from intel to amd

[badsektor]

hi i need some help here. ive been an intel user all my computer lifespan. i have never used amd even once or glance at it. i have always wanted to bulid a kick**s system with two gfx card on it. ive been saving for it ever since i got news that nvida is bringing SLI back. now i have the money. 80000php (thats like roughly $1400+).
ive been looking for motherboards that has 2 pci-e slots on them and havent got any luck. i always use asus for my motherboards so i went to their website and found the a8n-sli deluxe mobo on their list. problem is its does not support intel chips but amd processors.
now im thinking about switching to amd. problem is i dont know about amd that much(which processor to use, memory, coolong and some more hardware stuff).
so i need help here like what's the best amd proc to use and the fastest. also like any cooling problems on amd coz i've hjeard quite a few.

pls help iv'e really waited a long time for this big upgrade, well not really an upgrade but to build this kick**s system.

regards, badsektor

 

[muckshifter]

Building an AMD system is no harder than an Intel … and there are some advantages, mainly on price.

If you buy a retail CPU it will come with its own HSF approved by AMD to do the job. There really is no reason to change that HSF, but we all do it. I’ll leave that to the other members here to advise on their choices.

As for twin PCI-E slots I think you’ll have a problem as it is a replacement to AGP and I’ve yet to see a twin AGP system. However, twin monitor cards are common, but in the PCI-E flavour may be a little thin on the ground.

Now … if you check the pecs’ sheet you’ll read …
2 x PCI Express x16 slot well I'll go to the top of our stairs

*SLI mode : x8 , x8

*Default(Single VGA) mode : x16, x1

2 x PCI Express x1

3 x PCI

Also checking the specs’ you are giving a list of “recommended” memory modules you can use, Corsair coming out top in my book.

As for which CPU to use, well any 939 slot CPU will do, but why not go, the whole hog, and get a 3800 … it’s around the £450 mark.

Enjoy ... you could always send me the money and I'll build and evaluate the system for you.

 

[Kye]

i highly advice a socket 939 over the 754, no matter what!

AMD and its partners have moved away from socket 754. in AMD's roadmap, socket 939 will be also used for the dual-core CPU's, the one chip with two dies on it or somthing like that...which will probably be mainstream in late 2006.

a socket 754 is ok, but will only take you so far. secondly...although im not sure, DDR1 is foward compatible with DDR2 DIMMs. so memory is ok if moving over too a different board or socket since you can use your old memory.

the socket 939 will be used for a long, long time. its the equivalent too a 775 intel. i think!
i dont know enough about intel and its motherboards too make a good enough judgment if the 939 is the same as the 755 in terms of longitivity.

thats me being too careful.

 

[ChristopherP]

Would the whole hog not be the FX55, not the 3800 mucks?

I know both are VERY expensive!

Which currency is PHP

 

[Kenny]

Theres building a kick-ass system, with no regard to price, then theres being slightly sensible. overclockers.co.uk are hoping to have the A8N-SLI on the 6th December, although (and trust me, i`ve been looking into this) the only real advantage to SLI is at high resolutions (1280.1024 and higher) It obviously has the advantages of looking sweet and doing wonders for your 3DMark05 score, but, at the end of the day, it doesnt change my day.

DDR2 and DDR1 are not generally supported on the same mobo, except for one or 2. The companies who have made the accommodation for both should be given medals for reducing the mandatory price of an upgrade. The A8N-SLI supports only DDR1 memory.
I`ve also wanted SLI since it was announced, but to do it properly, i`d need to buy: Mobo (130) Proc (180 for a 3500+) graphics card (140 for a 6600GT) and a new monitor (200).
Maybe you already have a monitor that can support high res, and a PCI-E GPU, but if you dont, you`ll have to spend a hell of a lot of money for the performance increase that... you`re not really going to notice, are you? Once the FPS in a game goes above 30 or so, the human eye cant really tell the difference between 30 and 80 FPS. Assuming you already have a decent computer, i`d stick with it, or maybe buy a new GPU if better game performance is what you`re after.

Sorry to be the bringer of bad news.

I`m doing this partly to spread the sadness because I realised yesterday that SLI systems arent worth the outlay.

P.S. (like you care)... I`m now trying to decide between an Intel Pentium4 3.2GHz with a Gigabyte GA-8IPE775 mobo that supports AGP, and an Abit AMD 939 mobo with a 3500+ proc. Much better value for money. GPU upgrade optional.

 

[ChristopherP]

SLI is effectivly futureproofing though, while you may not notice the difference in todays games, you will in tomorrows.

 

[Kenny]

hmmm... true. Will game developers insist on users having 2 graphics cards to get decent performance from tomorrows games? graphics cards updates would cost twice as much. Seems like a bit of a monopoly if that might happen. As long as new graphics cards keep comin out on PCI-E and (for now) AGP, games should run fine. So the SLI board would be fine, once the price drops and the BIOS/ drivers develop a bit, but the chipset is more important than the SLI capability

 

[Kenny]

Changing the subject for a single post tho... Chris: I noticed your RAID setup has 64K stripes/ strips. How big a difference does the strip size have on performance? (curious)

 

[ChristopherP]

Basically you have different strip sizes for different uses of the computer. I think this is how it works, if the average file size on your computer is 128Kb, then set your array to 64Kb strip and the 128Kb file can be fetched by both hard drives in the most efficient way.

Its difficult to know the average size of textures etc in games etc so it's trial and error really, i set it to 64Kb to see if FS2004 could run any nicer...

 

[badsektor]

Enjoy ... you could always send me the money and I'll build and evaluate the system for you.

hehehe, i wish i could mucks, but to send it back to me its gonna be a lot more expensive(shipping and tax and all other stuff the government wants us to pay)

Which currency is PHP

oh i forgot to tell you guys that im from the philippines. its somewhere in asia-pacific.

 

[badsektor]

Now … if you check the pecs’ sheet you’ll read …
2 x PCI Express x16 slot well I'll go to the top of our stairs

*SLI mode : x8 , x8

*Default(Single VGA) mode : x16, x1

hmmm so eventhough its both 16x, its bus speed is still just gonna be 8x. would there be any significant speed increase on the system if i play some really high res and graphicx intensive games on this system?

im also gonna use this pc for some video editing and some graphic designing(im planning of going into the graphic/video editing for additional income, ).

 

[badsektor]

oh by the way guys, what's HSF? i dont think intel has this, or does it? really have no idea...

thanks for all the help...

 

[muckshifter]

oh by the way guys, what's HSF? i dont think intel has this, or does it? really have no idea...

thanks for all the help...

HSF = Heat Sink Fan

 

[badsektor]

HSF = Heat Sink Fan

hehe, so that's what HSF stands for hits self in the head
well no worries about that, im quite familiar in handling HSF
just hope its works the same with AMD procs.

ei whats the differens with FX and XP procs??

btw mucks so two graphics card on the pci-e is just like having two 8x agp slots ??? like there's no difference at all if you have two of them on if their just gonna use 8x bus than installing just 1 card on 16x bus.... no sense at all them putting two 16x bus on the board then....

anyway i really like top future proof this system im building. like wait another 1 and a half or maybe two years before another major upgrade like this.

 

[muckshifter]

If you use a single card, it's 16x, (it does state that in the specs) and if you use two cards it's x8 for each slot, in turn, splitting up the work between the two video cards.

Think about it: if you had 2- x16 slots, that would be x32. Do you have any idea how much bandwidth that would be? I don't think the PCB could handle it, and I'm sure it would take about 2-3 more years to develop drivers, or even physical graphical hardware, to handle such speeds.

These cards are not aimed at gamers, well not yet (games will only make use of 4x PCI-E), they're primary aimed at the Graphics/Video designers/producers ... to make Shrek 3.

XP v FX
The mandatory requirements for highly complex chip production … to make as many CPU variations as possible for various market segments from a single processor design … also apply to the Hammer core from AMD.



Only with this method is it possible to keep the ASP (average selling price) high and guarantee adequate profit in the overall results. In principle, besides the Opteron workstation and server versions, there are presently two desktop processors: the Athlon 64 for the mass market and the Athlon 64 FX as the top model, initially in limited numbers.


The AMD 'XP' CPU variations are now called Semprons, don't ask me ask AMD why? But the Sempron WILL be the only chip available for 'Socket A' motherboards. That means we all need to buy 64bit systems next year.

HTH (hope that Helps)

 

[kristel]

Well done for making the switch.

I have an Athlon 64 processor - and they are better for gaming, and run cooler than the intel counterparts. They even take a lot less power to run.

As has been recommended - You need a motherboard with 2 PCIX slots but I'm no expert in that field so yeild to the floor. Socket 939 is currently the best choice supports Dual Channel DDR1 (400). The 3800+ and FX chips are VERY expensive however, and given your budget, I'd probably suggest you go with a processor that's a couple of steps down from the top. The graphics cards are the most important part of your system I think, and even the slowest socket 939 chips are really good and beat the Extreme Edition chips for games.

You may also want to look for a .90nm chip as they run at lower power levels than the .130nm ones, and aren't plagued with the problems that befell prescott.

 

[badsektor]

thanks mucks for that very detailed insight regarding PCI-e

.

anyway i just ordered the 6800 ultra online. cost me around $250

. didn't order the board yet. the mobo alone will cost me $320. is it worth it to invest on motherboards with 2x PCI-e slots on them this early, or should i wait 2-3 years more as you said. anyway if there's gonna be a significant increase on my planned systems performance then i'd go for it. haven't chosen which proc to use. but now im sure gonna use an AMD. just dont wont which make to use. ive only got $950 left to spend on the rest of the parts that i need. should i go for the 3800+

?? well im not sure which make will be most ok on my pc without being a drag on all the other parts??

i already got 2 kingston 512 ddr's. but im planning to sell them to get my hands on a crucial 3200 1gb memory module. hope its a good buy. well im open for any suggestions for which memory module to use with best performance and depedability

..

well im of to work now... time to save some more money for future upgrades.. lolz

 

[muckshifter]

Memory … It has to be Corsair.

There are a few on my list that I’ll accept, Crucial & Kingston are the main-stay, however, when it comes down to something to be trusted with a ‘high-end’ system then Corsair get my vote.

I always choose my motherboards with care; it is after all what everything else relies on. I never buy the first to hit the streets and I am usually a year behind what is currently on the market. I have ‘the Scots blood’ to sit back and wait, watch & listen, along with a lot of reading.

Therefore I will spend money on a motherboard and if necessary take a lesser specification CPU. I usually have a motherboard waiting, for a couple or three months, for the CPU & memory as its not often I can lash-out on all three at once.

 

[Kenny]

I normally wait till i have the money for both/ all three at once. If I buy one then wait to get the money for the rest, the price of what I`ve bought will prob. come down in that time...

Mucks: Why not OCZ?

 

[Alf]

Hey everyone! i figure yall could tell me if a AMD 3200 64 bit is faster than a 3200XP. i would like to know why if you dont mind.