First Amd Rig

hello!!! well this is my first time building an Amd system, i was gonna go with intel but with the new chips that just came out just got me thinking it over again. d'oh!!! since im on a budget i might as well go this route and its the best bang for the bux am i right? this system is gonna be used for ripping and some light gaming. is Amd good with ripping and encoding? i've done some caluclations and the best i can pull from my pocket is hmmmm around 500+. im gonna need the whole sha-bang except for the v-card and hd which i already have. here is what i pulled up with at newegg since they have great deals and i get it shipped next day cuz i live in cali let me know what u think i should replace:

Cpu: AMD ATHLON XP 2400 /266 FSB PROCESSOR CPU- OEM
MB: Asus Motherboard for AMD Athlon/XP/Duron Processors, Model# A7N8X
Ram: CORSAIR MEMORY XMS Extreme Memory Speed Series CMX256A-3200 256MB PC3200 DDR RAM - OEM
Cooler: Thermalright SLK-800 ( Heatsink ONLY ). All Copper heat spread
Case: SILVER CHIEFTEC Server w/ 450w ps

with all this and shipping the total came up to like 594. ekkk!!! ill find away to get the extra funds. but if i can try to get it lower that would be awsome. speaking of that, what do u think its better to get the other xp's like 1900 or 1800 and wait for the price on the 2400 to drop? which processor would most likely be able to hit or even get close to 2ghz? same goes for the mb, should i change it to something cheaper and get the 2400 or vice versa? i just want something that is easy to upgrade instead of buying another board to fit a new processor. this is all to confusing for me...

thx for all the help and input.

If you wouldn't mind waiting a couple of months then I'm sure that the prices should come down onthe 2400. I was able to get my 1600 to 2.0ghz, although I have watercooling and 2.05 or so Vcore. I know a lot of people here got theirs to 1.8ghz on air. I'm not to sure on that A7N8X either, as I've heard some mixed reviews. Most of which tend to include that the onboard LAN doesn't really work right. My suggestion would be to get a 1600 for $52 and O/C that like no other. Then in a few months look toward a 2400-2600 or so, as the prices should come down by then. anyway I hope this helps!

is that 2 sticks for 256MB? Cause it would work better with that board because it is a NForce2 board...

the 2400 is quite expensive right now...you are never guaranteed 2GB...but I have seen 1600+ that have hit 2GB as well as 1800+...haven't seen a 1900 up there, but maybe I wasn't looking hard enough...processors always go down in price, personally I would go with a cheaper chip, alah 1600+ (AGOIA) and overclock IT...then when the prices go down for the other processors get one of those...or maybe even get a 1800+ Tbred

1600+ (1.4Ghz) 52.99 newegg
2400+ (2Ghz) 183.00 newegg

that is a HUGE price difference...you could get 3 1600+ processors for that

1800+ (1.53Ghz) 75.00 (TBred) newegg

okay if i go with the 1600 or 1800 what board should i go with then that i well be able to use 2400+ later on when the prices go down and which chip should i look for cuz i read alot on this forums that there are some bad ones to get? thx for the help!!!

You should still get a nforce 2 board with the 1600+. Your computer will be better while you wait to upgrade the CPU because you can get an almost guaranteed 200 FSB with your pc3200 which is not the case for the kt333 or kt400. Epox 8rda+ is coming in a week or 2 if you can wait. $35 cheaper than the Asus and from what an Epox representative said it's gonna be a really good overclocker.

well im planning to buy all this during or after christmas. so i have time to decide. also the ram im getting is 1 stick of 256, would i need 512 cuz the price of the 512 is silly. is there any cheaper brand i can go with but perform as good or close to the corsair? i was thinking of the samsung ram are those any good?

what kind of chip is this: **AGOGA Stepping** AMD Athlon XP 1900+ AGOGA/266 FSB Processor CPU - OEM 1900+/ 1.60GHz

The Agoga stepping is about an average overclocker, expect 100-200 mhz max,if you can get an Agoia Y or an Aroia stepping then 300-400 mhz is more the norm and sometimes with very little extra voltage reqiured.

mamer

also check out >www.pricewatch.com< you can do some seriose penny pinchen if you are trying to save cash!good luck!

To lower that price get a less expensive chip. Either get maybe a 1600, 1800, or wait until Barton comes out and 2400 prices will drop dramatically.

yes im planning on getting the 1600xp that newegg has on sale, but cant think of what mb to get. i wanted to get the asus nforce that just came out, the leadtek nforce or wait for the epox 8rda+. that way ill just have to upgrade the processor.

Goo Kenson said:

To lower that price get a less expensive chip. Either get maybe a 1600, 1800, or wait until Barton comes out and 2400 prices will drop dramatically.

Click to expand...

I would reccommend the A7V333. With a chip only costing $50, you should be able to afford it. About $130 or something at Newegg I think.

you need TWO sticks of memory for the Nforce2 motherboard. It will run on one, but the real improvement comes with 2, although the benchmarks I have seen show a less-than-5% improvement.

Get a cheap XP1600 from Newegg or a XP1700 T-bred from them. Keep in mind that you'll need better cooling for the T-bred than you will for a Palimino, though.

okay some bad news... my funding source has been cut. errrrrr so my funding is gonna be around 300+. lets say the nforce2 wasnt avaliable what other choice of mb could i get thats reliable and oc friendly?

cpu: 1600xp
ram: Samsung Original DDR333 PC-2700 256MB CAS2.5
mb: ?
case: Chieftec Server tower DX-01SLD silver w/450 ps

everything so far with shipping is 226.99. also what kind of case fan are in those chieftec cases?

I'd go with the XP1700+ TBred, it seems to be only a tad more expensive but it comes tottaly unlocked so you won't have to mess with any bridges.
I think that for 300+ your selection seems nice. I don't think you can do much, if any better than that
For MB you can try Neweggs refurbished section and get either an ASUS A7V333 or EPoX 8k3a or 8k5a2+, they might not be NF2 boards but still pretty decent and go to really high FSBs

thx The Coolest but i need suggestions on a motherboard. something cheap but reliable and oc'ing friendly. i probable can dish out for the 1700xp but cant i clock more on the 1600xp?

*edit
if i buy a refurbished board at newegg all it comes with is just the board?

Homer said:

thx The Coolest but i need suggestions on a motherboard. something cheap but reliable and oc'ing friendly. i probable can dish out for the 1700xp but cant i clock more on the 1600xp?

Click to expand...

I edited my post for the motherboard.
The XP you should be looking for IS NOT a palomino, but a Thoroughbred , they are just a few $ more than the Pali, but unlocked, and will reach same or even more speeds than the Pali (XP1600+). the code on the XP1600+ will start with AX1600, the code on the Tbred XP1700+ will start with AXDA1700, now at the newegg website, they do say if the CPU is a tbred, if the code is AX its Palomino, if its AXDA its Tbred.

*EDIT:*
XP1600+ = $57
XP1700+ (Tbred) = $63

go with the epox 8k5a2 from mwave

go with the + version. onboard nic and raid come in quite handy. if not even doing raid, u can at least have yer dvd, burner, and HDD all on their own channels.

i got the non+ version and wish i hadnt. still, love the board, but the other channels woulda been nice.

deadseasquirrel

hmmmm.....those mb seem to look good, but newegg doesnt have any in the refurb. i was looking at the abit kx7-333. what do u think?

I don't know MUCH about Abit, although I heard its really good many times, also this board is pretty good, as was suggested the mwave site, has nice prices on that epox board