Just picked out my new AMD proc...mobo mem suggestions

[thecoffeeguy]

So I finally got my funds to rebuild my PC. Going back to AMD.
Will be a gaming rig.
Set with my case, Hard drives.

Video card is Nvidia GTX260, so pretty solid there.

The cpu, mem and mobo stuff im working on.

CPU I like:
Anyway, this is what I picked out:

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16819103808

Opinions?

Any recommendations for a mobo?

The memory is something I kick back and forth.
Should I DDR2 or DDR3?

Going to run Win 7 64bit, probably start with 4gigs memory.

Much obliged for the help.

Cheers.

 

[DrMrLordX]

Pretty good CPU choice; it's what I'd go for if I wanted a Deneb chip.

DDR3 should be your target since DDR2 prices are not all that attractive (assuming you do not have a bunch of good DDR2 sitting around already).

As for the motherboard . . . do you plan on overclocking?

 

[Soulkeeper]

If it was me i'd prolly pickup a gigabyte motherboard and some of this G.Skill
1.35v ddr3, might as well take advantage of the lower power usage

not sure how much money you want to spend, but the prices/options vary ...

 

[thecoffeeguy]

Pretty good CPU choice; it's what I'd go for if I wanted a Deneb chip.

DDR3 should be your target since DDR2 prices are not all that attractive (assuming you do not have a bunch of good DDR2 sitting around already).

As for the motherboard . . . do you plan on overclocking?

Is there a better CPU right now? Seems like a good proc at 3.2ghz quad core.

My current DDR2 is Crucial 800mb...worked fine for past 3 years.

Guess I was trying to figure out if i should go with a board that has both DDR2 and DDR3. I can see myself maybe having 8gigs of RAM, but unlikely. I see 8gigs RAM being the norm in say 3-5 years. 4 gigs should be plenty.

No plans on OC'ing the proc.

Thx for the help.

 

[Rhoxed]

if you want to wait a couple weeks 890FX boards should be popping up.

no huge difference other then USB 3.0 and SATA 6GB, but if your one to worry about the future then it might be worth it.

If you buy now, and don't plan on massive overclocking, look at one of the AM3 790X boards
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16813131402
or
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16813128378

and some DDR3
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16820231277

for 210$ its pretty solid combo

 

[blackhawk]

got the 955 and then an excellent deal on a 965, great value chips as usual from amd

running the 955 at 3400 and the 965 at 4000 right now, one on an asus matx and the other a gigabyte 790xt ud4p

 

[Darkrage]

there some new 890gx boards out at the egg.....if your looking for some new tech..

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...90gx&x=15&y=36

 

[DrMrLordX]

Is there a better CPU right now? Seems like a good proc at 3.2ghz quad core.

From AMD? No, except for the 965BE. They're releasing a hexcore (6 cores) processor later this year, but it will be released at a lower clockspeed. Not sure if you need 6 cores or not.

My current DDR2 is Crucial 800mb...worked fine for past 3 years.

How much do you have? Do you need more memory?

Guess I was trying to figure out if i should go with a board that has both DDR2 and DDR3.

I would say no, or probably not. You wouldn't populate all the DIMM slots in a hybrid board like that anyway, or at least, I wouldn't think that you would. That's the way it was with the old DDR/DDR2 hybrid boards they used to have; you either used DDR or DDR2, but not both at the same time. By the same token, you would have to choose between DDR2 or DDR3 but wouldn't use both at the same time.

If I were in your shoes, I'd get a DDR3 board + 4 gigs of DDR3 (2 x 2gb kit) and call it a day, but that's just me.

I can see myself maybe having 8gigs of RAM, but unlikely. I see 8gigs RAM being the norm in say 3-5 years. 4 gigs should be plenty.

Well how much memory do you have now? If you already have 4 gigs of DDR2, you should be able to find an AM2+ board with DDR2 slots that support your processor. That was you can save some cash on RAM. I assumed that you had less than 4 gigs right now, but if you have 4 gigs . . .

No plans on OC'ing the proc.

Okay, that means you could choose a board with poor/no overclocking features and not really be bothered by that fact. Just be advised that a minor bump to HTT speed would get you 965 performance without muss or fuss in most cases. A few CPUs out there just won't OC at all (and there are boards out there that won't), but most will, and there are some cheap boards that would let you push your 955 to 965 speeds without additional cooling or voltage adjustments.

 

[thecoffeeguy]

From AMD? No, except for the 965BE. They're releasing a hexcore (6 cores) processor later this year, but it will be released at a lower clockspeed. Not sure if you need 6 cores or not.



How much do you have? Do you need more memory?



I would say no, or probably not. You wouldn't populate all the DIMM slots in a hybrid board like that anyway, or at least, I wouldn't think that you would. That's the way it was with the old DDR/DDR2 hybrid boards they used to have; you either used DDR or DDR2, but not both at the same time. By the same token, you would have to choose between DDR2 or DDR3 but wouldn't use both at the same time.

If I were in your shoes, I'd get a DDR3 board + 4 gigs of DDR3 (2 x 2gb kit) and call it a day, but that's just me.



Well how much memory do you have now? If you already have 4 gigs of DDR2, you should be able to find an AM2+ board with DDR2 slots that support your processor. That was you can save some cash on RAM. I assumed that you had less than 4 gigs right now, but if you have 4 gigs . . .



Okay, that means you could choose a board with poor/no overclocking features and not really be bothered by that fact. Just be advised that a minor bump to HTT speed would get you 965 performance without muss or fuss in most cases. A few CPUs out there just won't OC at all (and there are boards out there that won't), but most will, and there are some cheap boards that would let you push your 955 to 965 speeds without additional cooling or voltage adjustments.

Thanks for all the help. Appreciate it greatly.

For the memory, I just have 2gigs DDR2 right now. I was thinking of at the minimum going to 2gigs DDR3 and giving this memory to my folks, which would bump them up to 4gigs of DDR2 on their system and put on Windows 7 for them.

I like the proc, I picked, and not its just finding the mobo and memory. I will probably start with 2gigs of DDR3 (recommend a speed?) and go from there. The mobo is the other final piece to a puzzle. If I can nail that one down, I should be good to go.
Thanks for the help.

TCG

 

[rivethead]

That's a good cpu, but why pick a Black Edition if you're not going to OC?

Black Edition CPUs are made to be OCd!

 

[Trombe]

If you only have 2GB DDR2 I'd go straight to a 4GB DDR3 kit (1333 or 1600 is fine, the 1600 G.Skill Ripjaws seem really popular) + board and go ahead with donating the DDR2 to your family. As for a board, any of the Asus EVO or Gigabyte 785G mATX boards are great bang for the buck. I don't think the 890GX is worth it, new or not (785G isn't really all that old either).

 

[DrMrLordX]

If you only have 2GB DDR2 I'd go straight to a 4GB DDR3 kit

Seconded. Might I suggest the G.Skill ECO RAM as well . . . it's not fantastic as an overclocker on AM3, but it runs at stupidly low voltages and can still OC fairly well. It's not terribly expensive either.

Just one option from the ECO series:

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...-319-_-Product

As far as the motherboard goes . . . do you need integrated graphics? With the GTX260, my guess is no, but some people like to have it as a backup or for other purposes.

 

[thecoffeeguy]

Seconded. Might I suggest the G.Skill ECO RAM as well . . . it's not fantastic as an overclocker on AM3, but it runs at stupidly low voltages and can still OC fairly well. It's not terribly expensive either.

Just one option from the ECO series:

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...-319-_-Product

As far as the motherboard goes . . . do you need integrated graphics? With the GTX260, my guess is no, but some people like to have it as a backup or for other purposes.

Dont need integrated graphics. I figure, the GTX 260 should be ok.

I am going to go ahead and go with 4gigs of DDR3 memory along with the proc above.

For the mobo, just going to hook up a couple SATA drives, CDROM and I do have an external sound card as well.

Thanks for all the help.

Cheers,

TCG