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[NeWbiE :-)]

well ive got close to another 300 and im looking to get my next piece so far i have the atx tower, 450w psu, 2 additional casefans w/controller, 80gb 5400 rpm hdd ( ) just ordered my mobo off newegg even tho i never remember the exact name... MSI "K8T NEO-FSR" K8T800 Chipset Motherboard for AMD Socket 754 CPU...so now i keep hearing wait on CPU, wait on Video Card and all sorts of **** so like i dont know what to get next im thinking get a better hdd...a local store here has a sale for 120gb 7200 for 60 bucks and i feel i cant really go wrong there but like i said i wanna get closer to booting up...then upgrade later...i also wanna get started on ramm i hope to have maximum ramm eventually...so if u can tell me to get a vid card get my cpu or just w.e as of right now im looking to get the AMD 64 2800+ then i dunno about graphics i just really want a 256mb 8x agp card so i dunno w.e u guys recommend im gonna look into so i hope to hear from u's tomorrow...lata

[Fruss Tray Ted]

I don't care who makes your harddrive or how big it is, as long as it is 8megs cache. That is, if it's an ide interface. If you can afford a RAID array or even a scsi drive more power to you. But you WILL see the difference if you triple the cache of the drive.

I kinda wish they'd make a smallish, 20 gig or less, 8meg cache drive at 7200rpm and then we could get all the 2meg HDD's at 5400rpm for storage. Then the os would really scream along without all the 'packs' meant for a mule...

Soo, did you get a confirmation email from NewEgg? It'll have the invoice of the drive you bought and you can tell us the right model with that.

[Deagle]

I doubt that his HDD have 8mb cache since it's 5400rpm. 256mb vid card...these are only worth it on the high end cards. For medium gaming, an ATI 9800Pro or Nvidia FX5900 are worth the bang for your $.
Are your mind set on socket 754? This is being replace by socket 939 which is better and will become mainstream much like AthlonXP was to the Duron.

[saphalline]

Socket 754 has some serious hitting power for those on a budget, like NeWbiE :-) here. 64-bit potential along with the onboard memory controller will keep it alive and ticking, even if it's not quite up to 939's stature.

Go ahead and get your CPU next, because the slower ones (like the 2800+ you want) won't get much cheaper anytime soon. Plus it gets you closer to booting! And make sure you get a retail version to smooth things over. Much easier to install.

After that, start thinking about your RAM, then your vid card. The vid card is the most likely to drop in price out of all other components, so always save that for last!

[NeWbiE :-)]

Is it worth the couple bucks to go to AMD64 3000+??

[madad2005]

For a vid card, id suggest the geforce 6600GT.. they are getting cheaper (although hard to get hold off) and the SLI capability is quite nice too. Or if you want to save money, just get the 6600 256MB version, which I have and I am now playing Doom 3 and Rome Total War at Ultra Quality and maximus settings without a glitch. Heaven!

[saphalline]

Is it worth the couple bucks to go to AMD64 3000+??

Haha, I don't know, is it? Moving from a 2800+ to a 3000+ is about a 7% increase in CPU performance, so yes, I would be willing to pay 7% more money. Maybe even 10% more money because this is CPU shopping we're talking about, not just average shopping. Beyond that, I wouldn't expect huge performance gains by going with the slightly faster one.

[NeWbiE :-)]

the differance is $25..and the differance in cpus...well u know better then i do...now along with the 2x 512mb i plan on getting i also wanted an extra 256...but the differance of cpus is $25 meanwhile to change that extra 256 to a 512 thats only $30...what means more...the 3000+ or the 512?

[Speedbird_777]

hmm you want to have 3 sticks of 512? your going to lose the dual channel, think about that

[jlreich]

I can't seem to find the post right now, but according to Saphalline in a recent thread, you will not necessarily lose Dual Channel by adding a third stick. At least if I understood correctly.

Saphalline?


EDIT- Found it. http://www.pcguide.com/vb/showpost.p...6&postcount=13

[pave_spectre]

AMD nForce based boards use hybrid dual channel,, which means that with two sticks, you have regular dual-channel mode, but with three sticks, the first two still act in dual-channel but the third acts in single-channel mode.

Last Post Here explains in more detail.

[saphalline]

NeWbiE :-) - Save that $25 for the RAM. It will serve you better than a mere 7% increase in raw CPU power. You will most likely be able to upgrade to a MUCH more powerful Athlon64 in 9-12 months for very little (probably what you will pay now for a 2800+). Meanwhile, I'm curious about your RAM situation. Can you explain more? Do you already have 2 x 512MB sticks and are planning to add a third stick, or do you mean 2 x 512MB sticks total?

Speedbird_777, jlreich, & pave_spectre - Dual-channel is a tricky and fragile thing. The hybrid mode of dual-channel that I mentioned in the other thread pertains only to AMD's NForce2 chipset, not to the NForce3 & 4 chipsets. Remember that treading into the Athlon64/FX territory, we're talking about the memory controller being built into the CPU. Now the rules of dual-channel are just like that of the P4 chipsets - it must be adhered to exactly, matched pairs per channel only. Also, to deviate from the situation more, I believe the mobo that NeWbiE :-) picked out uses VIA's K8T800 chipset, and not an AMD chipset at all. I shall test this theory of 3 sticks out this weekend, as I will have a chance to take a crack at a Socket 939 A64 system. I will post back with the results.

[NeWbiE :-)]

when planning out the system i wanted...which might i add the first copy has been totally scrapped since joining this forum and i have no clue what i would have done with the system i wanted...lol...but my most recent was that i would EVENTUALLY want to have maximum amount of ram i was going to include a amd 64 3000+ with 2x 512mb ram and an additional 256...now im thinking i should save the extra 30 bucks or w.e it is and change that additional 256...to a 512?...im not sure i understand this dual channel...i cant understand how having 2 sticks of 512 could be better then having 3x?

[saphalline]

i cant understand how having 2 sticks of 512 could be better then having 3x?

Let me put it in a different perspective. If you were in a race, would you rather race against one person with two legs, or 3 people with one leg each? In dual-channel, each pair of "legs" (or sticks of RAM) can work together. If you add a third "leg", dual-channel is broken, and the effect is that of 3 people each having their own leg. Yes, you have more legs total, but they aren't paired up to work together, they're all just hanging around doing their own thing. This is perhaps as plainly as I can describe how dual-channel works, or doesn't, depending on the configuration.

[Fruss Tray Ted]

[saphalline]

FTT, you read my mind!

[NeWbiE :-)]

so does that mean stick with only 2 sticks?

[saphalline]

Yes. For dual-channel to work, you must have an even number of sticks: either 2 or 4. Moreover, each pair of sticks must be of the same speed and size (including density) - this is most easily achieved by buying two sticks at once.

[jlreich]

[b]NeWbiE :-) I shall test this theory of 3 sticks out this weekend, as I will have a chance to take a crack at a Socket 939 A64 system. I will post back with the results.

I was just curious if you had a chance to test that out.

[saphalline]

Indeed I did, and just as I suspected, the built-in memory controller of the K8 chips is very alike to Intel's memory controller on their P4 chipsets. That is to say, they are both bound by the same strict rules of dual-channel. Each pair must be of the same size, speed, and density. And an odd number of sticks breaks dual-channel.

No more hybrid dual-channel, I'm afraid.

But, it's just as well. RAM is cheap, and DDR is even cheaper than DDR2, so for now, AMD's choice is both cheaper and delivers no less performance.

[jlreich]

Thanks Saphalline, I figured as much. But that's ok. With all the performance options available these days, missing out on that one is not to big a deal. I mean it isn't like the old days when we were running CPU's at 200MHz, and 32MB ram was lightning fast. And moving up 64MB was like science fiction come true. Yeah I would like that $200,000 car, but the $150,000 one will do just fine right now.

[saphalline]

it isn't like the old days when we were running CPU's at 200MHz, and 32MB ram was lightning fast. And moving up 64MB was like science fiction come true.

Haha, well do I remember those days! Win95 on a 166MHz machine with 16MB of RAM! Upgraded to 48MB of RAM later (a whopping $85 at the time! ) and the speed boost was quite nice! We never did have enough RAM back then. We were all plodding along with 32-64MB of RAM in Win98, and it's sad to think that now I won't use less than 128MB for an older Win98 machine! And boy, 1GB of RAM these days? Who would have thought...

[NeWbiE :-)]

being as that im extremely tired and a bit dillusional...i say we think now...where willl it be 5 years from now?...minimum 3gb to run windows 2k10 home edition...hah and hey when the time comes and some one asks...

Who would have thought...

ill be the first to say...well i was on a forum one day and...