I just buit myself a new system to upgrade from my ancient P4 2.8C system.
I went and bought all this stuff at my local Fry's so the prices are decent but im sure you could find them for less online.
Gigabyte GA-P35-DS3R 130$
Pentium Dual Core E2140 70$
2GB OCZ PC6400 5-5-5-15 60$ AR
BFG 7900GT 150$
500 GB WD HD 99$
Antec Sonata II Case
w/ Smart Power 2.0 450W 95$
Stuff from old System:
2x 37GB Raptor in Raid 0
Maxtor 300GB
SB Audigy
Viewsonic VA902b 1280x1024
Rang in at 650$
So I am overclocking with the Stock HS/F due to more the 1.5+ Volt needed to obtain 3GHZ or more. So I am running at 350 FSB X 8 for 2.8 GHZ with stock voltage of 1.325v.
At this clock the stock HS/F more the suffices with idles of 39C and Full load Orthos temps of never more then 68C.
My future plans for this system include a GFX upgrade when needed for games that I play. I usually wait until my stuff doesn't cut it to upgrade. And also I will upgrade to the final batch of chips that Intel produces that will run on the P35 in about 2 years, maybe sooner if the Penryn Quads reach EOL sooner then that.
Compared to my old set up with a P4 2.8C @ 3ghz, 1GB Ram, and a 6800gt, the performance of this system has really astounded me.
For exmaple, in Counter-Strike: Source , I used to have to run the game with everything turned down to play 1280x1024 and in big gun fights it would still drop to around 40FPS which really messed me up. With my new system I run with 2xAA (all thats necessary IMO, could probly put higher but you dont really notice unless you are LOOKING for jaggies or super anal hehe) All high detail and 8x AF and now I never drop below 100 FPS even in 20+ man servers.
The performance in Oblivion has suprised me as well. I left the game with the autodetected settings of Ultra High Quality. The game looks amazing and runs great. Before, in outdoor fights even against 1 mob the game would slow down and significantly hamper by ability in combat. Now its smooth enough to play unhindered even fighting near the water with high quality reflections.
So I would highly recomend getting a Pentium E2xxx series if your on a budget and also ITS GREAT FUN TO OC THESE. I probably would have gotten the 2160 so i could reach 3.2 GHZ but frys didnt carry it and I was gonna get the Abit IP-35 but they were sold out (cheaper then the GA-P-35-DS3R).
Cant wait to pop in a late run 45nm penryn and see what they can do. Now im just hoping for a Penryn chip with a decent ammoun of Cache and a low FSB of 1066 or 800 for those super easy overclocks that peform as well as the high end models.
I went and bought all this stuff at my local Fry's so the prices are decent but im sure you could find them for less online.
Gigabyte GA-P35-DS3R 130$
Pentium Dual Core E2140 70$
2GB OCZ PC6400 5-5-5-15 60$ AR
BFG 7900GT 150$
500 GB WD HD 99$
Antec Sonata II Case
w/ Smart Power 2.0 450W 95$
Stuff from old System:
2x 37GB Raptor in Raid 0
Maxtor 300GB
SB Audigy
Viewsonic VA902b 1280x1024
Rang in at 650$
So I am overclocking with the Stock HS/F due to more the 1.5+ Volt needed to obtain 3GHZ or more. So I am running at 350 FSB X 8 for 2.8 GHZ with stock voltage of 1.325v.
At this clock the stock HS/F more the suffices with idles of 39C and Full load Orthos temps of never more then 68C.
My future plans for this system include a GFX upgrade when needed for games that I play. I usually wait until my stuff doesn't cut it to upgrade. And also I will upgrade to the final batch of chips that Intel produces that will run on the P35 in about 2 years, maybe sooner if the Penryn Quads reach EOL sooner then that.
Compared to my old set up with a P4 2.8C @ 3ghz, 1GB Ram, and a 6800gt, the performance of this system has really astounded me.
For exmaple, in Counter-Strike: Source , I used to have to run the game with everything turned down to play 1280x1024 and in big gun fights it would still drop to around 40FPS which really messed me up. With my new system I run with 2xAA (all thats necessary IMO, could probly put higher but you dont really notice unless you are LOOKING for jaggies or super anal hehe) All high detail and 8x AF and now I never drop below 100 FPS even in 20+ man servers.
The performance in Oblivion has suprised me as well. I left the game with the autodetected settings of Ultra High Quality. The game looks amazing and runs great. Before, in outdoor fights even against 1 mob the game would slow down and significantly hamper by ability in combat. Now its smooth enough to play unhindered even fighting near the water with high quality reflections.
So I would highly recomend getting a Pentium E2xxx series if your on a budget and also ITS GREAT FUN TO OC THESE. I probably would have gotten the 2160 so i could reach 3.2 GHZ but frys didnt carry it and I was gonna get the Abit IP-35 but they were sold out (cheaper then the GA-P-35-DS3R).
Cant wait to pop in a late run 45nm penryn and see what they can do. Now im just hoping for a Penryn chip with a decent ammoun of Cache and a low FSB of 1066 or 800 for those super easy overclocks that peform as well as the high end models.
.
Facebook
Twitter