SFF Nightmare... 64bit or 775 PCI-Express?
 

So my parents agreed to fund my college computing experience.. But i want something with performance that will be smaller than a desktop but more powerful than a laptop..

So I want a Shuttle (See pic.) But it will need to last me.. PCI-Express hasnt shown too many noticeable results... SO what should I do? Go with an AMD 64-bit Shuttle or a 32-bit PCI-Express shuttle??? I already have an intel and would be interested in trying AMD... But if PCI-E explodes into something great I don't wanna be left in the dust....

Please Help

Well lets think about this. Unless you are a linux user 64 is not going to be useful for TWO years, by that time your processor will be obselete anyways. And also PCI-E has a signifigant boost now.

How did PCI-E get a significant boost?

in frames per second dude.

Just because you can't use the full functionality of a 64, doesn't mean you can't enjoy the benefits of the functionality you can use. 64-bit AMDs give you better performance at every price point than 32-bit Intels. I do agree with partofme1337 that PCI-E is what you should go with, however. Chipsets and sockets change in 8 to 12 month cycles, while graphics ports generally don't change for at least a half a decade. Later on down the road, if you do any major system overhauls, you can use whatever video card you have at the time, even if you will have just recently upgraded it. (Future upgrades are going to include procs/chipsets/sockets, why drag the video card along with it?)

the whole thing is icky.. but yea, getting an athlon 64 bit for the 64 bit reason is.. well, the wrong reason... aka why I voted pci-e

but ill be living in a 32-bit world

Doesn't matter, because AMD64s are better than Intels in a 32-bit world, too. It's like saying even though you can get a BMW 525 for the same price as a Chevy Malibu, you don't want the BMW because you can't take it to 155MPH in your country (I know you obviously can't get a 525 for the same price as a Malibu, it's just an analogy).

nice flawed analogy... it's like a land rover to that 525... they're for diff things.. for example, there is also a 2.8p4 and a643000+ in the house and the 2.8 runs seti noticeably faster...

So what you telling me is that 64-bit is for linux users? and PCI-Express is for gamers.... But my games are all 32-bit and would fly 64-bit.... PCI-Express it would not be too much noticeably faster... The FSB is 2x as fast as the 775 one...So I believe 64-bits would be great for gamers, video editors, audio editors, encoding... These are all things I will be doing A LOT. And I need the best performance processor as far as encoding and editing is concerned....

Here are the results..

Those are some good benchmarks Stinky.... So we can conclude that the processor part of this should be an AMD64... But I've never heard of a shuttle with AMD64 and PCI-E.. that would be the best combo in my mind. But I don't believe PCI-E has that big of a performance jump compared to AGP.... Until I see some benchmarks I dont believe that PCI-E is significantly faster at all...

you know what I would do if I was you? wait. nForce 4 shuttle boards are due out soon, and combine that with a nice a-64 chip and you are set to go.

those have PCI-E in them? they will be very expensive tho.. prob 400-500 right?

This isnt about you.. And frankly no one cares about your system... your so full of yourself jason and everyone on this forum knows it. Instead of helping them with your input you make dumb comments like that..

But back to the subject... 64-bit nforce4 PCI-E it is... The fragbox has it...
But Im still waitin until it hits shuttles.. It said they will release it in first Quarter (They = CEO of shuttle)

oh no, I was trying to help.. I really was, look back.. it was when you DECIDED AGAINST my suggestion that I jumped ship.. besides, you had already chosen...

just get a fragbox if it has BOTH of what you were looking for..

I don't have 2,000 to spend on a new system like that, it doesnt even come with a monitor speakers or anything, Like Stinky said I will wait until shuttle nforce4's come out, and they will come out in SLi configs as well. All of this was said by the CEO of Shuttle in an article...

SLI in a shuttle... don't expect to OC anything in there one ounce.. and I expect it would be very loud...

Actually, Cik has had very good experiences with Shuttles, where they are just as fast as their full-sized counterparts.

Actually Vee_ess, I've never owned a Shuttle. You may be thinking of Accurate Image. He had a kick-ass shuttle a couple years back. But I do agree with you. Shuttles perform just as good as full-sized systems.

As far as the rest of this thread goes... PCI express is the future. However, right now it does not offer any performance increase what so ever. The current generations of video cards do not, and I repeat, do not take advantage of the capabilities of PCI express. Do a Google search for PCI-express video card reviews and you'll see. So buying an ATI X800 or nVidia 6800 PCI-E video card "right now" would be a waste of money. However, in the near future, it's going to be a different story because it's going to take some time for card mfgs to catch up. The current cards are just something they released because they wanted to have something out as soon as possible.

Regarding whether or not you need 64-bit applications or operating systems to take advantage of the AMD64 chip is absolute nonsense. I have two systems. A AMD64 3400+ and an AMD XP 3200+. Both have similar clock speeds and the AMD64 kicks the 3200's butt. 1MB cache makes a HUGE difference. Especially in benchmarking, I.E performance. The AMD64 chips weren't designed only for 64-bit apps, it was designed to perform well in both 32 and 64.

i cant believe im doing this, but i agree. just save for a while, and if by that time they havent comeout with something else you want more, get a fragbox. of course, i myself would go with 64 bit if not. solely because im more worried about how much it can do, as opposed to how how the framerate is while it does it. See? All-In-Wonder. of course.. i wouldnt recommend getting that specific one.. no matter what i do i have driver problems and BSODs.....

| | | | |
VVVVV

Yes, True, The Fragbox does have both. BUT I don't know if its Nforce4. It might be some custom Mobo like Dell and Alienware make, just only Falcon-Northwest.. This is PCI-E/64-bit in its EARLY stages...(I do realize that 64-bit isnt in its early stage... but both of them together). PCI-E hasnt shown significant performance boosts over AGP... And no Software will be biased towards PCI-E because it wont get any sales because maybe in 2-3 years PCI-E wont be standard on Desktops. 64-bit is worth it.... PCI-E ain't..

an "enthusiast" doesn't talk about being cautious because something is in its early stages.. the enthusiast goes out and buys all the latest crap (SLI, 64bit, etc) without regard to thinking about what the ramifications might be...


that said, quit crying! Dell doesn't make their own boards either, they're intel boards with customized bios' with a dell logo on it...

Oh yeah, Cik, sorry I mixed yours and AI's systems up.

Dell's actually use Asus motherboards with Intel chipsets on them for the most part.

Well in that case Jason I would rather be a smart buyer than an "enthusiast" who flippently spends his money on anything with flashy lights in it.

But honestly... does socket 754 or 939 make a difference?

The major differences:

754: dual channel? no | Max/Best CPU: 3700+ | Has Future? no

939: dual channel? yes | Max/Best CPU: fx55/4000+ | Has Future? yes, a very solid one

also keep in mind that the pci-express chipsets are 939 only, and the new dual cores are 939 only. I picked 754 to save some cash.. I'm more into that "bang-for-the-buck", though you really cant go wrong with a 3500+ and a nice nforce3ultra/kt800 pro chipset.

hmm... two things..
napster - a smart buyer buys some pos dell and calls it good because that saves you a ton of money and you can do all the same things (except game) ... enough of that.

you really have to shell out for a decent 939 setup...

honestly, i'd wait until the centrino desktop chips get on their feet (more than one mobo) [or the amd equivelant if you like second hand stuff :P]