Building a new system. . .

[Zathras66]

OK, I'm FINALLY upgrading my ancient P2-350 system. . .actually, I'm building a whole new system to replace it

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  <LI>I'm ready to buy the CPU, Motherboard, and 512Meg Ram within the next 2 weeks. I want to spend under $500.
  
  <LI>I've purchased a new X-Dreamer case & 350 watt PS, 120 gig 7200 rpm Maxtor with 8 meg cache (3yr warranty), and Lite-on DVD/cd rom.
  
  <LI>I've got a SB Live! Value, which after too many concerts over the years, is really all the sound quality my ears need.
  
  
  <LI> I'll be using a Radeon 7000 AGP card for awhile, but will upgrade sometime this fall (maybe when Half-life 2 and/or Doom comes out).
  
  <LI>Also have a TDK Velo-cd 16x burner, which will do for awhile longer (a DVD burner will be a future purchase)
  
  <LI>I want the latest tech from whatever processor I purchase (example, a p4 would have the 800 mhz fsb & hyperthreading, I dunno what's the latest in AMD), but can't afford the fastest ones.
  
  <LI>I want a STABLE motherboard, and one that uses the newest CPUs to their greatest advantage. Serial ATA might be nice, in case I want to get one of those drives in a couple years. . .but really just need 133 IDE interface, 2.0 USB. Any other "extras" probably won't get used much.
  
  <LI>I need to know the proper memory for the board. I think right now, I'm most confused about the memory. pc2100, 2400, 2700, 3500, wha? and then folks talk about cas 2 or 2.5. . .and some boards seem to not like certain RAM brands, even good ones. . .

I've built systems in the past, but obviously, I don't do it often. I've always bought Intel, but could be persuaded to go AMD. It used to be you bought Intel to assure 100% compatability, but that doesn't seem to be a concern anymore.

Some of you folks build systems for yourselves and for others a few times a month, and have knowledge and practical experience I'll never have. . .what would you do with $400-$500 to spend on the components I need?

I was thinking about the Intel D875pbz mobo, and one of the 800 fsb CPU's, but the prices on those things still seem quite high, and since I believe that there is no compatibility issues anymore with non-intel chips, I'm not sure I really NEED to spend more for one. If I can get high-performance for a cheaper price, why shouldn't I? Does AMD have a processor that competes with the latest Intel's, in real-world use? I'll be playing 1st-person shooters, surfing & DL'ing, and playing dvd's, capturing video, and burning VCD's/DVD's. Eventually, I may get a tv card that works like a Tivo.

A long msg, I know. I appreciate you sticking with it this long, since I'm sure you see one of these types of msgs every week. . .I've been visiting Anandtech forums a lot the past couple months, so I know you'll have some good info. Thanks for taking the time to help me out.

-John

 

[Tavoc]

Intel is probably the best way to go right now. This is what I would recommend:

2.4C or 2.6C P4, these are the best deals, and they also OC well if you plan to go that route.
Asus P4P800 865PE board, the canterwoods just arent much faster at all, and the P4P800 has an excellent feature set.
2x256 or 2x512 Corsair Ram, either the 3200 or 3500 varieties are good.

 

[Jeff7181]

Originally posted by: Tavoc
Intel is probably the best way to go right now. This is what I would recommend:

2.4C or 2.6C P4, these are the best deals, and they also OC well if you plan to go that route.
Asus P4P800 865PE board, the canterwoods just arent much faster at all, and the P4P800 has an excellent feature set.
2x256 or 2x512 Corsair Ram, either the 3200 or 3500 varieties are good.

I disagree, but I don't feel like being a part of an Intel vs. AMD debate... I've been spending too much time reading these boards lately =)

 

[ozone13]

Originally posted by: Tavoc
Intel is probably the best way to go right now. This is what I would recommend:

2.4C or 2.6C P4, these are the best deals, and they also OC well if you plan to go that route.
Asus P4P800 865PE board, the canterwoods just arent much faster at all, and the P4P800 has an excellent feature set.
2x256 or 2x512 Corsair Ram, either the 3200 or 3500 varieties are good.

Yep, I would agree....for the most part. I lean more towards Canterwood, however. Tests reveal there IS a speed difference, but only by a few %.

 

[Zathras66]

Thanks for the suggestions. Sounds like the Intel crowd is sugesting pretty much what I was thinking of already, but with a less expensive, slightly older mobo.

Is there any way someone can give an AMD suggestion without this deteriating into an Intel vs AMD war? Maybe if someone were to post their idea of an AMD solution, without flaming or comparing it directly to the Intel solutions posted(and vice-versa)? I probably could find benchmarks and reviews on my own which will give me a rough idea of performance relative to each other.

Even if I don't buy the AMD for my new system now, in a month or so I may look at it for an upgrade of my current system. . .

Thanks,
-John

 

[Regs]

Soltek SL-75FRN-L/75FRN2-L nforce 2 $99.00

Athlon 2500 "Barton" 333 FSB 512k 1.85 Ghz $93.00


The only problem is with the nforce 2 mobo you will need to get a adapter card and wires for SATA.


Differences between memory is the bus speed of the memory. When buying a Intel 2.4 P4 with a 400 MHz bus, you would want at least pc3200 ram to run in-sync with it. And if you want a 2.4c with a 200x4=800 Mhz bus you would want the 865PE mobo and the fastest ram or you won't be able to use the 800 FSB effectively or at all. Just as long the memory bus can keep up with the CPU bus, the bios will handle the rest. Crucial and Corsair seem to be the fair brands on the market for almost every mobo.