Advise needed.I'm putting togther a gaming rig for my son.....

HawgsHead · Jan 23, 2005, 04:39 PM

We are gonna chuck the X-Box.I allready have a case and some DDR-400.What would you guys say would be the "Sweet Spot" in AMD's Athlon 64 line-up?We also need a video card.Something that will run HL2 and DOOM3 well.But he doesnt have alot of $$$ to spend.Something in the $200.00 price range.Also a MoBo.ASUS please{socket 939}.Thanks!

CDsDontBurn · Jan 23, 2005, 04:45 PM

for video card in the $200 range, get the 6600GT. It's a little more than $200, but it has the best performance for the bucks. Well, looking at your sig, you got an FX-53, so the "sweet spot" would be a A64 3500+ for your son

. As for MoBos go, i'd get the same board you have (ASUS A8V-Deluxe), or the MSI NEO2 Platinum.

Judas · Jan 23, 2005, 06:59 PM

make sure that the 3500 is a 90nm version

imo, a 3200+ is also considered a pretty excellent chip as well if a 3500 is a bit to much.

topbob · Jan 23, 2005, 07:08 PM

the socket 939 A64 3500+ is a great chip, and at a good price, the next grade up is rediculessly more. ASUS just released a new mobo with a pci-e bus in it, i would recommend this board, because it will last many, many years to come.
here is the mobo; http://www.newegg.com/app/ViewProduc...131-517&depa=1
the asus A8N-SLI Deluxe
i it also have an NForce4 chipset, which i highly recommend getting a chipset from nVidia.
This mobo will support you DDR-400 ram, and will support 2 PCI-E video cards. I'd recomment some thing from ATi mainly cause ATi tends to run better in HL2. The x700 is a nice PCI-E card from ATi. nVidia makes some nice cards that do the dual video card slot thing, but that can get a bit expincive

CDsDontBurn · Jan 23, 2005, 10:01 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by topbob

the socket 939 A64 3500+ is a great chip, and at a good price, the next grade up is rediculessly more. ASUS just released a new mobo with a pci-e bus in it, i would recommend this board, because it will last many, many years to come.
here is the mobo; http://www.newegg.com/app/ViewProduc...131-517&depa=1
the asus A8N-SLI Deluxe
i it also have an NForce4 chipset, which i highly recommend getting a chipset from nVidia.
This mobo will support you DDR-400 ram, and will support 2 PCI-E video cards. I'd recomment some thing from ATi mainly cause ATi tends to run better in HL2. The x700 is a nice PCI-E card from ATi. nVidia makes some nice cards that do the dual video card slot thing, but that can get a bit expincive

well, if he's going to be doing that, i'd say keep the board for and two PCI-E 6800GTs/Ultra for himself, and give the ASUS A8V-Delux to his kid along w/the current 6800 Ultra AGP. The ATI cards as of now do not support SLI (or whatever ATI is going to call their version of SLI), and the nForce 4 chipset degrades the performance of ATI cards. But remember, he did say he had somewhat of a budget.

EDIT: tee-hee.....at my work we sell the same board for less

.

http://www.pcclub.com/product_detail...temno=A4802500

riles9262 · Jan 23, 2005, 11:20 PM

cpu: 3200+ 939, asus mobo is fine, and for the vid card, the 6600gt or x700pro for pci-e

Jan 23, 2005, 04:39 PM	#1
HawgsHead Rest In Peace Join Date: Jul 2004 Location: Danville Virginia.The United States of America"In the God of Abraham,Isaac and Jacob We Trust" Posts: 2,012 Rep Power: 0	Advise needed.I'm putting togther a gaming rig for my son..... We are gonna chuck the X-Box.I allready have a case and some DDR-400.What would you guys say would be the "Sweet Spot" in AMD's Athlon 64 line-up?We also need a video card.Something that will run HL2 and DOOM3 well.But he doesnt have alot of $$$ to spend.Something in the $200.00 price range.Also a MoBo.ASUS please{socket 939}.Thanks! __________________ Rig specs to the left in the boxes....X-Box 360 w/Hitachi 42" HDTV....If Darwins theory of evolution is true then why are monkeys still monkeys?It takes much more faith to believe in Darwin's theory over the Genesis account of creation. Last edited by HawgsHead; Jan 23, 2005 at 04:44 PM.

Jan 23, 2005, 04:45 PM	#2
CDsDontBurn Lurking DriverHeaven Join Date: May 2003 Location: Southern California Posts: 22,779 Rep Power: 235 System Specs	for video card in the $200 range, get the 6600GT. It's a little more than $200, but it has the best performance for the bucks. Well, looking at your sig, you got an FX-53, so the "sweet spot" would be a A64 3500+ for your son . As for MoBos go, i'd get the same board you have (ASUS A8V-Deluxe), or the MSI NEO2 Platinum. __________________ Her First Day \| A year later

Jan 23, 2005, 07:08 PM	#4
topbob HardwareHeaven Senior Member Join Date: Sep 2004 Location: SFBA, CA, USA Posts: 463 Rep Power: 0 System Specs	the socket 939 A64 3500+ is a great chip, and at a good price, the next grade up is rediculessly more. ASUS just released a new mobo with a pci-e bus in it, i would recommend this board, because it will last many, many years to come. here is the mobo; http://www.newegg.com/app/ViewProduc...131-517&depa=1 the asus A8N-SLI Deluxe i it also have an NForce4 chipset, which i highly recommend getting a chipset from nVidia. This mobo will support you DDR-400 ram, and will support 2 PCI-E video cards. I'd recomment some thing from ATi mainly cause ATi tends to run better in HL2. The x700 is a nice PCI-E card from ATi. nVidia makes some nice cards that do the dual video card slot thing, but that can get a bit expincive __________________ 12090 in 3DMarks06 on current system, 5001 on old system, 4164 on older, 1587 on oldest

Jan 23, 2005, 11:20 PM	#6
riles9262 Driverheaven brewmaster Join Date: Oct 2002 Location: British Columbia, Canada Posts: 4,842 Rep Power: 72 System Specs	cpu: 3200+ 939, asus mobo is fine, and for the vid card, the 6600gt or x700pro for pci-e __________________ A beer a day keeps the doctor away.