looking for CPU under $200 / ?150

[Mirza]

Hi,

I am trying to find the best CPU for under $200. This is the 1st time I am buying a CPU and I am really lost as I saw how many different sockets etc are available...

I don't care is it AMD or Intel. I found one AMD and one Intel CPU thru reading, but I have no idea are these two the best CPU for this money.

AMD: Athlon 64 X2 3800+ AM2, 2x 2.00GHz, 2x 512kB Cache
Intel: Pentium D 805 Socket-775 boxed, 2x 2.66 GHz, 133MHz FSB, 2x 1024kB Cache

This Intel CPU is much cheaper than AMD from above, but I read a lot of things about this CPU being really great for overclocking.

Any ideas? I would appreciate any help.

Thanks a lot

M.

 

[dexvx]

E6300 is the best CPU under $200.

 

[Mirza]

hmmm ... in my country (Austria) this CPU costs ~$240 ... ... is there something below this price or should I wait a little bit?

as I can see, E6300 is the cheapest conroe. what is with this overclocking story and D805? is ti faster/better/valueable than E6300?

M.

 

[stevty2889]

Originally posted by: Mirza
hmmm ... in my country (Austria) this CPU costs ~$240 ... ... is there something below this price or should I wait a little bit?

as I can see, E6300 is the cheapest conroe. what is with this overclocking story and D805? is ti faster/better/valueable than E6300?

M.

The 805 is only a great overclocker if you use an expensive motherboard, a very strong power supply, and very very very good cooling. Mine is running at 3.6ghz, at 55c with a Scythe Ninja. Not to mention the performance of the netburst chips is crap compared to X2's and Conroe. At 3.6ghz the 805's performance is comparable to a 2.2ghz-2.3ghz X2, or 1.8-2ghz Conroe. Netburst is dead, and for a good reason.

 

[Nickel020]

What to buy pretty much depends on how long you're prepared to wait. The high Conroe prices you see are due to them being only available in limited quantities, they should become cheaper in a month or so (160-180? for the E6300). But you'll also have to consider the more expensive motherboard you'll need to get for a Core 2 Duo, 180+ ? for anything with decent overclocking abilities, while you get good X2 motherboards for less than 100 ?.
If you're willing to wait a little longer and spend a little mor money Core 2 Duo is certainly more than worth the extra money. If not, the only option is a X2 3800+ as the Pentium Ds suck.

PS: www.geizhals.at is a good website to check for good prices/availbility in Germany/Austria.

 

[Mirza]

) ... Ich know geizhals, my main information ressource

Thanks. and I found a nice Asus motherboards for X2 AM2. but I thought to check out everything.

So you think, conroe should be worth waiting?

 

[Nickel020]

I personally would wait for Conroe, but that also depends on what you're gonna do with your PC. If you take loot at Anand's review, you see something between a 4% and 20% performance increase in games compared to the X2 3800. It also depends on how well the actual conroes overclock, but if the regular CPUs are anything like the test samples, that gap will become considerably wider.
Thinking about it, it will very much depend on the price of the CPUs and motherboards. You'll probably have to spend between 70-120? more for a conroe system than for a X2 3800 system. It's hard to tell now what's the better alternative, since we don't know much about the E6300's overcloking abilities and the prices of motherboards/the CPUs in a months time. If you're tight on money, you cant actually do much wrong with an X2 3800, the money you save by not getting a Core 2 Duo can be put into a better graphics card to see pretty much the same performance benefit.

 

[t3h l337 n3wb]

I say get the E6300. Whatever you do, don't get Netburst. It's utter crap.

 

[TechHead87]

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=N82E16819116198

 

[t3h l337 n3wb]

Originally posted by: TechHead87
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=N82E16819116198

Netburst crap! STAY AWAY. Get either a 3800+ X2 or E6300.

 

[Mirza]

crap? not crap? ... a lot of different opinions.

I thought about X2 +3800 because I read somewhere that AM3 will be compatible to AM2 and it would be nice to have upgradeable machine.


I do not play games, and I already have one solid graphic card (and I'll get on more). But I do a lot things which need a good CPU:
1. 30-50% of the time, two users are working on the same time on this machine (Linux with X)
2. Handling Software RAID 5 with 4 disks at the moment (more to come)
3. Almost allways 1-2 running VMware Virtual machines
4. etc.

HDs will not be the bottleneck as much as possible. RAM is also available (2GB DDR-2 667).
I am ready to give around ?250-270 for a CPU and a motherboard.

I can wait for Conroe if it's worth waiting comparing to X2 +3800.


What do you think about:
- CPU: AMD X2 +3800 AM2
- MB: ASUS M2N-E or ASUS M2N-SLI Deluxe

I thoought about SLI board because I need two graphic cards for two users (in single mode, not SLI).

M

 

[Nickel020]

I don't know much about two users zssing the same PC, but pretty much all graphics cards have two DVI connectors, so I don't think you'll need SLI. Also, if you want to spend 270 ? max, you might as well get the X2 3800 now, because even in a months time you won't get a Conroe board and CPU for that much, my guess is 310? or more if you're getting a board with decent overclocking abilities, which you should ( 170 ? for the CPU and 140 ? for the mobo, but likely more).

 

[Mirza]

Originally posted by: Nickel020
I don't know much about two users zssing the same PC, but pretty much all graphics cards have two DVI connectors, so I don't think you'll need SLI.

That's not a problem. It is not possible that two users use same card at same moment. I have this configuration (two users, two card) already and it is working pretty well, but I want a big upgrade.

I just have to find out, can I use a 2nd PCIe graphic card on of of the slower slots if I do not buy SLI.


So, your opinion is, that X2 +3800 AM2 is the best solution for this money? I am not so interessted in overclocking (I have never done it), but I would consider if it might get me a +10% more speed/power/whatever...

Thanks a lot

M.

 

[Nickel020]

I'm just starting to get up to date again, but a year ago when the single core Venice A64s came out pretty much all were able to overclock to 2,4-2,6 GHz (even those at a stock speed of 1,8 GHz). As far as I know, pretty much all X2s overclock to 2,5+ GHz as well, so you're looking at a 25% speed increase. Conroe might well be even more, but its hard to tell because all the pre-release samples might be hand picked and that's why they overclock so well.
At 270? max the X2 3800+ is you only option, and its certainly not a bad option. Conroe/E6300 performs better, but also costs quite a bit more, the X2 rig should be something like 240? now, maybe cheaper in a month, and the E6300 is 310? at the very least, depending on how prices develop and availability of the CPUs/motherboards.
As for the video card, start an new thread in the Video forums about that, the folks there should be able to help you out.

 

[Mirza]

danke one more time.

 

[t3h l337 n3wb]

Right now, Conroe is still kind of immature, so you should wait at least a month if you want to get a Conroe rig.