Should I switch?

[NovaShine]

Well, here i am, i've started a temp job for 2 months before i go to Australia. Before i go to Aus, i want to grab a load of hardware first because stuff in Australia is on average 20% - 30% more expensive than that of Hong Kong due to the GST, import tax, etc.

Im already thinking of selling my Dual sticks of Corsair XMS4400 512MB to a friend and buy some Corsair XL Pro, grabbing a 250GB HDD from WD and a DVD burner. With the temp job, im hauling in some good $$$ for once and since im living with my dad, i dont have to pay for alot of things so i suddenly got alot more to spare.

So, i was thinking, why not take the plunge and go A64 before i go to Aus. My current rig is in my sig. Im definately not very interested in the socket 754 A64's due to the single channel memory controller and limited upgrade path, so im thinking Socket 939. I cant afford a FX53, nor can i afford a 3800+, so that leaves me with the 3500+ to think about.

My regular workout for the comp is a helluva load of web surfing, office work maybe for uni papers when i get there and gaming. Then a dabbling here and there of video editing (shouldn't be doing that once i get to aus) and a bit of image editing.

512kb L2 Cache is a bit of a turnoff compared to the 1MB of the FX Line and Clawhammer cores, but does it really matter that much?
Is this CPU a worthy upgrade from my existing system?
How does it OC under water?
Is the multi unlocked?
What mobo should i get? Via or N-Force3 based?
Will any adapter for my Dangerden Maze 4 work?

Any help will be appreciated.

 

[PLOBBY]

for the mobo ? get the nforce3...

 

[Yuriman]

1. With A64's, cache doesnt play a big role in performance, as it runs with such low latency....stuffs...

2. Why get a 3500+ when the 90nm 3200+ and 3000+ are here for half the price and perform nearly on par, perhaps overclocking better as well?

3. Cooling doesnt have a larg affect on A64's. Sell you WC'er and buy an FX. I know people who have gone from stock(60c) to phase change and gotten only a few more mhz.

4. Multiplier is unlocked downward on A64's, completly on the FX. This shouldnt be much of a worry though. My board is a 754 w/o pci lock, so I just set teh HT to 250 or 300 and the multiplier low, then work the multi up from there.

5. I would say nforce3, but Asus has a killer Via based board.

6. Dont think so, just get a good air cooler and a silent fan. The XP120 would work I think, and a 75cfm 120mm fan would be near silent.

As for the dual channel thing, that doesnt affect A64's much either. I was considering going 939, but I saw only a few % max with dual channel. At the time, 754 was a lot cheaper. I still recomend going 939, but keep in mind DC doesnt do much at all for real world performance.

 

[Yuriman]

Ohh, and you dont need uber high speed ram for the A64. Get something realy low latency, it will get you much better performance.

One final recomendation, get a raptor or raid. I had 2x120gb, and even though the benches show it doesnt make a large difference, its the small things that count. I sold one drive(had to), and now I notice little loading screens I didnt before. File transfers are a lot slower, and I dont like the delay of opening firefox and music.

 

[NovaShine]

Thx Yuri.

Im planning on selling my XMS4400 to a friend, then putting about HK$200 - HK$400 (US$25 - US$50) on the table extra for some Corsair XL Pro (i like blinky lights ) stuff.

For the 3500+ im looking at a Hong Kong price list and only the 3500+ is the cheapest socket 939 A64 there is. But i think the 90nm ones may already be out here, i might have to do some looking though. Im pretty interested in the 3200+ right now.

For the watercooling thing, im afraid i cant sell this. Firstly, there's the question of the buyer. I basically dont know anyone here in HK who would want it (i dont like selling online) secondly, this thing is integrated into my case, so i would have to be getting a new case, which i dont like doing after all the modding ive been doing to it and thirdly, this watercooling is still relatively new and i dont want to change it out just yet.
So, ill just grab some adapters;

RBX:
http://www.dangerden.com/mall/Misc_Hardware/rbx_acces.asp

Maze 4 chipset: http://www.dangerden.com/mall/Misc_Hardware/block_acces.asp


"Multipliers are unlocked downwards" means that if the multiplier is 10x, then you can choose from 10x to 1x but not 11x and up?

I did a bit of searching around and im deciding on the MSI K8N Neo2 Platinum (i havent seen it in HK though, but ill look). It's a nForce3 based board so i guess it's pretty good and it did real good in the anandtech article so what are your thoughts on it?

As a response to your last post, i have 2 36GB Raptors in Raid 0 (my install habbits tend to bring me over 36GB in the C drive rather quickly).