First AMD build - Please help!

[imported_Boater]

It's time for another upgrade and I've made the decision to go AMD this time. I really never considered not using Intel until now, but can't ignore all of the reviews and benchmarks. I've done a lot of forum searching and reading in the last couple of weeks, but so much of the information published on the net is targeted at gaming needs and that's not one of my priorities. I've listed my current components, usage and priorities, and the parts that I'd like to upgrade below:

Priorities and useage

1. 1. Stability
   2. Speed for multitasking. I primarily use the PC for office apps and often have 20 Word/Excel documents open at once, along with FrontPage or Access. I use the PC as a jukebox while I?m working and do media encoding in the background. I connect my DV cam by firewire and render home video with Premier or similar apps. I use Photoshop CS2 for digital photo editing. Gaming is of least importance, although I usually have a game of Solitaire open and do like Far Cry. I?ve never OC?d, but am not opposed to a small amount of simple OC?ing.
   3. Quiet
   4. Reasonable pricing ? of course this is a consideration, but not at the sacrifice of the first 3 priorities. I?d rather invest more in the CPU and MoBo than an expensive video card targeted for gaming.

My current system:

• Intel P4 2600 MHz
  Intel Rock Lake D865PERL (Springdale i865PE)
  2x 512MB Buffalo DDR SDRAM DDR 400 (PC 3200)
  NVIDIA GeForce4 Ti 4800 (128 MB)
  WDC WD2500JD-22FYB0 (232 GB, IDE)
  Maxtor 6Y120P0 (120 GB, 7200 RPM, Ultra-ATA/133)
  WD1200JB-00CRA1 (111 GB, IDE)
  ST3300831AS (300 GB, 7200 RPM, SATA)
  Plextor CD-R Premium (52x/32x/52x CD-RW)
  Plextor DVDR PX-712A (DVD+RW:12x/4x, DVD-RW:8x/4x, DVD-ROM:16x, CD:48x/24x/48x DVD+RW/DVD-RW)
  ViewSonic VX900-2 [19" LCD]
  Creative SB0350 Audigy 2 ZS Sound Card
  Logitech Z-5500 Speakers
  On board LAN
  Super Flower 201T3 Mid-Tower Case (Standard ATX/Extended Form Factor ATX, Max MOBO size 12" x 13")
  Antec True430 ATX RTL
  5 x 8cm Fans (Front x 2, Back x 2, Top x 1)

Components that I?m going to upgrade:

• CPU
  MoBo
  Memory
  Video Card
  Possibly PSU
  Case and cooling ? only if I have to.

Decision making

I'd like this upgrade to carry me a couple of years. I?ve started to narrow things down and have gotten as far as the CPU and MoBo. I prefer retail over OEM for the CPU because of the 3 year warranty and included heatsink. I?d like to make a decision on the CPU before moving on. Here?s the 3 that I?ve narrowed it down to. The prices are from NewEgg and all the CPU?s are in stock.

• Opteron 175 Denmark 1GHz FSB 2MB L2 Cache Socket 939 Dual Core Processor ? Retail $520
  Opteron 180 Denmark 1GHz FSB 2 x 1MB L2 Cache Socket 939 Dual Core Processor ? Retail $842 or OEM $775
  64 X2 4800+ Toledo 1GHz FSB 2 x 1MB L2 Cache Socket 939 Dual Core Processor ? Retail $787

Once you've helped me decide on the best CPU for my needs than I hope that I can bother you all again to help me with the rest of the components. Many thanks in advance!

 

[gplracer]

Have you thought about a single core opteron to save money? Most programs are not written to take advantage of a dual core processor. You could get a motherboard that will also take a dual core for later use. I like the DFI Lanparty DR, OCZ Powerstream 520, 7800gt or 6800gs, Thermalright SI 120 heatsink, and this ram: G. Skill

 

[DrMrLordX]

If you're not overclocking much, just get the x2 4800+ and call it a day. The Opterons are only really good if you like OCing, and even then, you are generally better off getting one of the lower-clocked s939 Opterons and OCing the hell out of it.

At your apparently-desired price point, the 4800+ is your processor. Use the stock heatsink unless you really want to go noiseless. If you want low noise . . . eh, well, there's always water cooling! Actually, I'm sure someone here or in Cases & Cooling can recommend a good aftermarket hsf solution to keep your system fairly quiet.

As far as motherboards go, just get something that has: a). Nforce 4 b). The features you want(do you want SLI or not?) c). A good track record
You will not be needing many overclocking features, so don't sweat it. A lot of people will recommend DFI Lanparty boards, and while they are excellent enthusiast boards, you don't need to spend that much to get the features you might want.

gplracer's PSU recommendation is good, though you can also do well with a 500-550W PSU from Fortron or Sparkle. That 430W Truepower you have now may also do you right, unless you go crazy with dual 6800 Ultras or something. No reason to do that nowadays, just sayin . . .

 

[hurtstotalktoyou]

You definitely don't need a new case or power supply. Unless you don't already have a TV-out port and want one, you don't need a new video card, either.

As for a CPU, just get this:
http://www.monarchcomputer.com/Merchant...duct_Code=120338&AFFIL=pricewatch&NR=1

Get it quickly, because it's no longer being manufactured. Yes, it's slower at stock than most other X2s/Opeterons, but it will overclock to the same 2.5 GHz that anything else will reach. You'll save hundreds.

Do you really need new memory? I mean, you've got a gig as it stands. If you want two gigs, sell of your old memory and get 2x1GB Corsair ValueSelect.

The motherboard is an obvious choice: Epox 9NPA+ Ultra. It's hands down the best s939 non-SLI board.

 

[gplracer]

hurtstotalktoyou, What makes the Epox 9NPA+ the best motherboad in the non-sli category? I am not that familiar with that board.

 

[imported_Boater]

Thanks to all of you for your quick responses. You've given me quite a bit to mull over. The recommendation for the Opteron 165 is well taken. No, I hadn't considered a single core Opteron, but will look at them. I was really impressed by the reported performance of the 4800+ in multitasking and media encoding, but the reported stability of the Opteron is also very appealing. I read the following on another board and am wondering what you all think about it:

I had both and the 180 I got (ccbwe 0543UPMW) at least clocks higher and more stable than my 4800+ did. Not by a huge amount, but noticible. The main thing about any dual core is whether you get two good overclocking cores or just one. More times than not, one core will drag you down. So far I'm real happy with the 180 and it works at lower voltage and less heat than the 4800 ever di.

Another question has to do with replacing the stock heatsink. I read AMD's warranty information and I believe that it said that the warranty would be voided if the stock heatsink was replaced. Low noise level is really important to me and if using a different heatsink would reduce the level, then I'm all for it.

 

[sandorski]

My stock hs/fan for my x2 3800 is far from silent. I wouldn't say it's "loud", but if silence is the goal an aftermarket hs/fan is the way to go IMO.

 

[RussianSensation]

I'd probably get X2 3800+. If you care about warranty, you shouldn't overclock, since that voids your warranty. If you do want to overclock, getting opterons is a better option, but for the same price you'll lose 200mhz on opterons (so only better if you intend to overclock). The reason why I dont recommend you get 700+ cpu is:

Option 1: Get $700 cpu keep for 2 years.
Option 1: Get $350 cpu year 1, Get $350 cpu year 2.

disregard inflation, time value of money, etc, you'll see that in year 2, most likely you'll get a faster cpu for $350 than the $700 one. The longer you plan on keeping before upgrading, the more it makes sense to get cheaper and upgrade often (irony?).

for motherboard, go with DFI, Epox or Asus
6600GT PCIe $110, after MIR on newegg should suffice.
I'd keep the ram you have and get 2x512 sticks to save some money. Performance hit with 2T shouldn't be tremendous in office tasks.
Keep everything else.

 

[pctwo]

If you like doing CPU intensive stuff like video encoding in the background, then dual core is for you because if will keep your system nice and responsive while you do other things.

I would suggest saving your money and go with a lower dual core, like Opteron 170 or X2 3800+ and put that money into RAM RAM and more RAM. With CPU, you really get diminishing return so a chip that cost 50% or 100% more isn't going to make your system run 1.5x or 2x as fast.

Btw, the lower X2s (3800+ and 4200+) have 2x512kb cache. The Opterons at same price points have 2x1024kb cache. But, the X2s have higher clock (+0.2ghz). I don't know which is better. If you OC, then Opteron definitely.

 

[cpacini]

If you're looking for silent operation I would suggest a Thermalright SI-120 and a low speed Panaflo undervolted to 5 or 7 volts. Mine is almost completly silent.

 

[Skott]

Boater,
I would agree that in your situation a dual core would be ideal. Wether Opty or X2 is a bit harder to decide. I would let cpu price and availbility decide that. X2's are more wildly availble this holiday season I'm guessing. Since OCing isnt much of a issue I would go with the old addage of 'Buy the most processor power you can afford' Stock vs stock speeds the 4200 will be faster than the 3800, and the 4400 will be faster than the 4200, and the 4600 will be faster than the 4400, and the 4800 will be the fastest of them all currently. How much you want to spend is dependent on your wallet and how bad you want something. This is something only you can determine.

Just my two coppers on it.

 

[Viditor]

1. I agree with the X2 4800, DrMrLordX put it very well.
2. You will indeed need a new video card as yoou're going to PCIe. Either the GeForce 6600GT or the x800GTO will do nicely.
3. For stability and quiet, I would go with the Seatronics S12 PSU (probably the 430w will suffice)
4. Your memory should operate fine, but you might consider going to 2 x 1GB sticks for future proffing and speed.
5. ASUS tends to have one of the most stable boards, but only if your not overclocking. The very best in stability there is the A8N32-SLI, because it uses 8 phase power...
6. The X2 don't run very hot, so you should be fine with the case you have...

 

[imported_Boater]

Well, you've all given me a lot to think about. I now need to price out the different scenarios and make some decisions. It seems ironic that paying extra for a retail box that gives you a 3 yr warranty and heatsink is money down the drain if the heatsink is changed to reduce noice level or if you overclock. So then it seems to make more sense to buy OEM, get a 1 yr warranty and add the heatsink of your choice and optionally overclock and forget about the warranty. Things were much simpler with Intel, but I'm not going back!

 

[Viditor]

Originally posted by: Boater
Well, you've all given me a lot to think about. I now need to price out the different scenarios and make some decisions. It seems ironic that paying extra for a retail box that gives you a 3 yr warranty and heatsink is money down the drain if the heatsink is changed to reduce noice level or if you overclock. So then it seems to make more sense to buy OEM, get a 1 yr warranty and add the heatsink of your choice and optionally overclock and forget about the warranty. Things were much simpler with Intel, but I'm not going back!

Actually, the warranty situation is exactly the same with Intel...
Good luck on the new rig!