Upgrade time!! Need a new Mobo!!

[Recordlord]

Money isnt really an option! I dont need the FX53 though or do I??

I do tons of video editing. I work in Nashville, TN. I scout locations for music videos. This time two years ago I went looking for a mobo and I came here to get my answer --> A7N8X w/2500(Barton). It still is rock solid. You were right then, I am sure you will be right again!!

Needs:

AMD and nothing else. I have been investing in AMD since the AMD K6 days. <Screw 401Ks AMD is my ticket to sunny F L A for golf and young chicks who dig guys with gray hair!!

Should I go with a SATA onboard raid or buy a raid card?? I have a A7V600 with onboard SATA raid the performance isnt quite up to my liking. Using 2 Seagate 80 Gigs.

Decent onboard sound.

I guess my question is Opteron, Dualies?? AMD64 - FXs / what the hell is with all these chips!!

Ok I will put a limit on it for you to make it easier
$750 (somewhere close I might go 800 if the performance is worth it) for Mobo, 1G of ram, and proc.

[The Lodge]

Maybe go with an AMD Athlon 64 3700+, Socket 754, 1MB L2 Cache 64-bit Processor – Retail and some Corsair Value Select (Dual Pack) 184 Pin 512MBx2 DDR PC-3200 – OEM. As for a motherboard, I’m sure someone else wil be able to suggest a good one.

There are two reasons why I’m leaning towards the socket 754. 1. I take it when you decide to upgrade, it won’t be just the cpu, it will be another revamp of the system. 2. It fits in your budget ($665.99 total shipped for ram and cpu) and runs at 2.4GHz and has a 1MB l2 cache.

[Recordlord]

Hey Lodge thanks for the reply. If I decide to go the AMD64 way I will make sure to get the 1meg cache chip. What about chipsets?? Neforce 3 or Via? I know that Neforce 2 beat the pissss out of anything VIA could come up with. I have heard VIA 800 may be the beast though. Going to make a purchase sometime this week.

Other components going into the box are ATI 9800 pro - 2 WD Raptors 74Gs - Seagate 250G HDD - Pioneer 106D DVD/CD burner - MSI Dragon CD burner (seems any CD I burn with the Pioneer wont play on anything but the burner itself) Chenbro Full Tower Case -

[The Lodge]

As for chipsets, I’m really at a loss here. I’ve heard that this is a good board. http://www.newegg.com/app/ViewProductDesc.asp?description=13-123-220&depa=1
It would put you a little over your budget though. It would bring it to $819.99 shipped. I’m sure there is another good board that would keep you within budget.

[porsch1909]

MSI make good motherboard too. i would stick with the nforce 3 chipset. my friend just ordered an MSI one for his 64 bit 754 CPU but i cant for the life of me remember what the codes where. it was a neo K8N or something. he hasnt got all his part yet.

go for SATA as well. it will be worth it.

[missiveusa]

Recordlord ,

I recommend going with the Socket 939 platform. AMD just dropped prices on their chips and released the 90 nm process models. Socket 754 is at the end of its lifespan, while 939 is at the beginning of its upgrade path. The nForce 3 Ultra chipset looks like the way to go over VIA and SiS, but you can check the benchmarks (http://www6.tomshardware.com/motherboard/20040901/index.html) . Monarch (http://www.monarchcomputer.com/Merchant2/merchant.mv?Screen=CTGY&Store_Code=M&Category_Code=AMD64) seems to have the best price/selection for the AMD64 line.

[Recordlord]

Missiveusa thanks for you response. The link to the benchmarks sealed the deal. The second page (where the story begins) is entitled "The Agony of Choosing" what I've been going through. Thanks it helps tons. I wanted something I could upgrade in the future.

[Recordlord]

Geil Golden Dragon Dual Channel 184 Pin 1GB(512MBx2) DDR PC-3500 - Retail
Specifications:
Manufacturer: Geil
Speed: DDR433(PC3500)
Type: 184 Pin DDR SDRAM
Error Checking: Non-ECC
Registered/Unbuffered: Unbuffered
Cas Latency: 2.5 6-3-3 1T
Support Voltage: 2.55V-2.95V
Bandwidth: 3.5GB/s
Organization: two 64M x 64 -Bit
Special Features: Wafer Level Chip Scale Package
Warranty: Lifetime

MSI "K8N Neo2 Platinum" NVIDIA nForce3 ULTRA Chipset Motherboard For AMD Socket 939 CPU -RETAIL


AMD Athlon 64 3200+ 2.0GHz, 512KB L2 Cache 939-Pin 64-bit Processor - OEM


$644.00

Thanks everyone!!

[scottluebke2003]

That system will be mighty fast. Good luck. Post again when it's all built. I'm like to hear about it.

[Recordlord]

Its built!!

MSI Neo2 Platinum
AMD Athlon 64 3200
2 x 512 Geil Golden Dragon 3500 (This is wicked AZZZ ram I love GEIL)
ATI 9800pro
250G Seagate HDD (for my O/S and work)
2 WD Raptors 74s
Etc.....(just burners and what not)

Ok so I started thinking about setting up RAID. Decided against it. I think the drives would be under less stress If It were reading one drive while writing to the other! You know for encoding/editing ****. Brilliant!! Beer in bottles is a good idea too!

I am very pleased with this new machine. Nothing seems to bog it down even loading video is close to instantaneous as one could get.

I played CS:source and it ran smooth as a cheerleaders thigh.
If you guys have the means you should pick one up yourselves!!

[missiveusa]

Nice system. I assume you used the Socket 939 3200? The MSI Neo 2 nForce 3 chipset board would be my pick. Is, in fact, as I'm buying the components today to upgrade. I thought about the new EPoX nForce3 board, but USB and G'bit issues scared me away. Besides, that MSI board is getting great reviews, just like the earlier Socket 754 model.

As for RAID, I have read user revies that say you really see the speed of the Raptors when they're configured in RAID. As long as you have decent case cooling, I don't think you'll stress them out.

Enjoy your new rig. Can't wait to get mine built and POSTED;)

[Beeblequix]

g'morning there Recordlord.

What kind of benchmarking scores are you getting with that baby? In 3dmark 03 you should be pulling about 6530ish without overclocking. 05 you'll be getting about 2400.