New Machine!!

[JamesTaylor]

Hi,

 

I’m about to purchase a new system which I’m wanting to build myself. Just wanted to get some feedback as to what people think, check everything is compatible and see if anyone had any other suggestions before i take the plunge!

 

I will be using the machine for Architectual Visualisation – hi res stills + animations (AutoCAD, Studio MAX / VIZ) video compilation (After Effects) and 2D graphics (Photoshop).

 

 

My spec is as follows:

 

AMD Athlon 64 3200+ Winchester 90nm (Socket 939) - Retail (CP-097-AM)

 

Asus A8N-SLi Deluxe nForce4 SLi (Socket 939) PCI-Express Motherboard (MB-087-AS)

 

Corsair 512MB DDR XMS3200C2PT Platinum CAS2 (MY-007-CS) x 2

 

Seagate Barracuda 7200.7 Plus NCQ 120GB ST3120827AS SATA 8MB Cache - OEM (HD-004-SE)

 

Hiper Triple Fan 525W ATX2.2 PSU (CA-001-HP)

 

Above conponents come at £496 from overclockers

 

 

I will also purchase:

 

a PCI – Express graphics card (not sure which one yet, any suggestions welcome roundabout the £100 mark)

[Tim Nelson]

I would get at least 2gb of RAM. That's how much I have and I often find myself wishing I had more. Photoshop will devour that.

[JamesTaylor]

i'd like to get 2Gb of ram but i'm on a bit of a limited budget so will have to upgrade that in the near future!! I was thinking about waiting and getting a dual processor system but i want a new machine quite quickly (hate waiting for test renders!!) so going to get a lower spec one and then maybe another later. I'm beginning to use VRAY so i can take advantage of the distributed rendering this way.

[Crazy Homeless Guy]

i recently bought a 3200 cpu, and now i would buy 3000. i can't tell you how it runs, because i had to shelve that project for a week or two. here is why you might want to consider... which might help with your budget...

 

...look at the price difference between the 3000 and 3200. you are only going to see a 5% performance increase between the 2.

 

...also, you are building a 64bit PCIe system. i am not familiar with the motherboard you are using, but i am willing to bet it was released within the past month or so. this probably means your motherboard will support an AMDfx64 processor. which is out of your price range,but may drop into your price range in the future, and you could use it on this board. if this is a possibility, then it is also a reason to favor the 3000 over 3200.

 

as for videocard. i don't know the exact conversion rate between currencies, but i think that is about $150 american, which probably means a nVidia 6600. for another $50 you should be able to find a 6600GT which would probably perform better.

 

...and the RAM. i just bought corsair ram, but went with their baseline model, and not their platinum. i was able to get 2 gigs for less than $300 i think. not quiet as fast as the platinum, but i decided that i would be better off with extra ram than faster ram.

 

also, don't forget the cost of a case that has at least a 450w power supply.

[Tim Nelson]

also, don't forget the cost of a case that has at least a 450w power supply.

Unless you want to go with the hot new trend of of case-less computer systems! Just ask CHG!

[Crazy Homeless Guy]

Unless you want to go with the hot new trend of of case-less computer systems! Just ask CHG!

 

now who would do something like that?

[JamesTaylor]

Just spotted a link that else where - someone said the the AMD Athlon 3500+ is a much better chip than the 3200+ it gave no reason so just thought i'd ask what you guys thought as i could stretch my budget to one if i'd see a decent performance increase, or better overclockablity as the motherboard specified has AI NOS which is a automatic type of overclocking by my understanding

 

CHG - you said not to bother with a 3200+ just settle for a 3000+, would you recommend the 3500+ instead for the price difference?

[Crazy Homeless Guy]

CHG - you said not to bother with a 3200+ just settle for a 3000+, would you recommend the 3500+ instead for the price difference?

 

yep. and i think the prices just dropped on the 3500 also. the 3200 is the same speed as the 3000. the only difference is the 3200 has a 400mghz front side, and the 3000 only had a 333mhz front side. this imporvement resulted in minimal real world gain. the 3500 incresed the cpu speed, as well as add dual channel memory controller.

 

http://www.techreport.com/reviews/2004q3/athlon64-3500/index.x?pg=3

 

....i wish i hadn't bought my cpu OEM from some random reseller, the 3500 looks like it is well worht the investment.

[JamesTaylor]

Cheers for the link. reckon i'll definately move upto the 3500+ like you say it appears to be worth the extra cash.

[dopp]

yep. and i think the prices just dropped on the 3500 also. the 3200 is the same speed as the 3000. the only difference is the 3200 has a 400mghz front side, and the 3000 only had a 333mhz front side. this imporvement resulted in minimal real world gain. the 3500 incresed the cpu speed, as well as add dual channel memory controller.

 

http://www.techreport.com/reviews/2004q3/athlon64-3500/index.x?pg=3

Know that there are two kind of 3000+ and 3200+ processors.

First the (old) socket 754 which is (i think) the '3000+' and '3200+' used in this test, and second the (new) socket 939 (of which the 3500+ is). All socket 939 cpu's have a dual channel memory controller (which the socket 754 doesn't have dual channel).

So if you buy a socket 939 3200+ (or 3000+) processor, i doubt the difference will be that big with a 3500+

 

 

the 3200 is the same speed as the 3000

AMD Athlon 64 3000+ Processor (1.8GHz, 512kB, 2000MHz HTT, Socket 939 )

AMD Athlon 64 3200+ Processor (2.0GHz, 512KB, 1600MHz, Socket 939 )

AMD Athlon 64 3500+ Processor (2.2GHz, 512KB, 1600MHz, Socket 939 )

 

or

AMD Athlon 64 3000+ Processor (2.0GHZ, 512kB, Socket 754)

AMD Athlon 64 3200+ Processor (2.2GHZ, 512kB, Socket 754)

 

 

 

Also, if you are going for a socket 939 processor, make sure that you get a 'winchester core'. (with 90 nano meter chip). These are the newer ones, running cooler than the 130 nm chips.

 

So if you are low on money, i should take the amd 64 3000+ socket 939 (with the motherboard you mentioned you have to go for socket 939 anyway)

If you have 'enough' money, the 3500+ won't be bad

 

 

about the memory you mentioned

Corsair 512MB DDR XMS3200C2PT Platinum CAS2 (MY-007-CS) x 2

I don't know if low latency/cas matters for graphical purposes.

This memory has cas 2 (faster access time i think), and is used a lot for overclocking etc.

There is exists also memory with heigher cas (2.5 or 3), which is a lot cheaper (for example the corsair value select is about half the price).

So if the amount of ram is more important the the 'speed', go for the value line.

 

 

 

 

(I have: asus a8n sli - amd64 3500+ - 2x512 corsair value select. But i'm not into graphical things, so i don't know about performance)