Request opinions on this system

 

I do a lot of graphics and multimedia stuff, plus some games.  Don't have a
ton of money so I'm looking for best bang for the buck.  Would you please
let me know what you think?

AMD Athlon 64 X2 3800+ Dual processor
Asus A8N-3 Motherboard
Samsung PC3200 RAM 2 GIGs
Seagate Barracuda 300GB SATA HD
Sapphire Radeon X800 GT 256 MB Video Card
Viewsonic GS790 monitor (I already have this)

==============

Any suggestions?  Seem like a good combo of components?

Thanks.

 

Sounds powerful and effective.

--
DaveW

 

SC wrote:

"  AMD Athlon 64 X2 3800+ Dual processor  "

Given that Newegg has the X2 for the following prices, I see no better
value than the 3800+.

X2 3800+   2.0GHz   512KB   $374.00
X2 4200+   2.2GHz   512KB   $473.00
X2 4400+   2.2GHz     1MB     $559.00
X2 4600+   2.4GHz   512KB   $690.00
X2 4800+   2.4GHz     1MB     $884.00

I hear so many people recommending the X2 4400+ because it's the
cheapest X2 with 2x 1MB L2 cache.  The on-die memory controller doesn't
benefit from L2 cache as much as other sockets have needed it, hence the
fact that a 0.2GHz clock increase outperforms a doubling of the cache.


"  Asus A8N-3 Motherboard  "

Are you sure you don't mean the A8N-E ?


"  Samsung PC3200 RAM 2 GIGs  "

Depending on the extent of your *graphics and multimedia* work, it could
well be better having 2x 1GB with *standard* timings than 2x 512MB with
tighter timings.  You'd probably pay the same, given the cost of
enthusiast RAM.


"  Seagate Barracuda 300GB SATA HD  "

The warranty makes Seagate a wiser choice than most other manufacturers.
  The following prices at Newegg for the SATA 7200.8 series probably
make the 250GB a better choice at the moment (with the rebate), but if
you need 300GB you may as well make the jump.

200GB   $111.25
250GB   $112.00
300GB   $165.25
400GB   $259.25


"  Sapphire Radeon X800 GT 256 MB Video Card  "

If that's your price range then there's no better card, as it's taken
the mid-range crown from the 6600GT.


"  Any suggestions?  "

Yes.  Tell us the PSU you plan to use so we can bitch about it.