A64 Questions

[Quickbeam177]

Thinking of biting the bullet and getting one. I read a ton of reviews about PC hardware compulsively now... so I know a few things. But there are some things I'd like to clear up, and I'd like to know what'd net me the best price to performance ratio.

First, I'm really interested in the A64s with the Venice core. Supposedly they shipped the 4th of this month? Where can I get one? When would be a good time to buy one?

Secondly I'd need a new motherboard of course. Anyone have a good suggestion for the socket 939 platform, supporting the AGP graphics interface? I'm big into overclocking, and I've got a watercooling system I'm dying to set up.

Another thing is of course the price. I'm not expecting any steals, but deals would be nice.

If ya need any more information about my PC and such, just ask. Other than that, answer away!

Thanks all

[Rondog]

nForce4 chipset. DFI Lanparty or Asus board.

[danrok]

He wants AGP, so nForce 3.

I would look at either Epox or Abit. I don't think DFI do an nForce 3 board, correct me if I'm wrong.

You Corsair memory will be just fine for S939.

[Rondog]

Isnt the nForce4 Ultra AGP based? I thought only the SLI version was PCI-E.

[danrok]

I'm not aware of an nForce 4 board with AGP. The non-SLI boards will take a sinlge PCIe video card.

[Logan]

I saw mention of an Nforce4 with AGP at Monarch Computers, but haven't actually seen any for sale.

I'd definately wait a few months to go 64, especially with all the new stuff due out soon.

[cadaveca]

DFI lanparty UT 250gb Nforce3.

IT's not 939, it's 754, but with the new cores coming, it might not be so bad to go 754.

[GrahamGarside]

I've seen S754 nforce4 boards with agp (using a bridge chip I guess) but not an S939 board.

While an upgrade to an Athlon64 would give you increased performance, to see the best out of it you really should move to pci-e as well. I'd hold off on the purchase for a bit, until dual cores are out, save up some more money and go for a dual core chip, an NF4 based board and a PCI-E video card

[cadaveca]

Originally Posted by GrahamGarside

I've seen S754 nforce4 boards with agp (using a bridge chip I guess) but not an S939 board.

While an upgrade to an Athlon64 would give you increased performance, to see the best out of it you really should move to pci-e as well. I'd hold off on the purchase for a bit, until dual cores are out, save up some more money and go for a dual core chip, an NF4 based board and a PCI-E video card

That is the most solid advice you can get right now...once the dualcores are out, price should drop a bit on the singles, but not much...maybe $15-$20, but every dollar will help.

[sushi]

Wait a few months till the dual core stuff makes the current prices drop. Try not to get a mobo with a 754pin system. Dual channel is so much better. Gigabyte has a motherboard out that supports 939pin and AGP. GA-K8NSC-939 is the name of the motherboard. It has a nforce3 chipset. I think it is priced around $80.

I would try to save money so that you could buy a nf4 with pci-e. SLI would also be something to spend some money on.

[Quickbeam177]

I'll have to get rid of my AGP card then. There's no way I can afford a ton of new equipment. I've barely had time to play with the 6600GT on AGP! It'd be nice if I could somehow trade AGP for PCI-E...

[cadaveca]

AGP won't be dying just yet, like some have proclaimed...wait 6 weeks for the market to stabilize after the dualcore introductions, and then look into buying...until then, any moneyspent may well be wasted.