Upgrade

PirateNinjaPirateNinja Icrontian
edited March 2004 in Hardware
I have been using the same 1800+ Palomino for ages. .. well not ages, but since it was king of the hill. All I need at this point to upgrade is a new cpu and new ram. Here are my current specs:

Enermax 550w EG651P-VE
Abit Nf-7 S (BIOS v22)
AMD AthlonXP 1800+ Palomino Agoia (not y)
2x256mb Generic ram w/ Samsung modules PC2100
Asus Radeon 9800 Pro 256mb
Western Digital 7200 rpm 8mb 200gb converted to SATA using onboard SATA
LiteOn DVD Burner LDW 851S
Samsung CD Burner / DVD ROM (352s? .. i forget the model)
-Cooling / Enclosure-
Thermalright Slk-800U w/ Thermaltake SMF2
2x80mm outtake
2x80mm intake
Lian Li PC-60 usb
-Main Software I will be using-
WinXP Pro
Photoshop 7
Dreamweaver MX
OpenOffice
CDex / Winamp
...and a ton of games..a ton, hence the fancy vid card


So finally my question is. What cpu and memory should I get. I would liek to use dual channel memory. I might as well. Alot of people tell me to get an athlonxp 2500+ m and Oc its fsb to 400 along with some ddr400 ram.

I really am not a fan of OCing, although I have the setup to do so so I might actually do it this time. Especially since I would not have to unlock this chip.

So mainly, what is the best memory to get. Stability is VERY VERY important. Performance is obviously nice too. Ive bought crappy generic memory all my life, but I might as well use something nice to take advantage of my other nice hardware.

And also, if the 2500+m is not the best cpu for me to get, why and why not?

Thanks for the help fellas :D. You guys are great. :buck:

Comments

  • drasnordrasnor Starship Operator Hawthorne, CA Icrontian
    edited March 2004
    I'd get a mobile Barton 2600+ because it overclocks like a mofo (I think someone got 2.6 GHz) and a 1GB Corsair XMS PC3200 low latency TwinX memory kit.

    BTW, how hard was it to add another 80mm exhaust port in your Lian Li? I'm about to do that mod on two PC-7B's, which is the same case as the PC-60 except for being black and having no motherboard tray.

    -drasnor :fold:
  • muddocktormuddocktor
    edited March 2004
    The XP2500 or XP2600 mobile chips are the way to go with that NF7-S. The procs are unlocked and are hand picked for their ability to run at 1.93 or 2.0 GHz with a lower vcore than the standard desktop XP procs. I have my 2600m at almost 2600 MHz and it flies. :D Be sure to use a quality heatsink like the Thermalright SLK800, SLK900 or better with a Thermaltake SmartFan 2 for cooling. The TT fan has a pot for varying the speed of the fan, to suit your noise tolerance. You can also use a Delta FFB0812SHE focused flow fan on those heatsinks but they are kind of noisy if you are sensitive to noise.

    For memory, I would suggest the Corsair XMS3200 or 3500 low latency twin packs, in either 512 MB (2X256 sticks) or 1024 MB (2X512 MB sticks) twin packs. The Corsair 3200 I have will run at least 217 fsb with 2-2-2-11 timings and mine isn't the low latency stuff they are selling now.

    Once you get the above items, you will have hours of fun discovering just how good a setup the NF7-S/XP-M/SLK hsf is by seeing how fast these proc and the system can really run. :thumbsup:
  • Al_CapownAl_Capown Indiana
    edited March 2004
    Being budget conscious, yet still getting one hell of a setup I'd get:
    -Some buffalo pc3200 off of Newegg (CH5) I've got some and mine's good up to 217 5-3-2-2 @ 2.6v
    -XP 2500-M

    Talk to me on aim for the links.
  • PirateNinjaPirateNinja Icrontian
    edited March 2004
    Thank you sirs, as always capown you are a great help. I do want a fairly quiet system, so I will not be running any 2.6ghz, maybe 2.2 or 2.3. During the summer my room temperature will be around 80-100 F, so I wont be OCing to much unti lwinter coems again :P

    I did not have to mod my case at all, maybe I have the model number wrong there. All the case fans I have except for the top blowhole are TTSMF2s by the way. My main concern here is really the stability of the memory. Ill be docmeming it up as soon as I get new memory, if it does not pass its getting RMAed. What I failed to say was that I want a gig, Ive had enough with this measily 512 stuff.
  • drasnordrasnor Starship Operator Hawthorne, CA Icrontian
    edited March 2004
    Gravite2090 wrote:
    I did not have to mod my case at all, maybe I have the model number wrong there. All the case fans I have except for the top blowhole are TTSMF2s by the way.
    That's right, I forgot about the blowhole on the PC-60. Nevermind :banghead:

    -drasnor :fold:
  • PirateNinjaPirateNinja Icrontian
    edited March 2004
    Oh yah, I forgot to ask. With dual channel memory, do I have to put the two sticks in certain slots? Or is dimm 1 & 2 ok. Also, is there a website one of you can recommend that has a good technical read up on how dual channel works? I only refrain from google because I need to open the doors for one of you smart guys to show off :D

    Thanks again.
  • mluke24mluke24
    edited March 2004
    For your Dual Channel needs, I would have to recommend the Corsair Low Latency Twinx PC3200. It comes in 2x256mb, 2x512mb, and I think it might come in 2x1gb. I own this same kind (2x256mb) and it runs very stable and very fast. On newegg.com it cost me around $130, but the price may very a dollar or two.

    About your Dual Channel Question. I believe to run in Dual Channel on your NF7-S, you place one stick in bank 2 and the other stick in bank 3. At least that is how it is with my A7N8X-Deluxe.

    Hopefully you do some Oc'ing. You will be very happy with the results!
  • Al_CapownAl_Capown Indiana
    edited March 2004
    mluke24 wrote:
    For your Dual Channel needs, I would have to recommend the Corsair Low Latency Twinx PC3200. It comes in 2x256mb, 2x512mb, and I think it might come in 2x1gb. I own this same kind (2x256mb) and it runs very stable and very fast. On newegg.com it cost me around $130, but the price may very a dollar or two.

    About your Dual Channel Question. I believe to run in Dual Channel on your NF7-S, you place one stick in bank 2 and the other stick in bank 3. At least that is how it is with my A7N8X-Deluxe.

    Hopefully you do some Oc'ing. You will be very happy with the results!

    You'll be getting the same speeds and quality from Buffalo ...

    Really no point in wasting money on that corsair. Odds are that corsair either uses CH5 chips (like the buffalo) or Samsung chips which oc just like the CH5. Only thing you won't be getting is those heatspreaders, and whether or not those help or hurt temps is a big question.

    Also, on the topic of dual channel. It's rather overrated. From what I've heard Dual Channel adds about a 1% increase in performance, but you also have to consider that you can't reach as high of fsb speeds when in dual channel. So would it be better to run at a higher fsb or a slightly lower one with dual channel enabled.

    Bottom Line: Buffalo is $170 for 2 512MB Sticks of Pc3200 CH5. Corsair Low Latency (which runs the same timings) is $306 for 2 512MB sticks of Pc3200 LL ram.
  • mluke24mluke24
    edited March 2004
    I agree with you full heartedly. I just find myself buying well known products other than products I am not too familiar with. I've had a history of bad ram (from Geil and OCZ) and I just came to the conclusion to jump onto the band wagon and go with the hype. After I bought Corsair, I couldn't be happier! If however you are on a budget, or just feel that your getting the same product then I agree with Capown.

    After all I was just recommending a product that I have experience with and I can trust. :)
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