New Motherboard / CPU / PSU and possibly memory

[JammyJim]

Ok boys and girls my current setup is asus a7n8x deluxe
athlon xp2100+
512meg pc2700 DDR
Geforce 6600 Gt AGP


the rest is somewhat inconsequential.


Id like some recommendations on a motherboard and processor along with a decent power supply of about 450w thats not exortionately excpensive and represents 'best bang for buck'

if any of you can help id be most greatful.

im also not sure whether to stick with good old AMD or move to intel. my current pc sounds like a 747 taxiing at heathrow and i know intels seem to be much quieter.... anyhoo...

suggestions please :/

[Luckeh!!!!]

I would go for
A64 3000+ S939 (rev E or venice)
DFI nF3 Ultra S939 AGP (since you got a decent enough AGP card)
Tagan 480W U22 (from Scan)

the first two... try searching Ebuyer, overclock.co.uk, Scan.co.uk, Komplett.co.uk, CPUcity.co.uk (or if desperate overclockers.co.uk)

you'd need some PC3200 RAM aswell.

As for Intel being quieter... bollux it is, its all about the HSF you use. How can a CPU make noise?

[JammyJim]

every amd system ive had has been noisier than an intel equivalent...

maybe its just the standard crap they use is quieter

[Luckeh!!!!]

If you refer to the stock heatsink, then Athlon XP stock heatsinks were indeed quite loud compared to Intel, however the A64 stock heatsink is much quiter from what I've heard and A64's run much cooler than Intel or Athlon XPs

[djbass]

On the contrary, AMD CPU's typically run hotter than Intel ones.

for a 0db cooling system I've been oogling this one, though it does not look like it'll fit an xp.

[Luckeh!!!!]

Originally Posted by djbass

On the contrary, AMD CPU's typically run hotter than Intel ones.

for a 0db cooling system I've been oogling this one, though it does not look like it'll fit an xp.

not anymore.

A64 vs Prescott/Northwood, A64 runs significantly cooler and use less power.

[Demon Dave]

Originally Posted by djbass

On the contrary, AMD CPU's typically run hotter than Intel ones.

for a 0db cooling system I've been oogling this one, though it does not look like it'll fit an xp.

Compatability:
Intel P4 LGA775
Intel P4 478 Prescott FMB1.5
AMD Athlon 64 / Athlon 64 FX
AMD Athlon XP up to 3400+
AMD Sempron up to 3400+

[meglamaniac]

Originally Posted by djbass

On the contrary, AMD CPU's typically run hotter than Intel ones.

You're behind the times I'm afraid.
In fact, trying to acheive passive cooling on a current generation P4 is a roundabout route to burning your money - you buy the processor and burn that instead.
P4s put out well over 100W, whereas Athlon 64s are around the 60W mark and much lower when not doing anything if you have Cool'n'Quiet turned on. It underclocks the processor to around 50% and also reduces the voltage from ~1.3 to ~1.0. As Power = VI, the power drops due to the decreased amp load from underclocking (the I part) and then drops further due to the decreased voltage (the V part).

Anyway, the net result is that my Athlon64 3000+ idles along at about 45C in a very compact case, packed with other things (powerful graphics card, 3 harddrives which produce a fair amount of heat themselves, etc etc) and the case is made even hotter because the inside is covered in sound insulating foam, which also keeps the heat in. The 120mm fan on the cooler turns at an inaudible 700 RPM. At load it sits at about 55C and the fan ramps up to about 1000 RPM.
If I was to try a similar setup with a P4 I very much doubt I'd be able to keep the temperatures to within any safe level.

The other thing to consider is that not only does the Athlon 64 beat the equivilant P4 at most benchmarks, it costs less on a £/performance scale than the P4 does and you're also buying a degree of futureproofing with the 64bit part, which is STILL missing from the majority of the P4 lineup.
Intel execs have even taken the somewhat unusual step of admitting that their company missed the boat on both 64bit extensions and dual core processors, and are now about a year behind AMD in terms of the technology they are offering. In addition engineers at Intel have, in unofficial channels, warned against the current dual core offerings from Intel as they are "a rush job" and "inefficient".
Not to mention the job of trying to cool TWO 100W P4 cores on a single chip...