Got the upgrade itch! Help with choosing parts....

[KDOG]

Well, as far as the mobo goes it will be the Epox 9PNA+ that Anand reviewed...

As far as the proc goes, I need some help with that. I am leaning toward a Venice core 3000+. Oddly, the retail is cheaper than the OEM at Newegg. I want to overclock so suggestions would be appreciated as far as the HS/F is concerned. I am tempted to get the CoolerMaster AquaGate Mini R120, but if the stock HS/F is decent I'll use that for now and wait on the water cooling.

Memory: Right now I have 1 gig (2x512) of Corsair XMS Series PC 3200 that has been working beautifully and I would REALLY like to keep them and not have to buy new memory! Any issues with this memory while overclocking this setup?

Video card: I'm really only interested in a mid range card. I'm not a gamer so I don't need killer graphics power. I'm more of a multimedia fiend. DVD, music, etc. I'm kindo of looking at the ATI x600 but would like opinions on a good Nvidia card... (6600GT?). And it will be PCI Express of course...

Anyway, thanks for any help you can give!

 

[Cheesetogo]

The best heatsink out right now is probably the thermalright XP-120. As for the fan, the most poplular choice seems to be panaflo. Your memory should be fine. For your graphics card, you'll want the 6600gt. The x600 is a piece of junk, and not really in the same league. However, if you can find the x800 vanilla for a similar price to the 6600gt, that's the one to get.

 

[agnitrate]

Originally posted by: KDOG
Well, as far as the mobo goes it will be the Epox 9PNA+ that Anand reviewed...

As far as the proc goes, I need some help with that. I am leaning toward a Venice core 3000+. Oddly, the retail is cheaper than the OEM at Newegg.

If you're referring to these two :

AMD Athlon 64 3000+ Venice Model ADA3000BPBOX - Retail
AMD Athlon 64 3000+ Venice Model ADA3000DAA4BP - OEM

It's because for the OEM, you know the OPN of the processor is going to be ADA3000DAA4BP and not anything else. That means that it's going to be the E3 stepping, variable voltage, 67W output, have SOI, etc, etc. With the retail box, it's not set in stone which kind you're going to get.

I'm not sure if this is specifically known to overclock very well or what, but that's probably why. Why not get the 3200 so you can have the 10 multiplier at your disposal as well?

[edit] Check out this link to find what the OPNs mean. [/edit]

 

[HellRaven]

I am just now getting the pieces for a new system myself, and Cheesetogo has some good advice there.

The XP-120 is rather large and doesn't fit some mobo's. If that is the case for the Epox you could also look at the thermalright XP-90c + 92mm fan.

As far as the processor goes, check the hot deals forum as there was a deal for an OEM venice 3000+ for $120-$125 shipped that I just got in on. The 3000+ seems to be the best price/performance ratio if your on a budget.

The Epox is a good motherboard, but in my case I went for the DFI because of the superior layout of connection plugs, good support, and good overclocking results.

Your current memory should be fine as long as you don't push it too far by going for a huge OC.

Video card: I went with a Radeon X800xl since I am a gamer. Since you aren't though, just about any budget card would do. A 6600GT would probably be overkill if your not gaming. Might want to look for a cheap previous gen card, like a GF FX series or last gen ATI card that a vendor is clearing out.

 

[KDOG]

I would rather not overclock my memory at all. If I overclocking the 3000+, will I be oc'ing the memory as well?

As far as the video card, they have a 6600 right now for $105, not bad.... but not the GT. Big difference?

 

[Guido06]

For the HSF, go with an XP-90 (the aluminum version). It is much lighter than the copper version, $10+ cheaper and cools nearly as well.
Save yourself some money and save your mobo from an extra couple hundred grams. Panaflo 92mm fans seem to be the best choice.

As for the video card, you can get some nice deals on a 6600GT and it'll perform quite well outside of running games at 1600x1200.

 

[KDOG]

What about the 5900? or 5750? I have a Radeon 9500 PRO right now, how would they compare?

 

[d2arcturus]

That 6600 would be fine considering you don't game, and stick with the Epox mobo, the DFIs don't like Corsair.
You didn't mention, but do you have a sound card? If you're a multimedia type you'll want an Audigy 2 ZS or related.

 

[Hacp]

You can always do softmod on the 6200 to make it a 6600.

 

[KDOG]

Actually yes I have decent sound card, a Hercules Fortissimo III 7.1

But I have thought about using the onboard to reduce power consumption...

 

[jpcording]

I'd definitely go for the 6600GT. Price dif over the vanilla 66 is relatively small, but the GDDR3 with help with video playback. Got mine a couple of weeks ago and I'm really pleased so far.

 

[dbuttcheek69]

dang i got the upgrade fever too...

it seems to be going around