Sempron 64 3000+ build

slipknottin · Post by **slipknottin** » Mon Oct 31, 2005 6:33 pm

Pretty low budget build, but should be a significant improvement over what i have now.

AMD Sempron 64 3000+ Palermo 800MHz FSB Socket 754
ASUS K8S-MX Socket 754 SiS 760 GX Micro ATX
AOpen 91.05210.66U Geforce 6600 256MB DDR PCI Express x16 Video Card
1 gig of DDR400 ram (havent decided on brand yet)

Heres what I have now that I will be reusing-
Antec 3700bqe with two 120mm nexus fans
Seasonic SS-300 modded with a 80mm panaflo
Zalman 7000B with 92mm nexus fan swap

Im taking my old system AMd xp 2600+,abit KV7, ATI 9800SE (with zalman zm-80d) 512mb ram, etc and stuffing it into a silverstone LC-11 for my cousin.

Any potential problems with either build? Should I have any issues trying to enable CnQ on the new system?

mattthemuppet · Post by **mattthemuppet** » Mon Oct 31, 2005 8:58 pm

might be worth checking out the X800GT/GTO range of cards as they look like they offer a really good combination of price/ performance.

also, check out the lower rated Athlon64s (if there are, not well up on them TBH) as the rating system seems to mean that a Sempron is = the next grade down A64 (ie S3000 = A64 2800). Don't know how they compare price wise, but it's worth looking into. Not sure how much of a difference you'll see going from an XP2800 to a Sempron 3000 though

snowman59 · Post by **snowman59** » Mon Oct 31, 2005 10:34 pm

Whats your reason for going with the socket 754 instead of a 939? I would recommend the 939 only because its more future-proof than a 754. Socket A's were recently discontinued and 754's are next in line (although not for the forseeable future). A 939 just gives you more options especially in terms of upgrading in the future to a dual core when the price comes down.

I agree with mattthemuppet that it would be worth your time to check out the X-800 series of cards especially for the best-bang-for-you-buck application. Here is a shootout of a number of graphics cards. Its slightly dated given recent releases but its still goes for budget parts and can be found here. This review gives all kinds of breakdowns and sold me on an X-800XL instead of going after the more expensive X-850 line.

As for CnQ just remember that AMDs spec for CnQ only does the quiet part via a thermally controlled fan. However, the queit part can be implemented via many motherboards. The Cool part certainly works and even works for OCed systems.

~best of luck to you

frostedflakes · Post by **frostedflakes** » Mon Oct 31, 2005 10:36 pm

I agree, it doesn't really look like much of an upgrade to me. The Sempron 3000+ will probably only be marginally faster than the XP2600+, and IIRC the 6600 is on par with the Radeon 9600, which can't be very far off in performance from a 9800SE. :/

It should be easier to keep cool (and therefore quiet) than your current system, but I couldn't imagine it being much more powerful.

Fat_bloater_dave · Post by **Fat_bloater_dave** » Mon Oct 31, 2005 11:36 pm

frostedflakes wrote:the 6600 is on par with the Radeon 9600, which can't be very far off in performance from a 9800SE.

I dont want to say that you are a silly person but... I will. Radeon 9600 midrange for an older Gen Card. Geforce 6600 Midrange for a new Gen Card there is a might of a diffrence between the two not only in speed but in new tecnology and that without even saying he is going for the 256MB Vertion.
Like other People here i would sugest the 939 I know its a bit more exspence but it realy is a much better idea, and i dont know about you but im upgradeing to one to make my system cooler, (crappy Clip HS).

stromgald · Post by **stromgald** » Mon Oct 31, 2005 11:42 pm

I think dave is right. nVidia's 6 series is a whole new line. ATI did the weird thing and based the X300 and X600 off the 9200 and 9600 chips, but for PCIe. nVidia went from the 5 series which competed against ATI's 9 series to its 6 series which is comparable to ATI's X800 technology. The nVidia 6600 should be much better than an ATI 9600.

frostedflakes · Post by **frostedflakes** » Tue Nov 01, 2005 12:20 am

EDIT: Nevermind, I think you guys are right. After looking at some more reviews it looks like the 6600 has better performance than I first thought.

dukla2000 · Post by **dukla2000** » Tue Nov 01, 2005 1:32 am

CnQ works fine on a 3000+ - it does of course also depend on the mobo. ASUS (& Asrock) are a bit mean on the way they designed the power circuits and so you are unlikely to have many VCore options (undervolt, overvolt) other than the CnQ (& CPU) spec. Not sure specifically on the K8S but certainly seems to be an issue on NF3 s754 mobos under both labels. Although CnQ deals pretty effectively with the undervolt option (as it drops to 1.1VCore) and the E6 Sempron OC pretty nicely at stock VCore as well.

Having just upgraded from an XP2700 to s754 w/3000+ (as per current sig) for a net cost of £11.86 (sold the old mobo & CPU on eBay, £11.86 is after allowing for all commissions & costs) I figure it was worth it. Performance: depends what you do but my Folding throughput is potentially 50% greater, my wall/AC power usage at full load dropped from 122W to 82W.

Clearly I have also cast my vote on the 'future-proof' debate: s939 would have cost me an extra £30 for a CPU and probably another extra £30 for a mobo. For a future that may never come (cheapo X2) and/or when it does may be on M2 anyway: the s939 future is hardly infinate! I decided to save money now rather than gamble trying to predict my next CPU upgrade. I also decided PCI-E was of no interest to me as my most common game is Sudoku, but you have noticed that this is possible on s754. If you are a bit of a gamer I can understand your preference to invest in PCI-E rather than s939.

If you are going PCI-E on day 1, you may want to consider one of the NF4 or ULI s754 mobos: not sure what is available in uATX though. Although integrated graphics is 'free' I always figure it is also extra baggage that is not worth having unless you will use it.

Do of course ignore the A64 folklore that says you need 20A or more on +12V: this may depend on how much juice your vidcard needs but considering I have yet to persuade my system to suck more than 85W AC under any conditions 240W on +12V seems mind boggling to me!

slipknottin · Post by **slipknottin** » Tue Nov 01, 2005 7:06 am

well, Im pretty much maxed out in processor speeds for my socket A system, with a 754 board I have significant room for improvement. Going to a 939 system is going to cost at least another $100. This entire upgrade is costing under $150. And I put together another system a while back with a sempron 64 2800+ and nvidia 6600, and it is signfiicantly faster than my current system in gaming.

And with PCIe Ive got plenty of room for improvement there too.

Really, the main reason for the upgrade is so I can get a system that runs a little cooler, I have to keep my cpu fan at 100% now so it runs below 60 degrees. And that nexus 92mm at 100% is the loudest component in my system.

Dur, time to find another mobo, that one is actually AGP. Stupid advertising.

Ive decided to go with the soltek K890, its approved by amd to have CnQ, and its got SPDIF out, which I use with my 5.1 system. It seems to be the only 754 board that has both.

mattthemuppet · Post by **mattthemuppet** » Tue Nov 01, 2005 1:48 pm

before you fix on a particular MB, I'd check to see if it undervolts AND allows for fan speed control - 2 features which to me are more important (for quiet computing) than pretty much any others and something that's difficult to fix once everything's installed. I've got a 6mth old excel spreadsheet (based on the undervoltable MB list on here) with that info I can email you - just PM me if you want it. It lead to me getting an Abit NF7S for my SktA Sempron which I'm very happy with (apart from the fact I can only adjust FSB not multiplier - grr!).