Been a while.... (2-3 years).... What's hot now???

[lytalbayre]

So, I dropped out of the need for bleeding edge computers a few years back. I don't game too much on my pc, mostly photo and video editing, making dvds, etc.

My current system is still an AMD.... and I'd like to move on to the newer and better Intel chips.

Can you guys give me a recommendation for a decent cpu and motherboard.... I'm not looking for bleeding edge. Somewhere in the upper tier of the mid priced components would be best.

I was looking at the Intel Core 2 Quad Q6600 Kentsfield .

What's the difference between this and a intel core duo???

Thanks all.

 

[Duvie]

That one is (2) core 2 duo chips together equally 4 cores....architecture is the same...the quad Q6600 is essential (2) E6600's together...so double the cache, but still same amount of cache per dual cores...


Hot dual core chips are E8400's....

Hot quad is still Q6600, but Q9450 when it arrives will be the one to get...


There are many different chipsets now that can run all of these newer chips....You have 965, 975, P35, P38, X38....

I would avoid DDR3 for the moment, especially while DDR2 is in its prime and very affordable. perhaps a board that have DIMM slots for both is a nice future proof bet (as much as you can ever get in computer parts)...


Want to OC? I like the Thermalright Ultra 120 Extreme. Can run 50 bucks but it is the best I have seen to date for air cooling.

 

[lytalbayre]

Thanks for the input Duvie.

Of the chipsets you listed, is one preferred over the other?

Thanks,

Mark

 

[IL2SturmovikPilot]

Originally posted by: lytalbayre
Thanks for the input Duvie.

Of the chipsets you listed, is one preferred over the other?

Thanks,

Mark

P35,P38 or even X38 are the ones you definitely want to get,since they have support for Wolfdale and Yorkfield Processors,and thus,they'll last you longer.

 

[Duvie]

965 = could have compatability issues with newer chips without appropriate bios
975 = same as above
P35 = probably the most mature and proven with the newer chips
X38 = buggy with some manufacturers...

then you have nvidias offerings...

680i = I was never impressed with....way too buggy, but was the only route for gamers who wanted to run SLI systems

780i = too new....too buggy at this moment...


I think you can get a great P35 for the price.....

 

[PolymerTim]

Like others mentioned, I think P35 is what you are looking for. You can get a good one that overclocks well for less than $100 so unless you are on a tight budget, I don't see any reason to go to older chipsets (965, 975). Also X38 and X48 (coming soon) are more geared for heavy gamers (as in multiple video cards) and extreme overclockers. I think you will be very happy with a good P35 board. On that note, you still have a lot to choose from, but this thread lists a few starters in different price ranges:

http://forums.anandtech.com/me...=2067695&enterthread=y

Just scroll down to the Part I Recommendations - Intel Platform - ATX High End

To summarize, the most popular are from:
Abit IP35 series
Asus P5K series
Gigabyte GA-P35-DS** series
MSI P35 Neo2-FR
DFI UT P35-T2R

Exactly which one you choose depends on the features you want and how much you're willing to pay.

 

[Tullphan]

So far i've been happy with my MSI P35 Neo2-FR.
Right now i've got my E6300 @ 3.15gHz (450x7) with stock voltage.
It got a good review here.
Right now you can pick it up for $95.50AR at ClubIT.
Link to rebate.

 

[OfficeLinebacker]

How about the P31? I got the Q6600 to 3.6 in fairly short order on an Gigabyte GA-P31

 

[PolymerTim]

Originally posted by: OfficeLinebacker
How about the P31? I got the Q6600 to 3.6 in fairly short order on an Gigabyte GA-P31

To be honest, I haven't read much on the P31, so I just went and did a little light reading. It looks like the P31 is a budget version of the P35, but has shown to overclock nearly as well. The biggest caveat with going P31 are some RAM limitations. Gigabyte unofficially supports 1333 FSB processors and 1066 RAM, but their are some combinations that don't work or underclock the RAM to make it work. The biggest limitation is the 4GB RAM limit since you can either populate 2 DIMM slots with double-sided RAM or all 4 slots with only single-sided RAM.

Of course, if this doesn't strike you as a problem, then it is probably a good way to save ~$20. Here's a couple reviews I found if anyone is curious:
http://www.pcstats.com/article...?articleid=2183&page=1
http://www.bjorn3d.com/read.php?cID=1211&pageID=4313

 

[aigomorla]

well to be honest this thread belongs in the general hardware.

And before we can recomend anything we would need an approx budget and about which components you wish to recycle if any, and buying time frame. Penryn Quads are coming out in two weeks if there isnt any delays, and they use less power, and run cooler.

The only thing you told us is that your interested in a quad. And quads follow different rules from duals.

Also, how high do you plan to overclock this system if any? A previous owner of bleeding edge technology usually means overclocking is manditory.

Also do you intend on recycling your SLI in your AMD? Because if so, then your going to need to go on a nvidia platform for motherboard and not look at Intel P35's X38's.

Well if you dont mind dropping 700 dollars on a motherboard, another 900 for a pair of cpu's. And 400 in ram, there is always skulltrail thats an intel chipset, and supports sli.

 

[TheSmJ]

What about a board like the ASRock 4Core1600Twins-P35?

I am in the exact same boat as the OP (only I do game quite a bit, yet I'm not at all interested in SLI). Overclocking is important to me, yet not "$200+ on a motherboard" important. The more any said features are the more I'm willing to spend of course, but I'm pretty firm on no higher than $150, give or take $5 or so.

I plan on getting a Penryn quad once they're available, and will watercool it with my current setup. The water system is a PA160 rad w/ a Danger Den TDX block (which I may also upgrade to the more quad core friendly blocks if it really proves worthwhile) a Danger Den D5 pump, and 1/2 ID tubing. I've done all the math/research, and the rad should be more than capable of handling the wattage load of the CPU just fine - I just thought I'd be through in describing what I was planning on doing with the system.

I'll be buying a 2x2GB of DDR2 800, and of course the ASRock board I linked to above will be able to handle DDR3 as well which will make for a handy upgrade path in another year or two. The 8800 G92 GTS video card, and everything else I already have aside from the RAM, mobo, and CPU will be carried over to the new system.

Does this sound like a solid plan of action? I'm really open to more ideas on motherboards as like the OP I have only started researching this stuff again over the past month after a 2 year break.