I feel lost

[xSauronx]

1. What YOUR PC will be used for.
--- primarily, i want to run VMs. I may want to watch HD video in the near future.

2. What YOUR budget is.
--- $700

3. What country YOU will be buying YOUR parts from.
--- USA

4. IF YOU have a brand preference.
--- none

5. If YOU intend on using any of YOUR current parts, and if so, what those parts are.
--- I have a 3450 video card, and 6gb DDR3
----- the DDR3 I was given for free by anand himself at the Raleigh meet several OTers participated in. Not sure if Im better to use it, or sell it.

6. IF YOU have searched and/or read similar threads.
--- yeah, i feel overwhelmed

7. IF YOU plan on overclocking or run the system at default speeds.
--- ill overclock, but Im not interested in doing anything outrageous

8. WHEN do you plan to build it?
--- now. I want to order within the week.

I dont need a kb, mouse, monitor, or OS (I intend to run Linux)
I want to run VMs and maybe watch some high-def video (i bought an 1080p lcd already)

I could spend a few more bucks, maybe, if it would get me i7, but I dont see it fitting in my budget. Im more conflicted on whether or not I should go with core 2 quad or the phenom 2 stuff, and whether or not I should get 2 hard drives since I would *like* to run 3 or 4 VMs at once.

thoughts? I havent built a pc in years, so trying to get caught up enough to choose most of my own parts has been overwhelming.

 

[somethingsketchy]

Did your RAM come in a set of 3 sticks per kit or some other configuration? I am only asking because from the sounds of that RAM you could go Core i7, but I am not sure if mobo, cpu and 2 hdds will come out to $700. You might be able to get away with an LGA 775 motherboard.

http://www.newegg.com/Product/...x?Item=N82E16813121348 - LGA 775 Mobo
http://www.newegg.com/Product/...x?Item=N82E16819115055 - if you intend to run 45nm to have less heat
http://www.newegg.com/Product/...x?Item=N82E16819115017 - if you want 8MB of cache which will help you with multiple VMs.
http://www.newegg.com/Product/...x?Item=N82E16822136284 - 2x of these 750GB HDDs

With the 45nm Quad Core CPU it will be $549.96 (minus an instant discount on the motherboard)
With the 64nm Quad Core CPU it will be $577.96 (minus an instant discount on the motherboard)

Again this whole set is on an LGA 775 chassis. If you intend to keep this build for less than a year (or upgrade often) I would look at the Core i7. But right now it could be over your $700 limit for a mobo, cpu and an aftermarket cooler (if you intend to overclock). My recommendation would be on the LGA 775 socket. It'll save you some money and buy you some time until prices drop on Core i7 builds in general.

 

[MichaelD]

Q6600 with a decent motherboard and aftermarket HSF and 8GB of DDR2 RAM would be well under your budget and would allow you to run all the VMs you want. Don't forget at least $125 or so for a GOOD powersupply.

Down the road you could put a good video card in it and play anything at any setting. See "gaming box" in my sig.

 

[krnmastersgt]

I'd say waiting for i7 would be more efficient, great thing about i7s is they have more than 4 threads, great for VM usage since you could run 4 VMs with 1 core affinity each, giving them each dual-threads. Of course if you need it NOW, then you have no choice but to go Phenom II or Core2, for the money, Phenom II is currently the better value compared to their similarly priced Intel counterparts. That and the boards tend to be cheaper as well, netting you more extra cash for hard drives, etc.

Phenom II 940 + Biostar 790GX = $290
Corsair 650W PSU $100 ($25 rebate)
Cooler Master Elite Case = $45 (+shipping)

Now, for the hard drives, what somethingsketchy suggested are nice hard drives, good speeds as well, however I see them as budget breakers for you. Way I see it, 4 slightly slower hard drives are better when running that many VMs than 2 high speed drives, correct? So the next question is, how much storage capacity do you need on each drive?

One option is: WD Caviar SE16 320gb x4 = roughly $200

This adds up to around $600-$650, and you can sell the video card if you want since the 790GX has integrated video, which is capable of high-def output.

Now for the ram, I'm assuming you want 8gb? Here's where a few extra dollars nets you a bit better deal, I forgot the differences between CAS4 and CAS5, so if you hop over to the memory section and figure out which is better:
Corsair 4gb (2x2gb) set (CAS5) = $55 ($30 rebate)
Patriot Extreme 4gb (2x2gb) set (CAS4) = $54 ($25 rebate)
Sell your DDR3 modules for a bit of extra cash.

Everything listed above is free shipping, excluding the case.

 

[somethingsketchy]

I suggested the 750GB simply because even if he gave the 4+ VMs about 100GB a piece, there would be plenty of room for even more VMs or future updates to each VM (such as bigger partitions or whatnot). But I agree with krnmastersgt it could be just as cost effectively to get 3 or 4 hdds and go from there.

 

[krnmastersgt]

Originally posted by: somethingsketchy
I suggested the 750GB simply because even if he gave the 4+ VMs about 100GB a piece, there would be plenty of room for even more VMs or future updates to each VM (such as bigger partitions or whatnot). But I agree with krnmastersgt it could be just as cost effectively to get 3 or 4 hdds and go from there.

My suggestion wasn't based on hard drive capacity, but more on the seek/load/read times, since if you have 2 VMs running on the same drive they're gonna be operating slower than 2 VMs on lower speed drives, but each to their own. Otherwise, I'd definitely go for the WD Caviar Blacks.

 

[Blain]

Just because you've got DDR3 memory, doesn't lock you into having to go with a Core i7...
You could always drop down to 4GB's DDR3 in dual channel and use a C2Q with a DDR3 supported P45 MB, like the Gigabyte GA-EP45T-UD3LR

 

[xSauronx]

yeah the ddr3 is a 3x2gb kit. anand said its good for i7, or whatever the cheaper iteration will be in the fall or so, but...i need to build now. so either i build now, and sell and go i7 later (seems silly, really) or sell the DDR3 now (i hate to do it, but, dont think i can justify keeping it unless i make a phenom2 am3 system, which im not sure is worth the trouble)

what i was looking at a few weeks ago was a q9550 (280), gigabyte ep45 (115), wd caviar black 640gb (80), 8gb 0cz ddr 1066 (112)[or is ddr 800 sufficeint?], that puts me at about 590, and ill need a case and psu. so thatll put me at 700 but i need another hard drive. i could afford to upgrade hard drives (get 3 or 4 slower ones, really) if i sold the DDR3. 2 hard drives should really be my minimum, 3 or 4 would definitely help but im not likely to hit the VMs for anything heavy in performance (i want to run a server os, and a couple of clients)

i also like the idea of a phenom 2 setup that krnmastersgt posted. i could do that with 8gb ram and 4 hard drives without hurting my budget that much.

throw around a few more ideas, ill decide tonight after work i guess. fwiw the DDR3 i have is http://www.newegg.com/Product/...x?Item=N82E16820227384 so selling that (its signed by the OCZ Ceo and VP though, bah!) should make whatever i do easier, anyway.

 

[xSauronx]

Originally posted by: Blain
Just because you've got DDR3 memory, doesn't lock you into having to go with a Core i7...
You could always drop down to 4GB's DDR3 in dual channel and use a C2Q with a DDR3 supported P45 MB, like the Gigabyte GA-EP45T-UD3LR

well thats the thing, i have the memory but im not dead set on using it. thing is, if i want to run VMs, 4gb alone may not really be enough. im kinda leaning towards a q9550/8gb ram, to be honest, or was a few weeks ago, but the phenom 2 has got me thinking otherwise now.

 

[MichaelD]

I don't know much about i7 but I have read up on it. I know that it's 10-20% faster in basically everything. It's also expensive.

Being that you already have the RAM, and a decent amount of RAM for what you want to do (VMs) that may be a deciding factor for you. You don't have to spend that $200+ on RAM.

IMHO, the X58 platform doesn't have all the bugs worked out yet...it's still too new. But if you could score a killer deal on a i920 (I think that's the part...the lower priced i7 that OCs like crazy) and a MB that might be the way to go.

But, older S775 platforms are stable, proven and there's lots of support available for them.

In this game, there's no such thing as "future proof." But, with a quad core CPU running 3.0GHz+, 4-8GB of RAM, a decent GPU and a TB hard drive, what CAN'T you do? Not much you CAN'T do. In fact, even with my "old" gaming rig I'm still pretty set for the next 2-3 years...though I doubt my upgrade itch will shut up that long.

 

[Blain]

"the DDR3 I was given for free by anand himself at the Raleigh meet several OTers participated in."

Originally posted by: xSauronx

Originally posted by: Blain
Just because you've got DDR3 memory, doesn't lock you into having to go with a Core i7...
You could always drop down to 4GB's DDR3 in dual channel and use a C2Q with a DDR3 supported P45 MB, like the Gigabyte GA-EP45T-UD3LR

well thats the thing, i have the memory but im not dead set on using it.

I would use the DDR3 out of respect for Anand.

 

[xSauronx]

Originally posted by: Blain
"the DDR3 I was given for free by anand himself at the Raleigh meet several OTers participated in."

Originally posted by: xSauronx

Originally posted by: Blain
Just because you've got DDR3 memory, doesn't lock you into having to go with a Core i7...
You could always drop down to 4GB's DDR3 in dual channel and use a C2Q with a DDR3 supported P45 MB, like the Gigabyte GA-EP45T-UD3LR

well thats the thing, i have the memory but im not dead set on using it.

I would use the DDR3 out of respect for Anand.

i know, it *would* be a shame to sell the memory kit. 3 of us got DDR3, and you should have seen what sash1 got. his kit has the heat pipe and is worth twice what my kit is. he'll probably sell it or shelve it forever. bah!

what about going phenom 2 on an am3 board that wil use the ddr3? like this gigabyte or this asus

 

[krnmastersgt]

Aside from the fact that the Egg seems to be out of stock? I'd say that's a good route to go with, shaves off a bit of the end cost/hassle. Also, on the hard drives, is more storage space needed or would it be better for your 4 or so VMs to have their own drives for the sake of read times? If these aren't actively using the hard drives the majority of the time, a faster drive like the Caviar Blacks and Velociraptors might be a better choice, of course you lose a considerable amount of storage capacity with the latter option, but that's up to you I suppose where the trade-off will occur.

 

[xSauronx]

ok i stopped dicking around and ordered

im going to use the 6gb ddr3 kit i have, and i forgot that i have a 160gb sata, and since i will use that for the host OS im getting 2 WD blacks and ill see how happy I am with the VMs on those, i may get 2 more drives later if im not satisfied

asus m4a78t-e $152 shipped
http://www.provantage.com/asus-m4a78t-e~7ASUS1T2.htm

cooler master case $45
http://www.newegg.com/Product/...x?Item=N82E16811119161

2 wd black 640gb $80 each ($160)
http://www.newegg.com/Product/...x?Item=N82E16822136319

corsair 650w $95 ($70 after rebate)
http://www.newegg.com/Product/...x?Item=N82E16817139005

amd phenom 2 x4 940 3ghz $229
http://www.newegg.com/Product/...x?Item=N82E16819103471

everything comes to about $698 shipped. i may play around with OCing the cpu and see what it gets with the stock cooler, maybe get an aftermarket one, dunno, i expect to start with it will be quite fast enough. once i really get to play with it running some VMs i may update on the performance. i expect ill game with it, but itll probably be the fall or later before i can get a good card.

thanks for the input, everyone

 

[RedShirt]

I'm pretty sure that processor will not work in that motherboard.

The Phenom 2 940 and 920 only have a DDR2 memory controller, no DDR 3 support. You need an AM3 processor for that.

 

[xSauronx]

Originally posted by: RedShirt
I'm pretty sure that processor will not work in that motherboard.

The Phenom 2 940 and 920 only have a DDR2 memory controller, no DDR 3 support. You need an AM3 processor for that.

i thought i checked that but maybe i overlooked it, ill check again

edit: you're right. i guess in all the stuff i was looking at i stopped paying attention and overlooked that when i was ordering, doh!

anand did a review and OC of the 810, which *is* a quad-core am3 processor and it did pretty well, so I'll try that one (and maybe get an aftermarket cooler and really try to OC sooner rather than later)