367th. I checked the price at one of the local computer stores and they have the Zalman 7000 Alcu for around $35.00. I'm thinking I'm going to pick that up along with a Altec Sonata case and maybe a 120 GB SATA hard drive. That will pretty much complete everything I need (except for Windows XP, and I really doubt I'll be able to use my Student Edition like I could before I graduated).

Kev367th · « **Reply #23 on:** October 20, 2004, 03:28:28 PM »

I use this Zalman, its quiet and does a great cooling job.
Don't forget your arctic silver!!!!

Kaz · « **Reply #24 on:** October 20, 2004, 08:38:53 PM »

There's this kinda sorta review of a few heatsink/fans

Scroll down to where it says "Table of Contents" for page links to the full article.

MOSQ · « **Reply #25 on:** October 21, 2004, 01:21:38 AM »

Some HS/F require you to remove the back plate off your MOBO. Others just snap on in place of the stock HSF. I have the Thermaltake Volcano, it was a snap to install.

Nilsen · « **Reply #26 on:** October 21, 2004, 05:53:02 AM »

Just abit of info.... no need to wait 6-9 months to get your hands on nf4 chipsets. they will be out on mobos sometime in november.

acetnt367th · « **Reply #27 on:** October 21, 2004, 01:44:08 PM »

Quote

Originally posted by acetnt367th
The A64 3000+ 939 will have a price drop within the next few days. Wait for this before buying ahmm ... looks like the drop has happened - official quote from AMD is $163 for the 3000+ 939

Acetnt

Hmmm - another edit - I dont see the price change reflected on pricewatch as yet. So wait a bit before buying the 939 3000+...

Here is AMD pricelink

http://www.amd.com/us-en/Corporate/VirtualPressRoom/0,,51_104_609,00.html

eagl · « **Reply #28 on:** October 21, 2004, 03:30:53 PM »

I like thermalright heatsinks. I have an SLK 800 and they have some newer ones with a similiar design that work very well. The thermalright website doesn't do too good of a job (IMHO) of showing which heatsinks work on what processors, but a little research or searching for reviews should clear that up. The biggest thing I like about these heatsinks is that they are specifically designed to let you pick whatever fan you want to use, even so far as the fan size. Some of the heatsinks can use any fan from 60mm to 120mm on the same heatsink by simply changing the fan mounting clips. I have a speed controlled 80mm fan on my heatsink and that way I can choose whether it's quiet and slightly warmer or slightly louder but cooler. That's a great choice to have when overclocking and using air cooling.