A low cost intel rig?

[perdomot]

I think its the tinkering with voltages that bother him. How stable is the 2180 just by increasing the FSB to 266? Also, don't you have to change the ram settings and PCI Express settings? I know that by just changing the multi, you avoid all that.

 

[hooflung]

A 3.0ghz A64 is going to smoke out perform a C2D, especially with 1mb cache, at 2.ghz. In fact, it will probably perform better than a 1mb C2D at 2.4ghz. The 5800+ is 95 while the 6000+ is 120 and the differences are the 2 x 512k cache per core vs 2x 1mb cache per core on the AMDs.

You don't have to overclock it at all where as the Intel C2D you would have to get the performance.

Personally, the 780G is the best buy so I'd get the 5800/6000 and be done with it.

 

[RussianSensation]

Originally posted by: perdomot

I like this combo but have to say that the mobo is quite underwhelming. No gigabit ehternet, esata, firewire, DVI, HDMI or HD audio on the back like the AMD 780G mobo from Gigabyte has. My buddy isn't a gamer so I don't think the vid card will make as much of a difference as the mobo options.

AMD's 780 chipset does have better features than intel's onboard offerings. Although with a standalone graphics card you get dual link DVIs, and ATI's HD cards support HDMI and HD audio. I believe 790 chipset will be out shortly, so you might want to look out for those boards as well.

If overclocking is a concern, let's take a look at AMD's numbers:

Review

Sysmark 2007
5200+ 2.7 = 101
E2180 2.0 = 94

3dMark06
5200+ = 9512
E2180 = 8352

*I know OP isnt interested in gaming, but just for us as a point of reference
Quake 4
5200+ = 93.3
E2180 = 79.76

HL2: EP2
5200+ = 114.6
E2180 = 95.625

Crysis
5200+ = 39.58
E2180 = 36.26

Unreal Tournament 3
5200+ = 61.48
E2180 = 53.51

World in Conflict
5200+ = 43
E2180 = 40

MP3 Encoding, ITunes
5200+ = 167 sec
E2180 = 177 sec

DivX 6.8
5200+ = 40.51 fps
E2180 = 40.7 fps

XVid 1.2
5200+ = 28.24
E2180 = 28.28

Mainconcept H265
5200+ = 22.88
E2180 = 20.92

3ds Max 9, Rendering
5200+ = 3.3
E2180 = 3.15

CineBench R10, Rendering
5200+ = 4275
E2180 = 3645

Photoshop
5200+ = 123 sec
E2180 = 112 sec

After Effects CS3
5200+ = 692 sec
E2180 = 663 sec

WinRAR 3.7
5200+ = 448 sec
E2180 = 547 sec (ouch!)

Power Consumption (Idle)
5200+ = 177 W
E2180 = 169 W

Power Consumption (Load)
5200+ = 238.9 W
E2180 = 201.4 W




Overall Performance (Stock):
5200+ $77 = 140.4
E2200 $80 = 140.2
5000+ $66 = 136.2
E2180 $70 = 129.6

Looks like at stock speeds, 5000+ is best value, if we discount electricity costs. But its power consumption numbers could be better. Although as others have mentioned E5200 will be the winner without question

 

[aigomorla]

changing the fsb is better then changing the multi to be honest.

There is a greater deviance from stock by changing multi vs changing the FSB.

 

[Acanthus]

Originally posted by: perdomot
I think its the tinkering with voltages that bother him. How stable is the 2180 just by increasing the FSB to 266? Also, don't you have to change the ram settings and PCI Express settings? I know that by just changing the multi, you avoid all that.

You can change the FSB and multi on a E2180.

I think most people here dont know that Intel changed to a really shitty cooler recently for their stock so heat will be problem if you try for 3.33ghz. A more realistic goal would be 333x8 for 2.66GHz.

PCI Express is locked at 100MHz on all Intel P35 motherboards.

RAM settings wont have to be changed with the exception of the divider to keep it at 800MHz when you increase the FSB. There will be a setting to keep the RAM at its spec 800MHz.

Also, avoid Biostar and ECS motherboards like the plague. They are cheap but you get what you pay for. The Gigabyte you were looking at is nice, but Hybrid Crossfire sucks right now and youd be better off spending the few extra bucks on a better single graphics card. However, since your friend doesnt game i just wouldnt add a graphics card at all and use the 780G.

If he can hold out for the 5000 series chips which are very close to launch, you will be able to get an extremely fast CPU/mobo/ram combo for $240ish with an aftermarket HSF.

 

[perdomot]

Originally posted by: RussianSensation

Originally posted by: perdomot

I like this combo but have to say that the mobo is quite underwhelming. No gigabit ehternet, esata, firewire, DVI, HDMI or HD audio on the back like the AMD 780G mobo from Gigabyte has. My buddy isn't a gamer so I don't think the vid card will make as much of a difference as the mobo options.

AMD's 780 chipset does have better features than intel's onboard offerings. Although with a standalone graphics card you get dual link DVIs, and ATI's HD cards support HDMI and HD audio. I believe 790 chipset will be out shortly, so you might want to look out for those boards as well.

If overclocking is a concern, let's take a look at AMD's numbers:

Review

Sysmark 2007
5200+ 2.7 = 101
E2180 2.0 = 94

3dMark06
5200+ = 9512
E2180 = 8352

*I know OP isnt interested in gaming, but just for us as a point of reference
Quake 4
5200+ = 93.3
E2180 = 79.76

HL2: EP2
5200+ = 114.6
E2180 = 95.625

Crysis
5200+ = 39.58
E2180 = 36.26

Unreal Tournament 3
5200+ = 61.48
E2180 = 53.51

World in Conflict
5200+ = 43
E2180 = 40

MP3 Encoding, ITunes
5200+ = 167 sec
E2180 = 177 sec

DivX 6.8
5200+ = 40.51 fps
E2180 = 40.7 fps

XVid 1.2
5200+ = 28.24
E2180 = 28.28

Mainconcept H265
5200+ = 22.88
E2180 = 20.92

3ds Max 9, Rendering
5200+ = 3.3
E2180 = 3.15

CineBench R10, Rendering
5200+ = 4275
E2180 = 3645

Photoshop
5200+ = 123 sec
E2180 = 112 sec

After Effects CS3
5200+ = 692 sec
E2180 = 663 sec

WinRAR 3.7
5200+ = 448 sec
E2180 = 547 sec (ouch!)

Power Consumption (Idle)
5200+ = 177 W
E2180 = 169 W

Power Consumption (Load)
5200+ = 238.9 W
E2180 = 201.4 W




Overall Performance (Stock):
5200+ $77 = 140.4
E2200 $80 = 140.2
5000+ $66 = 136.2
E2180 $70 = 129.6

Looks like at stock speeds, 5000+ is best value, if we discount electricity costs. But its power consumption numbers could be better. Although as others have mentioned E5200 will be the winner without question

Thanks for all the info on the performance comparisons. Any idea when the E5200 will be coming out?

 

[perdomot]

Originally posted by: Acanthus

Originally posted by: perdomot
I think its the tinkering with voltages that bother him. How stable is the 2180 just by increasing the FSB to 266? Also, don't you have to change the ram settings and PCI Express settings? I know that by just changing the multi, you avoid all that.

You can change the FSB and multi on a E2180.

I think most people here dont know that Intel changed to a really shitty cooler recently for their stock so heat will be problem if you try for 3.33ghz. A more realistic goal would be 333x8 for 2.66GHz.

PCI Express is locked at 100MHz on all Intel P35 motherboards.

RAM settings wont have to be changed with the exception of the divider to keep it at 800MHz when you increase the FSB. There will be a setting to keep the RAM at its spec 800MHz.

Also, avoid Biostar and ECS motherboards like the plague. They are cheap but you get what you pay for. The Gigabyte you were looking at is nice, but Hybrid Crossfire sucks right now and youd be better off spending the few extra bucks on a better single graphics card. However, since your friend doesnt game i just wouldnt add a graphics card at all and use the 780G.

If he can hold out for the 5000 series chips which are very close to launch, you will be able to get an extremely fast CPU/mobo/ram combo for $240ish with an aftermarket HSF.

You can raise the multi on the 2180 just like the 5000+BE? I didn't know that. I thought you could only lower them.

 

[RussianSensation]

Originally posted by: perdomot

Thanks for all the info on the performance comparisons. Any idea when the E5200 will be coming out?

August 10, 2008

 

[harpoon84]

Originally posted by: perdomot
You can raise the multi on the 2180 just like the 5000+BE? I didn't know that. I thought you could only lower them.

You are right, all Core 2 based CPUs except the Extreme Editions have a downward unlocked multiplier, but you can't raise it.

The downward unlocked multiplier makes overclocking a bit more flexible in terms of FSB and RAM speeds, but I like to use Speedstep so I just use the default multi.

 

[perdomot]

The advantage of the BE cpus is the unlocked multi which lets you keep everything else in sync. Not sure what aigomorla meant by greater deviance.