Any Computer Gurus here?

[DamoclesX]

I've been out of the loop for parts for about 3 years here

i"m looking at

www.tigerdirect.ca

there are so many parts, I"m looking at the cpu/mb combos, but.. to be honest, I cant tell what mbs are better

i"m generally looking at p4's amds... are a sore point with me now.... more so since I learned that the difference between the xp2600 and xp2800 is 185 mhz....

so if there are any experts could you tell me what mb/cpu combo for the p4's would be best(graphics)

also.. um... graphics cards.. lol.... nuff said...

[Deviak]

lol..well..if money is no object..You can get the K8T800 chipset and the NForce 3 Mobo for the Athlon 64's however they work best on FX's..and an Nvidia of midrange or high end is always best for AMD. Nuff said..[8D] [:D]

[Pheagey]

all praise AMD and nVidia....

The 185MHz diffrence: The AMD chips can handkle mroe math per cycle than a comparable Intel. thats why they went to XP2400, 2600,2800 etc so people woulcn't thing they were getting cheated.
If I remeber right (I doubt it thopught) and Xp2400 is like a P 2.4Ghz.. I should probly check that befor eI get flamed...

Anyways, AMD and nVidia...all hail...

[DamoclesX]

ORIGINAL: Pheagey

all praise AMD and nVidia....

The 185MHz diffrence: The AMD chips can handkle mroe math per cycle than a comparable Intel. thats why they went to XP2400, 2600,2800 etc so people woulcn't thing they were getting cheated.
If I remeber right (I doubt it thopught) and Xp2400 is like a P 2.4Ghz.. I should probly check that befor eI get flamed...

Anyways, AMD and nVidia...all hail...

the xp2400 is like not even close I know.. I have a 2500 and it clocks in at1800mhz
a p 2.4 ghz would blow it out of the water

Im avoiding amd.. period.. forever:)

[Leit]

I personally use the Abit IC7-G and love it. Overclocks well and stable. I use a 2.6g and overclock it to close to 3 with air cooling and no ill effects. However it is just a AGP motherboard and not a PCI-Express. Intels 925 based motherboards should be selling now. I don't want to look at reviews because I am not upgrading till next year.

[Mr.Frag]

Might want to be a bit clearer on location.

Tiger Direct is a junk seller ... if you want someone who sells quality stuff, http://www.pccanada.com

Much better rating, much happier customers, etc. I would refer a friend there. I'd tell you to run away from tiger.

[Catgh_MatrixForum]

Whether Intel or AMD is our choice. Ford or Chevy, Toyota or Nissan... But you must admit AMD has Intel with the 64bit processors... AND Intel is moving away from the "GHZ" naming convention and will be following AMD's convention of naming.

Anyhow I don't want to change your opinion, only to echo stay way from Tiger.

I recommend www.computerhq.com or www.egghead.com. I had a lot of RMA action with computerhq, for actions that I did (don't run your processor without its heatsink [;)]) and they really stepped up to the plate.

One little exercise I conduct before building a system is going to www.falcon-nw.com and look at what they are using with their systems. Also you can check out www.sharkyextreme.com for their recommendations.

Ron

[DamoclesX]

Thanks, I"ll avoid tiger

hey
Intel® Pentium® 4 - 2.8C-GHz @ 800Mhz w/ 512k (Socket 478) (Retail Box) w/ Heat Sink & Fan - Supports Hyper-Threading Technology $249.99


Intel® Pentium® 4 -520, 2.8-GHz @ 800Mhz w/ 1Mb (Socket 775) (Retail Box) w/ Heat Sink & Fan -


question, what is this socket 775....... the other p4's are all socket 478 except for the final one in the lists for each speed

[Catgh_MatrixForum]

Check out... http://www.hardwareanalysis.com/content/article/1723.2/ for a discussion on the Socket 775. It seems to be the next socket standard for Intel.

Ron

[DamoclesX]

no agp support lol


scratch that....

[faith1]

Can't really comment on hardware but as for a vendor I've used www.newegg.com for a number of years and have always been satisfied with their service and pricing.

[rkhigdon]

the xp2400 is like not even close I know.. I have a 2500 and it clocks in at1800mhz
a p 2.4 ghz would blow it out of the water

Im avoiding amd.. period.. forever:)

Hmmm...this seems odd. That 2500 should clock around 2-2.1ghz. Are you sure all the jumpers/bios setting are correct? I would check FSB speed to make sure it is set to the proper value. Often boards that support multiple FSB are set to a value other than max, and you need to change it in order to get the best performance.

A previous poster was correct, CPU speed is a little misleading. A 2500 does give equivalent performance to a 2.5g in many instances. Has to do with the way the chip processes instructions and cache as much as anything.

By the way, that 2500 is extremely overclockable if that's your thing. Perhaps one of the best overclocking cpus ever.

[DamoclesX]

ya, I agree

I had a site that gave the mhz.. maby I messed up the numbers in my head.

It would overclockable.

I unlocked one into a mobile barton then changed its multi so it gave like 2400 gigs or something, but since my maiun computer went I have no use for that chip lol

oh here is something, a bit of the socket

[Pheonix Starflare]

Wow. Looks like it practically exploded. Did a power line or something right near you get hit by lightning?

[Pheagey]

With all that important dara and from the looks of that socket I'd say you dont have a good surge/battery protecter do you?!..Come now man...

[Mr.Frag]

Thats why I use Intel now ... No more toasters for me [:D]

[Incendiary Lemon]

ORIGINAL: DamoclesX

I've been out of the loop for parts for about 3 years here

Your budget is the starting point, then what parts you still have (including the case?), then the matter of taste and bias. Currently the AMD64 chips are superior. Intel has had a rough two years with marred product launches and serious concerns about their research and development. They scrapped their pentium 4 line in favor of a new dual core chip. That involved dropping two processors that were less than a year from release. The final NetBurst chip is Prescott, but its proven rather underwhelming.

From Anandtech

We also clearly saw in our performance tests that a current Intel 875 motherboard, running fast DDR memory and a Northwood processor, was just as fast as a 925X running a Prescott at the same speed.

Course its not down and out, they're a juggernaut with a decent record, its just that their current top of the line product is a poor buy. If your shopping today an AMD rig is the better choice.

For video cards, its really up to you. NVidia continous to exhibit the strongest OpenGL performance (as seen in these doom3 benchmarks.) However ATI did write the directx 9 standard and their cards show marked gains for it. Valve reports the premium x800 card running Half Life 2 30% faster than the comparable Nvidia card.

Top end Nvidia cards can use pixel shaders 3.0 while the ATI cards are limited to 2.0, I'm obligated to mention it but I don't hold it of huge importance. As of now there are very few games that make much use of pixel shaders and those in the pipe will likely aim for the the lowest common standard 2.0. Its an issue of future proofing, but you can't really do that with computers. Get a 3.0 card when the games demand it.


In review, AMD has the best CPUs line with their 64bit chips. Intel's prescott is a weak competitor with an uncertain future. We'll see later in the fall if they can repair the situation but as of now its no faster than its predecessor the Northwood. Course theres nothing wrong with those, I'm using one and if its a choice between that and a 32 bit AMD chip then go with the Northwood. For video cards, your pick of the ATI cards or any of the 6000 series Nvidia.

[DamoclesX]

hmm

I"ll do some more reading

I was looking at a 2.8E Presscot and a Ati Radeon 9600XT card

I guess I"m just starting to feel a little swamped

I dont want to spend tons on this computer, I" vedecided to finish my education this fall.. so do need to save al ot of coin

I want the best bang for the buck

What I picked was around 800$ Canada dollars

This was it


Intel® Pentium® 4 - 2.8E-GHz @ 800Mhz w/ 1Mb (Socket 478) (Retail Box) w/ Heat Sink & Fan - Prescott Processor

ABIT® IC7, Socket 478, Intel® 875PE Chipset (ATX) - Onboard Audio, SATA Raid, and Firewire. Hyper-Threading technology support.


Sapphire Atlantis Radeon™ 9600XT 256Mb DDR AGP

512MB of DDR400 ram.

However, I have recently found out I can get that ram for free.. so that can be cut out.
Any opinions are more then welcome.. and if I can see how its a lot better. i'll go amd...
I"m pretty sure thats the best vid card for that price.. 225 or something

from what I can see here

http://www6.tomshardware.com/cpu/200402 ... tt-17.html

it takes the max 64bit amd to beat the 2.8E presscot in any meangfull number.. and they cost more

[Incendiary Lemon]

Clock for clock the Prescott will be slower than a Northwood on that board. Paired with a 915 or 925 it should come about equal. The 478 pin version is a bit of shoe horn job, little ugly. I'd rather get the Northwood and get a less expensive 865 motherboard. The primary advantage of the 875s was some odd tech called PAT, it optimzed board logic or some low level routines (3-5% overall boost.) Supposedly a unique feature and something to justify the premium price on the boards. Then Asus managed to activate it on their 865s with a bios update. Week later all the vendors had added it, Canterwood lost much of its point.

865/875 Versus 915/925 at Tom's Hardware

Try that link, it covers all you'd need about the current Intel lineup.

A 9800 Pro should be in your price range, 200 or so USD or 262 CAD. Avoid the 128 bit versions, I wouldn't call them crippled but they are to be avoided.

512 of system memory is fine for the moment, but at some point you'd want to add another 512. However you should get two sticks instead of one, its a dual channel setup using both modules in parallel to double the memory bandwith.


236.00 PIV 2.8 800mhz FSB
260.00 Radeon 9800 Pro 256 bit 128mb version
112.00 Abit 865PE IS-7

Totals to 608.00, ignoring shipping. Prices are CAD conversions rounded up, USD prices were lifted from reputable shops and were not Pricewatch specials.

[DamoclesX]

I will read up on it

Thanks a lot for the help man, its REALLY hard to catch up after 3 years of not even trying to follow what has been going on, I"ll post back later today when I check this out and get some prices from the local stores.. i"m gonna try them first, always easier to deal with and i'm sure they can order any of these parts.