help me finalize what to put in my x2 system

[Chris27]

I currently have a

2.66ghz northwood p4
a soyo POS mobo
2x256mb of corsair xms c2pt v1.2
geforce 4 ti 4200
80gb WD IDE HD
cd-rw drive
dvd drive
iiyama 19" crt monitor
its starting to really show its age :(

I plan to upgrade to

amd x2 4400+ retail (would a 4200+ be better as it is slightly cheaper and runs cooler?)
xp-90 w/ a panaflo high speed fan
dfi nf4 or dfi nf4 sli DR (are the extra sata ports and not having to mod worth it?)
mushkin redline xp 3500 or 4000 (which of these offers the best bang for the buck? it seems like people are only getting the 4000's but there is a $40 price difference)
ocz powerstream 520/600 (do I need the extra power of the 600? I plan getting a second card to run SLI in a year or so)
250 gb hitachi sata-II HD
will use a pci geforce 2 mx until I decide on a 6800gt or g70

I have $1100 + however much I can get my parents to "help" ;)
I plan to use this computer for gaming and learning 3ds max, I will also let my robotics team use it as we are in need of a computer and are currently using the school's really crappy computers. I plan to OC although I will be new to OC'ing as my current rig doesnt let me do much to it. :bsod: soyo mobo :mad:

I dont plan to do any major upgrades for another 2 years when I go to college so I want to make sure that this system lasts.

Also is it best to upgrade now or wait for prices to settle down on the x2 (and next gen graphics cards when they come out). About how long would that be. Im getting kind of fed up with my system :(

[NickK]

I have all but the X2.. (to replace a Barton,NF7-S+gf3ti200 :D)

X2 4400
XP-90C
2x512 OCZ PC3500 or 2x512 XMS3500 BH5 (the weak link)
DFI NF4 SLI-DR
X800XL
2x36Gb Raptors
OCZ Powerstream 520W.

The 7800 is coming out in a week - perhaps wait and see what that offers in the independent tests?

The 520 has 20/24pin power, splitable P4 power, two meaty looking molex connectors - each on their own cable and interference inhibitor, two SATA on a cable, two cables with 3xmolex+1floppy power, and last but not least one PCI-E power connector.

My plan is to look at the next graphics cards and memory..

[Disposibleteen]

well G70 benches are out, if i was you i would look at those and wait to make a decision until r520 comes out then decide from there. Everything looks nice though, i would get the mushkin redline xp 4000, people seem to be getting better clocks out of that.

[Chris27]

The 7800 is coming out in a week - perhaps wait and see what that offers in the independent tests?


thats exactly what I intend to do. :)

I guess my biggest concern would be which psu to get. I would like it to be able to run the x2 and dual g70's stable. I dont wanto to get something too weak and later find out I hve to get another psu. right now tho the higher end psu's get really expensive and I would like to keep it below $180. I also want ajustable rails so I can run my ram off the 3.3v line.

[Chris27]

well my parents are not helping me out with the costs as much as I would like so $1100 is the limit so I will get

retail x2 4200+
dfi nf4 ultra d
ocz powerstream 520
6800gt/cheapest g70
will work at McDonalds or somewhere for more $$ ;) to get ram, HD, and HSF

Is it a mistake not to pay $50 (that I dont have) for the extra 512k cache in the 4400+? can I expect a better OC since the manchester's are cooler? and will an ocz 520 be strong enough for the future (will it run a second graphics card?)

and isn't newegg suppose to have the x2's today? :stick:

[jason32287]

the powerstream 520 should be plenty to run 2 video cards and a highend cpu and remember if you go with the dfi ultra d u can't run sli.

[Disposibleteen]

you can mod it to run sli if im not mistaken. Regarding the extra cache, if you do alot of CPU intensive stuff then get it, if not dont.



Please excuse my post im very tired.

[jason32287]

u could modify the older board's u can't modify the newer bored because they fixed it.

[ferrari_freak]

Yeah, I also heard that they fixed it so you'll have to get the SLI version if yo want to go SLI sometime in the near future. Or you could also look around for an older board in which the SLI mod isn't fixed. Btw, I heard that the extra cache is worth the money. One example being that in one test, a 3400+ beating a 3500+ even though it is lower clocks but has more cache.

Usama aka Ferrari Freak

[[XC] leviathan18]

you can save a use the 160gb sata II from hitachi and get the 4400+
also if you plan sli go sli d the cheap one i can remember the exact name
520 powerstream should handle if you can get the extra money pcp&p sli
also in a month or so the prices of the athlon x2 should be 540 for the 4200 and 560 for the 4400 maybe if you wait a little you can save some money
and the vid card is up to you really....

[darksparkz]

I would spend about $50 for a raptor. I would get the 4400, 4200 is a little cheaper but not as fast, your going to OC, so why not get the highest base speed possible?

[jason32287]

you can save a use the 160gb sata II from hitachi and get the 4400+
also if you plan sli go sli d the cheap one i can remember the exact name
520 powerstream should handle if you can get the extra money pcp&p sli
also in a month or so the prices of the athlon x2 should be 540 for the 4200 and 560 for the 4400 maybe if you wait a little you can save some money
and the vid card is up to you really....

Yeah the Lanparty UT SLI-D is suppose to be the cheapest lanparty sli board. But i haven't seen one thats actaully cheaper then the Lanparty UT SLI-DR. BTW the only difference between the D and DR is the DR has 8 SATA ports, the D has only 4.

[[XC] leviathan18]

one of the sli has more bundle and that is why is more expensive it come with harnes for your case and other things...

[jason32287]

one of the sli has more bundle and that is why is more expensive it come with harnes for your case and other things...

Yeah thats the Lanparty SLI-DR, its about 195-205. The Lanparty UT SLI-DR is the same board as the Lanparty SLI-DR just none of the extra's. The Lanparty UT SLI-D is just the SLI-DR but with only 4 SATA ports. Both of the Lanparty UT SLI boards are about 175-180.

[Chris27]

well I only have a $1100 budget and I already ordered a dfi ultra-d, a powerstream 520, and I have a retail 4200+ on preorder.

$550 for the 4200+
$125 for the dfi ultra-d
$125 for the powerstream

so that leaves me $300 for a graphics card, either a 7800 or a 6800gt. I can't really wait to upgrade, since I've been waiting over a year ;) and I plan on having a lan party with a couple of friends on July 9th and If I get my parts by then I could have another working computer If one of my friends cant bring one.

I'm hoping that my mobo will still mod and the cooler running manchester would get a better overclock to make up for the extra cache. but seriously, do you think I could really tell the difference between an extra mb of cache when I've been running a 2.66ghz p4 and a ti 4200? ;) I think either the 4200+ or the 4400+ would give me a very NICE speed bump :)

[[XC] leviathan18]

is like driving all your like a bettle and suddenly some body give to you a enzo ferrari

[clayton]

will work at McDonalds or somewhere for more $$
I would of work at Subway instead, less grease :D

[Disposibleteen]

u could modify the older board's u can't modify the newer bored because they fixed it.
thats a huge shame, why do companies always have to ruin our fun?

[Chris27]

IT IS STILL MODIBLE!! :banana:

no goop or anything too :woot:

[http://img271.echo.cx/img271/9458/nf44nx.th.jpg (http://img271.echo.cx/my.php?image=nf44nx.jpg)

I'm having trouble cleaning all the heatpad stuff off tho. Ive been using a toothbrush/que-tips (they are leaving fuzz behind :( ) with ispropyl alcohol.

to bridge the contacts is pencil good enough or should I get something better? and also I should replace the heatpad thing with AS 5 right?

btw I got my mobo from chiefvalue

[edit] I'm impatient, someone plz help me ;)

[edit] well I hope pencil and AS 5 was good enough...

[[XC] leviathan18]

yes use pencil and then put as5 or artic ceramique any thermal compund should be fine

[Chris27]

good thats what I did :)

you guys reply too slow ;) :lol:

[[XC] leviathan18]

i was @ university :P

[jason32287]

From what i've heard you can still do the mod on the new boards but it won't do anything. SLI still won't work. Unless the place you bought it from still has the older boards in stock. But the only way to find out is to try it. Get 2 cards and lets see what happens.

[Chris27]

I wont be able to afford a second card for quite some time tho :(

[jason32287]

Well I guess will have to wait and find out. Oh well. They will probably have the newer chipset out when that time comes so this gives you a reason to upgrade your board to the newer chipset :D