Ok, I have made up my mind the following is my future system what do you think?


AMD 64 3400+ 2.2ghz
Nforce3 250Gb DFi mobo
1Gig ram (PC3200)
300Gb HDD ATA/133
6800GT 256MB version

Now I am planning on overclocking the video card to 1250Mhz on the ram and like 400Mhz on the core to match an 6800Ultra.

what would be better a 6800Gt or a X800Pro?

and will the amd 64 3400+ be any faster then the celeron in regular proccess?
like burning dvd, listening to music, and opening programs? or will it only be faster in gaming.

what would be better a 6800Gt or a X800Pro?

Go with the 6800Gt. Best value out there ;)

6800GT is a better performing card as well as being the best value high-end purchase available :D

like burning dvd

Today's CPUs are not stressed much when burning (being so bloody fast). If you were encoding a movie or some music, then yes, it would make a difference.

listening to music

You'd only notice a performance drop if you were using a CPU from 6 years ago. Playing an MP3 or music CD has no noticable performance impact on any processor currently available.

and opening programs?

There wouldn't be much difference. Running the program is a different story!

Point one: there's no need to overclock a card that's already good enough.

Point two: I distrust cards that are sold already 'overclocked'. It probably means it's already been pushed to its limits and there's no headroom to overclock it yourself should the time come to make doing so worthwhile.

Point Three: You are probably paying extra for an 'overclocked' card, when a standard one would probably overclock to the same extent anyway.

Point four: That card is listed as 'Sold Out' :D

point five: I not buying one until december 20th. :rolleyes:

point five: I not buying one until december 20th. :rolleyes:

Point Six: A lot can happen in a computer-tech month. Check back with us in December. ;)

point 7: stay out of this :mad: :)

I got new system specs now since the AMD 64 3400+ is now 219!!!

AMD 64 3400+ 2.2Ghz 1Mb L2 Cache ($219)
Nforce3 250Gb DFI LAN PARTY mobo ($109)
2GB PC3200 ram (umm alot)
6800GT 256MB (still overclocked to my specs above) ($383 as of now hopefully will drop by christmas)
and a new 250GB SATA HDD and my old 160 ATA/133 HDD (slave drive) ($150 if I find one with rebates, and I own the 160Gb already)


Bam! thats it wudda think? am I looking at running DOOM 3 at ultra settings with no lag or glitches what so ever? please say yes :D

Also after u answer my question above answer this one if u can.

I am going to be running 2X512MB dual channel sticks (i know they wont be running at dual channel, I just want to to make sure they're exact matches)
and 1, 1GB stick, will that create performance problems? lag, crashes,ect? and Is Corsair a good ram company? because they make 2X512 sticks and 1Gb sticks at reasonable prices for me, and if they're the same company mostly likely the sticks support each other.

BTw NANYA(emachines brand ram) and Ultra do not support each other. :(

point 7: stay out of this :mad: :)

You don't want help?!?!

Bam! thats it wudda think? am I looking at running DOOM 3 at ultra settings with no lag or glitches what so ever? please say yes :D

Doom 3 can slow to a crawl when entering certain areas (e.g. finding a monster), regardless of system specs, but this can be alleviated with some config file tweaks.

1, 1GB stick, will that create performance problems?

No.

lag, crashes,ect?

No.

and Is Corsair a good ram company?

Yes.

Corsair RAM, Geil or even something like Kingston RAM in the 'budget' lines would be perfectly adequate. You only need better and more expensive modules if you plan to overclock, and if you plan to do so then perhaps 'faster' RAM is a better alternative than the more expensive varieties of RAM which runs at the same clockspeed. That is to say, if you plan to overclock I think installing PC3500,PC3700 or PC4000 RAM is a better alternative than installing a more expensive and highly rated variety of PC3200 RAM.


With regard to your initial question, I think your response to Coconut Monkey is rather ill-advised. Quite simply, what he says is correct. Whatever system configuration you choose now will almost certainly be able to be bettered a few weeks or months down the track. That's simply the way things work.


Point 8. Don't lock yourself into hardware choices until you have the cash in your hand ready to pay for them!

lol it said that as a joke ment nothing by saying it.

and my mobo only supports up to PC3200

i have the cash, Im just waiting for the stuff to go down maybe some christmas sales, because I dont require it at this moment.

Higher rated RAM almost always 'works' with motherboards which are specified to 'work' with lower rated modules. It will simply be operated at the lower speed, which is what you want anyway! You should never really run your RAM at higher speeds than that required to 'synchronise' with the front side bus speed of your processor. Doing so can cause performance drops.

Having RAM modules which can operate at higher clockspeeds, however, allows you to overclock by increasing the processor's front side bus peed, and still have your RAM operating 'in sync' with it, and thus at its full efficiency :)

so what would I need to synce the Amd FSb? pc5400? :?: :p

Nope. AMD Athlon64 doesn't really use a fsb in the way previous processors do, but effectively you might as well say it does, and for current processors it's 800MHZ. To be 'synced' that simply means you need RAM operating at 400MHz. Same thing goes for 800MHz FSB Intel processors.

There's no such thing as '800MHz RAM' so you line things up by using multiples of 200MHz. If you use RAM which is operating at 333MHz or 433MHz for example, things get 'out of whack' and efficiency is lost because the lines of communication between processor and RAM aren't lined up with each other.

do it doesnt matter with the new amds but with P4 it does?

because more then likely I am going to buy 2Gb of PC3200

AMD Athlon64 processors have memory management on the processor chip, but you should still really use RAM operating at 400MHz with them. Your 2Gb of PC3200 is ideal.

BTw is that system I mentioned
AMd 64 3400+
2Gb PC3200
and 6800Gt
set for another 5-10 years? Like is it fast and good enough that I wont need to upgrade for another at least 6 years?

If you are considering games, then NOTHING you can assemble would guarantee you adequacy for that long!

As a matter of fact, I personally wouldn't rely on any system whatsoever remaining adequate for that length of time. I think it's expecting too much, and it's too difficult to predict where future developments in software might take us. That's a system which is 'ready' for 64-bit computing when it arrives, but who knows what new applications and directions that will bring us, and how quickly systems will need to develop to make the most of them. Tasks that are performed on PCs as a matter of course nowadays weren't really more than pipe-dreams 6 years ago or more!

I'm personally into having a games machine in operation as well as a work system. I personally adopt an 18 month turnover period for games systems, and try to stay '1 step behind' with the technology, so iI can obtain it more cheaply. I'm currently running a couple of overclocked Athlon XP systems, and my games rig has an FX5900XT display card in it. I can see no real need to upgrade that for perhaps another 12 months yet.

When I do, it will be to a system with capabilities of a comparable standard to the one you're considering now, and I won't be expecting to get more than 18 months from it from that point onwards.

Does that answer your query? It's about the best I can offer, because I really think your question is unrealistic and unanswerable.

well the 6800GT should run games smoothly for another few years

I have friends amongst gamer circles who have only recently decided to upgrade from Gf3Ti cards!

A 6800Gt could be expected to run games for quite some time to come, I'd consider.

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