To HT or to got 64...

[siriusb]

Hi,
I currently have a 2.4 P4 (no ht), i845gbv mobo and 512mb 266 ram supported by a radeon9700pro. Since my work composition (and the game market) has changed to 10% programming, 40% 3d modeling and 50% gaming , I am planning for an upgrade. I think my video card is serving me very well, so i won't be changing that.
I wanted to wait till athlon fx prices came to their senses, but I guess i will keep waiting forever if i start waiting for the next best thing.
So, what do you guys suggest for a budget of Rs.15,000? Should I go for HT or A64 for my kind of work? For price reference, I live in chennai. I am going to richie's street to get'em but I want to know which one to ask for in the first place. (Too bad richie street stores have no online price list.)

 

[pradeep_chauhan]

Well for your kind of work i would recommend that you upgrade to an amd 3200 with a good asus mobo. It will fit in you budget and you will see a concederable improvement in performance.

 

[drvarunmehta]

Check out this online price list. Since I don't live in Chennai, I wouldn't know if it is for Richie street or not.
*business.vsnl.com/deltapage/

 

[krishnathelord]

i would recomend that go for amd64 3000+ (939) plus asus A8n-e for around 16K with dual ram set 8)

 

[rollcage]

I would also recommed you AMD ATHLON 64 to Intel P4 at anyday man,

Be future proof take 64bit

As for processor take any of Amd64 2800+/3000+/3200+ 764 pin
As for the MB Asus K8N or K8N E Delux.

If you take 939pin(check wether its available in your area)

amd64 3000+ (939) plus asus A8n-e for around 16K with dual ram set 8)

Check for prices in chennai

 

[mohit]

since you do not want to change your graphics card i think its not worth the upgrade ... as all the new and good motherboards have pci-express slots including the asus a8n-e suggested by krishna.

search for a board supporting amd (socket 939) with agp interface so that u can use your old graphics card. try changing your ram to kingston/corsair 400 mhz ram and install them in a dual channel if the mobo supports it.

alternatively you could just use the same procesor and buy the asus p4c 800 e deluxe mobo (intel 875) and buy new ram also. that would also be a good combination. i would have suggested msi 875 p neo / intel 875 pbz but both the models have been d/c.

 

[rollcage]

@mohit
hey dude you, made a good point here. BUT
There is no use goin for 939 pin. since the board will have pci-express.

@siriusb
If you dont want to change the Graphics card, which is a 8x AGP.
So, in that case A64 754pin will suite you the best.

there will no diff to you, since you will be usin AGP Card.

My recommendation is:

Processor - AMD Athlon 64 2800+/3200+,

Motherboard - ASUS K8N E DELUX

*www.asus.com/999%5Cimages%5Cproducts%5C232%5C232_m.jpg
(nforce3 150GB chipset
8x AGP Slot
8 USB 2.0 Ports
1000/100 onboard LAN
printer port
6 Serial ATA ports
Dual RAID
NV Firewall
Audio (8-channel Audio)
Overclocking
ASUS CrashFree BIOS2
Multi-language BIOS
ASUS MyLogo2
IEEE 1394 interface
Instant music
Through this unique feature, K8N-E Deluxe is conveniently designed to allow users to
enjoy their favorite music without the need to enter Windows.)

Ram - 512MB(DDR400),
may be kingston

use good cabinet withSMPS = 400~450watts


can also try ASUS K8N as MotherBorad.

Get the prices, and tell us. Bcoz i cant tell u the Chennai Prices.


.

 

[siriusb]

@drvarunmehta
Thanks for the link. The link was last updated in february it seems though.
I guess it is kinda near to richie street.

@EveryoneElse,
After a few anandtech articles, I guess A64 is more "game" than p4 ht.
I guess I am limited in my selection to agp mobos because of my card. I think i wil ask for A64 3000+ on an Asus A8V with 1gb ddr400 ram. It is the only combo that is compatible with my ati. This combination might make or break due to the cost factor though, so I'll update you guys after I get to the market.

 

[siriusb]

dual channel

krishnathelord wrote:
amd64 3000+ (939) plus asus A8n-e for around 16K with dual ram set

Err... so to get dual channel ddr, I just find the dual-channel supporting mobo and insert two ddr sticks right? Or do i have to buy a matched pair of sticks?

 

[rollcage]

Re: dual channel

krishnathelord wrote:
amd64 3000+ (939) plus asus A8n-e for around 16K with dual ram set

Err... so to get dual channel ddr, I just find the dual-channel supporting mobo and insert two ddr sticks right? Or do i have to buy a matched pair of sticks?

Yes, make sure the two Rams are of the same fsb e.g. DDR400 or DDR333

 

[devilhead_satish]

AMD anytime dude. With its 3DNow instruction set, you're sure to get a good performance. And as for the board go for a AGP one or sell of the Radeon and buy an AsusK8N+ Athlon 3200+ A PCI-E card of your choice.

 

[krishnathelord]

Re: dual channel

krishnathelord wrote:
amd64 3000+ (939) plus asus A8n-e for around 16K with dual ram set

Err... so to get dual channel ddr, I just find the dual-channel supporting mobo and insert two ddr sticks right? Or do i have to buy a matched pair of sticks?

yes u have to use exactly smae latency clocks to get the most out out the feature 8)

 

[akshayt]

if your work is fine then you can wait,spend more money after some time

 

[mohit]

@siriusb
dont event think of going for the asus a8v board .....it has a via chipset and via sucks big time !!! a definite no-no for gamers... go for the nforce3 board or alternatively try msi platinum series... i think they have some really good boards for amd 64 (754 pin)

 

[akshayt]

just wait if your neds are fine or go for 939

 

[sandeeprao]

for the most accurate prices u could try supreme computers in richie street , he should give u the correct prices .

 

[siriusb]

Got the price list!

@akshayt:
I could wait. forever.

@mohit:
I know via is the devil, but i don't want to shell out extra money on a pci-e card. But if I can get a better card than mine with a decent exchange price, then you can meet me at the pci-e camp

@sandeeprao:
Hey, u seem to know about richie street. Thanks, but I went to 10 or so shops, and a few quite busy "stalls" pretending to be stores, including supreme, but found that Lotus computers was the cheapest of them all.

Here is a list of components I asked for and their cheapest prices:

Processor:
A64 2800+ => Rs.5200 (@paramount systems)
A64 3200+ => Rs.9600 (@Lotus)
A64 3400+ => Rs.11,750 (@nimal or something)
A64 3500+ => Rs.14,400 (@Savera)

Mobo:
Asus A8V delux => Rs.7,600 (@Lotus)

Memory:
Hynix 512MB ddr400 => Rs. 1900 (@Lotus)
TA 512MB ddr400 => Rs.1750 (@Bright)


My budget has increased to around 20K because I learnt that my old mobo+proc+ram combo will fetch me Rs.5xxx.
Right now, 3400+ setup seems possible (and attractive). Any comments?

PS:Just for kicks asked one shop keeper on the price of a FX processor. He made a call and replied that it starts at 49K

 

[siriusb]

One thing I found dificult was to identify the processor core by looking at the box. There's New castle, winchester and venice (venice being the best featured) cores in the 64 bit below 3500+ range, and I didn't know how to know for sure. The box doesn't right away say it is so-sn-so core. Any ideas?

 

[[flAsh]]

Get a dual core P4 EE or A64 --->>> just joking
I wud recomend a Pentium4 2.4 GHz with HT on a Msi 875p Neo. Mobo is fully loaded with features and as u know that northwood core of P4 are the highest overclockable and performing core till date (the Extreme edition core ie Gallatin core is basically a northwood core with 2 MB L3 cache) .
I myself overclocked my 2.4Ghz processor to 3.4 Ghz it runs nice & cool. it beats up A64 2800+ & 3000+ in every benchmark and 3200+ in most of the gaming Benchmarks. and yes I have checked this fact b'coz I hav both PCs home.

I about to sell out my A64 machine. Wanna buy it???--->>Joking once again, I already hav found a customer who is giving me Rs.39K

 

[rollcage]

Re: Got the price list!

Processor:
A64 2800+ => Rs.5200 (@paramount systems)
A64 3200+ => Rs.9600 (@Lotus)
A64 3400+ => Rs.11,750 (@nimal or something)
Mobo:
Asus A8V delux => Rs.7,600 (@Lotus)

Right now, 3400+ setup seems possible (and attractive). Any comments?

A64 3400+ is morethan double the price of A64 2800+!!!,

@motherboard

@siriusb
dont event think of going for the asus a8v board .....it has a via chipset and via sucks big time !!! a definite no-no for gamers... go for the nforce3 board or alternatively try msi platinum series... i think they have some really good boards for amd 64 (754 pin)

get the price of K8N
& K8N-E-DELUX.