Entry level mobo

[Goi]

Hi,

I'm helping my dad build a new budget rig, and for the same price I can either get a G31 and an E8000 series CPU, or a P45 and a E7000 series CPU. I'm guessing the CPU would make more of a difference than the chipset. Am I right?

btw he's not gonna be using the integrated graphics so I see no point in getting the G41.

 

[heyheybooboo]

Depends upon what yer Pop does.

An e5200 or Kuma/PhII may be more 'entry level' with the 'big difference' coming from 2x2Gb of RAMs ...

At what budget does your entry level fall ??

 

[Goi]

Sorry I forgot to mention the usage. The most he'll be doing is some AutoCAD, but 2D only.

Budget for the CPU/motherboard is about $300, however I'm not in the USA so prices can't be compared directly. At this price point I'm looking at a G31 with E8000/Q8000 series, or a P43/P45 with E7000 series. On the AMD side I could get a Phenom X4 9650/9950 or a Phenom II 710/720 but reviews don't seem to put it in good light compared to the intel CPUs.

Yes RAM is cheap so I'll be getting 2x2GB.

 

[cubeless]

i assume u won't be oc'ing... at the same price point the amd's stack up pretty well...

but even a low end p45 and a 7xxx chip will give you a 25% oc rather easy in most cases, and that's what makes the intel choice 'better'...

 

[Goi]

but would an oc'ed low end p45 7xxx chip be as good as an oc'ed g31 8xxx chip?

I'd probably dabble a little bit on overclocking, but with only the stock intel cooler, so it won't be much.

 

[Sylvanas]

Originally posted by: Goi
Sorry I forgot to mention the usage. The most he'll be doing is some AutoCAD, but 2D only.

Budget for the CPU/motherboard is about $300, however I'm not in the USA so prices can't be compared directly. At this price point I'm looking at a G31 with E8000/Q8000 series, or a P43/P45 with E7000 series. On the AMD side I could get a Phenom X4 9650/9950 or a Phenom II 710/720 but reviews don't seem to put it in good light compared to the intel CPUs.

Yes RAM is cheap so I'll be getting 2x2GB.

If you are going to be using AutoCAD and looking for some logevity it would be best to go with the more cores the better. An X3 720 +790GX board is cheap and a good performer and overclocker (see ATs review) it is also hit and miss at unlocking that 4th core which is a bonus should you get another core for free.

 

[BlahBlahYouToo]

budget you say?
QED

 

[jjmIII]

Originally posted by: BlahBlahYouToo
budget you say?
QED

I agree..

 

[heyheybooboo]

Originally posted by: Goi
Sorry I forgot to mention the usage. The most he'll be doing is some AutoCAD, but 2D only.

Budget for the CPU/motherboard is about $300, however I'm not in the USA so prices can't be compared directly. At this price point I'm looking at a G31 with E8000/Q8000 series, or a P43/P45 with E7000 series. On the AMD side I could get a Phenom X4 9650/9950 or a Phenom II 710/720 but reviews don't seem to put it in good light compared to the intel CPUs.

Yes RAM is cheap so I'll be getting 2x2GB.

Said reviewers should put down their 'pipes' . . .

2d line drawings really don't need the jam from a quad - what annoys me the most is the screen refresh/regeneration. What are your plans for the graphics?

(Monitor? Discreet card?)

 

[faxon]

with that budget i would get a sub $200 quad and IGP mobo (PH2 920 + http://www.newegg.com/Product/...?Item=N82E16813128382) and call it a good 4 years worth of performance for what he's doing. leaves room to upgrade to 8gb of ram down the road as well, if you dont feel like putting out the extra $40 to do it in a couple months (assuming he can even utilize it).

 

[Goi]

Thanks. I ended up getting a Palit 780G mobo with a Phenom II X3 720. Decided I felt like playing around with an AMD. It's been a while since my last AMD system.

heyheybooboo, my dad, for some inexplicable reason, bought a bunch of used Quadros online, ranging from Quadro 4s to Quadro FX that are the same as the 6800 series. I supposed these are still better than the onboard 780G integrated graphics...

Yes, I know those Quadros were obsolete 4 years ago and probably not even worth the postage, but whadayagonnado?

 

[heyheybooboo]

Originally posted by: Goi
Thanks. I ended up getting a Palit 780G mobo with a Phenom II X3 720. Decided I felt like playing around with an AMD. It's been a while since my last AMD system.

heyheybooboo, my dad, for some inexplicable reason, bought a bunch of used Quadros online, ranging from Quadro 4s to Quadro FX that are the same as the 6800 series. I supposed these are still better than the onboard 780G integrated graphics...

Yes, I know those Quadros were obsolete 4 years ago and probably not even worth the postage, but whadayagonnado?

He should be fine - one of my favs I still use is an AGP pro FireGL z-128. It's on a 2p Win2K with SCSI drives and is as snappy as anything I got.

Update him with the appropriate Autodesk certified drivers for the Quadro and optimize for his version of AutoCAD ( OpenGL / D3D / DX ?? - not sure these days ). You may have to tweak a bit to find your best settings.