new AMD setup before AM2?

I want to get a new system that should be under £2000.

The main question is whether to wait for AM2 and buy the new technology, wait and then buy old or just buy old now.

From reading around I have found that there is supposed to be only a small increase in performance with AM2, and the old technology will only decrease in price by about £20. I assume that if I get the specs I want with an AM2 setup, it will go over my £2000 budget.

What I have gone for at the moment is this;

AMD X2 4400+ (£255.65)
http://www.ebuyer.com/customer/produ...duct_uid=91327

Asus A8R32-MVP Deluxe (£96.57)
http://www.ebuyer.com/customer/produ...uct_uid=105999

Corsair 2GB TwinX Cas2 Memory (2x1GB) (£121.94)
http://www.ebuyer.com/customer/produ...duct_uid=85958

512MB ATI (Connect3D) X1900 XT (£239.21)
http://www.ebuyer.com/customer/produ...uct_uid=103333

Creative X-Fi Fatal1ty Sound Card (£115.88)
http://www.ebuyer.com/customer/produ...duct_uid=96739

WD 250GB SATA II 16MB Cache Hard Drive (£50.54)
http://www.ebuyer.com/customer/produ...duct_uid=94403

NEC ND3540A DVD ReWriter (£24.54)(They didn't have the 4570 but I don't really need DVD-RAM Support)
http://www.ebuyer.com/customer/produ...duct_uid=89190

Logitech Z-5450 Wireless 5.1 Speakers (£199.65)
http://www.ebuyer.com/customer/produ...duct_uid=94474

Dell 20" Widescreen Monitor (£299.95)
http://www.overclockers.co.uk/cgi-bi...OCLEARFRAMES=1

Akasa Eclipse-62 Case (£65.98)
http://www.ebuyer.com/customer/produ...duct_uid=97861

Akasa 120mm Ultra Quiet Case Fan (£6.80)
http://www.ebuyer.com/customer/produ...duct_uid=97858

FSP Sparkle 600W ATX2.0 PSU (£69.95)
http://www.overclockers.co.uk/cgi-bi...OCLEARFRAMES=1

Prices don't include VAT
VAT for ebuyer = £205.96
VAT for OCers = £66.48

Shipping for ebuyer is free
Shipping for OCers is £9.95

OVERALL PRICE = £1829.05

Are there any changes you would recommend or any shops you know that sell these cheaper? (tried scan, cclonline and dabs)
Have I managed a good price?

Looks like a nice collection of parts to me.
Maybe rethink the Sparkle PSU...they are fine supplies but tend to be a bit noisy because of the 80mm fans.
Perhaps a Seasonic S12 or something comparable with 120mm instead?

As for the M2 socket...I think I'd hold off till the motherboards reach at least the second generation (figure 6 months to a year after initial release) and the CPU range has expanded and shaken out.

Whether you want to hold off that long is up to you.

If we keep you talking about this for a week then AM2 will be available, it is due for release on the 23rd. As you say, it will probably knock your costs up a bit, but probably less than you think. It may also have the effect of forcing down prices on S939, but probably not by much.

Obviously clocker doesn't realise that this Sparkle PSU has a 120mm fan. :rolleyes:

The quad rail output (4x15A) of the Sparkle PSU may be a problem for the X1900XT - there have been some issues about this with Antec Neo 500 PSUs which have 3x17A rails.

That being the case I'd go with clocker's suggestion, or the Tagan TG580-U15 580W ATX2.01 Easycon SLi Compliant Modular Silent PSU (CA-009-TG) when it is back in stock.
http://www.tagan.com/pages/products/...tg580_u15.html

Quote:

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Originally Posted by lynx

Obviously clocker doesn't realise that this Sparkle PSU has a 120mm fan. :rolleyes:

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Yeah, someone should speak to him about these lapses.

Bloody British link wouldn't open for me so I just made up some shit and posted it.

Typical, really.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by clocker

Quote:

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Originally Posted by lynx

Obviously clocker doesn't realise that this Sparkle PSU has a 120mm fan. :rolleyes:

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Yeah, someone should speak to him about these lapses.

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Ok. How about you tell him then.

He scares me.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by clocker

He scares me.

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I know. That's why I didn't want to say anything myself. :fear:

Quote:

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Originally Posted by lynx

there have been some issues about this with Antec Neo 500 PSUs which have 3x17A rails.

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The x1900 recommends a minimum of 30A rails. (38A for the XTX)

Of course, this is probably assuming a single rail PSU, but still....
If the beast needs that much power, then the smaller dual and triple rails just can't give it what it needs.

IF your've an OCer - i'd go DFI.

DFI nF4 SLI-DR EXPERT (4-phase PWM, 8-pin server style BTX CPU power) or DFI nF4 Ultra-D.

Enermax Liberty 620W or FSP Epsilon 700W.

Well I managed to keep thinking until AM2 was released.

Now that it is, there are no mobo's with an ATI chipset, only nVidia.

Also it seems that all reviews are saying that there really isn't a noteworthy performance increase.

I doubt that I would see much of an increase if I got the X2 4400 for AM2 and 2GB of DDR2 over my proposed specs (see OP). Please correct me if I'm wrong.

Also, in response to all the PSU problems you all think I would have with Sparkle, are they still viable if that PSU was on ATI's recommended PSU list for the X1900XT?

Should I just stop worrying and buy or are there some more things to think about?

This is tough but in your shoes I'd probably go AM2.
After all, despite the minor improvement, that appears to be the socket that AMD will develop and what's wrong with nF5?

Buying into s939 right now gets you a mature platform but little opportunity for upgrade.

Can you wait another couple of months and see what happens?
And what about Conroe?

Upgradablility is indeed a concern for me, but then again, could I not upgrade from 939 to AM2 in a year by just swapping mobo, CPU and memory- or is that really too much?

In terms of performance, I am not 100% sure how the memory latency works out. DDR low latency is considered CAS2 or CL2 (not sure what the diff. is) but with DDR2 lowest I could find was CAS4. I assume there is some compensation, but between the following, which one would be considered better?

http://www.scan.co.uk/Products/Produ...oductID=291363
or
http://www.scan.co.uk/Products/Produ...oductID=156701

Now with graphics cards I prefer ATI over nVidia and for me the x1900xt is the best card out at the moment.... the nVidia rival either being out of stock, or quite a lot more expensive.

Now that AMD has switched to DDR2, low latency RAM should begin to appear.
The Intels didn't much benefit so there was no need to develop it just for them.

CAS2 and CL2 refer to the same thing, btw.

I keep seeing veiled hints about DDR3 in the pipeline but don't know whether it's interchangable with DDR2...that could be a dealbreaker in itself.

And then there's Conroe, coming next month.