build help for irishman pls?

[finners]

Hi

What I'm after-
I am looking to build a pc to cope with CAD/CAE packages(heavy number crunching). I am not talking on a industrial type scale as I am a student undertaking a large project as part of my college course in engineering. I don't know if many people will be familiar with the package called Abaqus, an FEA programme?
I would like my pc to be able to handle the latest games also, (I am hoping to kill two birds with the one rock here!).

Case-
Antec P180

PSU-
Seasonic 500w

CPU-
I have been looking at the Athlon X2 4400+ which I can pick up here in Ireland for $USD 630. Also the Intel Pentium D 950 3.4GHz for $USD 440. What can give me the best bang for my buck?

Mainboard-
Of course depends on my CPU choice so Im open to all suggestions

Memory-
2Gb of Corsiar Value

Graphics Card-
XFX GeForce 7300GS 256MB DDRII
Open to recommendations

Any help appreciated!
Thanks

 

[essasin]

cpu: opteron 165 or x2 3800+ its better for your money
mobo: i would get an asus a8m-sli or epox ep-9npa+. I would not recommend dfi beause of compatibiity issues with the seasonic powersupply which may or may not have been fully fixed
grapshics card: Have you thought about getting a workstation card geared towards cad-like operations? Although most of them are very exensive the quadro cards are awesome for these type of programs.

 

[Ctrackstar126]

Videocard i would get a 7600gs at least
Stick with the x2 4400 if you dont want to overclock...if you dont mind overclocking then essasin's suggestion on the 3800 or 165 would be good. If you get the x2 3800 get the 7900gt for a video card
good memory choice
PSU is good
Nice case

 

[snoturtle]

I would say for that large of a price diference get the 950

The performance between the 2 isn't a whole lot to begin with and than at 200 cheaper

Get the intel

 

[Bobthelost]

Okeydokey.

First one is that the 4400X2 is a bad choice, if you're overclocking the opteron 165 is a better value buy and OC's about as well. If not then the 4200X2 runs at the same speed, and since the cache doenst' help all that much for most apps it's not worth the extra capital.

The pentium option is definitly worth thinking about, on some numbercrunching tasks the pentium line does beat the A64. I don't know about for CAD/CAM though.

Edit: Hold it, the 950 is that much cheaper!?!? Sod that, go Intel go! (bang per buck )

Motherboard: Don't waste money on SLI, if you're not overclocking then just make sure it's got the connectors you need, if you are then the epox 9 is hard to beat (assuming AMD). I prefer Asus boards, but have no reason for this preference.

Graphics card: the 7300GS is a bit of a poor option if you're going to go gaming. It'll be enough to run most games around, but with next to no eyecandy on or at low resolutions. If that's not a problem then that's excellent. But if you're not going to game at all then think about a X300 or integrated graphics with a X16 PCIe slot so you can upgrade later, if you are going to game then maybe getting integrated graphics for now and then upgrading the graphics later is worth considering.

The P180 and Seasonic s12 are lovely, i have them Think about a P150 if you want low noise, it's going to be a hell of a lot cheaper (£100 for the P180 and £70 for the s12? instead of £100 for the P150), if you do go for the P150 then steer clear of ASUS motherboards if you can.

 

[finners]

Thanks for the replies so far guys.

I am now leaning to the Pentium 950. How is it for Ocing bearing in mind that I have never overclocked before.

What would you go for for a mainboard to accompany it from these-
ABIT LG-81,
ABIT AL8-V,
ABIT AW8, I955X
ABIT AL8-3rd Eye II,
EPoX EP-5LDA+ GLi,
MSI 945GM2-FI,

The differences are subtle yes?

Memory is now-
Corsair Value S. PC5300 DDR2 2048MB

Graphics-
Sapphire Radeon X300SE 128MB DDR

HDD-
Seagate Barracuda 7200.9 250GB

Anything else I can improve on? Under budget by about $150!

 

[dBTelos]

NO NO NO! on the graphics card, x1800 or better on ATi's end, or 7600 or better on nVidia's end with at least 256MB or RAM on it. RAM, better to go with OCZ Plat. or Corsair XMS, you will thank me later . Not sure on how fast of a HDD you need for your numbercrunching kind of stuff, but if it isn't very high, then a PATA drive should do you good. I just got myself a PATA Western Digial 320GB 7200RPM for storage and about $100 USD!!! MSI makes good motherboards although I'm not to sure on model numbers for mobos, so other people can help you on selecting that. PSU, if your looking for air cooling and want a modular PSU, then you can't go wrong with an enermax liberty 500W w/ modular cables and quiet as hell. Case, P180 is great and shiny but you can save some money by down grading to something less expensive.

 

[secretanchitman]

Originally posted by: finners
Thanks for the replies so far guys.

I am now leaning to the Pentium 950. How is it for Ocing bearing in mind that I have never overclocked before.

What would you go for for a mainboard to accompany it from these-
ABIT LG-81,
ABIT AL8-V,
ABIT AW8, I955X
ABIT AL8-3rd Eye II,
EPoX EP-5LDA+ GLi,
MSI 945GM2-FI,

The differences are subtle yes?

Memory is now-
Corsair Value S. PC5300 DDR2 2048MB

Graphics-
Sapphire Radeon X300SE 128MB DDR

HDD-
Seagate Barracuda 7200.9 250GB

Anything else I can improve on? Under budget by about $150!

CPU-whatever is good for your budget. just make sure it gets cooled! hehe...3.4Ghz...you might be able to get to around 4Ghz...if you have good cooling, mobo, memory, and psu.

mobo-an asus/abit/msi/epox one would be good. preferably one with a 945G chipset or higher or an nforce chipset.

video-i would get at least a 7600GT. that will give you good gaming performance for the money. if you want it to last longer, you can get an X1800XT or a 7900GT.

HD-your choice. i have the same drive but its 300GB. serves me well.

memory-any 2x512MB or 2x1GB if you can afford it of at least ddr2-667 ram. if you arent overclocking, then the corsair will be good enough. remember, p4s like bandwith!

case-your choice.

psu-something from seasonic, antec, sparkle, fortron, etc. i would get at least 450 watts.

hope that helped!

 

[finners]

Would I get away with a Seasonic 430W on the above specs?

Also, I am kinda shying away from overclocking because of some advice received from a friend saying that it's too easy to toast your machine?!! What do ya think about that?

Going for a Point of View GeForce 7900GT 256MB. Hence trying to cut back a little.

I have also read that the performance gains a very small on ocing the more expensive RAM compared to the value RAM.

Thanks