Anyone running a modern AM2 rig?

[perdomot]

Seems like we are always discussing intel these days but I'm sure some folks have opted for AM2 rigs and I'd like to hear their feedback. I assume the low prices are one reason but what else and how do the rigs perform, ie overclocking.

 

[Regs]

I don't over clock. I just picked up a 2.8GHz 2MB cache AMD and called it a day for 140 dollars.

 

[perdomot]

Was price the only consideration?

 

[Regs]

Originally posted by: perdomot
Was price the only consideration?

Well, why risk instability when you can afford the higher performing part?

AM2 is a solid system, and I had a Am2 motherboard. I did not feel like ripping its gutts out and paying for a 200 dollar Intel mobo for a Intel Core CPU.

 

[Arkaign]

For work, I just built :

Asus M2NBP (MicroATX 690G/Radeon 1250 Mobo), it's nice, has 4 DDR2-800 Slots, 8-Channel HD Audio, DVI/Dsub/Gbit Lan/PCI-E x16 Slot, 2 PATA (important for a bench system), 4 Sata 3.0, A jillion USB 2.0, and so on.

X2 4800+

2GB G-Skill DDR2-800 Kit (running at 4-4-4-12, 1T)

The setup I think totalled around $200-220, and it's running icy on the stock cooler at 2.86ghz. I use this box for virus scanning, backing up data, doing remote support, and so on, and it's quite adequate to say the least. I must say, the ATI 1250 video is even better than the GF 6100/6150 from Nvidia, and miles better than any of the Intel onboard video.

 

[Arcanedeath]

I built a 3600+ am2 system w/ an ECS Nvidia 6100 based board w/out any issues for my dad, it was an upgrad from an Athlon XP 2500+ overclocked to 2.2ghz based system. Sadly the ECS board doesn't overclock worth crap but considering the cpu and motherboard cost under 90 dollars AR I can't really complain, cost was his main concern. He also got some cheap ddr 2 800 and recycled a case hdd and dvd burner, its worked well and was extremly cheep.

 

[rchiu]

Yeah price is a big factor in my decision to stick with AMD rig. Another reason I stick with AMD is they have better choice of motherboard platform, from HTPC matx board to fast stable SLI/Crossfire board. Intel really didn't have a good HTPC board until G33 chipset came out. And they really don't have good SLI/Crossfire support until X38 unless you wanna deal with 680i chipset, which is decent but Nvidia still don't have as much experience with Intel as with AMD.

I just feel CPU isn't such a big factor in the overall picture once you get to dual core 3.0Ghz+ territory with either AMD/Intel. So I choose to put my money in my 24 inch monitor and faster graphic card instead.

 

[JWade]

my daughter's system is a dual core am2 system, i dont notice any difference between it and the wife's c2d system. got the am2 system because it was a tad cheaper than the c2d system, but i dont notice any difference between the two.

 

[daveybrat]

I love my 4600+ system. Very snappy and a solid reliable motherboard that's never given me a hiccup of trouble. I find there is a wider selection of feature rich and stable motherboards on the amd side over the intel side.

I build more systems with intel processors by far for customer's at work but only because that's what they ask for. I've had far more problems with stability and cold boot issues with the intel P35 and G33 chipset than i have with any of the amd motherboards i've used.

You can't go wrong with Intel or AMD really with prices the way they are today.

My next upgrade won't be for a long time anyways, it was 4 yrs. before i did this upgrade (in my sig) and i should be set for awhile.

P.S. Forgot one more important thing.....I absolutely HATE intel's retail heatsink/fan design. Amd's design is much preferred IMO.

 

[Fayd]

My current rig is a c2d, e4400, with a P35 mobo.

after building my father's rig, (x2 4800+, Asus M2N-SLI) i SOOOO wish i had gone AMD instead of straying from the path and choosing the current favorite. i love AMD's mounting mechanism, the fact they have a solid metal backplate, and the fact the motherboard does not exhibit a double boot.

all in all, much more pleasant system to build and maintain. beyond that, i coupled it with a single 120mm exhaust fan, no CPU fan (scythe ninja) and 2 low speed 92mm intake fans, fanless video card, it's so quiet...

 

[perdomot]

The "snappiness" is something we've been discussing on another thread. I built a C2D rig for myself after my last vacation and put my old X2 3800+ into a rig to serve as my vid server. I noticed the other day while doing routine maintenance that menus and windows responded with what felt like greater speed. I'm running W2K on this rig but considering its running a full 1 Ghz slower than the C2D rig which has a Raptor for the C Drive, it was quite a surprise. Intel has the advantage in encoding and other benchmarks but for daily use, the AMD rig just feels more responsive. BTW, I also HATE the cooler setup for the cpu.

 

[Zap]

Originally posted by: rchiu
I choose to put my money in my 24 inch monitor and faster graphic card instead.

:thumbsup:

I think people obsess over this stuff too much. My HTPC is an AM2 x2 5200+ (65w version, 2.6GHz 1MB cache) and I'm pleased with it. No overclocking because the case is kind of slim so big coolers won't fit, not even the SCYTHE MINI NINJA. Without overclocking, then for the price I paid for it ($94 coupon deal) I don't think I could have gotten better performance from an Intel. For that price, I'd be dealing with an E2180 or so. What's that, 512k cache and 2GHz? I think the AMD is just fine for my HTPC.

My gaming system's gonna be overclocked, so when it is upgraded, it will be C2D of course.

 

[zach0624]

The am2 platform is great and doesn't overclock that bad either, it's just it doesn't oc like the C2D. If you want a cheap or stock platform up to midrange AM2 is the way to go. I got a 5600+ and a ECS KN3 SLI2 for under $300 4 months ago leaving me money for a SLI graphics or a better case and AM2 cpus are even cheaper now. For most things, even games a 3800+ will work just fine.

 

[Killrose]

I have a Gigabyte GA-MA69G-S3H with 2gigs of ram an X2 3600+@2.6gig and an ATi X1800XL and it seems good so far. Replaced an Epox 8RDA+ 1gig ram BartonM@2.4gig and X800xt. I've been mostly playing BF2 online and I can say it feels faster but not a big difference. But it was time for an up-grade and the price was cheap.

I've got a Seasonic 430watt PSU comming and I will try and get into the 2.8-3.0gig range with it. I notice my rails drop if I run at 2.8gig with the 380watt PSU I currently have. So I backed it off.

 

[magreen]

Originally posted by: Zap

Originally posted by: rchiu
I choose to put my money in my 24 inch monitor and faster graphic card instead.

:thumbsup:

I think people obsess over this stuff too much. My HTPC is an AM2 x2 5200+ (65w version, 2.6GHz 1MB cache) and I'm pleased with it. No overclocking because the case is kind of slim so big coolers won't fit, not even the SCYTHE MINI NINJA. Without overclocking, then for the price I paid for it ($94 coupon deal) I don't think I could have gotten better performance from an Intel. For that price, I'd be dealing with an E2180 or so. What's that, 512k cache and 2GHz? I think the AMD is just fine for my HTPC.

My gaming system's gonna be overclocked, so when it is upgraded, it will be C2D of course.

What is this, heresy day at AT?
You're all going to get in trouble for saying this stuff. *looks around nervously*

 

[SlowSpyder]

I just built my buddy a new AM2 system. He needed an upgrade from his 4 year old Celeron powered Emachine PC. Cost was his main concern, and I've always had good luck with AMD systems I've built... not that Intel is bad, but AMD always works without issues for me. I built him a 5200+ 65w powered system. For what he does (web surfing mainly) it really didn't matter what modern CPU I used.

 

[Zap]

Originally posted by: magreen

Originally posted by: Zap
I think people obsess over this stuff too much. My HTPC is an AM2 x2 5200+ (65w version, 2.6GHz 1MB cache) and I'm pleased with it. No overclocking because the case is kind of slim so big coolers won't fit, not even the SCYTHE MINI NINJA. Without overclocking, then for the price I paid for it ($94 coupon deal) I don't think I could have gotten better performance from an Intel. For that price, I'd be dealing with an E2180 or so. What's that, 512k cache and 2GHz? I think the AMD is just fine for my HTPC.

What is this, heresy day at AT?
You're all going to get in trouble for saying this stuff. *looks around nervously*

Haha, bring it! Seriously though, people take it all too seriously and like to play fanboy. I guess that's why sports are so popular. Anyways, I don't play favorites. Out of "running" homebuilt (notebooks not counted) machines in my household I have two AMD dual cores, an AMD single core, an Intel single core (Northwood) and an Intel dual core (C2D).

Basically my choices often reflect what was reasonable at the time I made the purchase.

My A64 systems didn't magically become slower when Intel released the C2D chips, so I'm going to keep using them until it is time to replace them, just like I keep using that Northwood P4.

 

[Liberator21]

I'm currently running two Am2 rigs, and both are great. If I were to build a new rig today however, it would be C2Q.

RIG 1:
Opteron 1212 OC'd to 3Ghz (stock is 2Ghz)
Arctic Cool Freezer Pro
2Gb OCZ PC6400 SLI
BFG 590SLI Reference Board
Evga 8800GTS 320MB
Creative X-fi Xtreme
2 Raptor 74Gb
WD 500Gb Sata II
Optiarc Sata DVD RW
Zalman 600-HP

This is my primary system, I'm running Vista Home Premium 64 Bit and I love it. The OC was the easiest I've ever done. I could get to 2.9Ghz without increasing vcore, and I'm sure I could go past 3, but as you can see I have very modest cooling.

RIG 2

Sempron 3100 OC'd to 2.5Ghz (stock 1.8Ghz)
Abit Nview NF-M2 MicroATX
2Gb HP 667Mhz
Evga 7950GT 512MB
Maxtor 160Gb Sata II
Samsung Sata DVD RW
Ultra X-finity 500

This is just a collection of cheap parts and left overs that I threw together, it turned out to be a pretty capable system. The paltry Sempron only has 128k cache, and It still plays BF2 at 1280x1024 on high lagging only after hours of play at one time. I got lucky with the 7950GT, sending a 256Mb 7900Gt in for RMA. Overall this system cost +\- $300...not bad considering the video card and the great MATX motherboard.

 

[oldman420]

I love my am2 system for me the benefits are a cool running and fast enough system that performs just fine for every day work and I can oc the system to 225 fsb if needed.
With cool and quiet however I keep the bus to 210 and range from x5 to x14 multiplier.
I plan on purchasing a 5000+ black edition 65 watt cpu totally unlocked and according to toms hardware stable to 3.1 ghz with no change in fsb or vcore. For 135 bucks I am sold

 

[oldman420]

oops

 

[Accord99]

Originally posted by: Fayd
My current rig is a c2d, e4400, with a P35 mobo.

and the fact the motherboard does not exhibit a double boot.

That problem is fixed with up-to-date bios on the P35.

all in all, much more pleasant system to build and maintain. beyond that, i coupled it with a single 120mm exhaust fan, no CPU fan (scythe ninja) and 2 low speed 92mm intake fans, fanless video card, it's so quiet...

The E4400 is even easier to keep quiet, seeing as it uses less power than a 4800+.

 

[mouthwash]

Originally posted by: Arkaign
For work, I just built :

Asus M2NBP (MicroATX 690G/Radeon 1250 Mobo), it's nice, has 4 DDR2-800 Slots, 8-Channel HD Audio, DVI/Dsub/Gbit Lan/PCI-E x16 Slot, 2 PATA (important for a bench system), 4 Sata 3.0, A jillion USB 2.0, and so on.

X2 4800+

2GB G-Skill DDR2-800 Kit (running at 4-4-4-12, 1T)

The setup I think totalled around $200-220, and it's running icy on the stock cooler at 2.86ghz. I use this box for virus scanning, backing up data, doing remote support, and so on, and it's quite adequate to say the least. I must say, the ATI 1250 video is even better than the GF 6100/6150 from Nvidia, and miles better than any of the Intel onboard video.

i built a smiliar setup for my wife which is also 690G but not mATX ( http://www.gigabyte.com.tw/Pro...ew.aspx?ProductID=2554 ) which also crossfire support. I gotta say amd motherboard is packed with lots of features like Arkaign mentioned above without spending too much compare to owning a intel based system.

Amd is still really the best option if you want to get great performance without overclock and spending too much.
personally i have to go with intel due to the fact that it is the only affordable quad core available right now.

 

[daveybrat]

Originally posted by: mouthwash

Originally posted by: Arkaign
For work, I just built :

Asus M2NBP (MicroATX 690G/Radeon 1250 Mobo), it's nice, has 4 DDR2-800 Slots, 8-Channel HD Audio, DVI/Dsub/Gbit Lan/PCI-E x16 Slot, 2 PATA (important for a bench system), 4 Sata 3.0, A jillion USB 2.0, and so on.

X2 4800+

2GB G-Skill DDR2-800 Kit (running at 4-4-4-12, 1T)

The setup I think totalled around $200-220, and it's running icy on the stock cooler at 2.86ghz. I use this box for virus scanning, backing up data, doing remote support, and so on, and it's quite adequate to say the least. I must say, the ATI 1250 video is even better than the GF 6100/6150 from Nvidia, and miles better than any of the Intel onboard video.

i built a smiliar setup for my wife which is also 690G but not mATX ( http://www.gigabyte.com.tw/Pro...ew.aspx?ProductID=2554 ) which also crossfire support. I gotta say amd motherboard is packed with lots of features like Arkaign mentioned above without spending too much compare to owning a intel based system.

Amd is still really the best option if you want to get great performance without overclock and spending too much.
personally i have to go with intel due to the fact that it is the only affordable quad core available right now.

Agree with you there. I can't wait for AMD's Quad Phenom processor's. We need more competition in the quad-core segment. Even AMD's Tri-Core Phenoms don't sound too bad if competitively priced.

 

[mouthwash]

Originally posted by: daveybrat

Originally posted by: mouthwash

Originally posted by: Arkaign
For work, I just built :

Asus M2NBP (MicroATX 690G/Radeon 1250 Mobo), it's nice, has 4 DDR2-800 Slots, 8-Channel HD Audio, DVI/Dsub/Gbit Lan/PCI-E x16 Slot, 2 PATA (important for a bench system), 4 Sata 3.0, A jillion USB 2.0, and so on.

X2 4800+

2GB G-Skill DDR2-800 Kit (running at 4-4-4-12, 1T)

The setup I think totalled around $200-220, and it's running icy on the stock cooler at 2.86ghz. I use this box for virus scanning, backing up data, doing remote support, and so on, and it's quite adequate to say the least. I must say, the ATI 1250 video is even better than the GF 6100/6150 from Nvidia, and miles better than any of the Intel onboard video.

i built a smiliar setup for my wife which is also 690G but not mATX ( http://www.gigabyte.com.tw/Pro...ew.aspx?ProductID=2554 ) which also crossfire support. I gotta say amd motherboard is packed with lots of features like Arkaign mentioned above without spending too much compare to owning a intel based system.

Amd is still really the best option if you want to get great performance without overclock and spending too much.
personally i have to go with intel due to the fact that it is the only affordable quad core available right now.

Agree with you there. I can't wait for AMD's Quad Phenom processor's. We need more competition in the quad-core segment. Even AMD's Tri-Core Phenoms don't sound too bad if competitively priced.

too bad its going to be awhile before AMD phenom is realeased

actually i plan to change my wife's comp to tri core when realeased since it still support AM2 socket ( correct me if i am wrong ), and if the prices are right. i gotta agree tri core is definitely a good alternative option to quad core.

 

[livingsacrifice]

Do any of you notice a difference over Socket 939 setups?