A64 X2 upgrade suggestions?

[TransformX]

Just purchesed a new computer for the wife:
Athlon64 3200 (venice
1gig of ram
Asus SLI Premium
Geforce 6600 (non GT)

Once I get it, I'll be able to say how fast does it feel compared to my computer.

[Liquid Snake]

Yeah, I have pretty high demands for low-noise. After my old roaring loud PC with six fans, I've had enough My current CPU heatsink is a Zalman 7000-Alcu. I have the fan at 1600RPM and it's the loudest fan in my system. I have a Nexus 92mm fan that I was going to mod the Zalman with but I never got around to it, so it'll get put to use with the XP-90.

As for the video card, I've decided to get a 6600GT. At $160, it's the most I'm willing to spend considering my gaming habits. I remember Leadtek was one of the good brands back in the GF2 days, but a friend of mine recommended eVGA. Any suggestions here?

[Sasq]

Just a thought on the cpu - and I have been looking at upgrading next year - It might be worth considering the X2 4200, twice the L2 cache...

[Liquid Snake]

The X2 4400 has the 1MB L2, the 4200 still has 512KB. Unfortunately the 4400 is out of my budget.

[Sasq]

sorry me bad, got the numbers mixed up. monday morning pre-coffee head cold post
pity though.

[Liquid Snake]

The BFG 6600gt is almost 200, a bit too much. XFX was recommended to me too, I'll check it out. I plan to get a Zalman VF700 to take care of the fan issue. It should be reasonable at low speed.

[Liquid Snake]

I decided not to buy a new case and PSU, so I went for the X2 4400

Here's what I ended up ordering:

AMD Athlon64 X2 4400
Asus A8N-E
Crucial Ballistix PC3200 2x512MB
eVGA 6600GT (dual-DVI)
Plextor PX-716A
Zalman VF700-AlCu
Thermalright XP-90

Thanks for the help guys.

[Dr Mordrid]

The below rig will likely get a 4400+ X2 within a few weeks. The other HDV capable rig already has a 3800+ X2 and is running like a scalded cat. Same MB etc. as below but an APVe HD capable display.

Dr. Mordrid