Suggestions for a AMD Athlon system

[CT]

Hi,

I am planning to build a new system with the following components. Do
you see any potential conflicts between these components? Can a 350W
power-supply provide enough juice for this system? I will be using the
system for moderate gaming and software development (MS Visual
Studio.NET).

Any other suggestions are also welcome.

AMD Athlon XP 2800+
Abit NF7-S V2.0 Motherboard
Corsair XMS3200 400MHz DDR 2x512 MB sticks
Gigabyte ATI Radeon 9600 Pro 128MB

Thanks,
CT

 

[Al Dykes]

Hi,

I am planning to build a new system with the following components. Do
you see any potential conflicts between these components? Can a 350W
power-supply provide enough juice for this system? I will be using the
system for moderate gaming and software development (MS Visual
Studio.NET).

Any other suggestions are also welcome.

AMD Athlon XP 2800+
Abit NF7-S V2.0 Motherboard
Corsair XMS3200 400MHz DDR 2x512 MB sticks
Gigabyte ATI Radeon 9600 Pro 128MB

Get a 10Krpm disk drive.

The second 512MB stick may be overkill. If the $150 it costs is
significant to you I'd defer the second stick until I had the system
up and running and perfmon shows that you need it.

 

[JK]

Get a 10Krpm disk drive.

The second 512MB stick may be overkill. If the $150 it costs is
significant to you I'd defer the second stick until I had the system
up and running and perfmon shows that you need it.

$150 for a 512 meg stick of PC3200 ddr ram? www.pricewatch.com
has Micron or Samsung brand listed at $78. Nforce based systems
are more effective when used with two matching sticks of ram. Rather
than going with a 10K rpm hard drive, imo he should consider an
Athlon 64 3000+ rather than the XP2800+, not for the 64 bits
(that might come in very handy later), but for the great performance
due to the addition of SSE2 and an on chip memory controller.
http://www.anandtech.com/cpuchipsets/showdoc.aspx?i=2065&p=1
Using an Athlon 64 3000+ rather than an XP2800+ might only cost
around $100 more, as the chip is only around $85 more, and the
motherboard only around $15 more. If he locks himself into a 32 bit
processor, he might regret it in a few months.

 

[Al Dykes]

$150 for a 512 meg stick of PC3200 ddr ram? www.pricewatch.com
has Micron or Samsung brand listed at $78. Nforce based systems
are more effective when used with two matching sticks of ram. Rather
than going with a 10K rpm hard drive, imo he should consider an
Athlon 64 3000+ rather than the XP2800+, not for the 64 bits
(that might come in very handy later), but for the great performance
due to the addition of SSE2 and an on chip memory controller.
http://www.anandtech.com/cpuchipsets/showdoc.aspx?i=2065&p=1
Using an Athlon 64 3000+ rather than an XP2800+ might only cost
around $100 more, as the chip is only around $85 more, and the
motherboard only around $15 more. If he locks himself into a 32 bit
processor, he might regret it in a few months.

I was high on the memory price. Crucial is $90 on newegg.

I'd get a 10k disk first. Fast I/O is important on a developer's
machine. And as a tradeoff, it's lots easier to add a memory stick
than it is to switch C drives.

I haven't priced memory for a AMD64 system but guess it's
a little more expensive than the XP2800+ uses, each of the parts
is a little more expensive. It adds up. Don't skimp
on fast I/O.

 

[JK]

I was high on the memory price. Crucial is $90 on newegg.

I'd get a 10k disk first. Fast I/O is important on a developer's
machine. And as a tradeoff, it's lots easier to add a memory stick
than it is to switch C drives.

I haven't priced memory for a AMD64 system but guess it's
a little more expensive than the XP2800+ uses, each of the parts
is a little more expensive. It adds up. Don't skimp

The motherboards for the Athlon 64 use PC3200 DDR ram. As
far as not skimping, skimping on the processor seems the worst choice.
10,000 rpm hard drives that are a decent size are very expensive.
One could always add one later when the prices are much lower.

 

[jim]

Hi,

I am planning to build a new system with the following components. Do
you see any potential conflicts between these components? Can a 350W
power-supply provide enough juice for this system? I will be using the
system for moderate gaming and software development (MS Visual
Studio.NET).

Any other suggestions are also welcome.

AMD Athlon XP 2800+
Abit NF7-S V2.0 Motherboard
Corsair XMS3200 400MHz DDR 2x512 MB sticks
Gigabyte ATI Radeon 9600 Pro 128MB

Thanks,
CT

Well CT I put a very similar system together just a couple of months
ago. I put in a xp2500+ and run's nice at a little over 210 fsb (in
other words about 3200+ performance which is roughly where the AMD64 is
anyway. The 2500+ has an 11x multiplier which is the same as the 3200+,
just cost lots less but performs the same when run at 200fsb. Sorry
don't remember the multiplier on the 2800+. Note that it's very popular
to put in an XP mobile processor (eg 2400+) since you can then decide
yourself at what speed you want to run it upto the processors limit.
Generally the mobile processors are capable at running at stock speed
with very little juice (reduce the volts you give the processor), or
then lend well to going faster with a bit more voltage.

I don't really see why people are suggesting a single 10k hard disk when
the motherboard will accept 2x sata disks in raid 0, that's what I have
and works great, 7200 disks are cheaper too. But I suppose you could get
a single 10k to start with if you're tight on budget, just make sure you
get the sata versions so you can later add another to get into raid
configuration. I bought samsung disks since the guarantee is longer than
other monufacturers. I think you're right on the money with the graphics
card. I agree with others about the 2x512 being overkill, I also suggest
you put in 1 stick to begin with since the performance hit with 1 stick
is insignificant compared with what you can do by manipulating your fsb
a little.

The power supply will probably be just fine with the current config, but
it's much wiser to put in a better quality power supply (put the money
you save on the ram into a good quiet & powerfull power supply). There's
a good chance with this system that's you'll get interested in serious
overclocking, DVD burner etc etc, then you'll be kicking yourself for
being low on amps.

Also on a similar note I just "upgraded" my watercooler on the same
motherboard for a zalman cnps7000A cu cpu cooler - it works just as good
as my watercooler, wonderfully quiet too. You have to do a small mod on
the zalman to get it to fit the nf7-s v2, but it's just one cut with a
hacksaw.

Anyway these are just my opinions, hope it gives you some ideas.

regards, Jim

 

[Dave C.]

Hi,

I am planning to build a new system with the following components. Do
you see any potential conflicts between these components? Can a 350W
power-supply provide enough juice for this system? I will be using the
system for moderate gaming and software development (MS Visual
Studio.NET).

Any other suggestions are also welcome.

AMD Athlon XP 2800+
Abit NF7-S V2.0 Motherboard
Corsair XMS3200 400MHz DDR 2x512 MB sticks
Gigabyte ATI Radeon 9600 Pro 128MB

Thanks,
CT

A 350W power supply should be fine, as long as it's not a 350W power supply
that is included when you purchase a CASE. (they are all crap, with very
few exceptions). If your power supply is "included" then 350W is marginal.
If you get a Seasonic or Fortron brand, for example, then 350W should be
plenty. -Dave

 

[Shawk]

A 350W power supply should be fine, as long as it's not a 350W power supply
that is included when you purchase a CASE. (they are all crap, with very
few exceptions). If your power supply is "included" then 350W is marginal.
If you get a Seasonic or Fortron brand, for example, then 350W should be
plenty. -Dave

Hiya,

As Dave says but depends on the case. Get an Antec case and the PSU's are
normally included and are excellent. (Have the Antec Plus 1080AMG here and
it came complete with a Truepower 430W PSU - very nice - also note I paid
only slightly more for the case/PSU combination than the PSU alone costs
separately). Other Antec cases come with the 350W version PSU but they too
are Truepower and they're very good. Check the PSU when buying.

Moderate gaming? How much is moderate? What type? If you're likely to
play something like Far Cry then 1GB ram is definitely advisable. Stick
with the two 512 sticks - the NF7-S loves two sticks as JK says. Again if
you're a gamer then go for a 7200PRM disk and perhaps put the money saved
toward a 9800Pro. I had the 9600Pro in my NF7-S(2) /XP2800 system, dropped
a 9800Pro in and saw a marked difference.

Shaun

 

[Matt]

A 350W power supply should be fine, as long as it's not a 350W power supply
that is included when you purchase a CASE. (they are all crap, with very
few exceptions). If your power supply is "included" then 350W is marginal.
If you get a Seasonic or Fortron brand, for example, then 350W should be
plenty. -Dave

It seems that Dave C. doesn't like to mention that the Antec case/ps
combos make up a very BIG exception. They are very solid, and anybody
can see in the newegg product reviews that they are by far the most
popular. I don't know what their market share is, but 20% would not
surprise me. Anybody with any taste can look at an Antec case and see
the quality and the (typically) intelligent design.

Dave C. is fond of saying that one case is as good as another, as if it
doesn't matter how hard it is to add or remove components or whether you
cut yourself or whether things fit properly or whether it has front I/O
or whether it is compact or whether you get a good paint job. Most
importantly, it implies he doesn't care about the case's ventilation
properties.

When you buy a case, if you have an ordinary setup (with no more than
two hard drives and two optical drives, no Prescott, no
unusually-demanding video card), an honest 350W will cover you
comfortably, and the ventilation issues can be settled. So the fans and
ps can be a part of the ventilation design. By including them installed
in the case, they get shipped in the same box and handled in the same
transaction, at a savings of maybe $10 - $30.

Anybody who wants a chunk of Antec's market share should be taking the
above approach.