[Lothos]

my buddy has asked me to build him a new pc workstation. Gonna be mainly a CF, HTML, XML, etc kinda thing machine with some photoshop. Wants bang for the buck and water cooling on this thing. SATA drive(s) and I already have a case and power supply. Looking for some recommendations on:

mobo
64 FX cpu
probably 2gb crucial ram to go with
water cooling components ( pump, radiator, cpu, cpu, and chipset blocks ) \\
coolant ( he wants a slime green look)
and lastly, possibly a vid card. My hunch is a 9600pro.

Anyway, there ya have it.

 

[Xavier1421]

Mobo = Asus A8V
CPU = FX53, all others are simply multipler adjusted (without getting into too much detail) The FX53 cooled and powered properly will provide very longterm performance

Ram = you already decided, even shop for low latency ram as low latency ram has proven to REALLY improve performance on the A64's

Water cooling gear = DangerDen all the way, might be a little pricey, but one-stop shopping is very pleasant

Coolant = Distilled water, water wetter or Xerex additives, and green UV dye (dye and additives also at DangerDen)

For that type of work, a 9600pro will do just fine.

 

[Lothos]

Any other boards that are good aside from Asus? The guy has a bad taste for Asus.

 

[Xavier1421]

MSI K8N Neo2 Platinum...

I'm waiting for DFI to come out with a 939 board....

 

[Lothos]

Alright, whiner boy doesn't want to spend $600 for the FX cpu...so, guess I need to find the next best thing.

 

[Xavier1421]

socket 939 3500...with the MSI.

 

[Lothos]

Whats the difference between the socket 754 and the 939? And what's MSI?

 

[Xavier1421]

Sorry, stick with the socket 939, and the MSI motherboard (the one I finally referred for you for the FX)

the socket 939's are dual channel capable, socket 754 is not.

Socket 939 has more HTT (hyper transport tech)

Socket 939's have better bandwidths overrall.

 

[Lothos]

Alright, prepping the shopping list so far:

CPU: http://www.newegg.com/app/ViewProductDesc.asp?description=19-103-499&depa=1 $169

Board: http://www.newegg.com/app/ViewProductDesc.asp?description=13-130-468&depa=1 $136

Ram: http://www.newegg.com/app/ViewProductDesc.asp?description=20-146-545&depa=1 $290 per 1gb stick. Board has 4gb capacity.

Video: http://www.newegg.com/app/ViewProductDesc.asp?description=14-102-407&depa=1$110

$995 with 2gb ram as I've suggested to him. Figure the water cooling will run another $300.

 

[Xavier1421]

I'd get a combination of these 512 sticks...

1 gig sticks are insanely expensive

http://www.newegg.com/app/ViewProduc...146-541&depa=1

if you REALLY REALLY want to, you can get 4x512 = 2gig of ram, for about 336.96...

By getting 2x512 or 4x512, you will still be able to use the board's dual channel configuration without losing an arm and a leg for 2x1gig...

The 4x512 is about 243 dollars cheaper than 2 1gig sticks.

Everything else looks great so far.

 

[The Duke]

Ummmmm delicious RAM choice. Get the Ballistix dirrect from Crucial for the best price and ease of warranty if ever necessary (never had a Crucial stick die though). 939 article on the DDR3200 at anandtech had it up to 596Mhz ummmm good. I'm still skt A w/a mobil 2600 and I'v gotten 436Mhz at the default CAS 2.2.2.2 T1 and default voltage.