Buying A New Processor, MB and RAM (Eventually)- Advise Me!

St0rmer66 · 2004-09-22, 07:06 PM

OK, well i'm about to get to the right amount of money to buy a new processor and MB. First off, and THIS IS IMPORTANT - I LIVE IN THE UK. Which means NO newegg. Just thought id clear that up

. I'm looking at an AMD64 for sure, but the details im not that sure on.

CPU and Motherboard.

My first idea was a 3200+ and Asus K8V Deluxe. Pros: Cheap, OK performance for this generation of games. Cons: Limited Upgradability due to socket 754, wont last very long before becoming outdated.

I then thought about the same MB with a 3700+ (fastest you can get on a 754). Pros: Fast enough without becoming outdated too quickly. Cons: Limited Upgradability for the future due to 754 socket.

The much more expensive option is a Socket 939 MB (not sure which, ideas?) with a 3800+. Pros: Fast, Won't become outdated, good to upgrade in the future. Cons: Huge cost compared to the other options.

I also want a better Fan & Heatsink (combo prefered) for the CPU as i intend to do a bit of FSB overclocking. No Watercooling becuase i dont need that much o/c'ing. Can you suggest a better 754 motherboard than the Asus? (Thats if you think i should get 754 rather than 939).

RAM

I need a good brand but still not costing me and arm and a leg. 1Gb, in 2x512 or 1x1024, i dont really mind. Possibly leaning towards 2x512 if its a 939 because of dual channel. Again, will be overclocked with my FSB. My current RAM is generic crud, which is unstable at 200mhz unless i go to CAS 3 (which wont boot), so i have to run at 166mhz and CAS 2.5. I can always put it in a second comp though.

Case will be a Super Lan Boy which has two 120mm fans (front and back).

For anyone who's wondering, I have an MSI Radeon 9800 Pro 128mb (R360 Core for teh win) with a VGA SIlencer, and im buying some Copper VGA RAM'sinks for it. Should get me some good overclockage with my new case (current case has no fans = poor ventilation). Its overclocked but only a little.

Will probably update with links tommorrow, but tonight i'm tired (12am here).

All help appreciated.

~St0rmer_66~