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ming

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I'm putting together a list of computer components that I will need when I build my next rig this coming xmas.

Just want to ask you guys what I need to be looking for when getting some of these stuff and what you can suggest I get.

First of all, I'm a bit confused as to what I should be getting for the RAM.
There's the CAS grade and Latency, both of which I'm not sure about.
Should I be getting CAS 2/2.5/3? and latency - what would you suggest?

Secondly, the graphics card. I'm no enthusiast on gaming of graphics intensive applications but would like 128mb of memory in the thing. Would like it to give me high fps for games like CS and all that. Not wanting to spend more than £120 on this particular item.
 
I just picked up a 3400+ with a 1MB cache. Watch out for those 512k's. The 3400 performs almost as well and costs half to a third as much. As far as CAS latency, maybe someone who watches can fill you in. To me, things like that are minutae. Gaining 200 points in 3dMark05 doesn't mean much to me ;) When you're already getting 80FPS in Far Cry, 84 FPS just isn't worrying about.

Read this for some awesome benchmarks about the 3400+ and see how it stacks up against even the 3800+.
http://www.sharkyextreme.com/hardware/cpu/article.php/3261_3361881__8

130.7 FPS in the UT Botmatch for the 3400+
141.8 FPS for the 3800+.

A difference of 8%. Is that worth a cost difference of 120%? I wanna save you some money :)
 
that article... is that a 3400+ with 1mb cache? it doesn't say if it's 1mb nor if it's a 939/940.
 
I would get the AMD64 3200 939 90nm chip from Monarch for $199. Then go with the MSI K8N Neo 2 Platinum board. Then you'd need a heatsink and fan. XP-90 is the heatsink everyone seems to love. Atlhough the Zalman 7000AlCu seems to be pretty nice. If you get the Zalman, I would suggest a Panaflo fan or something quiet. Unless you want to just max out your CFMs then I'd go with the Vantec Tornado 80mm or 92mm. I'm selling off my Tornados because I value my ears and some quietness in the house. :)

As far as the Cas latency and what kind of ram. With the setup that I suggested which is exactly what I'm building for myself. I would suggest the OCZ EL Platinum Revision 2 chips. They have the best overclocking, as well as they work amazingly with the MSI boards. The timings will probably be best at 2.2.2.10 if you have 2 chips and if you have 1 chip of ram then it would be 2.2.2.5
 
What does each part of the timing mean? (2-2-2-5)



I think I'm going to postpone building a new system this xmas as amdzone has reported on a new motherboard by Gigabyte. They say that there is a Gigabyte 8? series K8NXP-9 motherboard.

Specs according to them:
GA-K8NXP-9 Main Specification
? Supports AMD Athlon64 FX/ 64 Processor (Socket 939)
? NVIDIA nForce4 Ultra chipset
? PCI-ExpressX16
? 2* PCI-Express, 3* PCI slot
? Dual channel DDR400 with 4 DIMMs, support up to 4GB memory
? Dual Power System (DPS)
? Dual Gigabit LAN (Gigabit Ethernet + 10/100 Connection)
? 4 * Serial ATA II (nFrce4 Ultra)
? 4 * Serial ATA (Silicon Image 3114)
? 2 * Parallel ATA
? 3 IEEE1394b ports (T.I. solution)
? 10 USB 2.0/1.1 ports
? 8-channel AC97 audio with Universal Audio Jack (UAJ) support
? 2 Ultra ATA133 Connectors
? DualBIOS™
? Xpress™ Installation, Xpress™ Recovery, Smart FAN, EasyTune™5
? Bundle GN-WPKG, 802.11g wireless LAN solution
 
ming said:
that article... is that a 3400+ with 1mb cache? it doesn't say if it's 1mb nor if it's a 939/940.

I'm sorry :eek: I got my pages mixed up, so I honestly don't know if it is the 1MB cache on the first one. But this page has the 3400+ Clawhammer benchmarks. It shows a lot of pep there, too!

For what it's worth, this is the board I chose. Newegg sells it for $73, and Epox has always delivered great products; I couldn't resist
13-123-219-05.JPG


Model
EP-8KDA3J CPU Supports the new generation of AMD Socket-754 Athlon 64 CPU 800MHz (Hyper-Transport)

Chipset
NVIDIA nForce3 250Gb

Memory 3 x 184-pin DDR DIMMs up to 3GB
Supports DDR266/333/400 memory

Expansion Slots 1 x AGP slot for both 4X/8X AGP(1.5V)
6 x 32-Bit PCI slots (v2.2 compatible)
IDE 2 x ATA 133 IDE ports up to 4 Devices
Serial ATA 2 Serial ATA devices for the highest data transfer rates (1.5Gbps burst)

Back Panel I/O Connectors One PS/2 Mouse and Keyboard port
Four USB 2.0 ports
One RJ45 connector
One 9-pin D-Sub male Serial ports
One 25-pin D-Sub female Parallel port
Audio I/O jacks
Coaxial and Optical S/PDIF Out
Integrated Video N/A
Integrated Audio Realtek ALC850 selectable 2 or 8-CH audio CODEC with SPDIF
Integrated LAN Built in nForce3 250Gb 10/100/1000Mbps Fast Ethernet
Integrated 1394 N/A

System BIOS
Award/Phoenix BIOS v6.0
Power BIOS
Additional Features P80P LED Debug Display
Form Factor ATX
Dimensions 12" x 9.6"
 

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Also Hi EP and people. I found this place again while looking through a oooollllllldddd backup. I have filled over 10TB and was looking at my collection of antiques. Any bids on the 500Mhz Win 95 fix?
Any of the SP crew still out there?
Xie wrote on Electronic Punk's profile.
Impressed you have kept this alive this long EP! So many sites have come and gone. :(

Just did some crude math and I apparently joined almost 18yrs ago, how is that possible???
hello peeps... is been some time since i last came here.
Electronic Punk wrote on Sazar's profile.
Rest in peace my friend, been trying to find you and finally did in the worst way imaginable.

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