General Help with building my new "dream machine"...

[Thorsson]

At this point the only AMD PCIE boards are either SLI or low-level. In a few weeks the non-SLI boards from ASUS, MSI and Gigabyte will be around.

If, like me, you can't wait, then the ASUS SLI is not that much more expensive than the non-SLI boards will be (about £20). Storm has a fixation on this...

[StormPC]

I guess it depends on your geography. Also, just because the cost is not significant to you doesn't mean it's not to everyone. In some countries it's nearly double for SLI.

[RichL.com]

At this point the only AMD PCIE boards are either SLI or low-level. In a few weeks the non-SLI boards from ASUS, MSI and Gigabyte will be around.

If, like me, you can't wait, then the ASUS SLI is not that much more expensive than the non-SLI boards will be (about £20). Storm has a fixation on this...

Lol. Well my argument was that i would be using two cards, but i would be buying the second card a few months after the first one, just to save some cash before i got another card...

Im happy with the features of the ASUS board i was looking at, unless anyone knows anything better i think ill go for it...with the 3200 non pro RAM mentioned before...(btw, lower CAS is better right...?) and an AMD 3500 Winchester...without RAID but with SATA.

[StormPC]

If you want to make sure SLI runs properly you have to use two identical cards. You probably will not be able to do this if you wait several months to buy the second card because hardware changes very rapidly. Products are changed and discontinued on a daily basis in the computer world. Thorsson is in denial of this. It's your gamble though.

[Thorsson]

That's pretty well what I did, except I saved a few £'s by getting the 3200+. CAS 2 is what you want. I got Crucial Ballistix direct because they had a great deal (saved about £50 compared to the OCZ).

[RichL.com]

Final:

AMD Athlon 64 3500+ Winchester 90nm (Socket 939) @ £193.82

Asus A8N-SLi Deluxe nForce4 SLi (Socket 939) PCI-Express Motherboard @ £123.32

Corsair 1GB DDR XMS3200C2PT TwinX (2x512MB) CAS2 (MY-030-CS) @ £140



All from overclockers.co.uk - look any good?

[Thorsson]

If you want to make sure SLI runs properly you have to use two identical cards. You probably will not be able to do this if you wait several months to buy the second card because hardware changes very rapidly. Products are changed and discontinued on a daily basis in the computer world. Thorsson is in denial of this. It's your gamble though.

LOL. Not at all. I'll buy a second if it's possible. If not then I'll wait till later for an upgrade. I don't have to get the fastest scores in benchmarks - I just want a fast machine for the things I do with it.

[Thorsson]

That RAM may not be the fastest. 2-3-3-6 rather than 2-2-2-5 stock I think.

[RichL.com]

Is that all going to run ok dual channel btw?

Crucial ballistix is about an extra £10 for very similar spec, is it worth going for Crucial or are Corsair perfectly reputable?

I know a few sites and have a few contacts who purposefully sell older or refurbished hardware, so im not worried about not being able to get another card...meaning i should have every reason to go for this setup?

Is this machine going to be every i should expect it to be? What other performance enhancements (apart from spending an extra £300 on CPU) can i go for?

[StormPC]

Pay a little more and get the XL. It's worth it, and Winchesters need to run the memory fast to take advantage of their superior overclocking capabilities. Winnies really like TCCD chips too!

Thorsson:

I know, but there are a few non-SLI boards already out in the states so it's not necessary to get SLI if you aren't using it yet. It's better all-around if you get the VCs at the time you go SLI on the motherboard. Also, the A8N is not the best overclocker. The MSI slaps it around pretty good.

[RichL.com]

TCCD Chips?

Plus...this is really pissing me off,i cant find a 3500 Winchester 92nm ANYWHERE! Theyre all newcastles!

Oh and is XL a different type of corsair RAM? You have to elaborate...sorry...lol

Thankyou

[RichL.com]

Never mind - found: Corsair 1GB DDR XMS3200XL Platinum TwinX (2x512MB) CAS2

For an extra £26 over the other XMS...looks good..

Still, can anyone find the Winchester IN STOCK at 3500+? Everyoe seems to have every 64bit chip other than the 3500+ winchester.

[RichL.com]

How do i know if this:

http://www.savastore.com/productinfo...cation&pid=207

Is a winchester? Anyone found a site that has them in stock yet?

[StormPC]

That's an AW (Newcastle). You want the BI.

I bought one Monday from Monarch Computers. They're in the US though. Don't know about the UK. Did you try CPU City?

edit: CPU City is out of stock too.

[Thorsson]

I know, but there are a few non-SLI boards already out in the states so it's not necessary to get SLI if you aren't using it yet. It's better all-around if you get the VCs at the time you go SLI on the motherboard. Also, the A8N is not the best overclocker. The MSI slaps it around pretty good.

Ah well, looks like we're further down the foodchain again... Is the OC information from your own testing?

[RichL.com]

Some sort of conspiracy to restrain me from a 3500+ huh, never mind, considering ive now got everything except the mobo, ram, cpu and gpu, i can keep checking to see if anything new has appeared..

What was the model number of this MSI board you mentioned earlier Storm?

Looks like im also going to go for the Corsair 1GB DDR XMS3200XL Platinum TwinX (2x512MB) CAS2 unless anyone can recommend anything better? Would i be better of with Crucial Ballistix?

You still havent told me what TCCD Chips are...i dont want to sound like a moron but please, enlighten me!