CPU comparison shopping is owning me...

[harobikes333]

Right now trying to decide on what CPU to get. I have 1200 dollars to spend on a complete system including a monitor. Keyboard and mouse don't have to be fancy.

I'm looking at charts etc. and I see that the 3800 X2AMD is owned by almost a minute in testing by the 6400E conroe. The 6600E is even faster and beats the 6400E by around 30 secs.

Will a person notice the difference between the two conroes?... by alot? which is more for your money...
Also, I'm looking and the AMD alternative seems a bit more for your money if I were to get the 6400E one ...? I"m not sure could you guys help me out?

Here is my thead on building my computer in the general section: here

I don't play a ton of video games so I think the 7900GS or 7800GT__? would be ok? ...?

 

[Extelleron]

Originally posted by: harobikes333
Right now trying to decide on what CPU to get. I have 1200 dollars to spend on a complete system including a monitor. Keyboard and mouse don't have to be fancy.

I'm looking at charts etc. and I see that the 3800 X2AMD is owned by almost a minute in testing by the 6400E conroe. The 6600E is even faster and beats the 6400E by around 30 secs.

Will a person notice the difference between the two conroes?... by alot? which is more for your money...
Also, I'm looking and the AMD alternative seems a bit more for your money if I were to get the 6400E one ...? I"m not sure could you guys help me out?

Here is my thead on building my computer in the general section: here

I don't play a ton of video games so I think the 7900GS or 7800GT__? would be ok? ...?

Which way you want to go right now really depends on what you plan on doing with your PC. If you're going to be doing alot of CPU intensive tasks like encoding and rendering, you absolutely want to go Intel with a Core 2 Duo setup. If you need the performance, there's simply no reason to consider AMD at this point.

If you're going to be using the system for more general tasks and some light gaming, AMD is probably the better option right now. You can get an X2 3600+ (65nm, dual-core processor) for $65 and a solid AMD motherboard like the BIOSTAR tforce-550 for well under $100 (the t-force 550 is a good overclocker and is $69 @ newegg). The AMD setup is going to overclock and perform well, but the main attractiveness is price- the cheapest Intel CPU you want to consider at this point is the E4300 and it's still $160-170~.

If you do want to go Intel, you'll want to wait for the late April price cuts. Intel will be cutting the prices of their CPU's pretty much and the E4300 will be a good value @ $113.

 

[PCTC2]

BTW it's E6400. The E6400 should be fine over the E6600 as long as you don't do any huge intensive encoding/decoding of multimedia. Mine is running at 3.48GHz. For stock, the E6600 is the performance.
Wait for April 22nd for the price drops to $183 E6400 and $224 E6600.
But you can probably use a Asus P5B board with an Intel 965P Chipset. A 7900GS/GT would probably be a good choice b/c you don't play too many games.
For RAM, try to get a nice pair of DDR2-800 sticks from G.Skill or OCZ if you're gonna OC, but if you're gonna stay stock, go with DDR2-667. Integrate Audio should be fine and just get whatever keyboard and mouse suits you. It's all personal preference for feel.
Rereading the post, you only wanted CPU and graphics, but there's the basic stuff anyways.

 

[nyker96]

If I have your cash, I'd buy the following right after 4-22 price drop:

E6420 (4mb cache) - $183 (say $200) with Freezer 7 pro HSF ($30)
DS3 v3.3 - $135 so I can OC the CPU to 3.2+
Antec P180 case - $100 or cheaper stuff if low on cash
enhance 5150GH - $75
2GBxDDR2-800 Corsair XMS2 - $150 AR (this guy can do 900+ enough for 3.2+ OC)
7900GS - $150
==== all this about $850 anything else save for monitor/etc.

 

[myocardia]

Originally posted by: nyker96
enhance 5150GH - $75

haro, this is a power supply, and a very good one, especially for the price.

 

[harobikes333]

enhance? I haven't heard of them before. But again, I haven't been really up to date with tech news for some time now and even then I only read every so often.
How does the enhance 5150GH compare to a seasonic 430W or 500W?

When you guys say encoding/decoding intensive... do you mean decoding dvds?...? I do a lot of multitasking, for example I like to talk on msn messenger, browse the web with about twenty tabs open and two or three windows open of the browser, listen to music, and mabe have a program or two open. I like to scan my computer often for spyware, etc. and I have a software firewall up too. Nothing to major.

 

[imported_Husky55]

Originally posted by: harobikes333
enhance? I haven't heard of them before. But again, I haven't been really up to date with tech news for some time now and even then I only read every so often.
How does the enhance 5150GH compare to a seasonic 430W or 500W?

When you guys say encoding/decoding intensive... do you mean decoding dvds?...? I do a lot of multitasking, for example I like to talk on msn messenger, browse the web with about twenty tabs open and two or three windows open of the browser, listen to music, and mabe have a program or two open. I like to scan my computer often for spyware, etc. and I have a software firewall up too. Nothing to major.

The recommendation above will provide a system which will do anything you want and more. enhance PS is cheaper than seasonic for a comparable wattage. seasonic is also very good.

 

[harobikes333]

Ic. I just know that the PSU is a VERY important part of the computer and I've known some people that have had them go bad and mess up their computers pretty bad.

So right now what would the best CPU be for the money...? I don't plan on OCing because I would like the computer to last a long time......?...
Does anyone know a good DVD burner? Not wanting to spend a ton but not too little either.

Thanks for the replies!

 

[nyker96]

Originally posted by: harobikes333
Ic. I just know that the PSU is a VERY important part of the computer and I've known some people that have had them go bad and mess up their computers pretty bad.

In terms of best PSU no doubt Seasonic 600W/500Ws are the best along with Corsair HX520/620 series.

Enhance 5150GH I recommended has about 90% of seasonic/corsair quality without the higher premium. the missing 10% are: non-modular cable management, slightly lower total wattage on 12v line. slightly higher noise compare to other two. Other than these nothing else is missing, if anything 5150GH has more efficiency over corsair models at below 200W range (which is my usage pattern). I was personally choosing between 5150GH and a corsair 520hx and due to its better efficiency at 200W range I went with 5150GH. But if you care about cable management I would go with Corsair.

 

[harobikes333]

I think I'm going to get the Seasonic 500W? or no.? i've heard reallly good reviews on it.

On my Original thread I'm trying to decide whether or not to go AMD or Intel>_< Still

I'm not sure what to go with, Intel mobos are more expensive and their CPUs are too sorta... I don't plan on OCing/voiding the warranty so I'm not sure what way to go.

any help?

 

[tatteredpotato]

X2 if you don't overclock. You can get a 2.3 GHz 65nm x2 for $130, that's dirt cheap for the performance in that thing. I'm personally running a 4600 (2.4GHz) and have never been in a situation where I wished I had more CPU power. Pair that with 2 gigs of good ram and your set for awhile.

 

[myocardia]

Originally posted by: harobikes333
I think I'm going to get the Seasonic 500W? or no.? i've heard reallly good reviews on it.

The Corsair 520 watt not only has considerably more power on the 12v rails, but is also quieter, from what I hear.

 

[harobikes333]

X2? righto I'll go and see how much I want to spend out of my 1200 towards my CPU Thanks!!

Myocardia, I'll go take a look at the corsair, Thanks!

 

[harobikes333]

I looked at the Corair PSU

520W -->120 after a ten dollar mail in rebate

700W -->125 after 25 dollar mail in rebate

I'm just thinking that the 700W would be overkill... using a PSU Calculator I'm not passing 400Watts.... Advice?

Rough plan...

AMD X2 5000+?? or something similar?
1GBX2sticks=2GB ram total
7900GS
floppy
mobo to match amd cpu, not OCing....
one HDD and possibly may add a second
one or two dvd burners
two or so 120mm fans?
possibly a network card for a router? < do i need?

Any help would be greatly appreciated! Thanks!

Budget is $1200

 

[tatteredpotato]

Originally posted by: harobikes333
I looked at the Corair PSU

520W -->120 after a ten dollar mail in rebate

700W -->125 after 25 dollar mail in rebate

I'm just thinking that the 700W would be overkill... using a PSU Calculator I'm not passing 400Watts.... Advice?

Rough plan...

AMD X2 5000+?? or something similar?
1GBX2sticks=2GB ram total
7900GS
floppy
mobo to match amd cpu, not OCing....
one HDD and possibly may add a second
one or two dvd burners
two or so 120mm fans?
possibly a network card for a router? < do i need?

Any help would be greatly appreciated! Thanks!

Budget is $1200

Almost all motherboards come w/ one if not two lan ports, so you shouldn't need a NIC. Asus makes really good quality boards if your shopping for a board.

 

[AlucardX]

why are you going amd? they're last generation tech as far as i'm concerned. until their new architecture comes out i see no point in building a new a system with that.

go for the E6400 and OC it

 

[daveybrat]

I was going to go Core2, but i'm gonna cheap out and get an AMD X2 4600+, i can get the 65W retail boxed for $111, so i think i'm gonna go that route.

 

[tatteredpotato]

Originally posted by: AlucardX
why are you going amd? they're last generation tech as far as i'm concerned. until their new architecture comes out i see no point in building a new a system with that.

go for the E6400 and OC it

It's quite a bit more than the 5000 and offers little if any performance increase (he's not overclocking remember).

 

[myocardia]

Originally posted by: harobikes333
I'm just thinking that the 700W would be overkill... using a PSU Calculator I'm not passing 400Watts.... Advice?

Rough plan...

AMD X2 5000+?? or something similar?
1GBX2sticks=2GB ram total
7900GS
floppy
mobo to match amd cpu, not OCing....
one HDD and possibly may add a second
one or two dvd burners
two or so 120mm fans?
possibly a network card for a router? < do i need?

Any help would be greatly appreciated! Thanks!

Budget is $1200

The 520 watt Corsair can run an X6800, overclocked, plus an 8800GTX, overclocked. It will have no problems at all running that system. If you're wanting less expensive, but a bit louder, the Enhance 5150GH has about as much power, and is at least as reliable.*


*Enhance has been making server power supplies for many years now. The reason you've never heard of them is because they just started selling psu's to the general public. They're very, very reliable, though; at least as reliable, if not more, than Seasonic.

 

[harobikes333]

Hmmm, do you know how much louder it would be compared to a seasonic? I don't really want a really loud computer but I guess if it would save me around 60 bucks, I can live....:?
I still need to decide on all my exact parts:/ Just waiting though some what until the price cuts come into effect.

 

[myocardia]

Originally posted by: harobikes333
Hmmm, do you know how much louder it would be compared to a seasonic? I don't really want a really loud computer but I guess if it would save me around 60 bucks, I can live....:?

I'm just going by what a guy who has both said. But then again, this is a guy who either owns or has access to a power supply testing machine, so I would tend to believe him.

 

[harobikes333]

ic. I just would rather I guess a quiet computer than a louder one . I donno >_< decisions decisions!>_<

 

[s44]

At this point, you should wait for the 8600GTS.

Originally posted by: harobikes333
possibly a network card for a router? < do i need?

All modern motherboards have built-in ethernet.

 

[harobikes333]

good deal about the mobo If I wait for the 8600GTS... how long will that be.... and also, u mean so that the 7900GS would be cheaper? or:?

 

[s44]

Originally posted by: harobikes333
good deal about the mobo If I wait for the 8600GTS... how long will that be.... and also, u mean so that the 7900GS would be cheaper? or:?

Less than two weeks, supposedly.

The 8600s will do DX10 and be faster than the 7900GS in DX9, all for about the same price. No reason to get last-generation technology.