New Machine

[Thwei]

I'm upgrading again, and I want suggestions on my selected components. Any response will be appreciated. :D


New Rig:

ASUS P4C800-E Deluxe Motherboard,
Pentium4 2.4c,
2x256mb Mushkin Level 2 PC3500,
ATI Radeon 9800 XT (256mb)


Thats main setup, i'm keeping my old drives and case.

I'm hoping to overclock to 250+mhz, and for cooling I got:

Thermaltake Spark 7+,
2x 80mm fans blowing directly on CPU and RAM,
1x 80mm fan blowing on vcard,
3x exhaust fans in back,
2x intake fans in front (one blowing on HD).


Now you know my setup, any suggestions or comments?

[Maxvla]

since you appear to be mr moneybags (9800xt) i would suggest 1gb of ram.

spark 7 doesn't fit in that setup at all. like a rich guy buying a ford festiva for a daily driver. get some copper on there. i'd suggest the heatpipe from thermalright. ed has tested it to be the best heatsink to date for air cooling. slap a 92mm fan on there at medium speed/noise and you'll be good to go for that 250+ fsb.

otherwise looks great. :)

[Thwei]

Nah, i'm not rich at all. Scrapping my old system and selling it to afford my new beast. Dunno how, but some way i've managed to come out pretty much even. Umm, also the Spark7+ is copper, all copper. I think I remember reading some reviews on it where it beat thermalright's heatpipe, too... but I could be thinking of something else. The RAM is too damn expensive to go 1gig, and there is really no reason for 1gig ... 512 does fine for any apps today, am I wrong? :)

[Maxvla]

Originally posted by Thwei
Umm, also the Spark7+ is copper, all copper. I think I remember reading some reviews on it where it beat thermalright's heatpipe, too... but I could be thinking of something else.
um.. no. lol

i would need proof of that.

i see the SP-94 top ranked on this (http://www.overclockers.com/articles373/) list on overclockers front page. the spark 7 is not listed but is not even in the same ballpark.

and as long as you are not playing heavy games 512 should be fine. i noticed a huge difference going from 512 to 1gb cause i play alot of games that use a ton of memory.

edit: not playing heavy games :o

typing too fast :-/

[Thwei]

Roger that, definately not the best HSF, but then again not the most expensive either. Does better than Intel's stock HSF and that thing is a monster. I don't plan on having any problems with cooling. I overclocked my current P4 50mhz and no change in heat at all. I don't like messing with voltage, thats probably why. As long as its under 50 deg C i'm fine with it. If all else fails I can fall back on my "cold air intake" idea since winter is coming up fast. Any other suggestions, anyone? My main concern here is to play HL2 and Doom3 with no lag. I don't run many programs or services other than the ones I need or am working on. Any suggestions on memory speed, brand, size? Should I stick with the 2.4c or get a 2.6c?

[Maxvla]

youve already picked out the best ram. 2.4c or 2.6c is your call. a 13x multi compared to a 12x multi will give you a bit lower fsb. unless you get some monster ram you aren't going to be able to run 1:1 over 230-240fsb which means a slow 2.4 or 2.6. if you are going to try to run 1:1 you need to look at the 2.8c. 3.4ghz with a 2.8 would be about 242mhz which is likely possible 1:1 with some voltage hike on the ram. 2.4 or 2.6 you will be using 5:4 or 3:2 if you are going to try for a decent o/c with those chips. 3.4ghz with a 2.4 is 283mhz which most ram will not do without crazy vmods and luck.

one more thing... HL2 and Doom3 are going to be huge ram hoggers.. i would suggest 1gb.

[Thwei]

OK, so basically it comes down to RAM. Can you tell me which is better, 1:1 or 5:4 ... and if I should sacrifice the cash for 1gig RAM. Should I buy 2x512 or 4x256? I'm a software guy and new to the hardware field, learning as much as I can... any response is appreciated. I'm a person who loves information. :) Also... I haven't permenantly deciding on vcard, should I shoot for 128mb or 256mb? I have programmed a few games myself and know about using vcard memory (i am nub in high-end graphic programming, too), but will the modern games (HL2/Doom3) need that much memory, and would it be better to get 256mb now or wait till later? Hard question I know, but a response would be loved. :D Thanks alot.

[Mr. $T$]

well it is shown that the 256 Verson really is not that much better then the 128 one possably that is due to there being no current games that take advantage of it but I think you should get the 9800pro 128 and then take the extra money and buy 1gig of ram and the 2.4c. Also have you considered buying a SATA Raptor?

[Maxvla]

its tough to say. right now the diff between 128 and 256mb cards isn't really noticeable.

i would suggest 2x512 on the ram. the fewer modules the better. the more modules the more chance of getting a crappy overclocker.

as to which is faster 1:1 or 5:4 i haven't fully investigated this cause i have yet to pick up a 800fsb processor so i haven't needed to check those out. look in the memory forum. there might be a topic already started on that issue. if not start your own thread about it.

[Thwei]

Hmm, I imagine 256mb cards will be cheaper later on... maybe thats a good idea to get 1gig RAM and spend less money on vcard... I always had the impression that more RAM meant faster timings... is that not true?

[tomchong]

if i was buying a high performance vid card i would not get 128megs of ram. yes 256 is not going to make i difference with todays games but if your willing to shell out the dough for a 9800xt i would want it to last a couple product cycles

[Thwei]

Hmm, yes the 256 would last some time... but what would last longer for the money... 1gb RAM or 256mb vid RAM?

Also, is Mushkin Level 2 PC3500 a good stick to use?

Any suggestions on other RAM?

[lansens]

Your new set up looks really nice. I guess I am a bit biased because I have something very similar.

ASUS P4C800-E Deluxe
2.4C @ 3.0 - 250fsb - 5:4 ratio - memory timings 2-2-2-5
2X 512 Corsair XMS LL PC3200
ATI AIW 9800Pro
2X WD SE 80
Sparkle 7

I think you will be very happy with this set up. I would save the money and go with the 9800Pro. From everything I have read, theres nothing out there that can take advantage of the 256meg of ram. The Sparkle works plenty well for the money. However, I plan to try the CoolerMaster Aero4. I have the Aero7 on my AMD machine and it has been the best AMD cooler I have tried so far.

[Twigs]

I have a spark 7 on my 2.8c, i was able to get it up to 3.5, 250 fsb(only stable enough to go into windows and take a screenshot =)) but it was stable around 3.3-3.4, probably could have gotten it stable at 250 fsb but i was on a time budget, you definately need to lapped it, it comes pretty rough from thermaltake. its loud as hell at full blast, but if you use the fan controller you can make it quiet at about 1/3-1/4 max speed - its about as loud as my psu fan(kinda noticable but my comp is less than a foot away from my ear so that might be part of it) but at night, i can turn all 10 of the fans in my case down to low and its whisper quiet.

hehe my setup looks almost identical to lansens'

Asus P4C800- E Deluxe
2.8C(not oced tho, no point if im only running cs =))
2x256 Corsair XMS PC3200(gonna get 2 more around x-mas)
1x WD SE 120
Spark 7

will have a 9800XT when it comes out