Some random questions on pci-e motherboards, cards, and cpu

[dario03]

I've been wanting to build a new computer for a long time now and I had a bunch of questions. I was wanting to get a amd 64 and a nvidia 6600(non gt) I'm trying to keep at a $700 budget. Problem is the 6600 doesn't come in agp form and the only pci-e amd 64 motherboard I've found cost $250. So my random questions in no particular order are

Is there any cheaper amd 64 motherboards with pci-e or will there be anytime soon?
Will there be any 6600 agp cards soon?
Should I just get a intel setup?
Which processor is better for overclocking?
Is ddr2 much faster than ddr?
Any other suggestions?

What does OEM mean? I thought it just meant you didn't get a bunch of stuff in the package but my friend says they aren't good for overclocking. Though I don't see why that would be.

 

[DJ-CHRIS]

OEM just means it doesnt come with anything besides a little peice of paper.

Also, from what i understandthe normal 6600 is garbage, if you want do do any gaming get a 6600GT. With the price difference between AGP and PCI-E mobo's you can upgrade to a 6600GT

 

[FreakvillePcz]

Well you could just do what I did and save yourself a buncha $$. I was going to build an AMD 64 system but the more I researched it, the more I decided to hold off on the 64 bit for awhile. There isnt much support for it at the moment unless you run linux anyway.

So instead I just got an asus av7n8e- deluxe board, with a xp2500+ "mobile" CPU. the beauty of the mobile cpu is that it was designed to run in a laptop and therefore can tolerate much lower voltage core settings. ... so it OC's like a mofo. I havent started pushing it just yet but from the benchmark tests i've seen it ran right up there with the 64 and sometimes better.

plus the board was all of $89 and the cpu was around $80....much cheaper than a 64 setup

 

[Sui]

Is there any cheaper amd 64 motherboards with pci-e or will there be anytime soon?
How cheap are you looking for? mine cost me about 120 dollors.

Will there be any 6600 agp cards soon?
There are, just expensive as hell. I wouldn't expect any of the 6000 series agp cards to be in your budget. I read something about how nvidia didn't want to jepordize sales of 5900 series by making a card cost less and perform close to that mark, or something to that effect.

Should I just get a intel setup?
I wouldn't but its your choice

Which processor is better for overclocking?
Honestly don't know, its a non issue for me.

Is ddr2 much faster than ddr?
For your budget? I wouldn't recommend ddr2, and not much faster then ddr in dual channel mode.


OEM means different things for different items, an OEM cpu is just a cpu and no HSF. Generally OEM comes without any instructions, just the card or drive, sometimes they even give you a box. Make sure you know the quality of the manufacure, and model before you buy an OEM.

 

[dario03]

Is there any cheaper amd 64 motherboards with pci-e or will there be anytime soon?
How cheap are you looking for? mine cost me about 120 dollors.

Where did you get yours and what kind is it?

Will there be any 6600 agp cards soon?
There are, just expensive as hell. I wouldn't expect any of the 6000 series agp cards to be in your budget. I read something about how nvidia didn't want to jepordize sales of 5900 series by making a card cost less and perform close to that mark, or something to that effect.

Where have you seen them because I thought they only made 6600gt agp which is about $100 above budget. But newegg has 6600 pci-e for $120

Is ddr2 much faster than ddr?
For your budget? I wouldn't recommend ddr2, and not much faster then ddr in dual channel mode.

When I was looking at them they seemed only a little more pricey but I had heard that they don't perform all that great.

 

[Sui]

I bought a Gigabyte GA-K8NF, it was around low 130's after tax. Its like the K8NXP only it has some features left out. There is a link below with some reviews. For pricing go to pricewatch.com.

http://www.tomshardware.com/motherboard/20050103/index.html

uhmm 6600gt was actually what I meant, and yeah its expensive.

My budget jumped from 500-600 to I'm hoping under 900. I've yet to total everything up, and I'm kind of afraid to. BTW is this a completly new computer or?

 

[dario03]

Completly new. I thought I could use some old hardrives I have laying around but I think their ata 100 and all the boards I looked at were ata133 or sata and I don't want to bottle neck.

 

[DJ-CHRIS]

You wont bottleneck with ATA-100, even today's new hard drives barely use up ATA-100

 

[Sui]

ata 133 is backward compatable, so you could use them. It should only be a little slower start up, and starting big programs. Plus if you add a sata drive later you can use the others for storage(after reinstalling windows. Building a pci-e/amd64 for under 700 is a posibility.

So far my build is
AMD64 3000+---161
GA-K8NF----------132
Seagate 80gig----72
256mb ddrx2------90
New PSU 420------75
2 case fans--------18
g-force 6600-----120
Wifi stuff----------130
F panel cable--------5
case-------------------0
cdrw-------------------0
fan controler--------20
tech toy I wanted--10

Actual stuff I needed = 668
Actual cost = 833

This isn't 100% correct, and I havn't even gotten all the parts yet, but you get the idea.