Upgrading, suggestions please )
 

It's finally come time to upgrade the ol 900AMD system with something better. Here is what I have come up with.

MSI K8N Neo2 Platinum 939 pin
AMD Athlon 64 3500+, 512K (or 3200+ depending on final cost)
(memory part of the suggestions I need, see below)
Western Digital Raptor 74GB 10,000RPM (have an 80GB ata drive already going to be a secondary drive)
Pioneer DVR-108

Already have a GeForce 5900 Ill be moving over and a Thermaltake 480W PSU.

Question gets into the memory choices, the top three that I see are....

CORSAIR XMS, Xtra-Low Latency 2-2-2-5, 184-Pin 1GB TWINX1024-3200XLPRO

2 x Crucial Ballistix 184-Pin 512MB DDR PC-3200

OCZ EL Platinum Revision 2 Dual Channel Kit 184-Pin 1GB(512MBx2) DDR PC-3200


All of the above memory get very good scores on several sites, however I'm just wondering If I need that kind of high end ram as I plan on doing ZERO overclocking with the machine. Would I really be taking a performance hit to just get some pc3200 valueram!?

Any other suggestions, I'm all eyes. thanks all - Silverbrain

While I'd recommend sticking with expensive RAM, I'm also a bit of a purist. High quality RAM like Corsair goes through much more rigorous testing than generic Val-u-RAM. In terms of performance, Corsair's low latency memory can make a difference, but it's rarely much of one, under 5% or so. The only time you notice is in an overall stunningly good system, where the expensive 5-15% performance boosts really start to add up.

For good quality on a budget, Corsair also makes a Value Select line. I've been using it in my secondary not-so-speedy system, and it's worked just fine. Not as tight timings, but at the same time, it wasn't worth the not-insignificant bump in price for a machine that really wouldn't benefit from it.

I would go with the Corsair or Kingston Value Select. I just put 2 sticks of 512 into a system I just built and it came right up and registered for Dual Channel. I paid half as much as the Corsair 1024 Matched pair I bought a month ago, and it performs every bit as well.

I have built high end systems, and I have built low end email machines... Unless you are pushing the absolute envelope of your system, stick with the value ram. It isn't worth the huge jump in price.

I'd get Corsair Value or Kingston Value. Don't buy anything like Corsair's XMS if you're not gonna overclock. Like the other guys said, you won't notice a difference unless you OC. Since XMS is literally double what the value RAM is, the only way it's justified is if ya wanna OC.

Everything else looks great...especially that processor (insert envy here). :thumbsup:

-Lasereth

I was looking at upgrading as well - not sure if I should buy the 3200 or the 3500 processor. Is the 3500 really worth an extra £100 ?

Will you get better performance? Yeah. Is it worth the extra money? That depends on how bad you want a top-of-the-line processor. I'd personally put that money into a better videocard since today's games rely on the videocard much more than the processor.

-Lasereth

With the setup I am looking to buy, if I spent the money on the quality high end ram, am I a fool for not overclocking!? Since I dont build systems anymore, I just fix em I am sorta out of the loop. Thanks for all the suggestions thus far though )

I personally think that overclocking is just one of those things people do just for the sake of doing it. Just because you might increase the performance of your RAM by some measurable amount, doesn't mean you're going to notice a difference when you're actually using your computer. Overclocking will also decrease the overall stability of your system. I don't know about you, but I'd rather give up 2 or 3 frames per second as opposed to risk damaging any components.

I dont know about the Kingston Value's, but from my own experience, the Corsair Value's rock the boat. 512x2 is like $150 total right now, too.

Overclocking.. to me, it's for the hardcore enthusiast. If you're going to buy all the expensive crap, you might as well, I guess, so you can be "1337", but to me it's overkill. And like the post above, you can damage shit unless you really know what you're doing.

Overclocking is 50% luck and 50% skill/knowledge. Even if you buy the components needed for overclocking, sometimes things just won't work (<=== has lots of experience :( ) like they're supposed to. Buying specific components for OC'ing is a money dump. I'd buy a good system and then buy extra parts to OC with if you're interested.

-Lasereth

I think after the discussion Im going to buy the standard Corsair Valueram and put that 200 bucks towards a video card upgrade. Thanks for everyones input - Silver

$200 won't give a big enough boost for the money from your 5900. I wouldn't upgrade from the 5900 unless you wanna spend $300 on the videocard.

-Lasereth

thats basically the exact same setup im lookin at getting right soon.. like next week.. its a toss up for me between mobos tho.. either the MSI neo2 plat or the ASUS A8V Deluxe non wifi..

AMD ATHLON 64 3500+ S939 NEWCASTLE 2.2GHZ 512KB CACHE RETAIL BOX

ASUS A8V DELUXE ATHLON64 S939 K8T800PRO DUAL DDR AGP 5PCI SATA 1394 SOUND 1000LAN

or

MSI K8N NEO2 PLATINUM NFORCE3 ULTRA S939 AGP 5PCI SATA 1394 SOUND 1000LAN

CORSAIR TWINX1024-3200 PC3200 2X512MB DDR CAS2 SILVER HEAT SPREADER

ANTEC 1080 PERFORMANCE PLUS CHASSIS 4X5.25IN 6X3.5IN 430W TRUEPOWER GREY

PIONEER DVD+-RW 16X4X16 DUAL LAYER+R 4X CDRW 32X24X40 INT IDE WO/ SW BLACK OEM

WD CAVIAR SE 120GB SATA 7200RPM 8.9MS 8MB 3YR WARRANTY

i also got a 5900ultra 256mb from eVGA and an audigy 2 im keepin from my current setup..


my Q is which of the 2 boards would be the better of the two to get.. the MSI Neo2 Plat, or the ASUS A8V

Im gonna put the 200 bucks 'towards' a newer video card. I know that a 6800 can be had for under 400 bucks nowadays, and I do have some play room in the budget.

I'd personally suggest you wait a little while before buying new stuff. AMD boards with PCI-E will be out soon.