Aces High Bulletin Board
General Forums => Hardware and Software => Topic started by: wrag on March 07, 2004, 02:01:45 PM
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OK thinkin of buildin a new system.
Leaning towards AMD due to funds (very limited will probably do this over 2 to 4 months)
Considering ...
ASUS A7V8X-X
Gigabyte GA-7UT600-L
Any thoughts or recommendations?
Case ...
Antec with at least 400 Watt power
Memory? Gotta replace what I have it's not compatable.
CPU Barton 2500 or ??
OS probably W98SE for awhile later probably go to XP.
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I have an ASUS A7V8X-X, AMD 2500/333 and 512MB of DDR400 RAM. It works great, and the upgrade cost less then $250. Today I would think it work be closer to $200.
The ASUS is a nice MB, the upgrade went smooth. I am using the built in sound card, and LAN. It is a great upgrade for less then the price of a good video card.
Gunner
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poke your head into this thread http://www.hitechcreations.com/forums/showthread.php?threadid=110082&referrerid=4291 (http://www.hitechcreations.com/forums/showthread.php?threadid=110082&referrerid=4291)
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You might want to wait a couple months, new AMD cpu's, motherboards, coming out should drive prices down.
I'd save some more cash for a board that supports 400MHz FSB CPUs (Asus A7N8X-E Deluxe or Abit NF7-S V2 (revision 2)) More future proof(upgradeable)
Memory: At least 512MB PC2700/3200, PC3200 would probably be better (less depreciation) 1x512MB or 2x256MB(for dual channel support) Crucial, Corsair, Kingston, Mushkin, Geil
Barton 2500 is good.
Case: Antec SLK3700AMB (only has 350W PSU but it's a good PSU) Save for Antec True Power 430 PSU
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Darn beat me to it :) anyways looks like I'm pretty much in agreement with the majority in that thread.
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Amd 2500+ and A7N8X is a very popular setup, cant go too wrong there
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AMD Mobile XP chips are overclocking madmans if your into that......people are overclocking to 2.4-3.0Ghz with the AMD Mobile 2400,2500,2500 on air cooling.
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The Athlon64 is the only sensible way to go.
It's cheap and it cleans the table with Bartons. I just bought a system with A64 3000+, Asus k8v deluxe and sata drives accompanied with a quiet set of additional hardware.
The update cost me $650 altogether (along with 512mb matched ram and a powersupply.)
The game performance difference between the Barton and the a64 has been so big that Bartons look really expensive in comparison.
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Originally posted by Siaf__csf
The Athlon64 is the only sensible way to go.
It's cheap and it cleans the table with Bartons. ..
The update cost me $650 altogether (along with 512mb matched ram and a powersupply.)
The difference between $650 and $250 would be $450. With $450, I can send my son to summer camp, buy new shoes for my daughter, buy a weeks worth of groceries, fill the tank in the truck, buy a 6 pack of beer, pay my internet bill and HTC bill. Plus I can still play AH2 with great frame rates.
:)
Gunner
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The case I have is pretty limited. It only has 2 spots for fans and the fans are the really small ones. Plus one of the spots is blocked by the plastic case front :(
So figured I'd have to upgrade with a new case. Want to get a case that will last but I hear the newer cases will be BTX vs the old ATX so ???
Even thinkin of cuttin up the old one some to make it better usable for fans but prefer not. It's a minitower and has very little room in it.
The amd in it now occasional over heats when i'm runnin AH unless I pull off the side panel and run an extra external fan on it :(
Also I have a very limited budget right now and can spend MAYBE 200 to 400 on something over the next 2 months or so. I can take 4 to 6 mpnths to do it but wonderin if I'll be able too with the changes comin up.
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Originally posted by wrag
I can take 4 to 6 mpnths to do it but wonderin if I'll be able too with the changes comin up.
Think of how fast things have progressed & re-think that statement.
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The difference between $650 and $250 would be $450...
Are you sure? If I were you I'd send yourself to a summer camp that had arithmetic lessons included. ;)
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Originally posted by Dowding
Are you sure? If I were you I'd send yourself to a summer camp that had arithmetic lessons included. ;)
LOL, So this is why I had a $50 overdraft :D
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Umm.. so you're going to get a 3000+ CPU,dual-raid sata and gigabit lan Mobo, ram, powersupply AND a sata200gig drive for $250?
Go for it man.
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LOL
OK went with Asus A7V8X-X + AMD Barton 2500XP + heatsink and fan @ 333 FSB
(gave some thought to a A7V8X, or A7V8X-E for the dual memory channel stuff etc. but .....)
(note AMD site stated need to set board at 166 for 333 due to multiplier)
512 of PC2700 @ 333 (increase to 1mg later?)
New case with 3 or 4 fans and 400Watt power supply
Came to about $300
Ya Ya I know, but works for my budget, and my budget ain't allot right now.
Got an older ATI 9000 pro right now.
Thinkin of goin to a ATI 9800 a little later and either WinXP or Linux with WineX a little later after that.
May install my SB512 for game port and disable OB sound ???
Problem with WinXP is controller issue. Analog stick will have to be replaced and probably analog rudder pedals. May go with Linux instead.
And Thanks to ALL for the input! Tryin to do this within budgets constraints can be a real pain :( Went slightly over budget I set for myself as it is.
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You can easily overclock your Barton if you care to........most people get at least 2ghz out of them
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If you would like to see what's out there as far as a barbones kit you might want to check out Tiger Direct. They have some great deals on cases and motherboards, so u might be able to save some cash there. I would be leary about buying one of their assembled kits though as i have heard that their warranty support is not very good. Just a thought for ya.
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All ready got the system and put i together and am now using it.
Couple of points though. May need latest 4 in 1 and some othr minor things.
Oh how do you tell if it's a barton? Does not say on the box it came in. Just says it's a 2500+ with a 333 FSB.
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if your gonna buy and ASUS XP board go with the A7N8X deluxe rev 2.0 or newer versions.
And use DRR 400 (PC3200 or better) memory! You wont regret it!
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All ready made the purchase.
A7V8X-X
AMD Barton 2500+
512 pc2700 ram
Case with 400 watt power supply
Ya I thought about the other MB's but they put me over the top with the budget I had set for myself.
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Did you get one or two sticks of ram ???
Your gonna need two to get the full potential outta that set up .
As for OCing you should have no problem at 2.0 ghz
For 2.19 ghz it takes a good cooling setup ( i use a copper base fine fined HS and 2 case fans ) 45- 48c idle temps and 54c max when gaming.
the amd forum should have all the settings for that mb and oc set ups.
I'd post them but im on 56k at the moment (not at home)
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FSB on the Via boarf wont goto 200!
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Got a single stick, don't think the board has the dual memory setup. If it does then I goofed :(
The A7V8X and the A7V8X-E have the dual memory thing.
The FSB on this board is supposed to go upto 400.
Temp show right at 45C right now but earlier it was at 53C? opened a window and let some cool air in :)
Using the Asus prob and the Asus bios the temps come out slightly different but seems to run real close.
Overclock to 2.0 no problem? I live in the high desert. Gets cold at nite and can get pretty hot during the day!
Runnin at 1475 about right now.
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Wrag a 2500 is supposed to run stock @ 1.83G
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Originally posted by wrag
Got a single stick, don't think the board has the dual memory setup. If it does then I goofed :(
The A7V8X and the A7V8X-E have the dual memory thing.
The FSB on this board is supposed to go upto 400.
Temp show right at 45C right now but earlier it was at 53C? opened a window and let some cool air in :)
Using the Asus prob and the Asus bios the temps come out slightly different but seems to run real close.
Overclock to 2.0 no problem? I live in the high desert. Gets cold at nite and can get pretty hot during the day!
Runnin at 1475 about right now.
If your only running that chip at 1475mhz and it is idiling at 45C you have a problem. Did you put artic silver on the processor core? How many fans do you have? Are you using the stock heatsink and fan? The chip runs at a default 166 FSB or 1.83 Ghz, I wouldnt recommend bumping the FSB to the 166 it should be at if your temps are that high and you are running it at 1475mhz
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Well the heatsink and fan are stock as is the stuff on the heatsink.
I set it to 1833 and it's hittin 62C according to the Asus probe software, but it's pretty warm here today :(
Think i'll invest in some arctic silver and a newer heatsink fan setup, but budget says I gotta wait about a month.
The case has 4 fans 3 pulling air in and one blowing it out and the power supply fan blowing air out.
Been checkin the probe software and the temp has dropped to 60C. It's now 59C and seems to be dropping. But I enable software cpu cooling for now. But thinkin that may prove to be a problem when I'm online siming :(
The bios is set at like 95C for shutdown but the software is set at 79C. Which is more correct? Do I need to change the bios? Don't wanna cook this system :(
I'm livin in the High desert (4000 Ft.) and the temps vary allot most of the time. Can be in the 100's during the day and the 30' at night in the spring, summer, and fall. But during the day it can get pretty warm inside a house but be pretty cool outside. I just opened a window and turned on a fan to circulate the air and the temp dropped to 57C But it is warm today and feels warm in the house. It's about 12:30 here and nearing the hottest part of the day. I'm in a t-shirt and jeans but it feels uncomfortable in the house and the temp in here could be over 90 F or so. I say that because I'm pretty heat tolerant and can be comfortable when it's 100 F outside.
Oh the MB temp is 34C.
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Just try some Artic silver 1st before you go buy a new heatsink/fan you would be amazed at how much that in itself will lower temps. Your computer shop should have it for less than $10. Anything over 60C will cause instability problems and possible crashes, it wont fry your chip until it gets to the high 80's-90's. However even with it being warm in you place the chip should not be running that hot, your motherboard temp is only 2 degrees hotter than mine and I am running the same chip at 2.4ghz my chip under load is 48C and idle is 38C, It is currently 80degrees in the house.
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If you have a side case fan running (i have the feeling it is) turn it around so in sux air inward and blows on the cpu fan this will stop the fans from fighting for air ... also dont let it suck air from off of the monitor (if your stack is on the right side of the monitor it will do this ) as for shut down temp I would suggest 65-70c at the most ( I know amd says 85c for the athlons but talk to any service tech and they will tell you to keep it down below 60c)
The amd cpu's dont throttle back like the pentiums do thats why temp gets stressed when dealing with amd's and overclocking them.
And the artic silver is a must its only $8 for a tube and will last you a lifetime ,it only takes a raindrop worth on the center of the cpu .
Your mb temp is around the standard (mines at 32c at this moment)
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OK gonna get some arctic silver. May take a couple of days.
Whats a good way to clean the cpu and heatsink before applying the arctic silver?
Cpu is right at 53C right now. MB is at 30C
Only fans blowing out are the 2 in the rear of the case. 1 of those is the power supply fan.
The other 3 are pulling air in.
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your fans sound correct for good air flow .
For scraping off the old junk off the hs i just use a razor blade , then go over to the sink and finish with the dish scruby pad and some detergent .,409 works good . then dry it off .
for the cpu just use your fingernail and a tooth brush to get the old stuff off if theres any stuck to it.
Ive gotten 4-6 deg C temp drops just by switching to artic silver .
running a low 50c temp with a athlon overclocked is about the standard these days with normal cooling.
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Hmmm.......
Thinkin it got over 100 F in the house today. Was about the time I ran the probe software. This house is not very well insulated and the sun can heat up the inside pretty quick!
Say's it's about 67 F outside right now and my CPU temp is right at 50C
MB says 29.
Still gonna get the arctic silver and apply it :)