Plent of questions of building new PC

[knownotin]

At the moment i have a P3 800mhz and i want to upgrade, but i am not completely sure of what to upgrade to, so i have a few questions if you guys wouldn't mind answering (bare in mind i am deffinatly going to overclock).

1) should i go dual and get two 2200+ MP processors or should i get a single 2800+ XP processor?

2) Are MSI motherboards good? and do they overclock well?

3) Which is the best type of RAM for AMD?

Thanks

[juliendogg]

you'll have an easier time o/c'ing with a single proc, dual systems are nice, and if you've got the jack then jump judy. also to point out, xp2800 isn't gonna leave you much room for fsb o/c without dropping the multi, maybe a 2100 t-bred b would be betta if you wanna reach some higher fsb speeds. i'd look into a via kt333, via kt400, or NF2 based boards. i dig epox myself for boards built around all 3 of the aforementioned chipsets. you'll want some pc3200 (also so you can hit some higher fsb speeds)


good luck
J.

[Ian]

1) A SMP setup won't benefit unless you are building a server, for gaming or every day use, a single chip will do. Also, overclocking on a SMP setup will be limited by chipset and lack of overclocking features of the motherboards. You see, there's only 1 chipset, namely the AMD 760MPX, for the Athlon MP, they don't even have support for a 333 or 400 FSB. Regarding which chip to go, I'd go with a JIUHB 1700+ DLT3C chip.

2) To my experience, MSI boards are reliable and nice, but they don't too good in overclocking. Get a nForce2 board like the Abit NF7-S 2.0 or Epox 8RDA/8RDA+, they're very good overclockers.

3) Definitely get some quality PC3200 or even PC3500 if you are overclocking. I'd recommend Corsair or Twinmos w/ Winbond chips.

Hope this helps. :D

[altec]

Go single processing, with a 1700 t'bred B, some pc3200 at least, and an Abit NF7-S Revision 2...best board out right now.

[bubba gump]

Originally posted by Ian

2) To my experience, MSI boards are reliable and nice, but they don't too good in overclocking. Get a nForce2 board like the Abit NF7-S 2.0 or Epox 8RDA/8RDA+, they're very good overclockers.


Sorry to be a prickler, but isnt the NF7-S only at Rev 1.2??? AFAIK its the NF7 (no s)t hat is at 2.0....correct me if im wrong tho...
Just didnt want him on a search for the golden egg =\

But as they said, get some nice corsair memory.....if u really wanna spend some money on it you coul try to get the LL stuff...not sure what its advantage is over the XMS series...but i imagine u could find it if u looked in the memory section of the board :)

And dont worry about Dual Channel DDR, on the AMD platform it isnt really worth it IMO.....just get a single stick and you should be fine

Good luck on the computer!

[01_VTEC SE]

NF7-S v2 @ excal

http://www.excaliberpc.com/product_info.php?cPath=181_220&products_id=866

[bubba gump]

Touche.....sorry im sorta behind ont he new ones..i was just thinkin of the one for $100 as their onyl REV 2 board..(The normal NF7....)

should woke up before i posted :p

'Bump

[mayagrafix]

A dual CPU rig is real nice if you like to have A LOT of apps running at the same time. But as previously stated, not to hot for OC and gamming has no advantages over single CPU.

[dropadrop]

The question would really be what you are using your computer for. I'm loving my dual amd, but a single processor can be better for some things...

[gogadgetman]

GET the following Abit NF7-S version 2, SLK 900 heatsink with a TT smatfan 2, some Corsair memory atleast 3200 and a good stepping cpu such as 1700+ DLT3C xxxx XPMW, see my signature.

[altec]

If I am not mistaken gadget, 12x208=2496 not 2506 :eek: :p

Thats a whopping 10Mhz difference...J/K man.

[knownotin]

Thanks guys, i just use the comp for gaming(is there anything else) so i think i'll get a single processor. Is it worth my while to get a Barton, i hear that there pretty good for overclocking or is that just b.s. ?

[dropadrop]

They don't overclock as well as most t-bred b's, but they still do hit 2.2 - 2.4ghz.

[knownotin]

ok, i'll go for the tbred then. If i get a 2700+ would i be able to overclock it to 3gigs?

[dropadrop]

You will not be able to reach 3ghz with it, but you would reach xp3000 speeds with good cooling.

Generally the best option would be to get one of the jiuhb 1700+ with dlt3c stepping. They can reach about 2.4ghz with good air cooling.

[gogadgetman]

ALTEC your maths are right but Mobo FSB vary slightly and thats what is being reported by Sandra, CPUID and MBM5

[altec]

LOL I was joking, that is why I made the comment about the 10Mhz.....Don't take me so seriously...Good oc Gatdget.