Here is what im thinking of for my new build. Any suggestions/criticisms would be greatly appreciated. CPU- AMD Athlon 64 X2 4400+ Toledo 1GHz HT 2 x 1MB L2 Cache Socket 939 Dual Core Processor - Retail MOBO- ASUS A8N-SLI Deluxe Socket 939 NVIDIA nForce4 SLI ATX AMD Motherboard - Retail Thermaltake W0101RU 550W Power Supply - Retail Western Digital Caviar RE 250GB 3.5" Serial ATA150 Hard Drive - OEM ARCTIC COOLING Freezer 64 Pro Cooling Fan with Heatsink - Retail Microsoft Windows XP Home With SP2 - OEM video card yet to be decided, either going for a 7800GT or a 7900GT when they are released currently I got 1gig of PQI turbo (512x2) that i plan on putting into the new rig. Cant afford anymore ram or to replace the PQI, works great though. Already got cd/dvd drive that isnt the fastest but works fine for my needs All of this will be going into my Aerocool Masstige. I could really use a suggestion for a HD, there are so many options, and im trying to stay right around 100 bux for the HD CHEERS!!!!!
Well ... seems quite ok .... a 7800GT SLi would really be good .... And hey .... upgrade ur ram to atleast 2 GB .... u'll need .... and that additional 1 GB really makes a difference ....
If you're getting a retail CPU rather than OEM it will come with an HSF anyway. Should work fine running it at stock. Or get an OEM version of the chip without a fan. If you want to shave a few more bucks, look for a non-SP2 OEM version - just download and burn SP2 onto a CD and keep it with the setup disk. I also don't see the point changing the PSU until you actually get a second graphics card. Quite a chunky saving there. Still sure you can't afford that RAM? I think you can you know.
what do u mean not changing the psu? the current psu i have doent have connectors necessary for pci-e video cards. Are there any other things i could compromise on to trim the price down? I would really like another gig of ram. BTW any links to the non sp2 windows would be great!!!! Keep the suggestions coming!!!!! BTW is the power supply i choose a good one? Thermaltake has always been good to me in the past as far as PSU's go.
assuming the 7800gt's go down in price when the 7900 series is released, would getting 2 be better than a single 7900gt, assuming that the prices are reasonable.
You can get Molex-PCI-E adaptors. It's just a 12V supply. I've actually got a spare one if you're really stuck. Regret I have no time nor do I know your origin, which makes it a bit tricky for anybody to help. They make very good PSUs. Lots of people have TruePower's and like them very much. I just think it's a fair slice of cash for 70 extra Watts - which you won't even use unless you buy a 2nd card. Put it this way... let's just say you keep your PSU, and find out that it powers a 2nd card just fine... you'd be gutted if you found this out AFTER you've paid for an upgrade you don't need.
quite true, i never knew that they made Molex-PCI-E adaptors. Great suggestion, here comes that extra gig of ram. As far as the cpu goes, would i be sacrificing too much performance by switching to a 4200? I really want to go sli!!!
Hmm... sideways choice, how about an Opteron 170? Should give you similar performance to a 4400... although AMD64 is not my strong point. Somebody else; either agree or shoot me down in flames. I think the caches are smaller on the Opty but I'm not real sure. As for the extra RAM... if you can swing it, sell your current modules and go for 2 X 1GB sticks. Give a nice performance boost over using 4 X 512MB. Difference is 1T as opposed to 2T timings. EDIT: Nope, it's 2MB cache on both... see for yourself http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=N82E16819103546 <-4400 http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=N82E16819103586 <- Opteron 170, 40 bucks saved
pardon my dumb questions, im new to AMD, but what is the difference between the X2 and the opteron. Both seem pretty equivalent but the price is different, Im not complaining but i want to make sure an Opteron will work with the asus sli deluxe mobo i was planning on getting. Can someone please fill me in on the pros/cons of the opteron over the x2?
Well, the X2 have dual cores. So do Opterons above... I think it's 166 model number. Opterons have lower set speed, but have proved to be amazingly good overclockers. Might have more luck asking the question in AMD64. Or if you use the search option, you might find out without asking.
