Moving to AMD 64 bit, what motherboard do I chose?

By Elliot B.
in Hardware Hangout

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Grand Master

shihchiun

Posted
Posted
Right, cheers. Well I will be buying 2x512 MB PC3200 chips as I believe it's cheaper than 1x1 GB and it also enables me to use dual channel, yes? Would I need a 939 AXP chip for dual channel? If they're a lot more expensive than equivelent 754 chips, would I be best getting a 754 chip as I heard dual-channel deoesn't really give much more performance.

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Dual channel only works with Socket 939 chips. They're not much more expensive (if at all) than Socket 754 chips, and going Socket 939 now is just better. You can always get an AGP board, and in the future, if you choose to upgrade to a dual core processor you can do so without having to buy new things.

Grand Master

Elliot B.

Posted
  • Author
Posted
Dual channel only works with Socket 939 chips. They're not much more expensive (if at all) than Socket 754 chips, and going Socket 939 now is just better. You can always get an AGP board, and in the future, if you choose to upgrade to a dual core processor you can do so without having to buy new things.

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Nice one. Another thing (sorry guys lol, I really do appreciate all your help)...

I currently have PC2700 RAM because it runs at 333 MHz and my 2700+ processor has a FSB of 333 MHz too so it would syncronise well.

What FSB do the 939 chips run at so I can get the RAM to sync with it (I assume this is the best thing to do, as putting PC3200 with my current XP 2700+ would have been a waste of money?)

Grand Master

itsnotabigtruck

Posted
Posted
SLI is an nVidia-only technology.

just stick with your 9800, you've got plenty of time before it's outdated, and by that time a SLI system will be more affordable. IMO, SLI is overkill.

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If you go with 939 you'll have to replace the 9800 with a PCIe card.

Grand Master

shihchiun

Posted
Posted
If you go with 939 you'll have to replace the 9800 with a PCIe card.

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No, there are AGP socket 939 boards.

Nice one. Another thing (sorry guys lol, I really do appreciate all your help)...

I currently have PC2700 RAM because it runs at 333 MHz and my 2700+ processor has a FSB of 333 MHz too so it would syncronise well.

What FSB do the 939 chips run at so I can get the RAM to sync with it (I assume this is the best thing to do, as putting PC3200 with my current XP 2700+ would have been a waste of money?)

Just get PC3200. I believe the 64-bit chips have an FSB of 200 Mhz (at least mine does), but it's really not an FSB at all...

Grand Master

drshdw

Posted
Posted
Nice one. Another thing (sorry guys lol, I really do appreciate all your help)...

I currently have PC2700 RAM because it runs at 333 MHz and my 2700+ processor has a FSB of 333 MHz too so it would syncronise well.

What FSB do the 939 chips run at so I can get the RAM to sync with it (I assume this is the best thing to do, as putting PC3200 with my current XP 2700+ would have been a waste of money?)

586182994[/snapback]

HTT runs at 200mhz, so you'd want DDR400.

Contributor

Hamman

Posted
Posted

To clear some things up:

* Get a s939 CPU, they're as fast as their s754 counterparts, and runs cooler. Get one with the Venice-core.

* Get 2x512 MB RAM, it will be cheaper and faster than a 1GB stick. If you're going to overclock, get good RAM such as OCZ or GEIL. Otherwise, get cheap PC3200 CL 2,5 RAM. Corsair, Kingston and Crucial are good brands.

* If you want to use your 9800 Pro you'll have to buy a motherboard with an AGP-slot. If you want SLI, you'll have to get a new graphics card. I recommend a board with the Nforce3 chipset. It's faster, overclocks better and is just as stable as Via or SiS chipsets.

Neowinian

sabad66

Posted
Posted

If your going to stick wiht your 9800 Pro, make sure you get a non-VIA chipset board. The VIA K8T800 HATE ATi Radeon 9800's. I ran into the exact same problem. Try to get an nForce3 based board instead. This is what I suggest:

-MSI K8NNEO2-Platinum nVidia Socket 939 ATX Motherboard / Audio / AGP 4X/8X / USB 2.0 / Firewire / Gigabit LAN / Serial ATA

-AMD Athlon 64 3000+

-2x512MB Kingston PC3200 Value RAM

If you have a little extra cash, i'd opt for 2x512 Kingston HyperX PC3200. But anyways, good luck and remember NO VIA.

Mentor

Smitjel

Posted
Posted

If I was building a new rig today, I'd start with the Asus A8N-E nForce4 Ultra, non-SLI board. I'm not a gaming freak so I don't care about SLI. I do care about buying a feature rich board that has a pretty good upgrade path. And in this case, the A8N-E, with a BIOS update, will support the AMD X2 chips. Can't beat that for the pricepoint it's at.

It is a PCI-e board, so you'd have to lose that 9800 video card. I'd upgrade to a 6600GT...those aren't too expensive anymore.

Grand Master

shihchiun

Posted
Posted
Do all AMD 64 processors come with HTT or is it built on to the motherboard?

/me is confused.

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They've all got it. I believe it's a CPU feature, not a motherboard feature. It's basically the replacement for the FSB.

Grand Master

Elliot B.

Posted
  • Author
Posted (edited)

Right then, to the facts...

  • I am keeping my 9800 Pro.
  • Since I am keeping my 9800 Pro, I will be staying away from VIA.
  • I want an nForce motherboard because of the excellent features. I believe I will need an nForce3 because nForce4 are SLI-only?
  • I will go for an S939 processor because mainly, it's more modern.
  • S939 will enable me to run the RAM in dual-channel.
  • Apparently the S939 chips have a slower HTT but I believe it won't affect the overall speed, correct?
  • I will choose a Venice AMD 64 processor because it has SSE3.

I want an nForce motherboard with AGP8 due to the 9800 Pro so which motherboards do you suggest? I would like one with either SLI or PCI-Express too if possible but if not, its cool.

Edited by King Mustard
Community Regular

jp10558

Posted
Posted

Well, the 939 vs 754 does depend on what chip range you're looking at. For instance, there's a ~$15 difference in the 3000 chip, but if you're comparing the 3400 754 to the 3500 939 you have a $55 difference, and at the 3700 there's a $61 difference.

Depends on how much you want to spend. At the motherboard end with ASUS you're looking at about $73 difference. So on average, you'll spend about $100 more for 939 vs 754 though that's of corse variable as to whether you buy from newegg or get a different motherboard ....

At this point, you also want AGP. If I were you, I'd plan on my next upgrade just again replacing processor and motherboard. You'll want PCI-E by then, and maybe dual core, but why pay for the dual core possibility now, when you'll want to change out the GFX slot as well?

Grand Master

Cyrilix

Posted
Posted
Right then, to the facts...
  • I am keeping my 9800 Pro.
  • Since I am keeping my 9800 Pro, I will be staying away from VIA.
  • I want an nForce motherboard because of the excellent features. I believe I will need an nForce3 because nForce4 are SLI-only?
  • I will go for an S939 processor because mainly, it's more modern.
  • S939 will enable me to run the RAM in dual-channel.
  • Apparently the S939 chips have a slower HTT but I believe it won't affect the overall speed, correct?
  • I will choose a Venice AMD 64 processor because it has SSE3.

I want an nForce motherboard with AGP8 due to the 9800 Pro so which motherboards do you suggest? I would like one with either SLI or PCI-Express too if possible but if not, its cool.

586185016[/snapback]

No, nForce 4 is mainly PCIe...I'm not sure about any strange exceptions that some manufacturers might make, but I've only ever seen nForce 4 with PCIe.

Yes, do go for Socket 939 with Venice/San Diego.

Socket 939 chips do not have a slower HTT, they have a faster HTT (up to 5x rather than 4x).

No, don't get a board with both AGP and PCIe. There's no need, really. You can also only go SLI with a PCIexpress board.

Grand Master

shihchiun

Posted
Posted
[*] I want an nForce motherboard because of the excellent features. I believe I will need an nForce3 because nForce4 are SLI-only?

You need an nForce3 because they don't make AGP boards with the nForce4 chipset. There are non-SLI nForce4 boards, but no AGP ones.

I want an nForce motherboard with AGP8 due to the 9800 Pro so which motherboards do you suggest? I would like one with either SLI or PCI-Express too if possible but if not, its cool.

586185016[/snapback]

There are no boards that have AGP and PCI-Express. Well, there are, but they're kind of.. specialty items that only work with specific cards. Don't bother.

Grand Master

Elliot B.

Posted
  • Author
Posted

This is so annoying. I have no choice but to keep my 9800 Pro but that means I have to have an outdated motherboard! Will AGP8 cards still be made and still be worth buying in the future, or are they getting phased out by another technology?

It seems I will have to get an nForce3 then when I want to upgrade my graphics card, get another motherboard. Bah.

Grand Master

Elliot B.

Posted
  • Author
Posted

Does everyone else agree this would be my best option, then change my motherboard when I want to upgrade my graphics card in a years time?

Grand Master

saxondale.

Posted
Posted
Does everyone else agree this would be my best option, then change my motherboard when I want to upgrade my graphics card in a years time?

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or in a years time, you can get a nice new ati agp, thats if they keep to agp as well as pci-e

Grand Master

Elliot B.

Posted
  • Author
Posted
or in  a years time, you can get a nice new ati agp, thats if they keep to agp as well as pci-e

586186736[/snapback]

Well if there are good AGP cards in a years time, I will get one but chances are, I'll get something more modern so I'll change my motherboard when that time comes.

Grand Master

Elliot B.

Posted
  • Author
Posted (edited)
Well that mobo i suggested should you fine, its one of the best agp motherboards out :) and its a very stable motherboard

586186749[/snapback]

Right then, cheers. I will get everything else from Scan I think, it's cheap...

I need a PSU suggestion from the Scan website but I am having trouble. As far as I know, it must have a native 24 pin motherboard connector, yes? Well I don't know how much power it needs to be or anything.

Edited by King Mustard
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