3400+ or 3500+ ???

[SofaKing]

UGH!

Now I have ANOTHER dilemma...


Clawhammer or Venice?

What's the difference between 90 nm and 13 µm?

It's a $45 difference between the two (The Clawhammer being more expensive). Isn't the Venice newer and better?

I am SO lost.


Thanks,
Brian

[aka fatdog6]

ok from what i see you basicly need to upgrade everything except perhaps the case optical drives and hard drive so the question is how much do ya wanna spend thats whats gonna determine what you should get.
a $421 example
AMD Sempron 64 2800+ Palermo 800MHz FSB 256KB L2 Cache Socket 754 $75
CHAINTECH VNF3-250 Socket 754 NVIDIA nForce3 250 ATX AMD Motherboard $60
XFX PVT43ANDF3 Geforce 6600GT 128MB 128-bit GDDR3 AGP 4X/8X Video Card $155
CORSAIR ValueSelect 1GB (2 x 512MB) 184-Pin DDR SDRAM Unbuffered DDR 400 (PC 3200) $94
Thermaltake Silent PurePower TT-420AD(DUAL FAN) ATX 420W Power Supply $37

I have used this exact configuratrion on 3 computers so far and its a good system that overclocks very well

give us a price range to work with

[werty316]

90nm is a newer process than the 130nm process. It uses and produces less heat and seems to overclock better. Thats all the differences I know. Clawhammer or Venice are core names for certain A64 CPUs. I think the Clawhammer uses the 130nm process. Newer CPUs are either the Venice or San Diego cores I think.

Might I suggest a 3000+ or 3200+ then you can use the extra cash for a 6600GT. Venice chips overclock like crazy with good ram. I got a stable overclock from 1.8GHz to 2.52GHz.

[SofaKing]

Okay, so I bought the ASUS A8V Deluxe motherboard, and a new 500W case today...

The Venice CPU I can pick up for $222 at www.newegg.com, and the Clawhammer is $267... I just can't figure out why the Venice is cheaper...

Next is the RAM. If I get PNY, is that a good combo? They have a combo special - buy the CPU and get 2x512MB PNY (PC3200) for $80 more. I think I'm gonna do this, but would like your opinions on this.

Also, regarding the video card... The 6600GT is only 128MB vs. my Radeon @ 256MB... Is it *that* much better of a card?!? It's pretty inexpensive though... If my system isn't performing well after the upgrade, then I'll probably go with the new card.

And as far as price goes, I'm not really on a budget - I just don't want to spend $300 on a video card and $800 on a processor, ya know? I'll spend the extra for something better, but I like to save as much green as possible. 8)

Thanks again you guys for your input, you've all been a tremendous help!! Let me know what you think about that PNY deal...


Thanks,
Brian

[SofaKing]

BTW - here is the link to the memory:
http://www.newegg.com/product/Produc...82E16820236110


Thanks,
Brian

[aka fatdog6]

Originally Posted by SofaKing

Okay, so I bought the ASUS A8V Deluxe motherboard, and a new 500W case today...

hope you bought quality on the ps just cause it says 500w dont mean it really is

The Venice CPU I can pick up for $222 at www.newegg.com, and the Clawhammer is $267... I just can't figure out why the Venice is cheaper...T

go with the venice core supports sse3 and built with 90 nm smaller technology so they get more chips per wafer making it cheaper to produce also has am improved memory controller

[Bestia(ry)]

Originally Posted by SofaKing

Okay, so I bought the ASUS A8V Deluxe motherboard ..

Still one of the best mobos for 939 + AGP.
But hopefully no board-rev. 1.x ... ^^

[SofaKing]

Thanks for the input!

Regarding the case, I just figured I'll pick up an Antec PSU down the road. I'm sure it's not a true 500W, but it should be able to handle a couple drives and CDROMs (I hope).

What's the deal with board rev 1.X on those A8V's?


So with all your guy's help, here's what I've purchased:

ASUS A8V Deluxe Motherboard
AMD 64 3500+ Venice Core
512MB x 2 PNY PC3200 DDR

I also ordered a Hitachi SATAII 80GB hard drive, a pretty black case with blue lights (why not?! ) and I still have my existing Radeon 9550 (yeah, I know, I'll fix that later too, lol),

Am I missing anything?

Thanks again for all your help, I probably woulda got something REALLY bad without it!


Brian

[Bestia(ry)]

Originally Posted by SofaKing

What's the deal with board rev 1.X on those A8V's?

Nothing really bad, but you should not intend to do some serious oc'ing.
Even with the latest BIOS the AGP/PCI-clock-fix is not working on most of them.

Ed.: Would you do me a favor?
IF you've got a rev 2.0 board and IF you did not update your BIOS up till now .. would you please make a backup of your BIOS?
Should be rev 1010-003, I'd very appreciate it, thx.

[SofaKing]

Sure thing. 8)

When I get the new system put together, I'll try and remember to do that. Do you need a copy of the BIOS?

Brian