Time to upgrade/ Want input

J

jmnovak

Weaksauce
Joined
Sep 14, 2007
Messages
127
Well its that time again.

The boss gave me a green light and I'm ready to upgrade. The spending limit is $500 or less and it will be buying:

CPU
M/B
Mem.
LCD monitior

Here are my picks:
AMD 5200+ (2.6ghz) -$130
Gigabyte GA-M57SLI-S4 -$95
Gskill 2GB DDR2-800 -$55
Acer 20" WS LCD- $185
Total- $465+ shipping

I know it not top of the line but I'll be overclocking that 5200+ to I hope 3.0-3.2ghz. Plus I'm waiting till Dec. to pick up a new video card. The system will be used for gaming mostly. A little burning/editing, nothing extreme. With the 20" LCD I'll be running games at 1680 x 1050 max, so I'll be picking up a G92 when nvidia releases them.

I'd even go to an Intel setup if I could get with in the price range
 
E4400 = $125
Scythe Ninja Plus Rev. B = $35
Abit IP35-E = $120 - $40 MIR = $80 AR

Should OC that high if not higher and beat the hell out of the AMD system. You could even get a $75 E2xxx series chip, OC, and get similar performance. If you want to spend a bit more $200 gets you an E6750 that, with faster RAM, could get near to 4Ghz.

I'm also willing to sell my E6420 for around the $150 mark.
 
How about this... it can OC to 2.8-3Ghz on stock cooling:

$126 - Intel Core 2 Duo E4400 Allendale 2.0GHz
$89 - ABIT IP35-E LGA 775 Intel P35 ($20 MIR)
$75 - A-DATA 2GB (2x1GB) DDR2-800 ADQVE1A16K ($15MIR)
$200 - ViewSonic Optiquest Series Q20WB Black 20" 5ms DVI Widescreen ($20MIR)
=========
$490 + tax and shipping - $55 MIRs

If you can squeeze a bit more by playing the "but after rebates its..."-card:
$240 - Hanns·G HG-216DPO Silver/Black 22" 5ms Widescreen HDMI LCD ($40MIR)


If you want AMD:
$130 - AMD Athlon 64 X2 5200+ Windsor 2.6GHz Socket AM2
$80 - Biostar TF560 A2+ AM2+/AM2 NVIDIA nForce 560 MCP
$75 - A-DATA 2GB (2x1GB) DDR2-800 ADQVE1A16K ($15MIR)
=========
$285 + tax and shipping - $15MIR

Alternative AMD CPU:
$170 - AMD Athlon 64 X2 6000+ Windsor 3.0GHz Socket AM2
 
LOL, so many things to pick from.

I've posted this in a few different forums and everyone is giving me different advice. Some say Intel some say AMD. I haven't had an Intel system since my very old P3 933mhz

Seems like everyone is on the Core2 these days. I just want to make sure that the system is upgradable and that it will play games that are coming out soon.
 
AMD is slower right now if you are willing to OC. Period. The only reason you'd go AMD is if your budget was very small and you were completely unwilling to OC.
 
Intel is faster, clock for clock. AMD is clocked higher out of the box, can OC, but its OC potential isn't as high as most of the Core2's. Intel is so easy to OC, even a simple, modest OC will boost performance. How easy? You change one or two settings and you should be set.

As far as upgradability goes, AMD has stated all future AM2+ and AM3 CPUs will be compatible with existing AM2 chipsets/boards. Intel just released P35, and its compatible with all old and new/upcoming Core2 (45nm Penryn family), which is set to debut in Q1'08. AMD's new Barcelona is also due out soon, with some parts comin out before Christmas (like intel), but a majority being released in the beginning of next year.

The Core2 chip was so revolutionary that it placed a HUGE gap between Intel and AMD. A 1.8Ghz Core2Duo E6300 (cheapest of its line) is on par with a 3.7Ghz Pentium EE 965 (most expensive of its line). It took Intel 3 years to come out with such revolutionary tech... I doubt AMD could do it quicker. AMD has been workin hard for the past year to catch up, and thats probably as far as it got -- caught up. I believe the new AMD chips will be at least on par with Intel, and if they do outperform them, it won't be by much.

I agree with silent-circuit... if you're building now, Intel is the way to go, even with just a modest OC.

Some reading material:
http://xbitlabs.com/articles/cpu/display/core2duo-e6420_6.html#sect1
http://anandtech.com/cpuchipsets/intel/showdoc.aspx?i=2903&p=3
 
Heres the two setups:


Intel E2160 (1.8ghz) 1mb cache- $86
Gigabyte GA-P35 motherboard- $100
Gskill 2GB DDR2-800 memory- $75
Total- $261 + shipping

AMD X2 4000+ Brisbane (2.1ghz) 1mb cache- $66
Biostar Tforce 570 SLI motherboard- $88
Gskill 2GB DDR2-800 memory- $75
Total- $229 + shipping

Like I said I'll be O/Cing without a doubt. The one thing I do like with the AMD is that I have the SLI option if I want to get another vid card with the Intel setup I can't do that.
 
Well, the darkside has grabbed me..... I went with the E2160 and 2gb DDR800 for $160 free shipping.

I'll decide on a motherboard soon. more money I save the more it goes towards the LCD:)

$500-$160= $340 left
 
Since you plan on getting a 20 or 22" LCD, SLI isn't needed anyway. The benefits of SLI are only worth it/noticeable at really high resolutions; as in, 1920x1080 or larger (24" LCD @ 1920x1200 and higher). SLI is also a horrible upgrade path. By the time you think you need an extra boost in GPU performance, there will be new GPUs out that would outperform two of the older GPUs. By then, it would be more cost effective to sell your old card, and pickup a newer one.

I'll use myself as an example. If I wanted a boost right now, a 2nd 7800GT would cost me around $150 off of eBay. The GPU refresh rate is so quick, that my card is now discontinued, so eBay is my only choice. I could drop $150 for that 2nd card, or I could sell mine for around $150. If I sold it for $150, that would make my budget for a new card $300. I could get an 8800GTS for less than that, and it would outperform 2 78GTs in SLI. So, SLI as an upgrade path isn't worth it unless you also upgrade the monitor.

So, stick to the Abit IP35-E if it fits all your needs. If you need legacy ports, the Gigabyte DS3L is a good choice.
 
I've been reading up on this E2160 and it's looking like if you can get it to 3.4ghz(378x9 @1.5v) it is hair better than a X6800give or take. So it looks like 475-400mhz(3.4ghz vs 2.93) equals the 1mb to 4mb cache difference. If I can get it that high it'll be a nice upgrade from my single core 2.5ghz. Then down the road I'll pick up a Quad core.
 
C2D clock speeds and Athlon clock speeds aren't directly comparable. Even a 1.6Ghz C2D will seem significantly faster than your Athlon at 2.5Ghz.
 
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