ecliptic Posted May 18, 2004 CID Share Posted May 18, 2004 hey guys, first off, please be constructive with the opinions. ive recently decided its time to upgrade my computer, and i dont exactly have the funds to go all out on the best components. i have a list here of the 3 things im getting, and everything else will be recycled off my old computer just want some input on these items: 1)RAIDMAX Blue 10-bay Case with 420W Power Supply, Model ATX-868WUP http://www.newegg.com/app/viewProductDesc.asp?descr.. 2)AMD Athlon XP 3000+ Barton, 400 FSB OEM http://www.newegg.com/app/viewProductDesc.asp?descr.. 3)MSI K7N2 Delta-ILSR Motherboard(refurbished :-/) http://www.newegg.com/app/viewProductDesc.asp?descr.. total= $251 (pre-shipping) and thats about as much as i can spend. i went with the referbished to cut down some dollars :-/. my friend has that motherboard and says its pretty awsome. i just wanna get some input from u guys here if this is an ok set up(not top end i know, but could it hold its own and what not? decent frames in cs?). Ill be running a 5200fx ultra, 256 system ram till i get a 512 stick soon. and btw, im not looking to overclock, cause i really dont know how and i dont want to screw anything up. i would rather just not overclock and waste money cause i dont know what im doing Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Swimmer Posted May 19, 2004 CID Share Posted May 19, 2004 Ok here is the deal... You will never have something that will be top end for more than 3 to 5 months... AMD, I think, is the best way to go on a budget... I like your idea of using part from you old computer if you dont have any use for it... However, be smart... Remformat the hard drive and install a new copy of windows so that you are getting the biggest bang for the buck... As far as frame rate in cs... That mainly depends on 2 things... Graphic card and drivers... I am assuming that you have a AGP FX5200 Ultra which is mostly likely an 8x if it is a newer one... Which means that your current motherboard, I am guessing here, is only a 4x AGP motherboard.. Meaning that not all of the speed that this card is capable of is being used... That is the good thing... The bad deal is that if you are going to want to play newer games on this setup that graphic card has got to go... It is just under powered and is really considered low end at this point in time... The only thing that I am questioning is why you are going to spend tons of money on a motherboard that in less than 3 years will be really out dated... Dont get me wrong that is a kick ass motherboard... The link was broken so here is a link for all of you who are wondering what we are talking about.. http://www.newegg.com/app/ViewProductDesc.asp?description=13-130-418R&type=Refurbish If I were you I would save the $35 bucks or so and get this motherboard... http://www.newegg.com/app/ViewProductDesc.asp?description=13-150-045R&type=Refurbish This is the Shuttle AN35N Ultra motherboard based on the Nvidia Nforce 2 chipset... The Nvidia chip set is the fastest for the AMD processors when it comes to games... I have built on system on this motherboard and believe me this is a really great product...! I know some people are going to scream at me about this recommendation but Shuttle has really stepped up the quality of their products in the past few years... My computer is based on a Shuttle motherboard and it kicks some 2200+ and many intels in the ass... I am on the VIA chip set... The only thing that you really lose is the SATA hook ups but if you dont have a sata hard drive or dont plan on having one soon... well i dont see the need.... The 3000+ is the highest processor that is supported on this motherboard so upgrading will make this a really nice coaster... As far as the processor that is a nice processor but I would get the 2800+ instead... Stock proformance wise they are almost identical in most benchmarks... The only time that you will see a difference is in office suites and maybe video editing... To see what I am talking about check out this site... http://www.anandtech.com/cpu/showdoc.html?i=1783&p=1 It has extensive benchmarking on both chip and intel chips just to see where you system will rank in the speed world... The case is AWESOME!!! I love it... I might use it for my next computer... The powersupply might be crap but that is ok because you will really never get close to the 420W rating.... For what like $50 that is a steal! Want to see what this case looks like??? Check it out http://www.newegg.com/app/ViewProductDesc.asp?description=11-156-137&depa=1 SO COOL.... MUST HAVE NOW!!! So here is what my total comes to... $48.00 for the case...$39.00 for the mobo(referb)... $121.00 for the retail AMD 2800+ Barton... Total: $208.00 That leaves about $43 for what ever you want.... I would suggest something like this..http://www.newegg.com/app/ViewProductDesc.asp?description=14-125-126R&type=Refurbish then sell your current graphic card on ebay or to a local computer store... Good luck! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ecliptic Posted May 19, 2004 Author CID Share Posted May 19, 2004 thank you for the input swimmer, the only thing i wanted to mention about th 3000+ im getting, is it has a 400 FSB, so wouldnt it be a bit better than what benches show for the 3000+ 333 FSB? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Swimmer Posted May 19, 2004 CID Share Posted May 19, 2004 It looks like those benchmarks were made with the 333fsb version... I can find a 2800+ 400fsb... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ecliptic Posted May 19, 2004 Author CID Share Posted May 19, 2004 i dont think they have a 400 fsb 2800+, its starts with the 3000+ and up :-/ Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Swimmer Posted May 19, 2004 CID Share Posted May 19, 2004 Yeah... The one that you are looking at is the OEM 3000+... Which means that you get to spend an extra $20-$30 for a heat sink and thermal compound.. I thought you were looking at the retail 3000+ 333FSB which comes with the AMD stock cooler... I would recommend this method if you are not going to over clock... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ecliptic Posted May 19, 2004 Author CID Share Posted May 19, 2004 so go for the 3000+ 400fsb? getting a heatsink + isnt a big deal i got a pcclub near me, they are good with prices on that kinda stuff, should i think about over clocking? i really dont know how Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Swimmer Posted May 19, 2004 CID Share Posted May 19, 2004 I would go with the Retail boxed 333 version... I dont know if the extra money is going to pay off... Overclocking either is fairly easy but you are going to void every warranty in your system pretty much... I can not find a retail boxed 400 version on pricewatch which means that they most likely dont exist anymore or AMD isnt producing 3000+ 400 retails... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ecliptic Posted May 19, 2004 Author CID Share Posted May 19, 2004 well overclocking consists of what? if i knew how i would just go with a 2500+ since they OC good(from what i hear) im going to be ordering within the next 30 mins, so i kinda want to fortify what im ordering Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ecliptic Posted May 19, 2004 Author CID Share Posted May 19, 2004 well, ive ordered what i originaly listed so this thread can be nuked/trashed Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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