need to upgrade, cant choose C2D or X2

[trOver]

im really new here, first post, but i need some advice. i just sold the majority my pc, (mobo, cpu, ram, case and im looking to buy a new one. i cant decide between conroe or an x2. i have always been an amd fan, but i see that conroe is ruling. Does anyone have any predictions as to when both companies quad cores are coming out? how bout ati's new gpu? i also want to keep this new computer under $600 or so, considering i may keep my xfx 7600gt xxx ed., but i really want a dx10 card. i am also keeping my harddrive and other non-important components, so this upgrade would strickly be mobo, cpu, ram, and videocard.


i was thinking about getting a temporary rig to hold me off till christmas or so, but buying 2 machines seems like im wasting my money.

Is anyone in the same position i am? any help would be gladly appriciated. Thanks!

 

[hennethannun]

hmm, conroe for under $600 is a bit difficult. If you went with an E6400 and aDS3, you would be looking at about $400 (a bit under actually), which leaves $200 or so for memory, and then you can keep the 7600GT until DX10 comes out.

getting an AMD board could be a bit cheaper, if you get a 3800+ you could probably get a better videocard in addition to a decent motherboard and RAM.

honestly, I would go for conroe atm. even with a E6300, you still get a great system, that will overclock very well if you are willing to try and would definitely out perform any 3800+ or 4200+ system at stock speeds.

if you can afford it, and don't have any legacy components, there is little reason to get a C2D right mow.

 

[Cali]

1st is your GPU PCI-e? that 7600gt is still good, so i would keep that and concentrat on the mobo, ram, cpu. You can always upgrade that later

The C2D (conroe) does have an advantage over the X2, but that dosnt mean the X2 is bad. I just bought an x2 4200, 2G corshair XMS DDR2 800 and an AM2 mobo and it was a big diffenrence then my last setup(down there). I am very happy

Right now the C2D are overpriced, but if you have the money i would go with Conroe. It will be a while before the prices go down, so you may want to consider that. I would guess maybe 2 months or so

 

[gobucks]

i would say conroe, ds3, and decent overclocking memory. that should be under $600, and it will last you a while. plus, considering the 7600GT is pretty good, i'd just use it till a decent DX10 card comes out. I also prefer AMD, but christ, a 3GHz + conroe that is 20% more efficient than an X2 is hard to argue with.

 

[FranksAndBeans]

You sound like the perfect person to read this:

http://www.overclockers.com/tips01016/

But, if you are in a hurry I would pick up a cheap MB like the ASrock and a E6300/E6400 and overclock the socker.

I like AMD as much as the next guy but overclocking a E6300/E6400 to be faster than an FX-62 is sooooooo easy. In light of that it is a HUGE leap of faith to go with AMD right now.

Definitely work with that video card until the DX10 ones come out. Won't be long.

 

[trOver]

OK thanks for your thoughts.

yes, my 7600gt is pci-e

so i should definately keep my 7600gt until a dx10 card comes out.

im still torn between conroe and an x2. i have been a huge amd fan all my life, never bought an intel system before...

if i were to go amd, i would probably get the 4200 with the new am2 skt, get some corsair ddr2 800mhz ram, and the asus sli board with the heatpipes.

if i were to go intel, you guys are suggesting getting the cheap one to keep the price down and then overclocking it? i overclock a bit, and that sounds like a worthy idea.

ive noticed when shopping for conroe mobos that even the ones with 2x pci-e slots dont support sli or crossfire? correct me if im wrong

would it be better to stick to a mobo with just 1 pci-e slot and keep my 7600gt instead of keeping it and getting a 2nd 7600gt card in the future? with the single slot i would then be a dx10 card?

also anyoen kno any good conroe coolers? i heard they run hot..

 

[anandtechrocks]

I just bought a E6400 (building a PC for a friend) and got a 550MHz overclock (highest my $99 MB could go) taking the E6400 to 2.66GHz (stock cooler and stock volts). At that speed it's way faster than an AMD FX-62 and only costed ~$300 for MB and CPU.

As far as Crossfire/ SLI, the 975X chipset motherboards support Crossfire natively, but ever since AMD joined forces with ATI, there has been much talk of integrating SLI into current motherboards.

If you want an nVidia motherboard for SLI right now, you can get an Asus P5NSLI (uses the nForce 570 chipset) for less than $120.

Conroe runs cooler and consumes less power than AMD X2s: http://hkepc.com/hwdb/x6800vsfx62-11.htm

 

[Cali]

if i were to go amd, i would probably get the 4200 with the new am2 skt, get some corsair ddr2 800mhz ram, and the asus sli board with the heatpipes.

that is exactly what i have, but i have a 7900gt so i didnt want to get an AM2 SLI mobo cause i dont really see a need for 2 GPUs. My system runs FEAR at MAx everything and its a big upgrade from my last setup. I just have issues with my MOBO M2N-E

The AM2 boards that are non-SLi dont get that much attention from the manufactures(ASUS). Thay concentrate more on the SLI boards then work there way down. So if you do go AM2 so SLI board but dont buy another 7600gt.

If you could wait a while for the C2D to come down in price then i would go with with Conroe.

 

[trOver]

ok thanks for your help again.

i think i have decided to wait to upgrade to let the price come down on the conroes, let the mobos work out the kinks, and get a dx10 card.

but.... i still need something to hold me off till then because of school. i was thinking about getting a laptop to do just basic stuff (word, browsing, email) and maybe some games on low/med quality. does anyone no of any deals going on for a decent notebook.??

all i really want in it is atleast 15.4" monitor, ddr2 ram, and decent processors for cpu, gpu

i dont want it to be a "gaming" laptop like those fancy alienware or w/e, just something that is durable and runs SOME games on LOW/MED settings. none of this 7900gtx business

any ideas?

ps. try to keep it under $600

 

[anandtechrocks]

Well, this is a great deal on a Toshiba:

http://forum.dvdtalk.com/showthread.php?t=473870

But it ends today so hurry up.

It's got:

Intel Core Duo processor at 1.66GHz
512MB DDR2
80GB HDD
DVD-RW

Here is a $100 off coupon which makes this laptop $499 with no rebates. Good luck!

http://img133.imageshack.us/img133/389/couponbl0.jpg

 

[trOver]

ahhhhhhhhhhh

great deal!!!

but... its sold out at my local store....

thx anyway