Motherboard recommendation...

[phill9800]

I was just wondering what you guys might suggest as I have been out of the PC scence for a little while now :(
I'm hoping to upgrade my system and yes I'm definitely going to do it this time!

I read a thread on here that said about single v dual cores and everyone was suggesting a dual core setup, so hopefully the hardware below will be to everyones recommendations :D

AMD 64 X2 4400+
HIS X1900 XT-T
Thermalright SI-120 or Zalman FS-C77

My only questions are...

Memory:
Is my OC Z Platiumn PC3200 stuff gonna be good enough?

PSU:
My OC Z 520W gonna be ok with the above setup?

Case:
Coolermaster Stacker still ok to use?

Soundcard:
Onboard or Sound Blaster type card?


Any other tips I should consider? I'm leaving it as standard, so no overclocking needed...

Thanks again :)

[blueice]

GET the Zalman, Master Phil. Excellent choice on your PSU. It should provide you with an adequate power.

[bluegreenshxt]

For CPU heatsink get the Thermaltake Big Typhoon or Scythe Ninja with a fan. They're the best.

Your memory, PSU, and case will be fine.

As for the soundcard, onboard is ok if you don't have great speakers or if you're on a budget.

For a motherboard, we all love the DFI Lanparty, but since you are not overclocking the board choice does not matter too much. I still like the DFI though :p Performance-wise all nForce4 Ultra boards are quite equal. I would pick the Asus, Gigabyte, or Abit models with passive northbridge cooling if not the DFI.

[Avid6eek]

How are things going phill...long time no see.

The DFI LanParty nF4 Ultra-D is a proven motherboard. The performance is great, the reliability is awsome, and in the event that you want to tweak the system you have every BIOS option imaginable.

The processor and video cards you picked are awsome choices. They will treat you well for quite a long time. Your OCZ PC3200, OCZ PSU, and Stacker will work fine with this setup.

[phill9800]

What particular model DFI or Abit board would you recommend? Features arent a big part of it, but reliablity and performance are amoung the top three.

What sort of temps do the X2 CPU's get with the standard heatsinks compared to the Thermalright/Scythe Ninja?

[phill9800]

How are things going phill...long time no see.

The DFI LanParty nF4 Ultra-D is a proven motherboard. The performance is great, the reliability is awsome, and in the event that you want to tweak the system you have every BIOS option imaginable.

The processor and video cards you picked are awsome choices. They will treat you well for quite a long time. Your OCZ PC3200, OCZ PSU, and Stacker will work fine with this setup.

I have been around, just not posting. A new girl friend and my car seem to be taking up most of my time recently, but to be perfectly honest, I'm not in the slightest bit worried!!

I wont be going with SLI so that's something again I'm not bothered with. I have considered the DFI before, but after my first DFI problems :( (mainly my fault I think) I was kinda put off, but I shouldnt have been.

I'm unsure what sort of performance I would be getting with this combo? The CPU, is it an good overclocker or not all that special?

I'm currently running a XP Mobile @ 2.222Ghz with a 1gig of ram and a 9700 Pro graphics card. So I'm guessing a big increase?
My only concern is cooling and as I'd like it to be as silent as possible, what would anyone recommend?

[Avid6eek]

My current high end setup is a DFI/X2 4400/X1900XT combo. It has treated me very well so far. I have been posting benchies over here (http://forum.pcstats.com/showthread.php?t=35208). I'll be doing some more work on it tonight so I should be posting some additional scores, including PCMark05 tonight.

[phill9800]

It looks awesome Avid... Congrats on an awesome setup :) Lets hope I dont put the PSU connections on wrongly this time round with the DFI board ;) :p :o :(

[Avid6eek]

I tried to get some updated benchmark scores up for you, but I ran into some slight condensation problems. I was able to get the GPU to -3C, and my processor to -18C (-8C load).

[phill9800]

Sounds awesome mate, now what about air cooling?!?! :D :D :D :D

[flybye11]

check that power supply need dual 12v lines with clean power for that setup. This is a good read http://www.extremetech.com/article2...,1932949,00.asp

[yahooadam]

Lets hope I dont put the PSU connections on wrongly this time round with the DFI board
all the PSU connections are keyed

how do u put it on the wrong way :eek:

[phill9800]

I put the extra 4 pin for the power into the additional one instead of the additional power cable... What I mean is, it has a 24pin psu, which I didnt know about... so I used the wrong 4 pin plug :(

[yahooadam]

seems weird that the 2 will fit ....

[phill9800]

Well, it was rather annoying it did fit as I think it blew the board :( Everything else worked fine, just the board :( Still, I know for next time now :)

I assume still the DFI boards are the only real decent board to buy for a AMD 64 system now?

[yahooadam]

no asus is still good i believe

MSI seems a bit iffy ....

there are others, just cant think of them ATM

for ocing tho, DFI is in the lead