Quote:
Originally Posted by Txsaggieman
I am currently looking into upgrading from an Athlon XP system to an Athlon 64 system. I have been informed that the difference between a socket 754 and a socket 939 is only about 3%. Also, does a 1024Mb L2 cahce much of a difference from a 512MB L2 cache? What would be a good socket 754 for a good price that would be good for OC?
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To sort through the replies, here's a summary (with some corrections)
A 1024 meg L2 is equivalent to 512 meg L2 + 200MHz clock speed, whence DTR's (that have 1024 L2's) run 200 MHz slower than there desktop counterpart.
A64 is the way to go, be it 939 or 754. 754 is for the budget/performance minded.
You cannot go wrong with an A64 system, the computing power is mighty fine, and most have proven to overclock AT LEAST 10%.
Any of the nForce3 boards are going to perform very well. A DTR 3400 will give you the 1024 L2 that is SOOO very nice, and gives you a multiplier of 11, which is a good multiplier for OC'ing. When I say its a good multi for OCing, I mean its ability to go up to 11 is quite nice when you find yourself max FSB at 10 and wouldnt mind some more clockspeed.
***EDIT
This is just a list of prices and nforce3 boards, I'll let the other users post their thoughts on individual boards and processors. All prices in USD, as of Jan3, 2004. Found using
www.Pricewatch.com.
CHAINTECH VNF3-250 = 72.00
BIOSTAR K8VGAM = 62.00
EPoX EP-8KDA3I = 69.00
Gigabyte GA-K8NS = 70.60
ASUS K8N = 86.00
MSI K8N Neo-FSR = 88.83
I have left a few boards out, they didnt fall in the "under 90 dollars" category.
Some online retailers are offering a plethora of CPU's, consult Overclock.net first, it seems as though many retailers are not reporting their information correctly.
They have gotten DTR's, Mobiles, and Desktop CPU's all confused.
I found what seems to be a DTR 3400 for 200 dollars (OEM version) which to me is a GREAT deal.