Another new computer!

Discussion in 'Techie Discussion' started by Chameleon, Jan 2, 2004.

  1. Chameleon

    Chameleon Fledgling Freddie

    hi :)

    I'd appreciate any comments/suggestions/recommendations of the following upgrade, from my current 2400xp/GF4 ti 4800se setup:

    AMD *Retail* Athlon 64bit 3000 32/64Bit CPU S754 £175.43

    Corsair TwinX 1024 MB 3200 Low Latency ( 2 x 512MB PC3200 184 pin MATCHED PAIR DDR LLPT) £186.83

    Asus K8V Deluxe (Athlon64) S754 VIA 3 DDR400+6CH Audio S/PDIF+1394+2xSATA+Raid+USB2+Gbit Lan WiFi £111.04

    Coolermaster ATCS-201B-SX2 Champagne Aluminum Case (Without PSU) with Clear Side Panel Window £83.43

    450W CWT + SATA Quiet Dual Fan AMD/P4 App Active Fan Control Active PFC £34.65

    120Gb Maxtor Diamondmax Plus 9 (7200rpm, 8MB Cache, 8.5ms) Quiet Drive Technology 1yr £72.56

    Asus 256M ATI A9800XT-VTD Tv/DVI ViVo + Half Life 2 Bundle £379.53

    Net Total £888.04
    Carriage £15.00
    V.A.T £158.03
    TOTAL £1,061.07

    It's more than I wanted to spend tbh, especially on the graphics card (WTF!!!!!! shit i've lost touch with how much they rip you off these days on gfx!!!), so any good advice on bringing the price down nicely, relative to the spec, would be appreciated.

  2. Xavier

    Xavier Can't get enough of FH

    To be honest that's pretty much spot on - the 3000+ while not a full-whack Athlon64 (it's based on the newcastle design with only half the L2 on-chip cache memory, 512kb instead of 1mb) will give you some upgrade headroom, and the Radeon is literally at the top of the stack.

    If you wanted to save a few pounds the best I could suggest is getting yourself a 9600XT... We're only 3 months away from 'the next big thing' - i.e. R420 and NV40 which will mean Pixel and Vertex shaders 3.0, along with the obligatory DirectX revision which these new boards will properly support, as well as making Half Life 2 and Doom 3 ultra wizzy quick (tm).

  3. Chameleon

    Chameleon Fledgling Freddie

    Thx for the replay Xavier.
    I must admit, I haven't kept up-to-date with my graphics card stuff. Do you think it's worth waiting a few months for the latest graphics card releases then? Do you think they are likely to be in the region of the £370 ish that the top-end ones are now? Also, on that point ....... if I'm waiting 3 months or so for the new gfx, I'm likely to get a better deal on a 'proper' athlon64 for a better price then, wouldn't you say?
    Typically there's always something around the corner which will make your new hardware obsolete ............ but with hl2, doom3 and q4 on the horizon, maybe I should wait in this instance. Gah, decisions, decisions!!
  4. Jonty

    Jonty Fledgling Freddie

    Hi Chameleon

    As you rightly say, there's always something newer and better just around the corner. 2004 will herald the new BTX form factor, PCI Express, the leatest and greatest CPUs and graphics etc. However, there comes a point when you just have to take the plunge.

    Your current setup, as Xavier has already said, is very impressive. If you did wait, then you probably could pick up a better graphics card and/or more powerful CPU (or at least a cheaper CPU). In terms of the graphics, however, the NV40/R420 really are the next generation of cards, as opposed to the XT line which are essentially a evolutionary progression from the market's current generation of cards. Don't get me wrong, you could quite happily play HL2/Doom3 etc. on today's graphics offerings, but if you're willing to wait, then you may be able to get something even more spectacular. But it is, in the end, down to your preference.

    In terms of CPUs, no truly next generation products will be launched by AMD by then, so you're only gains would be falls in prices and the possiblity of newer, incremental products being released (a 3400+ CPU, perhaps).

    Kind Regards


    P.S. For what it's worth, I'm currently running a 9600XT and it's offers very impressive mainstream performance, were you to wait. The drivers I'm a little dismayed at, but such things aside, it's a great card for the price.
  5. Chameleon

    Chameleon Fledgling Freddie

    Thanks Jonty :)
    I'm still not decided whether I'll wait or not now, but I will price it all up again with a cheaper gfx card I think, as that's what's making the big price difference. The 9600xt's you both referred to ..... are these the 128 or 256 versions? The 128's seem reasonable, but I get caught up in the "ooo bigger numbers must be good" scenario, ya know ;)
    My other dilema was over the new HD. I was more than tempted by the SATA drives, but was uncertain if the Maxtor offering, for example, would be significantly louder than the one I picked above (or any standard HD for that matter). My current pc is a noisy bugger and one of the things I really want to achieve as part of this upgrade, is to reduce the overall noise of my system.
  6. Jonty

    Jonty Fledgling Freddie

    Hi Chameleon

    The differences between the 128Mb and 256Mb XT cards (both the 9600 and 9800) only usually become apparently with the very latest games (Call of Duty, for example, tends to perform slightly better with the larger memory, whereas the difference in older games between the 128Mb and 256Mb cards is not always too noticable (in future games, this extra memory may well provide a more noticable advantage)). In terms of the 9600 XT, last time I checked there was only around £20 difference between the 128Mb and 256Mb retail models, so it's really up to you. Check some reviews, consider the performance differences and think about how long you'll be keeping the card if you chose this option.

    As for S-ATA, I've never used it myself, so I can't really comment, although I recall from other peoples' previous posts that they have generally been very impressed.

    Kind Regards
  7. Bym

    Bym One of Freddy's beloved

    *hints to Xav to get Jonty a 256Mb board ;)*
  8. wyrd_fish

    wyrd_fish Fledgling Freddie

    i'd be tempted to go for an nForce 3 chipset MoBo...

    but thats just me...
  9. Chameleon

    Chameleon Fledgling Freddie

    What's the advantage of the nf3 board over the asus one?
  10. sibanac

    sibanac Fledgling Freddie

    Some people (including me) have nightmares when people mention VIA chipsets.
    This is due to back in the old days the VIA 4in1 drivers where hell to install.
    (if i didnt install the drivers in the right order windows wouldnt boot, or vid card would stop working ect...)
    The new chipsets and the unified Hyperion drivers have done away with all the problems of those days.
  11. Chameleon

    Chameleon Fledgling Freddie

    Thanks, I've ordered the new system now :)

    Asus K8V Deluxe (Athlon64) S754 VIA 1 £93.00
    AMD *Retail* Athlon 64bit 3200 32/6 1 £183.32
    Corsair TwinX 1024 MB 3200 Low Late 1 £159.00
    120Gb Maxtor Diamondmax Plus 9 (ATA 1 £64.00
    Sapphire ATI 256Mb Radeon 9600 XT L 1 £112.75
    Nett total £612.07
    Carriage £10.00
    VAT £108.86
    Total £730.93

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