New College system.

[KronoLeginaire]

Hey guys, going to college soon and need to put together a new box, one to take with me b/c I am leaving this one for my sister and relatives.

Been out of the PC Hardware game for a long while, haven't even hit 3DGameMan lately but I will in a bit here but by the look of the pcmech hompage most popular processors and newegg's deals, the AMD 64-Bit chip has grown in popularity. Should I go with it, why/why not? I currently run a 1700+ XP that is serving me OK but I have problems doing heavy multitasking but thats proababily due a lack of memory (512MB installed).

Who is leading the motherboard game these days too as far as stability, I need a stable machine, one that can stay on for days and need minimal cooling. I don't want a mess of fans.

Let me know what you think in general for a AMD CPU/Motherbord Combo. If anyone here remembers me from when I was highly active on this board I know a bit about computers thanks to some great people I met here, so I do use mine heavily. Not just that usual "word processing, internet and email" b.s.

Let me know! Thanks

[glc]

Asus A8N-E and a Venice core A64, whichever you can afford. The board is $125, the 3000+ is $150, 3200+ is $200, the 3500+ is $285.

[kram 2.0]

Originally Posted by KronoLeginaire Been out of the PC Hardware game for a long while, haven't even hit 3DGameMan lately but I will in a bit here but by the look of the pcmech hompage most popular processors and newegg's deals, the AMD 64-Bit chip has grown in popularity. Should I go with it, why/why not? I currently run a 1700+ XP that is serving me OK but I have problems doing heavy multitasking but thats proababily due a lack of memory (512MB installed).

I'd say purchasing a 64-bit system just for the sake of 64-bit support isn't much the issue now. The greatest single reason that the Athlon 64 CPUs are being recommended is because of the efficiency of the K8 architecture.

Originally Posted by KronoLeginaire Who is leading the motherboard game these days too as far as stability, I need a stable machine, one that can stay on for days and need minimal cooling. I don't want a mess of fans.

Intel and Asus if Intel-based system, Asus almost exclusively for AMD.

Originally Posted by KronoLeginaire Let me know what you think in general for a AMD CPU/Motherbord Combo. If anyone here remembers me from when I was highly active on this board I know a bit about computers thanks to some great people I met here, so I do use mine heavily. Not just that usual "word processing, internet and email" b.s.

Depends on budget, though the A64 3200+ & A8N-E DX is a good combo for builds with a mediocre-moderate budget.


kram

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EDIT: My appologies, Cricket and Krone, for not being specific about my wording. By no means is the A64 3200+ a budget performing solution, but rather a budget~mediocre budget-priced solution. On the meantime, let's stay on topic.

[Cricket]

Originally Posted by kram8806 Depends on budget, though the A64 3200+ & A8N-E DX is a good combo for mediocre-budget builds.

Are you saying you'll only get so-so performance from that combo? Cause that's what I think when I read that statement.

Cricket

[KronoLeginaire]

Originally Posted by kram8806 I'd say purchasing a 64-bit system just for the sake of 64-bit support isn't much the issue now. The greatest single reason that the Athlon 64 CPUs are being recommended is because of the efficiency of the K8 architecture. Intel and Asus if Intel-based system, Asus almost exclusively for AMD. Depends on budget, though the A64 3200+ & A8N-E DX is a good combo for builds with a mediocre-moderate budget. kram EDIT: My appologies, Cricket and Krone, for not being specific about my wording. By no means is the A64 3200+ a budget performing solution, but rather a budget~mediocre budget-priced solution. On the meantime, let's stay on topic.

Ok I am as confused as cricket was and getting the same idea he was. So waht is a budget performance solution?

[glc]

What I posted. Anything faster than the 3500+ is no longer in the "budget" category in my opinion.

[Cricket]

Originally Posted by kram8806 My appologies, Cricket and Krone, for not being specific about my wording. By no means is the A64 3200+ a budget performing solution, but rather a budget~mediocre budget-priced solution.

Now I'm even more confused. Are you saying the A64 3200+ is not a high performance solution, but a mid-performance solution?

Originally Posted by kram8806 On the meantime, let's stay on topic.

We are staying on topic...we're trying to get clarification on what you posted. Even KronoLeginaire was confused by your post.

Cricket

[glc]

Let's get back on topic. The definition of "high" performance, "mid" performance, etc. is just open to too much interpretation and this bickering is detracting from the quality of this thread and not helping Krono make a decision.

How much you want to spend for a processor is going to determine how fast you go, sweet and simple. The performance difference between a 3000+ and a 3500+ is not very startling.

[KronoLeginaire]

Originally Posted by glc Let's get back on topic. The definition of "high" performance, "mid" performance, etc. is just open to too much interpretation and this bickering is detracting from the quality of this thread and not helping Krono make a decision. How much you want to spend for a processor is going to determine how fast you go, sweet and simple. The performance difference between a 3000+ and a 3500+ is not very startling.

lol you are right. I guess I'll just go for the highest processor I can afford. What about the motherboard tho, I need lots of USB ports, SATA, IDE, Overclocking ability (not much).

These is also the ummm.. issue with the video card. I currently have an ATI 9700 PRO, good card, I don't game much now but I might in college so I need the ability to upgrade. This is an AGP card, are there motherboards with both AGP and that new express PCI along with regular PCI ?

[glc]

No, there's either/or. Buying an AGP motherboard now is going to limit your upgrade options down the road. The A8N-E is PCI-E and has all the bells and whistles. You can get a very decent PCI-E card for $170 or so - a Nvidia 6600GT. Nvidia has pretty much solved their past problems with lousy 2D display, so it's a recommendable card for general use. If you want another ATI, an X800 can be had for $190. There are cheaper PCI-E cards out there that may be good enough for now.

[KronoLeginaire]

If I get one of these Athlon 64 Bit processors, do I have to get the 64-Bit version of windows and will all my programs still work ?

[Cricket]

You don't have to get the 64 bit Windows right away, the Athlon 64 will run the 32 bit Windows OS and all your 32 bit programs just fine.

Cricket