Going AMD 64 + Nforce4 (need advice on parts)

[dabomb505]

i narrowed it down to this so far. want to oc to at least maybe 2.5 on air. will be used to play games mostly.

AMD 64 3200+ (winchester 90nm) (retail or oem and buy new heatsink)
MSI Neo4 Platinum (Nforce4 Ultra) (still deciding)
BFG 6800 GT OC PCI-E
Antec P160 or Thermaltake Shark (still deciding)
Antec NeoPower 480 PSU
Maxtor 300 GB 7200 RPM 16MB Cache
MEMORY AT LEAST DDR400 and up

what would you guys think of those specs.

im having trouble choosing what kind of ram and brand. is it the lower the latencies the better or something? looking at kingston hyperx and corsair twinx at the moment.

also is it better to save money and go with the 3000 and choose oem over retail? what kind of heatsinks/cooling do you guys recommend?

suggestions would help a lot thanks

[D_o_S]

Welcome to the forum :toast: .

The 3000+ probably OCes as well as the 3200+, and its cheaper.

For memory, I would reccomend something with Samsung TCCD (http://xtremesystems.org/forums/showthread.php?t=43659) or OCZ VX series if you're not scared to play with a DDR booster or voltmod...

[sUpervizer']

Memory:
you can go for G.Skill (http://www.newegg.com/app/ViewProductDesc.asp?description=20-231-006&depa=1) great TCCD memory
and you also have the Corsair PC3200XLPRO (http://www.newegg.com/app/ViewProductDesc.asp?description=20-145-524&depa=1) its a low latency memory but the G.Skill is better when O/Cing
PSU:
You can go for the OCZ PowerStream 520W (http://www.newegg.com/app/ViewProductDesc.asp?description=17-104-152&depa=0) but the NeoPower is also good.
Cooling:
If you dont have any problem with noise so go for this:
TR XP-90 (http://www.newegg.com/app/viewProductDesc.asp?description=35-109-119&catalog=23&manufactory=BROWSE) and Vantec Tornado 80mm (http://www.newegg.com/app/ViewProductDesc.asp?description=11-999-612&depa=1) and if you do have problem with noise you can add a fan control panel like this (http://www.newegg.com/app/viewProductDesc.asp?description=13-999-502&catalog=23&manufactory=BROWSE)

[fagin]

Memory:
you can go for G.Skill (http://www.newegg.com/app/ViewProductDesc.asp?description=20-231-006&depa=1) great TCCD memory
and you also have the Corsair PC3200XLPRO (http://www.newegg.com/app/ViewProductDesc.asp?description=20-145-524&depa=1) its a low latency memory but the G.Skill is better when O/Cing
PSU:
You can go for the OCZ PowerStream 520W (http://www.newegg.com/app/ViewProductDesc.asp?description=17-104-152&depa=0) but the NeoPower is also good.

Just a thought - inot relevent if you have decided never to go SLI - both the neopower and OCZ 520 couldn't cope with SLI - the Neopwer not at all, and the OCZ520 wouldn't O/C at all. To prove it was a power issue, I used both together! Managed to overclock to 420/1140 like that. Buy the best PSU you can afford! OCZ 600, PCP & Cooling etc. As stated you want Tccd memory.

[sUpervizer']

Read the edited post..
he can also get TT 680W great PSU

[Hombre]

But very expensive, because it has $hitload of features.
For that price, you can get PCPC510SLI or OCZ600, either of those will be much, MUCH better.

[dabomb505]

well for the memory i kinda have a $200.00 budget. what can i get from there thats decent. all these tccd memory im seeing cost at least 250 +.

but how are my other specs ? good enough. not so sure about the cases yet. and still the msi neo4 date isnt announced yet.

[pik-ard v1.1]

http://www.newegg.com/app/ViewProductDesc.asp?description=20-220-033&depa=0

TCCD closest to the $200 mark... a bit over though.

[dabomb505]

any other suggestions guys ?

[Skip]

if you get the DFI board you could buy the twinmos speed premium memory and save some money. but i don't think it goes as high as TCCD, it acts like vx though.

[dabomb505]

when are most nf4 ultra boards due out ?

[Kobalt]

any day now..

[dabomb505]

well supposaly ive heard from other forums that these amd 64 cpus should be dropping price within like 2 weeks. anything you guys know about?

monarchs been raising the price of the 3200+ lately also.

[oqy77]

Hello ... I'm new here, and I think this is a nice forum..

I think your spec is quite nice, but I think u should change the HDD, go for 2 x 74Gb WD Raptors and set it to the fastest RAID settings (I forgot which RAID mode). You can have more faster loading times especially at games. And for Storage, choose what's suits you.


I'm also planning to buy a AMD64 system and a NF4 mobo, and I've some questions about choosing the right memory trick:

1. Go for a low latency memory (timings at 2225-11) at current DDR400 bandwidth(PC3200) or go for a high bandwidth (but mediocre latency timings) such as PC3500/PC4000 upwards? Because I'm a bit confused right now, my friends told me that AMD need low latency, but some think because now it have its own integral memory controller, it needs high bandwidth memories? Or is AMD planning to leave DDR400?
Because IMO memory is the real investment here ... and would like to use it again and again for future systems...

thanks
-oqy-

[DGeNeRaT3]

i'm not sure but all i know is my OCZ PC4400 Gold i brought from my intel system *SUCKED* big time.

6700 in sandra this was 278x2 with 2.5-4-4-8 (best it would do from 2.6-4.0 volts, didn't matter)

then i went for the tightest timings i could do and it was

2.5-3-4-3-6 @240x2 (didn't matter what voltage)

neither one would run 1T either.

This ram was definatly awesome on my intel platform reaching almost DDR 600 at 3.3 volts. best i ever got it to run 100% stable at was 590mhz and thats awesome for 550mhz ram imho.

anyway i sold my ram and orderd the new Voltage Xtreme 1 gig kit and after reading OPP's thread and a few others i am every excited to see how it is going to run.

DGeNeRaT3

[Kobalt]

You need to get ram with Samsung TCCD memory chips. look in the thread i linked earlier that has the listings of ram with tccd chips. These chips do not need extreme voltage and can do around 300mhz 2.5-4-4-8. I would recommend G.skill.

oqy- Lower latency ram is always great, but the most youre going to hit at 2-2-2-5 is 260mhz. WIth todays processors, upwards of 300mhz is needed, and ram that has timings of 2.5-4-4-8 at 300mhz will beat out ram thats at 260mhz 2-2-2-5. Also, the type of ram that would do 260mhz 2-2-2-5 requires a lot of vdimm (upwards of 3.2vdimm), which many motherboards do not allow.

[DGeNeRaT3]

i PM'd OPB and he said that none of that TCCD ram will run 1T on the Nforce 3 chipset, so i ordered the VX. 2-2-2-5 1T at 260mhz i am willing to try. i'm not sure how much 1T and 2T matter as i'm new to AMD gear.



Edit: However since you are building a Nforce 4 system, Gskill TCCD will run at DDR 600 and at 1t..that is in my opinon an ideal setup.

[oqy77]

Thanks for the input guys, I can confirm 300MHz can beat low latency at 260 (through skrinshots) ... it teaches me a lott :)

well..right now i'm stuck at Kingston KHX3200ULK2 (which I'm going to buy from a friend)... its a samsung tccd right? I work in a country that don't sell AMD's and high-end memory :( .... that's veryy...veryy..bad

[dabomb505]

i was thinking about 2 raptors on raid 0 but i prefer the larger storage.

as for tccd ram. i will try to find 1gb for at least $200 and less.

how are the zalman 7000 heatsink coolers ? any good. cant afford the thermalright heatsinks.

[dabomb505]

any other suggestions

[brentsg]

i PM'd OPB and he said that none of that TCCD ram will run 1T on the Nforce 3 chipset


What?????

TCCD is great with Nforce3 at 1T. Did I misunderstand your post?

B

[tictac]

How About ABIT AN8 Fatal1ty (nForce4) / AN8 SLI :)

[tictac]

Memory : TwinMOS Speed Premiun PC 3200 2 x 512MB (Dual Channel kit)

equip with winbond UTT

270MHz 2-2-2-5 1 T @ 3,5V :)

[dabomb505]

p160 good case ?

[dqniel]

Memory : TwinMOS Speed Premiun PC 3200 2 x 512MB (Dual Channel kit)

equip with winbond UTT

270MHz 2-2-2-5 1 T @ 3,5V :)

has only the more recent stuff been pulling speeds like that or something? i heard from another place that he had trouble getting it over 227 even using around 3.6v or so.

if your results are common, that stuff is a STEAL

[dqniel]

p160 good case ?

I built an a64 system for my friend with it. i think it looks quite ugly and the build quality wasn't too great either (the aluminum seemed really thin and poorly finished). however, it had lots of room, good stock air circulation, and was quick to set up. i've heard the lian li v1000s are really nice, but expensive :(

[tictac]

has only the more recent stuff been pulling speeds like that or something? i heard from another place that he had trouble getting it over 227 even using around 3.6v or so.

if your results are common, that stuff is a STEAL

3.7V :toast: 1Gb @ 277MHz 2-2-2-5 1T :stick:

http://forum.lowyat.net/uploads/post-7004-1105260467.jpg

[dqniel]

where'd you order from? and what was the date that you ordered?

[dabomb505]

whats the best case to go with now for at least 100-200 ?

[Kobalt]

http://www.newegg.com/app/viewproductdesc.asp?description=11-112-040&DEPA=0

theres a silver version also.

just basically anything lian li and cooler master is great... http://www.newegg.com/app/searchProductResult.asp?Submit=Go&Range=1&DEPA=0&bop=and&description=lian+li&Order=price