New PC, need help with CPU decision

[Reather]

Hey, everyone. I'm not going to buy this PC for awhile, since I'm waiting for Dual-Core to come (cheaper single ones, hopefully), but I do my homework. I want to know about this system-
Asus A8N Sli
Antec 480 watt neopower
Athlon 64 3000+ or 3200+ or 3500+
Thermaltake Soprano VB1000SWS
512 MB of Kingston Value RAM
MSI 6600 GT
WinXP
Seagate SATA 80 GB hard drive 7,200 RPM
Audigy 2 Value
Sony CD-RW/DVD ROM
Sony Floppy
Total-1,040(?) from Newegg

Which CPU should I get? Also, consider in the Dual core and the costs then from now. Also, I need some lights. Thermaltake has some, but what else should I get?

[michaels39]

I'd go with the 3500,the price isn't that much greater and it has very good performance ratings.I'd also go with 1 gb of memory,and with SLI the Antec 550 psu would be better.

[bombledmonk]

I'd highly recommend getting 1GB of RAM, for a gaming type machine it is beginning to make a world of difference.

Any of these would be great for you.
http://www.newegg.com/app/ViewProduc...156-020&depa=0
http://www.newegg.com/app/ViewProduc...141-135&depa=0
http://www.newegg.com/app/viewproduc...145-440&DEPA=0
http://www.newegg.com/app/ViewProduc...146-299&depa=0

As for the CPU go ahead and get the 3000+ or 3200+ and a nice cooler like an xp90 or xp120(if it fits that board). You can have a little fun overclocking and save some money in the mean time. Then if you feel you need to upgrade you'll have something to those nice dual core chips.

[Reather]

I'd like to keep the price around $1,000. If the prices for single cores go down, I'd might want to get some lower latency RAM. But for SLI, does the 550 watt have any PCI-E power connecters? Also, does all the RAM work w/ the MOBO. Also, I would prefer to get the RAM from Corsair, Kingston, or Crucial. Also, how popular is Mushkin when compared to them?

[bombledmonk]

Originally posted by Reather
I'd like to keep the price around $1,000. If the prices for single cores go down, I'd might want to get some lower latency RAM. But for SLI, does the 550 watt have any PCI-E power connecters? Also, does all the RAM work w/ the MOBO. Also, I would prefer to get the RAM from Corsair, Kingston, or Crucial. Also, how popular is Mushkin when compared to them?

Lower latency RAM will not get you anywhere these days, there is a max 0-5% increase in benchmark performance, but close to nothing in real life computing. It was the big thing back in the day of SDR RAM, but things have changed with the new processors. The newest memory controllers (especially the onchip AMD64) don't need low low latency chips to run well. Latency should only really be taken into account if you are looking at two types of RAM in similar price ranges. 1GB would not raise your budget and it would make for a far faster computer when crunch time comes.

PCIe does not require any special power connectors, Most cards run completely powered by the motherboard. Only the very high end ones can't get enough juice and use standard molex connectors to get a boost. ***Edit*** any special connectors that may be needed will often come in adapter form inside the video card box.****

Kingston, Corsair, and Crucial are all good RAM, but DDR technollogy today has matured to the point where most respectable companies can easily compete with ( or better) more expensive offerings. Mushkin is also a very good company, I'd also highly recomend Kingmax for their competitivly priced products that are underrated by newegg's specs. This is a solid solution with many good reviews if you go searching on the net.
http://www.newegg.com/app/ViewProduc...156-022&depa=0
A final recommended brand would be Ultra(not found on newegg). Their newest RAM is nicely priced and was recently tested against and beat Corsiar's best ram in a review I read recently. In the end Just make sure the ram has a lifetime warranty and see if you can find reviews before you buy. You'll find that all you're paying for is the name when it comes to good performing ram these days.

[Reather]

Well, no offense, but I would like to stay with a brand name RAM, due to the decrease of less problems (BSODs and RAM failures). Also, thanks for the tip on latency. I guess we do learn something new every day, don't we.
And, what heatsink do you guys recommend for the CPU (hopefully, the 3500+, possibly higher). I might want to do some overclocking, but not too much.
But, does the 480 neo support SLI, w/out the 2 PCI-E connecters? And which 550 watts support the ATX 2.0 spec.

[bombledmonk]

The Thermalright XP-120 is arguably the best air cooling solution because of its design and ability to use a 120mm fan. It is also one of the most quiet solutions you can buy because of the large fans that can be used. You need to check compatibility on Thermalright's website because it does not quite fit on a couple motherboards.

The smaller but still very good version is the Thermalright XP-90 which has the ability to use a 90mm fan for high airflow at lower noise levels. SVC.com is the best store to get this from because of their promotional code. Type in "xp90" in the box at checkout and you can get this bad boy for $24.99.

Both of these heatsinks do not come with fans, Thermalright gives you the choice of finding the best airflow/noise fan that you wish to buy. Whether it be a 14dB SilenX Fan or a Thermaltake Blue LED Fan for $8 shipped, you can choose what you want.

As for the RAM issue, I did not link you any ram that I wouldn't consider name brand. They may not be known as well as the brands you listed earlier, but they are solid repuatible companies that have been around for a while. If considering no others, I'd still highly recommend Kingmax as a solid alternative to any of the more recognized companies.

As for your PCIe power connectors, adapters will be provided in the box with the video card, there is no need to worry about buying one of the newest PSUs. If you are thinking about 6600GTs in SLI, those don't even use and extra connector(to the best of my knowledge). This Antec 550W would be my recommendation for an SLI box. The NeoPower should also be up to the task and is quite nice to look at, but overpriced IMO.

[Reather]

But, you still didn't answer my question about the PSU or RAM. And, what about a Thermaltake solution? There was a large fan/heatsink combo I saw for $50, but I don't think I need that much cooling.

[bombledmonk]

I'm editing the above post....

Originally posted by Reather
And, what about a Thermaltake solution? There was a large fan/heatsink combo I saw for $50, but I don't think I need that much cooling.

I'm not the biggest fan of thermaltake's heatsinks. The only one I would personally buy is the silent boost, but don't expect too much of an overclock out of that.

If you are unsure of what to get my recommendation would be the xp-90.

I'd still recommend getting the 3200+ or 3000+ and overclocking to 3500 speeds+ The money you save can be spent to better the rest of your rig and that is a quite safe and nearly guarenteed speed to reach.

[Reather]

Thanks for the help. I might consider the Thermalright heatsink, but it only goes to the 3200+ (the 120 MM version). I'm considering a thermaltake solution. On Newegg, it's almost impossible to find a heatsink, espicially since I use a very slowwwww Dial-up (21.6 kbps). I really live out there, don't I. But, I was able to find a Zalman cooler, the CNPS7000B, and it's all copper! But, it's 46.99. Is there anything less expensive.
Also, what brands for heatsinks do you recommend? Thanks for all the help, by the way.