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  • A64 X2 upgrade suggestions?

    Hey guys,

    After 2 years with my current setup, I've decided that my main machine needs an upgrade. I'm going to be doing a lot of Photoshop work. Games aren't a big deal for me and noise is a concern. I've got most of my components down but I'm still unsure about the motherboard. Here's what I've figured out so far:

    Athlon64 X2 3800+
    Crucial Ballistix 2x512MB PC3200 (I already have a gig of this, so it'll be 2GB total)
    Sapphire X800XL
    Plextor PX-716A
    Zalman VF700-AlCu (for the video card)
    Thermalright XP-90 (probably with a Nexus 92mm)
    Seagate 7200.7 SATA 80GB and 120GB (from my current system)
    M-Audio Revolution 7.1 (from my current system)

    So, any motherboard reccommendations? I don't plan on overclocking (though I would like the option if my cooling permits it) and I'm not concerned about being able to tweak every little option available. No plans for SLI or Crossfire either.

    Lastly, I've considered dropping the video card down to a 6600GT or a X800 since games are a pretty low priority for me. I'm not sure how big of an upgrade these would be over my 9800 though, nor how future-proof they are. Would this be a good idea?

    Thanks in advance for any help.

  • #2
    Well, other than my last motherboard, I always recommend Asus for a nice stable system. But everybody has their own opinions.

    I wouldn't upgrade your video card at this point. You are just going from a really good card to a faster cardof the same quality IMHO. I'd wait and upgrade the video card in 6-12 months.
    Ladies and gentlemen, take my advice, pull down your pants and slide on the ice.

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    • #3
      Yeah, I'm fine with the performance of my 9800 Pro, but it's an AGP board. I figured it's about time to make the jump to PCI-E.

      Comment


      • #4
        I forgot about PCI-E situation. hmmm...tough decision. Maybe get an X1300??? or Nvidia equivilant? I haven't really looked at the reviews for the X1300 yet.
        Ladies and gentlemen, take my advice, pull down your pants and slide on the ice.

        Comment


        • #5
          The X700 is a fantastic deal. You can get the 256MB version for probably under $150US. Mine is fine even in new games like battlefield 2 at nearly max settings. I'm sure it'll do fine as a graphics workstation type card.

          I've also been very happy with my Asus A8N-E. It's quite stable, and supports everything you're looking for. Just make sure you have a good power supply with a 24pin ATX connector, or else you'll most likely have issues.
          Lady, people aren't chocolates. Do you know what they are mostly? Bastards. Bastard coated bastards with bastard filling. But I don't find them half as annoying as I find naive, bubble-headed optimists who walk around vomiting sunshine. -- Dr. Perry Cox

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          • #6
            Liquid Snake, ASRock board based on new ULi chipset has PCIex16 and AGPx8, both at full speed.

            Comment


            • #7
              Bad time to buy a new computer with the PCI-E/AGP switch . Best bang for the buck atm is a NVidia 6600GT even the 128mb version is faster then a x700 256mb.
              Main: Dual Xeon LV2.4Ghz@3.1Ghz | 3X21" | NVidia 6800 | 2Gb DDR | SCSI
              Second: Dual PIII 1GHz | 21" Monitor | G200MMS + Quadro 2 Pro | 512MB ECC SDRAM | SCSI
              Third: Apple G4 450Mhz | 21" Monitor | Radeon 8500 | 1,5Gb SDRAM | SCSI

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              • #8
                I'm using asus a8n-e. Works great here. Maybe the chipset fan is a bit loud.

                Why by extra cooling for the cpu when you're not planning on overclocking? With asus q-fan and a cool case my cpu temp is 38 degrees celsius at idle and the fan speed is below 1500 rpm. This is with the boxed heatsink and fan.

                Edit:
                Forgot to mention that my cpu is an athlon x2 4200...

                /L
                AMD Athlon64 X2 4200+
                Asus A8N-E
                Corsair TWINX2048-3200C2
                Asus Extreme GeForce N7800GT
                Seagate Barracuda 7200.8 250GB
                Lian-Li PC60
                Windows XP Pro 64bit

                Comment


                • #9
                  Originally posted by KeiFront
                  Best bang for the buck atm is a NVidia 6600GT even the 128mb version is faster then a x700 256mb.
                  Or a X800GT 256MB
                  According to the latest official figures, 43% of all statistics are totally worthless...

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                  • #10
                    I've looked at the Asus A8N-E and it seems to fit my needs except it's missing a firewire port. It's not critical but it'd be nice to have it onboard as opposed to having to buy a PCI card. I also heard about the loud chipset fan, which is a bigger concern for me. From what I've read, the NF4 chip gets pretty hot, so this is common to almost all NF4 boards. Asus has a board with a heatpipe solution for the NF4 but it's a SLI board.

                    Nowhere, I've heard about the ULi chip, but the last time I had a board that combined two technologies like that (K7S5A with SDRAM and DDR), it gave me tons of trouble, so I'm a bit wary

                    woel, I'm getting better heatsinks to minimize noise. Most stock coolers (especially on video cards) are not known to be quiet.

                    Thanks for the video card suggestions guys. I've been leaning towards the 6600GT but I'll check out the X800s.

                    Comment


                    • #11
                      Originally posted by KeiFront
                      Best bang for the buck atm is a NVidia 6600GT even the 128mb version is faster then a x700 256mb.
                      The cheapest 6600GT 128MB (in canadian dollars) is $199, while the X700 256MB is $166. Does the performance increase match the cost increase? The price difference when I got my X700 was even more, so there was no contest.
                      Lady, people aren't chocolates. Do you know what they are mostly? Bastards. Bastard coated bastards with bastard filling. But I don't find them half as annoying as I find naive, bubble-headed optimists who walk around vomiting sunshine. -- Dr. Perry Cox

                      Comment


                      • #12
                        Originally posted by Liquid Snake
                        woel, I'm getting better heatsinks to minimize noise. Most stock coolers (especially on video cards) are not known to be quiet.
                        I understand, but the stock cooler of the x2 does not seem to create any noise since the fan spins at very slow speed. At least when you have software to control it. A fan under 2000 rpm is really quiet. But your demands might be at bit higher. My advice is for you to get the all other stuff first and then change the stock cooler if it disturbs you. You might save a couple of bucks.
                        AMD Athlon64 X2 4200+
                        Asus A8N-E
                        Corsair TWINX2048-3200C2
                        Asus Extreme GeForce N7800GT
                        Seagate Barracuda 7200.8 250GB
                        Lian-Li PC60
                        Windows XP Pro 64bit

                        Comment


                        • #13
                          I too have a 9800Pro in the closet now because I went PCI-Ex. I like my Sapphire X800-XL plenty, but you should look into the Ultimate edition that Sapphire puts out now - it has a VF700 on it already. My ThermalTake XP-90 with quiet fan works great, and is quieter than my 120mm low-RPM power supply.
                          Last edited by Wombat; 23 October 2005, 02:14.
                          Gigabyte P35-DS3L with a Q6600, 2GB Kingston HyperX (after *3* bad pairs of Crucial Ballistix 1066), Galaxy 8800GT 512MB, SB X-Fi, some drives, and a Dell 2005fpw. Running WinXP.

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                          • #14
                            Better not to mention keeping 9800Pro in the closet too often (see sig )
                            Last edited by Nowhere; 23 October 2005, 11:01.

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                            • #15
                              Originally posted by agallag
                              The cheapest 6600GT 128MB (in canadian dollars) is $199, while the X700 256MB is $166. Does the performance increase match the cost increase? The price difference when I got my X700 was even more, so there was no contest.
                              Currently certainly yes, considering the fact that a 6600GT is sometimes 20 to 100% faster then a X700 or X700pro. A 6600gt here at the local shop costs 161,05 € and a x700pro 143€. But gaming is a low priority for Liquid Snake so saving some bucks can be more important .
                              Last edited by KeiFront; 23 October 2005, 03:41.
                              Main: Dual Xeon LV2.4Ghz@3.1Ghz | 3X21" | NVidia 6800 | 2Gb DDR | SCSI
                              Second: Dual PIII 1GHz | 21" Monitor | G200MMS + Quadro 2 Pro | 512MB ECC SDRAM | SCSI
                              Third: Apple G4 450Mhz | 21" Monitor | Radeon 8500 | 1,5Gb SDRAM | SCSI

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