Building a new PC time...
- Thread starter Bob_the_lost
- Start date
If you hadn't wanted a dual core I would have recommended a s939 Opteron as an alternative. These are rebranded FX chips, well the other way round but you get what I mean, massive overclock potential and around £100. Will OC up to 2.8-3Ghz on stock cooling. About the performance of an £600 FX57.
Ah having done some more looking there are dual core s939 Opterons, the 165 is £245, even less than the 3800. It seems to OC to around 2.6Ghz with not much hassle, so thats like having a pair of FX55's..1Mb Cache per core.
s939 CPU
X2 4400 2.2Ghz £345 (OC to 2.6Ghz)
Opteron 165 £245 (OC to 2.6Ghz)
s939 Motherboards £100ish
DFI SLI-DR
DFI NF4-U
Asrock Sata2 (tho this has a more restricted max Vcore, it has a massive potential HTT of 375 or more)
2GB RAM £250 or so
OCZ Platinum Rev 2 ram.
Gskill
PSU
Seasonic S-12 500W PSU £85.
Graphics
7800GTX £300
Thats £1100 with the X4400 or £1000 with the Opteron.
Ah having done some more looking there are dual core s939 Opterons, the 165 is £245, even less than the 3800. It seems to OC to around 2.6Ghz with not much hassle, so thats like having a pair of FX55's..1Mb Cache per core.
s939 CPU
X2 4400 2.2Ghz £345 (OC to 2.6Ghz)
Opteron 165 £245 (OC to 2.6Ghz)
s939 Motherboards £100ish
DFI SLI-DR
DFI NF4-U
Asrock Sata2 (tho this has a more restricted max Vcore, it has a massive potential HTT of 375 or more)
2GB RAM £250 or so
OCZ Platinum Rev 2 ram.
Gskill
PSU
Seasonic S-12 500W PSU £85.
Graphics
7800GTX £300
Thats £1100 with the X4400 or £1000 with the Opteron.
tw1ggy5 said:
excellent choice, but do you think 500W is needed in this system? you can pick up the 430W S-12 for about £55. 30 quid for the last 70 watts? nahh..
I was mainly thinking if he had bought a SLI capable board then the extra power would be useful if he added a second 7800GTX at a later point. Seasonics specification sheet lists the 500 and 600 as SLI compliant but not the 430W. Aswel as extra for any overclocking he might be doing.
The 500W also provides 33A over the 29A in the 430W model.
Just seen the 600W (36A) version is available for £4 more than the 500W at OCuk
The 500W also provides 33A over the 29A in the 430W model.
Just seen the 600W (36A) version is available for £4 more than the 500W at OCuk
Bob_the_lost
Elsewhere
Right, more reading has been done and my hangover has finnally shifted itself so some more thought is going into this now.
RAM
RAM speed makes only a small difference for A64s, or so i am led to belive by the folks at anandtech. However low latency improves performance by around 5% (half the difference between a 4400 and a 4800) going from CAS:3 to CAS:2 so i'm tempted by some nice low latency 2-3-2-5 stuff.
While i've never been overly impressed by the place for prices, this doesn't look bad at all http://www.overclockers.co.uk/acatalog/Enhanced_Bandwidth_Series.html
Having said that i could go for some slightly slower Crucial stuff or some balistix as well. I'm undecided but i do want 2-x-x-x RAM, suggestions on a postcard to the normal address. (the platinum stuff is only £200 anyway, so i'm on budget there)
PSU
I don't need a 600W model, and while a 430W model would have the juice to run the system i don't want to overstress the thing either not to mention the lack of much room to expand in, the V lines will only be more stable if it's got a lot of spare power to hand. I'm really not sure on that side, will have to think more about it. I do like the modular design of some other PSUs but i also love the efficency and low noise levels of the seasonics.
RAM
RAM speed makes only a small difference for A64s, or so i am led to belive by the folks at anandtech. However low latency improves performance by around 5% (half the difference between a 4400 and a 4800) going from CAS:3 to CAS:2 so i'm tempted by some nice low latency 2-3-2-5 stuff.
While i've never been overly impressed by the place for prices, this doesn't look bad at all http://www.overclockers.co.uk/acatalog/Enhanced_Bandwidth_Series.html
Having said that i could go for some slightly slower Crucial stuff or some balistix as well. I'm undecided but i do want 2-x-x-x RAM, suggestions on a postcard to the normal address. (the platinum stuff is only £200 anyway, so i'm on budget there)
PSU
I don't need a 600W model, and while a 430W model would have the juice to run the system i don't want to overstress the thing either not to mention the lack of much room to expand in, the V lines will only be more stable if it's got a lot of spare power to hand. I'm really not sure on that side, will have to think more about it. I do like the modular design of some other PSUs but i also love the efficency and low noise levels of the seasonics.
Bob_the_lost
Elsewhere
<snip>
Latest spec now on first post.
Latest spec now on first post.
Having had a look at the memory Id recommend the 2Gb ZX PC3200 2-3-2-5 Dual Channel kit http://www.memory-configurator.co.uk/brand/G-SKILL/F1-3200PHU2-2GBZX.html £169. Its TCCD memory, like the OCZ PC4000VX, Platinum rev2 stuff.
Bob_the_lost
Elsewhere
G-skill!? Not to mention the fact it's £40 cheaper than the stuff i was just about to order with the same timings!
This purchase is now coming from around 6 different suppliers
This purchase is now coming from around 6 different suppliers
Bob_the_lost
Elsewhere
The first parts have arrived, i've got the Heatsink and Fan. Oddly the last parts to be ordered and yet the first to arrive...
Bob_the_lost
Elsewhere
Shiny!
Bob_the_lost
Elsewhere
Well it looks like the inbred fuckwits at techstore.co.uk (AVIOD) have screwed up badly, i rang them to check that the CPU was instock as advertised. They said it was, and that it'd be shipped that day...
It's not in stock, it's not going to be in stock in time and they haven't taken the time to send me an email let alone calling me to inform me that it won't be here.
As such i'm off to the computer fair in london, the odds of me finding the bits i want are slim, but i have to try. I'll also be reordering a 4400X2 instead of the opteron.
The source for my case and mobo have also let me down, they won't be able to ship it before the end of next week, although they did send me an email to say so which managed to prevent me ringing them up and shouting at them for now.
It's not in stock, it's not going to be in stock in time and they haven't taken the time to send me an email let alone calling me to inform me that it won't be here.
As such i'm off to the computer fair in london, the odds of me finding the bits i want are slim, but i have to try. I'll also be reordering a 4400X2 instead of the opteron.
The source for my case and mobo have also let me down, they won't be able to ship it before the end of next week, although they did send me an email to say so which managed to prevent me ringing them up and shouting at them for now.
Bob_the_lost
Elsewhere
It lives!
I name it Topsy the Ninja elephant. Weighs in at over a ton, utterly silent, and will probably die by electrocution in the future.
Piccie will follow once i've finished playing with it.
I name it Topsy the Ninja elephant. Weighs in at over a ton, utterly silent, and will probably die by electrocution in the future.
Piccie will follow once i've finished playing with it.
From another thread:
Come on then Bob - give us a debrief on the system!
(re vga heatsinks - I've just fitted a totally passive Zalman heatsink to my old 9700pro to make it silent. I've already got a quiet q-tech PSU and a zalman "flower" PCU cooler. I'm going to change the old clapped-out case fan to something silent so that listening to classical music and/or having it on all day in my room becomes that much more pleasant)
Come on then Bob - give us a debrief on the system!
(re vga heatsinks - I've just fitted a totally passive Zalman heatsink to my old 9700pro to make it silent. I've already got a quiet q-tech PSU and a zalman "flower" PCU cooler. I'm going to change the old clapped-out case fan to something silent so that listening to classical music and/or having it on all day in my room becomes that much more pleasant)
Bob_the_lost
Elsewhere
Ah, it lives again!
Well it's up and running, i've tested it as stable at 2.6Ghz for the CPU (equivalent to a 5200X2) and it loaded into windows at 2.7. I didn't like the voltage (1.49V) i had to start using @2.6 though, and the temps were aproaching 59*C at full CPU and VGA load so i stepped it back down to 2.4Ghz (only a 4800X2) and stock voltage settings so the temps are much healtier.
The graphics card scored 8152 or so on 3dmark 2005 (according to tom's hardware guide that's better than they got with a 7800GTX 512, which just shows how shit toms hardware is at testing), however the card freqs had to be turned up to 504/1240, which starts to suffer from artifacts after a while as the temp of the card rises. So i'm getting an arctic cooling silencer 5/6 for it, exhausts the hot air straight out the case and a lot quieter than the stock fan at full speed.
Once i get that and some better quality fans i'm going to look at the placement of the PC, it's got a bit of a thermal trap at the moment, all the hot air it exhausts sits round it, going to have to move it or make sure there is good ventilation for it.
If i can keep the load temps at 2.6Ghz below 55*C then i'll probably put it back up again.
Well it's up and running, i've tested it as stable at 2.6Ghz for the CPU (equivalent to a 5200X2) and it loaded into windows at 2.7. I didn't like the voltage (1.49V) i had to start using @2.6 though, and the temps were aproaching 59*C at full CPU and VGA load so i stepped it back down to 2.4Ghz (only a 4800X2) and stock voltage settings so the temps are much healtier.
The graphics card scored 8152 or so on 3dmark 2005 (according to tom's hardware guide that's better than they got with a 7800GTX 512, which just shows how shit toms hardware is at testing), however the card freqs had to be turned up to 504/1240, which starts to suffer from artifacts after a while as the temp of the card rises. So i'm getting an arctic cooling silencer 5/6 for it, exhausts the hot air straight out the case and a lot quieter than the stock fan at full speed.
Once i get that and some better quality fans i'm going to look at the placement of the PC, it's got a bit of a thermal trap at the moment, all the hot air it exhausts sits round it, going to have to move it or make sure there is good ventilation for it.
If i can keep the load temps at 2.6Ghz below 55*C then i'll probably put it back up again.
Bob_the_lost
Elsewhere
4400X2 Currently running @ 2.4Ghz (stock = 2.2Ghz)
Scythe Ninja heatsink + Nexus fan.
A8N32-SLI
2Gb ZX PC3200 2-3-2-5 Dual Channel kit
RaptorII 74Gig (why couldn't they have said they would release a new raptor :grr: )
7800GT (XFX) @ 500/1200 ish (factory overclocked @ 450/1100)
NEC 3540 DVDRW.
Seasonic 600W PSU
P180 Case
Scythe Ninja heatsink + Nexus fan.
A8N32-SLI
2Gb ZX PC3200 2-3-2-5 Dual Channel kit
RaptorII 74Gig (why couldn't they have said they would release a new raptor :grr: )
7800GT (XFX) @ 500/1200 ish (factory overclocked @ 450/1100)
NEC 3540 DVDRW.
Seasonic 600W PSU
P180 Case
Bob_the_lost
Elsewhere
Added stock settings.
Bob_the_lost
Elsewhere
Doubt it, the AM2 is due out soon and the 939 will become the budget system, just as the 754 is at the moment. The 939 range is probably not going to get improved much, maybe they'll start making the chips with the new 65nm systems when they start phasing them in, but that's probably all that they will do for the 939 range.
But it is a very sweet system
But it is a very sweet system
Bob_the_lost
Elsewhere
They shouldn't, no one else does.tom k&e said:
But that does explain the difference, cheers.
(AA and AF in the drivers aparently.)
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