Computer for a friend...

[Revolution09]

I'm helping pick out parts for a friend's new computer, I quickly picked out this:

Asus M2NBP-VM CSM
OCZ 1GB (DDR2, PC5400)
and either AMD X2 3800+ or AMD X2 4200+

His budget is $500- he'll be keeping his DVD drive, hard drive, case + power supply.
With this budget, how do those parts sound for an AMD based system? How would a price-comparable Conroe system stack up against it? Can someone reccomend me a Conroe setup? I don't have any knowledge or experience of Conroe.

Thanks!

 

[regnez]

Decent C2D System:

Gigabyte GA-965P-DS3
This is a fantastic board, especially for oc'ing.
C2D E6300
This is also a fantastic processor, with much more bang for the buck than the 3800 or 4200 you have there, even when not oc'ing.
G.Skill Memory (1GB)
This is some decent memory. Not the best, but it should allow for a pretty good/stable oc.

Those things all come out to well under the $500 budget. Tell your friend that he should stretch his budget a bit further and get 2 gig of ram, then he will be set.

 

[stogez]

Better yet, go with the S3 mobo and E4300 which will come down in price even more. With the E4300 you can get 667MHz memory and still OC to 3ghz+
Try to get 2GB RAM if Vista is a possibility.

 

[Revolution09]

Originally posted by: stogez
Better yet, go with the S3 mobo and E4300 which will come down in price even more. With the E4300 you can get 667MHz memory and still OC to 3ghz+
Try to get 2GB RAM if Vista is a possibility.

He won't be doing any overclocking so no need to factor that in, and he won't be getting Vista for quite a while- besides, RAM is easily upgradeable at a later date so 1GB should be enough for now.

 

[Heller]

please go core 2, please.

 

[Revolution09]

Originally posted by: Heller91
please go core 2, please.

lol ok, just to please you

mind providing me with some comparison benchmarks or something atleast?

edit: preferably the E4300 vs. the X2 4200! I'm having some trouble finding any

 

[regnez]

Originally posted by: Revolution09

Originally posted by: Heller91
please go core 2, please.

lol ok, just to please you

mind providing me with some comparison benchmarks or something atleast?

edit: preferably the E4300 vs. the X2 4200! I'm having some trouble finding any

That is because the E4300 is brand new. And if your friend is not going to oc, then the E4300 is not much of a better option than the 4200.

But there is absolutely no reason to not oc an E4300. A few tweaks in the bios, and very little risk can result in absolutely ridiculous performance gains.

 

[engiNURD]

Even at stock speeds, the E4300 barely edges out the AX2 4200+. OC'ing isn't hard on the new C2Ds, and a moderate OC will bump performance greatly while still maintaining stability.

$180 - E4300
$110 - GA-965P-S3
$185 - 2GBNQ
======
$475 before tax and shipping

 

[Revolution09]

thanks for the help, I'm looking into the C2Ds overclocking and seeing what my friend thinks about that option.

 

[zodder]

As a friend, do your best to talk him/her into it.

 

[Revolution09]

for a C2D setup, how does this look (not overclocked) vs. the original X2 setup in my first post?

E4300
Asus P5L-MX
OCZ 1GB (DDR2, PC5400)


edit: I should mention that the original X2 setup came to $480, vs. $505 for the C2D

 

[Revolution09]

Originally posted by: Revolution09
for a C2D setup, how does this look (not overclocked) vs. the original X2 setup in my first post?

E4300
Asus P5L-MX
OCZ 1GB (DDR2, PC5400)


edit: I should mention that the original X2 setup came to $480, vs. $505 for the C2D

bump

 

[Revolution09]

Originally posted by: Revolution09

Originally posted by: Revolution09
for a C2D setup, how does this look (not overclocked) vs. the original X2 setup in my first post?

E4300
Asus P5L-MX
OCZ 1GB (DDR2, PC5400)


edit: I should mention that the original X2 setup came to $480, vs. $505 for the C2D

bump

buuuuump ^^

 

[wllce1314]

As a general rule Newegg and Zipzoomfly are your freinds and typically have some of the best prices.

Get the E4300 at microcenter.com $162.99
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=N82E16813128017

Not familiar with that board but the Gigabyte S3 is only a little more and overclocks very well.
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=N82E16813128017

That ram you listed is $93 AR rebate at the egg
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=N82E16820227058

However i would go with 2gb ram if you can afford it, Something like this

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=N82E16820231098
$185.

So my advice is take the $50 you would save on the CPU by buying at microcenter and putting it towrds the 2GB of ram. Works out to about the same price

 

[Revolution09]

thanks, but I will be buying it at the store I've linked to, simply because it's local. and I'm kinda looking for opinions on the actual hardware I selected there, not the prices :disgust: