Advice Please: Mobo/CPU For Game Machine

  • Thread starter Thread starter Darren Harris
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Darren Harris

Can anyone give me recommendations on motherboard/CPU combos(for a
game machine) that produces the best performance I can get for around
the $300 range?

Thanks a lot.

Darren Harris
Staten Island, New York.
 
Darren Harris said:
Can anyone give me recommendations on motherboard/CPU combos(for a
game machine) that produces the best performance I can get for around
the $300 range?

Thanks a lot.

Darren Harris
Staten Island, New York.
Click to expand...

Sheesh, for that kind of money you could almost go the Athlon64 route.
Motherboard/CPU for Athlon64 might run just a tad over 300 bucks right now.
If you want motherboard and CPU to stay under 300 and are looking for the
best performance at that price point, you should look at an AMD Athlon XP
3000+ (400FSB) with any good nforce2 chipset board with 400MHz, such as Epox
8RDA3+ or similar. This should set you back about $250, but then you need
RAM and lots of other components (are you recycling?) -Dave
 
Darren said:
Can anyone give me recommendations on motherboard/CPU combos(for a
game machine) that produces the best performance I can get for around
the $300 range?

Thanks a lot.

Darren Harris
Staten Island, New York.
Click to expand...

nforce 2 board, athlon 2500 clocked to 3000 or so, and a radeon 9600 pro,
with half a gig of crucial ddr3200 ram.
 
Sheesh, for that kind of money you could almost go the Athlon64 route.
Motherboard/CPU for Athlon64 might run just a tad over 300 bucks right now.
If you want motherboard and CPU to stay under 300 and are looking for the
best performance at that price point, you should look at an AMD Athlon XP
3000+ (400FSB) with any good nforce2 chipset board with 400MHz, such as Epox
8RDA3+ or similar. This should set you back about $250, but then you need
RAM and lots of other components (are you recycling?) -Dave
Click to expand...

Yes, I'm recycling. And ram and a high end video card of course are
*not* included in the $300 price range.

Nevertheless, since you mentioned the Athlon64, perhaps I can go with
that. Especially since it will be a little more "future-proof" than
anything that is only 32bit.

Thanks.

Darren Harris
Staten Island, New York.
 
I'm not looking to overclock, and I was only searching for the best
performing CPU/Mobo combination(as far as games go). I hardware
recommendations change often with this question, but was curious about
what the present situation is.

Can anyone give advice as to specifically what Athlon mobo/CPU combo
would come in within the $300-$350 range?(ie: Board number & CPU
speed).

As for the Athlon64. Outside of being a little more "future-proof",
would this really be better than Intel hardware? I'm specifically
thinking about dual-chanel ram, and the 800FSB.

It appears that the Extreme addition CPU from Intel, wouldn't give
much if any performance advances above their "normal" chips, and by
the time the prices of those come down, 64bit will have a firm hold on
the market. Is this logic correct?

Thanks a lot.

Darren Harris
Staten Island, New York.
 
Darren Harris said:
I'm not looking to overclock, and I was only searching for the best
performing CPU/Mobo combination(as far as games go). I hardware
recommendations change often with this question, but was curious about
what the present situation is.

Can anyone give advice as to specifically what Athlon mobo/CPU combo
would come in within the $300-$350 range?(ie: Board number & CPU
speed).

As for the Athlon64. Outside of being a little more "future-proof",
would this really be better than Intel hardware? I'm specifically
thinking about dual-chanel ram, and the 800FSB.

It appears that the Extreme addition CPU from Intel, wouldn't give
much if any performance advances above their "normal" chips, and by
the time the prices of those come down, 64bit will have a firm hold on
the market. Is this logic correct?

Thanks a lot.

Darren Harris
Staten Island, New York.
Click to expand...

The Athlon 64 is a processor ahead of it's time. By the time that hardware
is needed to run most software, anything you build today will be long-ago
obsolete. In your price range, Athlon 64 is very doable. That is, if you
are willing to fork out 350 for just the cpu and motherboard. Me, I'd
probably go for a high-end Athlon XP system if I wanted to spend that kind
of money to build a gaming machine right NOW. I don't think you'll gain
anything by going the Athlon 64 route. Yes, the CPU will be more
future-proof, but you'll likely replace the motherboard and CPU AGAIN before
64 bit software is commonplace. So is it really future-proof? I don't
think so. Oh, and the Athlon64 won't do dual-channel memory. Since you
don't want to overclock (you're smart not to), just get the fastest XP
processor you can get your hands on and any good mid-range mainboard for it.
VIA has come out with a chipset to do dual-channel memory, but it's not
significantly better than the nforce2 chipset, and mainboards based on
nforce2 are mature now, so they are a safer bet. Specific recommendations?

AMD Athlon XP 3000+ or 3200+ (both less than $200)
Abit AN7 (a little over $100)
Gigabyte GA-7N400Pro2 (a little over $100)

Both of those are good name motherboards that are loaded with features.
(rather high-end)

That should make you a pretty good gaming system if you add a Gig of DDR400
name-brand RAM (2 X 512MB) and a decent video card. Don't spend a ton on
the video card, though, as you will want a PCI Express card for your next
build in a year or two. -Dave
 
On Wed, 10 Mar 2004 13:54:10 -0500, "Dave C."

That should make you a pretty good gaming system if you add a Gig of DDR400
name-brand RAM (2 X 512MB) and a decent video card. Don't spend a ton on
the video card, though, as you will want a PCI Express card for your next
build in a year or two. -Dave
Click to expand...

Good advice, except that for the purpose expressed by Darren, a gaming
machine, the video card will matter more than the CPU or motherboard,
given the sufficient budget for the board and CPU they'll be bottlenecked
by any "lesser" video cards.
 
The Athlon 64 is a processor ahead of it's time. By the time that hardware
is needed to run most software, anything you build today will be long-ago
obsolete. In your price range, Athlon 64 is very doable. That is, if you
are willing to fork out 350 for just the cpu and motherboard. Me, I'd
probably go for a high-end Athlon XP system if I wanted to spend that kind
of money to build a gaming machine right NOW. I don't think you'll gain
anything by going the Athlon 64 route. Yes, the CPU will be more
future-proof, but you'll likely replace the motherboard and CPU AGAIN before
64 bit software is commonplace. So is it really future-proof? I don't
think so. Oh, and the Athlon64 won't do dual-channel memory. Since you
don't want to overclock (you're smart not to), just get the fastest XP
processor you can get your hands on and any good mid-range mainboard for it.
VIA has come out with a chipset to do dual-channel memory, but it's not
significantly better than the nforce2 chipset, and mainboards based on
nforce2 are mature now, so they are a safer bet. Specific recommendations?

AMD Athlon XP 3000+ or 3200+ (both less than $200)
Abit AN7 (a little over $100)
Gigabyte GA-7N400Pro2 (a little over $100)

Both of those are good name motherboards that are loaded with features.
(rather high-end)

That should make you a pretty good gaming system if you add a Gig of DDR400
name-brand RAM (2 X 512MB) and a decent video card. Don't spend a ton on
the video card, though, as you will want a PCI Express card for your next
build in a year or two. -Dave
Click to expand...

Obsolete is a relative term, and I definitely don't intend to build
another system in a year or two. In fact, if it wasn't for the fact
that I'm considering competitive gaming on teh PC platform, I'd stick
with my 350mhz and 450 mhz Pentium 2 systems that I use now. So,
basically, I'm not big into upgrading often.

This whole thing is really about building a system that keeps up with
the latest games for a while. And it appears that with the right ram,
it would be the video card that will be the big factor, but correct me
if I'm wrong.

Nevertheless, if I can get comparable performance from an Athlon64
mobo/CPU as I'd get from an equally priced Pentium 4 mobo/CPU combo,
then wouldn't it seem that the Athlon64 is the better choice? I can't
see the mobo/CPU being so "long ago obsolete" that I won't be able to
run 64bit software when 64bit software is common place.

I had been thinking of getting a motherboard that would support 400FSB
to 800FSB Pentium 2 CPUs so that I can start off with something like a
2.4Ghz, and still have the option of the 3.0+ or the "Extreme Edition"
when they come down in price. But by then, 64bit just may be the norm.
Also, I'm not convinced if dual-channel is even that significant a
factor for games. I haven't heard about any "real world" proof of
that.

Thanks.

Darren Harris
Staten Island, New York.
 
Obsolete is a relative term, and I definitely don't intend to build
another system in a year or two. In fact, if it wasn't for the fact
that I'm considering competitive gaming on teh PC platform, I'd stick
with my 350mhz and 450 mhz Pentium 2 systems that I use now. So,
basically, I'm not big into upgrading often.

This whole thing is really about building a system that keeps up with
the latest games for a while. And it appears that with the right ram,
it would be the video card that will be the big factor, but correct me
if I'm wrong.

Nevertheless, if I can get comparable performance from an Athlon64
mobo/CPU as I'd get from an equally priced Pentium 4 mobo/CPU combo,
then wouldn't it seem that the Athlon64 is the better choice?
Click to expand...

No, you are right. If you want to keep up with the latest games, the video
card will likely cripple you faster than the other components. Geez, you
are in a tough position to be in if you want to build one system to last
more than a couple of years at most. That's because the best video cards
are likely to be PCI Express within a year or so at most. AFAIK, PCI
express mainboards and video cards aren't even on the market yet. I think
your best bet then would be to build Athlon64. Whatever video card you
decide to build with now, when you get ready to upgrade your video card in
the future, you will have to spend extra for an AGP format video card. (By
the time you feel you can't live with your current high-end video card,
high-end AGP video cards will likely be more expensive than PCI Express)
You can take comfort in the fact that by that time, you won't be the only
person who wants to upgrade to a better AGP card, and will need to pay a
premium to do so. You need to spend extra on a REALLY good quality power
supply, as it will need to give you a lot of stable power AND have good
longevity, to keep this system running for several years. Why not try
something like the following . . .

Athlon 64 3000+
Gigabyte GA-K8N Pro
http://www.giga-byte.com/MotherBoard/Products/Products_GA-K8N Pro.htm

You should be able to squeak by at just below $350 for that combo, and just
about anybody should be happy with that hardware for a few years, at least.
That is, as long as your other components are just as strong. -Dave
 
No, you are right. If you want to keep up with the latest games, the video
card will likely cripple you faster than the other components. Geez, you
are in a tough position to be in if you want to build one system to last
more than a couple of years at most. That's because the best video cards
are likely to be PCI Express within a year or so at most. AFAIK, PCI
express mainboards and video cards aren't even on the market yet. I think
your best bet then would be to build Athlon64. Whatever video card you
decide to build with now, when you get ready to upgrade your video card in
the future, you will have to spend extra for an AGP format video card. (By
the time you feel you can't live with your current high-end video card,
high-end AGP video cards will likely be more expensive than PCI Express).
Click to expand...

That last part was confusing. But by the time I have to upgrade my
video card, I'll just get whatever is the standard. I'd just hate to
have to upgrade anything else anytimne soon.
You can take comfort in the fact that by that time, you won't be the only
person who wants to upgrade to a better AGP card, and will need to pay a
premium to do so. You need to spend extra on a REALLY good quality power
supply, as it will need to give you a lot of stable power AND have good
longevity, to keep this system running for several years. Why not try
something like the following . . .

Athlon 64 3000+
Gigabyte GA-K8N Pro
http://www.giga-byte.com/MotherBoard/Products/Products_GA-K8N Pro.htm

You should be able to squeak by at just below $350 for that combo, and just
about anybody should be happy with that hardware for a few years, at least.
That is, as long as your other components are just as strong. -Dave
Click to expand...

There is an article at "tomshardware" about the PCI Express. If you
read it to the end, the conclusion is that any real benefits are a lot
far off than a couple of years. The PCI Express is basically like
building the race track before the race car. It would just be a
marketing gimic at this point. And the only way it will take hold
anytime soon is for Intel to force-feed it down the manufacturer's and
the public's throat. Since useful technology that is truly an
improvement would not have the manufacturer's number problem that of
convincing the public that the technology is needed, I don't think
I'll have to worry about that for a while. In fact, their best
argument for the PCI Express is Real-time HDTV video editing. :-)
Nothing else can take advantage of the upstream bandwidth at this
point or anytime soon.

Getting back to the Athlon64. I'm leaning toward that, but the big
question is how far Intel will go with the Pentium 4. They seem to be
getting closer to that time where they decide to fatten their coffers
by changing the hardware standards, forcing comsumers to start
upgrading. The PCI Express is just one example, but the CPU pin-out
change is their bread and butter. Nevertheless, 64bit may make that a
moot point anyway.

Darren Harris
Staten Island, New York.
 
That should make you a pretty good gaming system if you add a Gig of
DDR400
Good advice, except that for the purpose expressed by Darren, a gaming
machine, the video card will matter more than the CPU or motherboard,
given the sufficient budget for the board and CPU they'll be bottlenecked
by any "lesser" video cards.
Click to expand...

Yeah, I'm afraid the OP is in a no-win situation as he wants a rather
high-end gaming machine that won't need to be replaced in a couple of years.
That would be tough to do even if PCI Express wasn't on the horizon. That
is, unless you've got a budget like Trump's budget. :) -Dave
 
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