Help me justify X2 3800 over E6300 please!

[XanaX]

Ok, I am looking to upgrade the CPU on my system within the next month but need to keep my AGP graphics card and my DDR RAM. Here are the two options I'm considering:

E6300 and the ASRock 775Dual-VSTA at a cost of about $250

or

X2 3800 and the ASRock 939Dual-SATA2 at a cost of about $215

Which one would you get and why. The absolute max $ I will spend on this upgrade is $250. I have had AMD since I replaced my Intel 386 (I'm obviously no Intel fan) but its hard to ignore the performance increase for only $35 more.

 

[Markfw]

Do you OC ? Neither of those motherboards are any good at OC'ing. If you don;t OC, get the 6300. If you do, there are motherboard for the same or less for the X2 that use AGP, and OC better, so in that case I say get the X2, and a different motherboard.

 

[XanaX]

What are the other X2 boards that are better?

I will overclock, but even the limited OC potential of the E6300/775Dual combo seems to smoke the best OC you can get out of an X2 3800.

 

[zendari]

I'd get the 6300, can't you use that in the future when you upgrade to PCI express?

 

[Keysplayr]

Originally posted by: XanaX
What are the other X2 boards that are better?

I will overclock, but even the limited OC potential of the E6300/775Dual combo seems to smoke the best OC you can get out of an X2 3800.

Well, you seem to have just presented the best argument you're going to get in this thread. You hit it right on the head. E6300.

 

[akugami]

The prices are in the same ballpark, I'd go with the Conroe. I've been using AMD for years due to their superior CPU's but that's no longer the case. The only reason I stuck with AMD for my recent X2 3800+ upgrade was due to the fact that it was cheaper for me to upgrade my CPU from a single core to a dual core AMD CPU than to buy a new mobo, RAM and CPU to upgrade to Conroe. Yes, the Conroe has a higher potential performance ceiling after overclock but considering the cost of switching, it didn't make sense from a bang for the buck standpoint.

 

[shamans]

They seem about the same to me from a value perspective except that the first one allows you to use ddr2 as well.

I bought this setup: X2 3800 and the ASRock 939Dual-SATA2
and that mobo can go pretty high in fsb. I made it from 200 to 300 fsb easily but didn't push it because I didn't need to...it was way for than i need (which is 240 fsb). The problem is that it is lacking in high core voltage options for cpu (you can only go from 1.35v (stock) to 1.4v)

My x2 3800 chip could only overclock to 2400 mhz while on stock voltage and I didn't feel comfortable enough with the heat vs. benefits to push it farther. It is completely stable at 2400 mhz, maybe you'll be luckier with your particular chip.

So...to answer your question...why would I pick the 2nd choice? Well....maybe you don't need that much cpu power. Save it for the next time. Btw, performance difference isn't that much from what I read on anandtech's articles on conroe (unless you overclock e6300 alot...which you can't do on that board).

However, if you're not tight on cash, then go with first choice. If you can wait, wait till e6300 drops in price in a month or 2 to $185.

 

[Pabster]

You can't justify it.

The miniscule cost difference is far outweighed by the better performance of the Conroe.

 

[bahamasc]

10characters

 

[shamans]

Originally posted by: Pabster
You can't justify it.

The miniscule cost difference is far outweighed by the better performance of the Conroe.

Some of us are penny counters

Newer, cheaper products come out every year (dare i say every month). Patience is key. Last year's is enough - I guess I'm in the wrong forum ;P

 

[imported_Crusader]

If you only game.. theres no advantage to using a C2D at high res.

So if you only game.. that settles it.
If you are a hobbyist video guy ect.. a 3800+ isnt going to be "slow". Sure C2D is faster.. but with C2D what we have now are great processors from BOTH AMD and Intel (finally, Intel).

If you have a AMD platform already, unless you have cash to burn or are extremely anal about "max performance" (which in most peoples cases actually means a better GPU, not CPU) then it makes far more sense to stick with your AMD stuff.

AMD is no "disgrace" now as many would have you believe.. the stuff is still smokin. Intel just finally stopped the pummelling AMDs been putting on them for years.

 

[DrMrLordX]

Honestly if he's keeping his old video card, I doubt he'll get anything from picking the X2-3800+ or the E6300 in games, unless he's dealing with a very slow processor.

If you're going to upgrade at all, get the E6300, though you should really wait for more boards to come out before you buy one. I don't see much point in you getting the X2-3800+ in your position. What is your current rig?

 

[dawgfan6]

I struggled with the same question recently, just before the C2D was available. I went with the x2-3800 and ASROCK 939dual-sata and it ROCKS. I am at 2750 rock stable on stock voltage (1.4) with the stock H/S+fan with idle temps around 38C and peak around 55C). Easiest overclock I've ever done. It might well go higher with more voltage or better cooling, but I am satisfied right now. Now, from the reviews/results I've seen, it seems a C2D performs similarly to a X2 clocked 300-400mhz faster (i.e. C2D @ 2.4 is similar in performance to X2 @ 2.8). With the ASRock 775Dual-VSTA, the highest FSB's I've seen are around 300 w/ C2D, which would put your C2D 6300 at around 2.1, or maybe 2.2. That combo would then likely underperform the x2 3800+ ASROCK 939dual (if you could achieve 2.5+ out of it, which I think is highly likely with the current crop of chips). Also, the 939dual has a full PCIEx16 slot (vs the x4 slot in the VSTA). The wildcard in this question is how much more is left in the VSTA via bios updates...they just released another one (v1.7), and have been churning 'em out pretty quickly lately. If they have a breakthrough which improves O/C on that board, allowing an e6300 to get up around 2.5+, then the VSTA/C2D would definitely be the best route, IMO.

 

[MrUniq]

There is no justification .... just pick up one of those Asrocks for core duo.

 

[imported_aashburns]

It really all depends...what type of video card do you have? Is it worth it to limit your motherboard selections?
When do you want to do this upgrade?--Intel platform prices will settle in a little bit.
What will you do on this system?--E6300 is much better in video tasks and gaming, but not so much at audio tasks or scientific calculations
Do you plan on running Vista? How much DDR memory do you have?

Personally, I wouldnt buy another VIA chipset again, ULi is much better. So its not really an Intel vs. AMD question to me.

Basically, you've got to be more specific if you want an honest, meaningful answer.

 

[XanaX]

My AGP card isn't anything special, the main issue is that I just bought a house and am moving so my absolute max budget is $250. This means I have to keep my DDR and AGP, but my XP 1700+ is not cutting the mustard anymore so its time for an upgrade.

What do people think of the ASRock 775i65G board? At $45 I could pretty much consider this a throw away motherboard whenever I'm ready to get a PCI Express graphics card. Does it overclock any better than the other ASRock board that supports conroe? Any other DDR/AGP conroe boards I'm overlooking?

Like I said I'm really an AMD guy but in this case it just seems like a lot more performance can be had for very little extra money.

 

[Viditor]

Just a thought, but you could try an Asus A8n-VM csm mobo ($80) with the X2 939 3800+ ($132)...
That would give you on-board 6150 graphics with both DVI and VGA outputs, and it would let you upgrade to a high-end PCIe card down the road...
What kind of AGP card are you trying to keep?

 

[Avalon]

The Asrock939 Dual-Sata actually is decent at overclocking with newer BIOS's. There's not going to be a huge performance difference between an X2 3800+ @ 2Ghz and an E6300 @ 1.86Ghz...if you overclock, the max overclock of both chips on their respective boards will still probably be a 150mhz to 200mhz difference. I'd put the VSTA as slightly less capable of overclocking than the SATA. There shouldn't be much difference. Your choice.

 

[shamans]

Originally posted by: dawgfan6
I struggled with the same question recently, just before the C2D was available. I went with the x2-3800 and ASROCK 939dual-sata and it ROCKS. I am at 2750 rock stable on stock voltage (1.4) with the stock H/S+fan with idle temps around 38C and peak around 55C). Easiest overclock I've ever done. It might well go higher with more voltage or better cooling, but I am satisfied right now. Now, from the reviews/results I've seen, it seems a C2D performs similarly to a X2 clocked 300-400mhz faster (i.e. C2D @ 2.4 is similar in performance to X2 @ 2.8). With the ASRock 775Dual-VSTA, the highest FSB's I've seen are around 300 w/ C2D, which would put your C2D 6300 at around 2.1, or maybe 2.2. That combo would then likely underperform the x2 3800+ ASROCK 939dual (if you could achieve 2.5+ out of it, which I think is highly likely with the current crop of chips). Also, the 939dual has a full PCIEx16 slot (vs the x4 slot in the VSTA). The wildcard in this question is how much more is left in the VSTA via bios updates...they just released another one (v1.7), and have been churning 'em out pretty quickly lately. If they have a breakthrough which improves O/C on that board, allowing an e6300 to get up around 2.5+, then the VSTA/C2D would definitely be the best route, IMO.

I also just recently bought the same cpu/mobo.

stock voltage is 1.35v btw, and I couldn't get it higher than 2.4 (dual-prime stable) on 1.35v, and it wouldn't go up much more on 1.4v (and be dual-prime stable at the same time)...maybe I'll give it another crack and see if I wasn't hallucinating. I could get it to boot windows all the way to 2.65 though..maybe more, I didn't push it since it wasn't prime stable at the time anyway.

 

[F1shF4t]

the core due will be slightly faster overall, with a few good leads in some applications, Pretty much we are back to the Athlon xps vs Northwood days. In a year or two it wont matter both will be just as slow. Does it matter if u have a 2800+ or a p4c 2.8ghz 800fsb right now, sure the northwood is quicker, but by todays standards who cares, they are both slow compared to new stuf.

I say get the one which is cheaper and better at overclocking.

 

[imported_Crusader]

Originally posted by: Viditor
Just a thought, but you could try an Asus A8n-VM csm mobo ($80) with the X2 939 3800+ ($132)...
That would give you on-board 6150 graphics with both DVI and VGA outputs, and it would let you upgrade to a high-end PCIe card down the road...
What kind of AGP card are you trying to keep?

I like this idea
$80 + $130 and getting DVI output? Pretty tough to top that. Add RAM and a HDD and you have yourself a rig.

 

[DrMrLordX]

If you're running on a "not so great" AGP card, maybe you should just put in a faster Athlon XP if your board will support it. That'll save you money down the road.

Which card you got?

 

[TekDemon]

Originally posted by: Crusader
If you only game.. theres no advantage to using a C2D at high res.

So if you only game.. that settles it.
If you are a hobbyist video guy ect.. a 3800+ isnt going to be "slow". Sure C2D is faster.. but with C2D what we have now are great processors from BOTH AMD and Intel (finally, Intel).

If you have a AMD platform already, unless you have cash to burn or are extremely anal about "max performance" (which in most peoples cases actually means a better GPU, not CPU) then it makes far more sense to stick with your AMD stuff.

AMD is no "disgrace" now as many would have you believe.. the stuff is still smokin. Intel just finally stopped the pummelling AMDs been putting on them for years.

Dude, nobody buying an E6300 and an ASRock board is going to have some insane high end graphics setup lol.

And on a side note, gaming isn't the only thing you do with your PC, I hardly ever run games myself (although I do have a GF6800 for when I do game) but I do a lot of other CPU intensive stuff.

 

[savvy]

E6300.

 

[secretanchitman]

E6300.