Feedback on this A64 rig, if you please

[SunTzu69]

Well, I'm poised to buy a new gaming rig within a month, maybe two, and the only thing that I am 100% sure about is that it is going to be an A64 system. I will overclock everything as high as I can on air, trying to get 3-5 years out of this rig. I'm hoping to run a fsb between 260-300 Mhz with good timings. What do you think of the following ?

AMD Mobile Athlon 64 3200+1MB (CH, CG rev.)
MSI K8N Neo Platinum Retail
OCZ PC-3700EB Dual Channel Platinum 1GB (2x512)
ATI X800 Pro
CoolerMaster CM Stacker (black)
Thermalright SLK-948U Heatsink
WESTERN DIGITAL 36.7GB 10KRPM
ABIT Airflow Ultra 24" round cable
Arctic Silver 5 Silver Thermal Compound
Sparkle FSP530-60GNAR 530W Power Supply
Logitech Cordless MX Duo Black-sliver Retail
Panaflo 92mm "high" for the heatsink
Lapping Kit from easypckits.com
Panasonic Floppy drive (black)

I will also use an old 40 Gig HD as a data storage disk and my old HP CD-writer drive.. I'm planning on getting a second raptor drive to go RAID 0 within a year. I'm keeping my present 17'' monitor until I save up too.

Should I go abit instead for the mobo ? I have a feeling my mobo will change from now until I buy... Is there one with 100% working AGP/PCI or will there be soon from abit or asus ? Any other feedback ?

 

[ap673]

That is awsome for right now, but I would wait atleast til september to buy. Price drops in September/November for A64 are suppose to be big.

 

[Gautam]

You got it all down, that rig is flawless, except now I'm sort of beginning to lean towards the EPoX 8KDAJ or 8KDA3+. The MSI seems to be having some voltage regulation issues, or something along those lines. Gigabyte K8NS Pro may be worth a look as well. Best of luck with it, you will love it. I would expect maybe around 250x10 1:1 or so. The EB doesn't go much higher, but it's no prob anyways. I run at only 210 myself, and it's still plenty fast.

 

[NiTrO bOiE]

Looks good, but if you want to run FSBs of 260-300 the MSI K8N won't do it no matter what. The board has problems running over 240.

 

[Gautam]

Looks good, but if you want to run FSBs of 260-300 the MSI K8N won't do it no matter what. The board has problems running over 240.

All A64's have this problem with 2x512 sticks. Are you sure that this is a problem the MSI specifically has?

 

[Gautam]

Check out this indepth thread by Tedinde. He got to 275 1:1, also just had tremendous success all around.

 

[SunTzu69]

Thanks guys,

I am going to keep an eye on the Epox, MSI and Gigabyte. Also, I'm hoping Asus and Abit come up with something in the next few months, and hopefully a nice drop in the A64 prices too... maybe that's hoping for a miracle.

Do you guys think the CG mobile clawhammers will be around for a while still ?

 

[LBJGH]

The latest bios on my Epox board goes to 350HT. I can hit 245HT with the stock mulitplier and pc2700 with my 8kda3+