AM2 X2 4200+ or E6400 system?

raklyiz

Junior Member
Nov 26, 2006
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Hello. Please dont laugh about what im goign to say. lol. i have a p3 right now, its been doing me well on cs1.6. but i think its finnaly time for me to get a new setup. what im aiming for is which one will overclock better and which one will last me a few years

AM2 X2 4200+ or a e6400 conroe
 

raklyiz

Junior Member
Nov 26, 2006
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One more thing. If i do choose to go the Intel path. I can choose from the e6300 or the e6400. if i go with the e6300 i can get a mobo in the 200$ range. then if i get the e6400 i have to get a mobo in the 150$ range
 

Duvie

Elite Member
Feb 5, 2001
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Conroe.....You get a conroe to 2.6-2.7ghz it beats anything AMD has out or best OC you could get out of that AMD 4200+.....2.6 it will do in its sleep...Average E6300-E6400 is anywhere in the 3.2-3.5ghz range as of late

With the E6300-E6400's the best chipsets are 965p's...

Gigabyte GA-965p-S3 = 116.00 (newegg)
E6400 retail = 214.00 (newegg)
2gb of PC2-6400 (800dr2) Ballistics, Gskills (HZ's), Buffalo, etc...basically some cas 4 micron D9 stuff...


 

Cheex

Diamond Member
Jul 18, 2006
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You will definitely have longer life from a Conroe system. They are very stable, cool running (pun intended) chips that perform way better than the X2's.

Get yourself an E6400...:)

Note: The pun above refers to the movie "Cool Runnings". That is the movie starring the Canadian, John Candy, where he coaches the Jamaican Bobsled Team...great movie.
 

Duvie

Elite Member
Feb 5, 2001
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Originally posted by: raklyiz
One more thing. If i do choose to go the Intel path. I can choose from the e6300 or the e6400. if i go with the e6300 i can get a mobo in the 200$ range. then if i get the e6400 i have to get a mobo in the 150$ range


huh???

If you get E6600 or larger conroes that come with 4mb of l2 cache they do better in 975x chipsets which most are around 200...

If you need to go SLI you will spend 200+

If you dont need SLI you are fine going with 965p chipset mobos like Gigabyte that can routinely hit in the 450-500fsb range...

E6300 think of PC2-8000 or 1000ddr2 ram
E6400 has hiher multiplier so same end clock speed is only going to need about 438 or 876ddr2 range....good micron d9 cas 4 800ddr2 stuff can do that no sweat...
 

raklyiz

Junior Member
Nov 26, 2006
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would a 500W ps that comes with a case be enough for those and maybe a GeFORCE 7600GT
 

Cheex

Diamond Member
Jul 18, 2006
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Originally posted by: raklyiz
thanks for the fast replies guys. but yeah i have a budget of around 800 too 900 =

so far i have
Gigabyte GA-965P-S3 $115.99
Intel Core 2 Duo E6300 $180

what about htis ram?
Corsair XMS2 1 GB (2x512MB) DDR2-800 5-5-5-15 $132.00
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=N82E16820145566

Great choice there on the RAM but if you are going to eventually need more (which i think you will), I'd suggest that you consider buying a single 1GB stick (sacrifice Dual Channel (for now)) so that you can add another 1GB later to have 2GB (2x1GB). That's what I would do.
 

Cheex

Diamond Member
Jul 18, 2006
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Originally posted by: raklyiz
would a 500W ps that comes with a case be enough for those and maybe a GeFORCE 7600GT

How much Amps does it give on the rail(s)?
 

Cheex

Diamond Member
Jul 18, 2006
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The included power supply will give 28A. This IMHO (In My Humble Opinion) is pretty decent because most cases that come with a PSU (Power Supply Unit), the PSU is crap.

So...I'd say yes that should be fine to run your system along with a 7600GT. To be sure...wait for other opinions before you commit to it.
 

raklyiz

Junior Member
Nov 26, 2006
12
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ok ive think i got it.

Mobo: Gigabyte GA-965P-S3 $115.99
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=N82E16813128017

Cpu: Intel Core 2 Duo E6400 $218.50
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=N82E16819115004

Ram: Corsair XMS2 1 GB (2x512MB) DDR2-800 5-5-5-15 $132.00
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=N82E16820145566

HD: Western Digital Caviar SE 160GB $58
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=N82E16822144415

Dvd Drive: Samsung DVD+-R LightScribe $32
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=N82E16827151136

Video Card: eVGA GeFORCE 7600GT 256MB GDDR3 $119
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=N82E16814130017

Case: Raidmax Smilodon with PS 500W $70
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=N82E16811156062

Total: $831


still need a HSF though. im thinking about the zalman 9500
 

myocardia

Diamond Member
Jun 21, 2003
9,291
30
91
Originally posted by: Cheex
I'd suggest that you consider buying a single 1GB stick (sacrifice Dual Channel (for now)) so that you can add another 1GB later to have 2GB (2x1GB). That's what I would do.
I would suggest doing exactly that, also. Get one good 1GB stick now, then get another in 6 weeks or so, when memory prices start coming back down.

You could even spend ~$200 on 2x1GB sticks now, and just use the Intel heatsink, until you had the money for a better heatsink. It would only cost ~$20-30 more than what you're planning on ordering now, plus a $50-60 heatsink.

edit: That power supply should be fine with a 7600GT, but it will need to be replaced before adding a better, faster video card.
 

Cheex

Diamond Member
Jul 18, 2006
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DDR2-1000 is expensive stuff. Based on your budget, I would suggest going with the same Corsair XMS 1GB DDR2-800. As for your OC, that will get you easily to 400x8 = 3.2GHz on your E6400. Not bad at all.
 

myocardia

Diamond Member
Jun 21, 2003
9,291
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Well, if you're getting the E6400, PC6400 (DDR 800) is enough. If you get the E6300, you'd want to get PC8000 (DDR 1000), because of it's lower multiplier. This is probably the best for the money, if you're getting a single 1GB stick: G.Skill. These are a bit better, but are more expensive: OCZ Platinum & Patriot Extreme I'd personally get these, though, and use the Intel heatsink until I could afford a better one: G.Skill 2x1 GB PC6400 for $199.
 

Cheex

Diamond Member
Jul 18, 2006
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Originally posted by: raklyiz
wooohoo 3.2ghz. thanks for all your help cheex. i think i gto a hang of it now

"No problem mon!"

Welcome to the AnandTech Forums.
 

Duvie

Elite Member
Feb 5, 2001
16,215
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Originally posted by: raklyiz
oooh how about this ram instead of the g.skills 1gig stick

http://www.tigerdirect.com/applications...tails.asp?EdpNo=2205992&Tab=0&NoMapp=0


Not at cas 5-5-5...It doesn't give you much headroom.....definitely look for cas 4 stuff...

If you are only content with 3.2ghz and using the retail HSF, then that speed can be done with little or no vcore boost and thus the cooling needs will not be that great. However the E6400's with about 1.45v have been known to be hitting 3.4-3.5ghz range. A higher range air cooler in the 35-50 range is needed to keep the load tmps in the low 50's...
 

myocardia

Diamond Member
Jun 21, 2003
9,291
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91
That RAM isn't as good. Nothing that tigerdirect carries is very good, for that matter.