which one to do?

[whatever]

hi everybody,
i'm tryin' to upgrade my pc, with the money i've now i get get these things:
1- Asrock dual sata2(i'll stay with my 3200+"939" and my ati 9600xt for a while)
2- to get Dfi ultra(939) and ati 1600pro(ddr2)
3- to change all my pc and get : am2 3200+, a good mobo(maybe with built-in gfx card).

so what do u think about this??

and another thing, will the recent gfx card will be able to run dx10 games?

[markkleb]

Since the one you have now is fine I would go with the AM2. There is no point in buying something close to what you already have.

As to DX-10, there arent any games yet so I wouldnt worry (besides you need Vista to get DX-10 anyways)

Instead of the X1600 look at the X800s. I have a HIS X800GTO that plays everything very nice. Or if you have the money(and PS) a X1800 or even a 7600GT.

[zachig]

First of all, WELCOME TO THE FORUMS!!! :grin:

Like markkleb suggested, I would stay with your current 3200+ for the time being, as you won't see any major difference (if at all) by moving to AM2-based mobo. But I would definitely consider upgrading the Video Card, and if you can afford it, AT LEAST a 7600GT or X1800, but you should VERIFY before, that your current mobo supports PCI-E. If not, you can go for a 7800GS AGP as well!!! :roll:

You didn't mention how much RAM do you have? :roll:
If you have LESS than 1GB, I would consider as well going for AT LEAST 1GB...or even 2GB, if you can afford it.

Anyway, hope this helps...GOOD LUCK and keep us updated!!! :wink:

[whatever]

the reason i said Asrock is that i'd be able to get a pci-e or an AM2 cpu any time.
i can't afford the 7800gs, and i've now 512 ram(i'll get another 512 this week).
if i go for the DFI i won't be able to move for AM2 unles i changed the mobo again, and i don't wanna do this.

if i go for the asorck, is this choice a good one, is the asrock am2 cpu board good thing or not?:confused:

[darkorb]

dont switch to am2, not worth it, performance increase is ilke 5%

[Mirrim]

Plus with AM2, you'd likely have to move to DDR2 memory. I have that ASRock motherboard and it's been quite stable since last December. I've used both PCI-E and AGP video cards on it.

[DragonMaster]

Don't go with onboard graphics : The best IGP for now is the equivalent to an X300 sharing the board's DDR or DDR2 and the 9600XT beats this IGP FPS-talking.

[whatever]

so, Asrock dual sata2(i'll get the am2 cpu board with it too). with my 3200+ and 9600xt untill dx10 cards are in stores with vista. i think this is the best i can do now.8)

[werty316]

so, Asrock dual sata2(i'll get the am2 cpu board with it too). with my 3200+ and 9600xt untill dx10 cards are in stores with vista. i think this is the best i can do now.8)
As others said going from S939 -> AM2 is abig waste of cash since you don't see any big time performance numbers.

As for DX10 you'll be waiting a while since only highend cards are out first and I don't think you would spend that much on a card when there won't be any DX10 games to play it on. Depending on what the G80/R600 bring for the midrange lineup, you get you might need a new PSU.

Also a DX9 card can't play a DX10 game.

[whatever]

so staying with my current 9600xt is the best thing i can do now untill dx10(mid-range)cards are realeased.
and another thing, should i get the cpu borad with this mobo or it's better to wait, i can't find it at newegg.

[DragonMaster]

If you're on a budget, I think that you should get an X2 939 CPU, a better videocard (X1650Pro is a good budget card) and an other same model 512MB RAM stick. What's your current mobo? If it's OK, no need for a Sata2 Asrock(Don't upgrade if you just want a different SATA revision, HDDs aren't fast enough to make a big difference)

You better just get a decent CPU and switch to AM3 once it's released, so you could skip directly to DDR3. (AM3 will support AM2 mobos and DDR2, but performance-talking, I believe that DDR3 is better than DDR2)

[whatever]

i've now : abit av8 mobo/ ati 9600xt /512mb ram/ amd3200+(939).
the reason for the asrock as i said that i'd be able to upgrade at anytime i've enough money for upgrading, i don't wanna get another gfx card as i'd change it after releasing of the mid-range dx1o cards.
i'll get another 512 ram, so i'll have 1024 dual channel(which is good for me).
i can get the x2 cpu(939 or am2) when i've enough money, and the asrock mobo will allow me to get anyone of them.

[zachig]

i've now : abit av8 mobo/ ati 9600xt /512mb ram/ amd3200+(939).
the reason for the asrock as i said that i'd be able to upgrade at anytime i've enough money for upgrading, i don't wanna get another gfx card as i'd change it after releasing of the mid-range dx1o cards.
i'll get another 512 ram, so i'll have 1024 dual channel(which is good for me).
i can get the x2 cpu(939 or am2) when i've enough money, and the asrock mobo will allow me to get anyone of them.

Anyway, at the end, it's ONLY up to you to decide what to get?!? :???::wink:

Anyhow, enjoy your new setup and GOOD LUCK. :mrgreen:

If you'll have more questions, don't hesitate to ask...:wink:

[Kougar]

:lol:

Guys, hold off a second, this thread is pretty muddled. There is no IGP mentioned, for instance.

The motherboard he is interested in is another ASRock special, it runs BOTH Socket 939 and Socket AM2 processors... they make a version that runs both AGP/PCIe, and then a second model that runs PCIe in SLI.

939/AM2 AGP/PCIe ASRock combo: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=N82E16813157097 (http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=N82E16813157097)

939/AM2 PCIe SLI ASRock combo: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=N82E16813157087 (http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=N82E16813157087)

Whatever, if I was in your shoes I'd go with your idea. I really wish I could use my own 9600XT in my Conroe rig, but my ASRock dual VSTA board got damaged in shipment and Newegg wanted it back. It makes no sense to fork out $200 for good graphics that will be severely limited or won't play future games such as Halo... better to save what money you'd spend now so you can buy a bigger DX10 GPU later!

[whatever]

yeah i mean the asrock with both agp and pci-e so that i can use my 9600xt till dx10 cards are out.
thanks very much for everyone's help.
i'll order the asrock dual sta2 within 2 weeks if God wills.

[Kougar]

I did a little more looking... I am not sure if that board comes with the AM2 riser board, I think that has to be bought separately. Without it only socket939 CPU's will work on that board.

[whatever]

i know that it's sold separately(i found it for a price ranging from 30 to 50$).
the question is, is it worth to get it? or the 939 is enough for now?

[Kougar]

Tough call... that board is cheap enough, but forking out half the motherboard's cost again just for a AM2 riser board isn't really worth it.

Because you mentioned buying a AM2 3200+... I would honestly suggest you stick with socket939 and spend the saved money on a much faster CPU. The difference between AM2 and 939 is at best ~5% off the top of my head. You save yourself the expense of that riser card or new board, including new DDR2 RAM that AM2 has to use.

I did find an ECS dual PCIe/AGP socket 939 board http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=N82E16813135212 (http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=N82E16813135212)
Since you want to buy a new board so you can use PCIe GPUs in the future, I'd suggest sticking with the a socket 939 board only and forgetting the riser card.

[whatever]

i think that the asrock is better than te ecs one.
i won't get the am2 3200+, i said i'd get it if i changed all my pc, but now i'll save some money and get and x2 939 cpu. about the am2 cpu baord i think i should get it only when i'm gonna change to am2(which i think won't be soon)
thanks Kougar very much for your help. and thanks for everyone in this great forum.:grin:

[Mirrim]

I think it's right on to go with the ASRock board. I've been running it and used my 6600GT at first and then when I could, upgraded to a much better PCI-E card. One thing you'll need to remember is to install the AGP drivers or it won't run well. As for the AM2 riser for the board, I wouldn't buy it until you're ready to jump to AM2, if ever. For the cost of the riser when you want to upgrade your system, you might just well afford a whole board that supports newer technology.

The ASRock has mild overclock capabilities if you have a mind to do that. I can also run my OCZ memory at 1T, which is nice.

[werty316]

I would stay with S939 since AM2 doesn't give you a noticable performance boost over S939 plus you would have to buy new ram. Also if you plan on using an aftermarket cooler chances are it would be hard to find one that fits on the riser board.

[Xero (1)ne]

do wuht im doing, wait till am3 and dx10 are both out, with all the bugs worked out, then upgrade

[whatever]

i can't wait untill that(i'll wait only for dx10), i heard about the cooler thing(it's hard to use 3rd party cooler on the am2 cpu board).
i'll order the asrock within this month and another 512mb ram(maybe i'll get a creative mp3 player too:-D )

[whatever]

sorry for double post. but is there a difference between : (Asrock dual-sata2) and (Asrock dual-vsta), i found that every thing is similar between them, or does Asrcok just change the name of dual-sata2 to vsta, i found only the vsta on newegg so are they the same??

[Mirrim]

Not sure of the differences, if any, but the VSTA version is newer. Might want to check the ASRock website for info on that.

[werty316]

I think the difference is the "VSTA" version uses a ULi chipset while the "SATA2" uses a nVidia chipset.

[Kougar]

Whatever, I don't see a "dual-sata2", please provide a link between both boards.

Taking a educated guess on the board you are referring to, the difference is the chipsets and features they offer. ASRock uses VIA, SiS, and ULi chipsets for both AM2 and 939 socket boards.

[werty316]

Waiut never mind both use a ULi chipset. Since only the S939 have both models:

939Dual-VSTA (http://www.asrock.com/product/939Dual-VSTA.htm)

939Dual-SATA2 (http://www.asrock.com/product/939Dual-SATA2.htm)

Only difference I noticed is the "VSTA" has a "Windows® Vista™ Premium Logo Hardware Ready" sticker/specs. It could be just a bunch of BS.

[Kougar]

There appears to be a difference in AGP slot specs, some cards will not work with only 1.5v available on the AGP slot, while the VSTA model appears to offer full AGP support.

Also, they use completely different sound chips. The VSTA appears to have a much more expansive array of audio out ports, while the DualSATA has only two.

So obviously, the VSTA is everything the DualSata is, but more/better. ;)

[DragonMaster]

And it's the ony one at NewEgg

[whatever]

sorry for being late in answering, yeah as you said it's the only one i've found on newegg(dual-vsta), the difference i've noticed is the sound chip(which i don't really care about that much), but some people told me that the dual-sata2 has 16x pci-e while the dual-vsta is only 4x.
anyway this is the liks:
dual-vsta : http://www.asrock.com/product/939Dual-VSTA.htm
dual-sata2 : http://www.asrock.com/product/939Dual-SATA2.htm
and i've found a review for both on http://www.ocworkbench.com (the only site i've found dual-vsta on it)

[DragonMaster]

dual-sata2 has 16x pci-e while the dual-vsta is only 4x.

That's completely unrelated, every video card connectors have to be PCI-Ex 16x.

I looked at the specs, and none of them got a PCIEx 4x connector, they both have one 16x and one 1x(For other devices than video)

[whatever]

i was not sure about that, but now i know that it's a good upgrade of the dual-sata2 with vista logo on it(better sound chip).
in that case i'll go for this mobo (dual-vsta).
thanks very very much guys for helping me.:mrgreen:

[Kougar]

The ASRock Dual775 VSTA board I had bought for my Core 2 Duo did have a PCIe 16x slot and 1 AGP slot, with matching DDR and DDR2 slots as well.

While it has a physical PCIe 16x slot, it only had 4x the PCIe lanes given to it. Basically a 16x slot with 4x the bandwidth. It would not surprise me if the dual AGP/PCIe boards were the same way. Anandtech has benchmarks of this board showing how much of a limitation this brings to PCIe cards.

[DragonMaster]

Hmmm... what about the other version, maybe that's what these guys meant "whatever".

[whatever]

yeah the one that told me about the 4x ment the 775 version, but when he realised what i'm talking about(which is dual-vsta) he told me that it's approximatly a perfect deal.