Advice needed: Upgrading older machine, socket A or 754?

[Anders]

It doesn’t look like I’m going to solve my PC problems, and with only 11 reads I don’t hold out much hope for my thread in Hexus.help.

As the problem could lay with, HDD, PCI SATA controller card or motherboard, I am thinking of buying a new Socket A mobo with SATA on board. Nforce2 is the chipset to go for. I know the ABit NF7-S rev2 was always popular here. I cannot find anywhere selling them new, so I am looking to get Asus A7N8X-E Deluxe from Ebuyer. Is this my best bet? I’m not flush with cash, but would it worth spending a little extra on a Socket 754 motherboard + processor? Perhaps someone clever has a third option?

Cheers for reading, Anders.

[unreal]

Yea I would go with 754 is possible, even if it means waiting an extra month. There are some PCI-E Socket 754 boards out there too, so get one of those if possible to have a better stability in future upgrades. I however personally own the Asus A7N8X Deluxe and it's probably the best Socket A board out there (along with the DFI LanParty?) but I'm getting rid of it this month to make way for a socket 939 solution.

I made a computer up for my mate a short while ago using socket 754, it really is the business, put it with a cheap new 6800GT aswell.

[chilled]

All CPUs for S754 are being phased out starting this month in favour of S939. I would say wait a bit if you can...S754 will be cheaper as well.

[[DW]Cougho]

Socket 754 without a doubt.

Cheap as (cause everyone writes it off) and its bloomin' fast as.

My rig is based on s754 and you can see it aint slow.

[mike_w]

Right now, I would go for Socket 754, considering how low the prices are.

[Anders]

Somehow I thought so ... S754 would be good to get.

Does S754 use a different type of power connector on the motherboard (i.e. do I need a new PSU)?

PCI-E I understand is the way of the future. My current graphics card is AGP. Do dual AGP/PCI-E motherboards exist (i.e. do I have to upgrade my graphics card as well)?

Thanks, Anders.

[asteroth]

THE 3RD OPTION

get an Asrock DualSATA2 board, keep your AGP card and PSU and get a cheap socket 939 Opteron 144.

this way you have a CPU and MB which will last for your next upgrade cycle; PCI-E and 939

the CPU overclocks well and the mother board is getting excellent reviews. best of all the CPU and MB combo will cost you £135

[Anders]

Interesting third way asteroth, Mr Blair would be proud of you

Another question, I recently ordered two of these PQI PC4000 512MB 3-4-4-8 2.8 V curtsey of Hexus.Bargain (£70 in total), will these be any good in a Socket 754/939 motherboard?

[|{££|"]

i have the a7n8x-e deluxe and the a7n8x-x and they are both awesome socket a mobo's.highly recommened

[Anders]

I have more cash to spend now (£200) so I’m going with Asteroth’s suggestion (thanks).

My current PSU is an FSP400-60GN. I have read the ASRock uses a 20-pin connector. I assume most new PSUs will come with 24-pin, therefore I’ll need to stick with my current PSU?

The ASRock says do not use 3.3v AGP cards. How do I know if my current (GeForce Ti4200 128MB) is 3.3v?

Another question is of timing, order now while 144 are in stock, or wait until the New Year to see if prices drop. If I don’t spend it elsewhere, I could maybe stretch to a CPU a little faster than a 144.

Cheers,

Anders.

[asteroth]

glad to be of assistance

i dont think the ti4200 is 3.3v

get the opteron now, AMD are not making any more. get one before they are all gone.

new psu's should come with an adapter 20 -24 pin

[mike_w]

get the opteron now, AMD are not making any more. get one before they are all gone.

http://www.theinquirer.net/?article=28369

Opteron Socket 939 is here to stay

I would assume that you can safely wait, unless I've gone and read the wrong thing!

[Smokey21]

Eithr just get a nice Nforce 2, or head straight to 939. You can pick up a 3000+ Venice for aroun 90quid, id imagine, 70quid second hand, even less, and a decent Nforce 4, cost you about 65quid. Your really not gonna save much going 754.

aria do the ABit NF7-S2 for 39quid?

[Anders]

I've got an Opteron 144 (CABNE), ASRock Dual SATA and a Zalman 9500. I've just got to work out how to fit the Zalman. The nipples included with the Zalman don't fit into the topside of the retention frame as per the instruction manual. Been looking around Google/forums and I have come across a couple of methods. One involves putting the nipples through underneath. To me they look like they’ll stick out too much. The other is to use an Intel Socket 478 retention frame, but I don’t have any of those lying around. Maybe at work ... but I want it now.

D'oh!


Thanks Asteroth, I haven’t been able to find much concrete regarding 3.3v. According to MBM my +3.3v line is at 1.55v, I am guess this is the AGP voltage?

[Rohan]

3.3v AGP cards are a very old spec, your GF4 is a newer 1.5v card so you'll be fine. Even if you did have a 3.3v card, it wouldn't fit in the slot as they are keyed differently. I was a bit worried as well when I saw the warning on my Asrock, but if the card is not compatible, it won't even fit in the slot, so don't worry, you can't fry the board.

[Anders]

Awesome. Good design by someone on the AGP front. Thanks for the information Rohan.

Just got to work out the heatsink, which I won't be attempting now I've had a few drinks.