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Good AMD mobo
Gallstaff - Aug 4, 2004

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  Gallstaff Aug 4, 2004
I have an asus a7v600 and this thing is just problem after problem. Can't OC worth shit, poor support for two sticks of pc3200, runs very hot and just a shitload of more problems.

I need a good mobo. I keep hearing about the Asus a7n8x series of mobos and want to know what you guys think about those OR if there is another one out there you would reccomend.

My top wants in the mobo is something with dual channel using 400 mhz ddr ram and something that OC's well. I have a 2500+ Barton.

Oh also on a side note, taking into consideration price vs. performance, what would you guys reccomend in terms of a new videocard.

9800 pro 128 meg

9800 pro 256 meg

x800 pro (a wee bit above my price range but hey, if its worth the money)

Ice said go with the 128 meg because you can OC them or something.

 it290 Aug 5, 2004
I just built an a7n8x machine. Granted, it's only a week old, but it's been running a full production load of heavy processing for 8 hours a day (heavy photoshop and RIP usage). I find the Nforce2 chipset to be quite reliable.

As for the video card, what are you looking to run on it?

 Gallstaff Aug 5, 2004
Doom 3

Basically I just want to be able to run all the newest games at at least 800x600 with all the eye candy.

 it290 Aug 5, 2004
Hmm, well personally I would go for the 256 meg, for the price difference it'll probably be a good bet for the future. Not sure if you're serious about the x800 or not, but if you want to get top performance out of that thing you'll probably want to upgrade your CPU as well. If I were going that route I'd probably go with an Athlon 64 instead of the higher end video card.

Also, I haven't looked at too many D3 benchmarks yet, but supposedly the newer Nvidia cards perform a bit better in that game. I assume you'll be wanting to play HL2, etc. , so an ATi card should be a good bet. I tend to prefer them these days anyway (the built by ATi ones, that is).

I don't know what the quality settings are yet, either (I'll tell you at about 4am tonight when I've had enough, heh). However, I hear the game is very scalable... I'm not sure if any current rig is able to run the game fully maxed out. But I can tell you that I run Far Cry on my 2600+ with a 9500 pro and it runs great at 1024x768 with high (not max) settings and 2x FSAA.

 Pearl Jammzz Aug 5, 2004
my a7n8x deluxe is solid, would reccomend it to anyone. Never had 1 prob. with it and have been running it since december. Make sure u get sum decent ram and a good PSU .

 Gallstaff Aug 5, 2004
it290. do you really think that the performance increase in a 64 would benefit me in my game performance more than a better videocard?

 it290 Aug 5, 2004
Not right now, no, but when 64-bit binaries become more common it may. But it will enhance your overall computing experience more.

 Alexvrb Aug 5, 2004
Well, I HAVE looked at Doom 3 benchmarks, and although I usually like ATI more as a rule, they really do poorly here. I mean, their drivers have just been getting worse and worse lately, for starters. So if you can afford a 6800 (even just a vanilla 6800, not a GT or anything above), you might want to go with that. I don't know that I can recommend any of the GF FX series, since I am still not fond of their IQ. But if you can't get a 6800, go for the 9800 Pro, its still a solid card.

Also, I highly recommend you go with a 256MB model, and I've never said that before, ever. Normally it is a waste of money. But if Doom 3 is important to you, it will make a difference. Heck, their highest quality texture settings (uncompressed) require a card with 512MB of memory, and there AREN'T any yet! 64/128MB cards require heavier compression, although it should still look and run very well on even somewhat outdated cards, because of the multiple path approach Carmack took.

As for motherboard, any decent nforce 2 400 board would be a good choice. After that, how well it can OC is largely up to you. As it290 said, a 64-bit chip will give you better overall performance, but it isn't going to make nearly as big a difference in gaming as a good graphics card.

 IceDigger Aug 5, 2004
I love my amd 64 3500 939pin cpu

 Gallstaff Aug 5, 2004
I think I gave the wrong idea. I was using doom as a point of reference. I just meant that if thi sis the direction pc gaming is going in, I want them to look decent and I'm using doom 3 as a comparison.

 Gallstaff Aug 5, 2004
Come on people, Johnny Five need input!

Edit: Crap meant to edit, not double post.

 it290 Aug 5, 2004
Well, I for one believe that having more video ram available is always a good thing. As far as the CPU goes, it's true that a good video card is more important for gaming, but if you have an uber-gpu like the x800 and a so-so CPU, you're going to be CPU-bound anyway and not get max performance out of it.

 Gallstaff Aug 5, 2004
Well a new cpu is not in my budget at all right now. I'll probably get a new one once the prices go down a bit.

 Gallstaff Aug 5, 2004
Bumpity bump bump bump.

I think i'm going to go with the 6800 ultra. Everyone says that it's really pimped and 300 is steep, but I'll be getting around 80 back when I sell my 9500 pro. so its really only like 220. I can make that back in due time. What do you guys think on this final purchase?

 Krelian Aug 5, 2004
ASUS A7N8X-Deluxe ~ $75

Excellent mobo, I've built three computers on them and haven't recieved a single complaint yet (none have been OCed). ASUS and ABIT have ALWAYS been the boards I've used personally (since the first one I built myself with a 233MHz P2).

ABIT NF7-S (Rev.2) ~ $75

Built two computers on Rev.1 of this board and one OCs excellently! From what I've heard Rev.2 is more of the same, can max the 2500+ like it was already a 3000+ (board will give no probs, just need to keep the CPU cool).

ATI Radeon 9800 Pro 256MB ~ $250

Excellent bang for your buck, a great card that'll have some staying power for a while... the 128MB is only about $40 less so get the 256MB.

nVidia GeForce 6800 128MB ~ $285 (Ultra ~ $325)

I'd pay an extra $40 to go from 128 to 256 on the ATI card but I wouldn't pay another $40 to LOSE 128 and go to an nVidia. I've always favored nVidia to ATI, but right now the price/performance ratio seems to go to the 9800 Pro, if you ARE gonna pay an extra $40, do pay ANOTHER $40 to go Ultra...

There you have it... I have yet to play Doom 3 but then again I'm more a Half-Life man but honestly I'll probably not buy that either... I haven't played a game on my PC in FOREVER, but then again I just haven't had any spare time to. We'll see what I end up playing and when...

~Krelian

AMD Athlon64 3200+ (2.2GHz w/512KB L2)

ASUS K8V SE Deluxe Mobo

1GB Corsair XMS PC2700 Low Latency (2-3-2-5) (512MB x 2)

LeadTek A280LE GeForce4 Ti4200 128MB 8xAGP

Sound Blaster Audigy2 ZS Platinum

Western Digital 80GB 7200RPM w/ 8MB Cache ATA

Sony 16x DVD-ROM

Samsung 52x24x52x CD-R-RW

Enermax CS-001 Case w/ 420W Vantec Stealth PSU

Sony SDM-M51D (DVI) 15" LCD

WindowsXP Pro / Mandrake 10 for AMD64

 it290 Aug 5, 2004
Well, I've been playing DOOM 3 on my rig (above) for the past few hours now, and the game runs well @ 800x600 on medium quality mode. There are a few hiccups here and there, but overall it looks and plays great. BTW I can give the thumbs up to the game as well, it's very atmospheric and fun as hell. The storyline seems to be fairly indepth from what I've seen so far as well.. there are a lot of little notes (many of them with voice clips) you can pick up here and there, ala Deus Ex or Unreal. I'll try out the multiplayer tonight.

 Gallstaff Aug 5, 2004
Krelian, I did mean I was going to get the ultra not the normal 6800. However, the Ultra is still only 128 megs. DO you think its still a better card than a 256 meg 9800 pro?

Actually this question goes out to anyone

 it290 Aug 5, 2004
Sorry to hijack the thread.. check out this screenshot, heh:

On topic, though, I personally would go for the 256meg, but then again I'm not sure of the benchmark difference between the two. You're going to be seeing a lot of games that utilize more texture memory in the near future though, I can assure you of that.

 Gallstaff Aug 5, 2004
That thing was such a bitch. You have no idea.

And on a side note: I have no idea what the hell card to get...

and Krelian, I was reading reviews for that abit and someone said that you cant change multiplier setting sin the bios . Is that true?

 Pearl Jammzz Aug 6, 2004
in my a7n8x deluxe I can. Only up to like 12.5 though. Max speed by doin shit in bios = 2.5ghz I believe.

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