Upgrading from 939 X2 3800/A8N-E

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1. What YOUR PC will be used for. That means what types of tasks you'll be performing.

Gaming/Photoshop/CAD/Encoding/Music & Sound Editing/Surfing/Office Apps.

2. What YOUR budget is. A price range is acceptable as long as it's not more than a 20% spread

$1K or less

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

USA

4. IF YOU have a brand preference. That means, are you an Intel-Fanboy, AMD-Fanboy, ATI-Fanboy, nVidia-Fanboy, Seagate-Fanboy, WD-Fanboy, etc, etc, etc, you get the picture.

No brand Preference. Have built both.

5. If YOU intend on using any of YOUR current parts, and if so, what those parts are.

Sapphire 4850 video card, 3X 250GB Hard Drives, Possibly my Seasonic 500W P/S, Antec Mid-Tower, Monitor, Mouse, Keyboard, Speakers

6. IF YOU have searched and/or read similar threads.

Searched and configured systems on NewEgg but can not decide which to go for. Have configured from dual core Intel/AMD, AMD X3/X4 and I7 systems........which would be best for needs/longevity? As stated, my S939 system has lasted nearly 5 years and the reason for upgrading is that it is becoming flaky (thus new video card which hasn't solved all problems) and not keeping up in some games, etc..

7. IF YOU plan on overclocking or run the system at default speeds.

Have and would OC.

8. WHEN do you plan to build it?

ASAP.

What I'm looking for is the best recomondations for chip/motherboard/ram based on stability and overclockability as well as best bang for my dollar. I've built with Asus or Abit mostly but now find that the answer is not so "cut and dried". Same thing with chips. I started looking convinced I would buy Intel but then began reading on the new Phenom II's and AM3 boards as well as DDR3 ram. I know DDR3 comes at a premium right now but, if planning to keep a system for up to 5 years it could still be a good investment now buying it and simply dropping in a faster chip down the road instead of having to buy a new mobo and ram and chip. Same thoughts as far as I7.......should I just buy it now or will the 1336 socket be short lived??????

 

[JackMDS]

Maybe this can Help, http://forums.anandtech.com/me...=2280030&enterthread=y

 

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Originally posted by: JackMDS
Maybe this can Help, http://forums.anandtech.com/me...=2280030&enterthread=y

Thanks, had already read that!

I've done all the troubleshooting possible. It has to be a mobo or chip problem, most likely mobo at this point.......also tested the Power supply and it came back fine although it is now 3 years old.......

 

[Denithor]

Go look at the combo deals on this page. You can get an i7 920 + mobo + 6GB DDR3 for $500-600AR. Those chips offer performance unmatched by AMD, in photoshop/encoding, CAD apps and gaming.

Not to mention, the i7 chips are the most energy efficient available today. Read this whole article and take special note of the total power consumption graphs showing how much each CPU used to perform each benchmark.

 

[EndGame]

Originally posted by: Denithor
Go look at the combo deals on this page. You can get an i7 920 + mobo + 6GB DDR3 for $500-600AR. Those chips offer performance unmatched by AMD, in photoshop/encoding, CAD apps and gaming.

Not to mention, the i7 chips are the most energy efficient available today. Read this whole article and take special note of the total power consumption graphs showing how much each CPU used to perform each benchmark.

Very nice links! When you take yourself "out of the loop" for quite some time, it's amazing how quickly one forgets even how/where to look for benchmarks, etc.!

Now, as stated, I've always been partial to Asus/Abit..........well, Abit is gone and now I read reviews and it seems Asus is not the "powerhouse" it once was........which X58 mobo would you suggest? I see a lot of talk about the Gigabytes but there are a plethora of choices.......it seems they all have a good deal of detractors and supporters when you look over the reviews.......none of them seem to stand out.

Also ram.......the link so graciously provided is for Super Talent ram.......I've never used it although it IS cheap! I've always used Mushkin or Corsair.......is there a performance difference or overclocking difference in brands/speeds anymore?

 

[heyheybooboo]

Anand Game Benchies

Tom's Application Results

Phenom II 940 / Foxconn 790FX combo deal: $343

There is a Phenom II 940 / Asus 789gx combo for the same price but it doesn't have that $30 rebate or the potential goodness of 4xPCIe x16 - only 3xPCIe x16 with a lowly x8x8 Gen2 Crossfire - LOL.

2 x G.SKILL 4GB (2 x 2GB) DDR2 1066: $110
On the Asus QVL List.

IMO a higher quantity of DDR2 with faster timings beats a lower quantity of DDR3 with slower timings (that costs more).

Throw in Vista Home Premium OEM 64-bit for $100 and off you go.

 

[Denithor]

I'm also partial to both Asus & Abit, had & loved several boards from both & currently love my P5Q Pro.

The P6T Deluxe has gotten lots of pretty good reviews, they have made major progress with the BIOS to address issues discovered in the course of various testing.

Now, the i7 vs the PhII. i7 has better performance and higher efficiency but also costs more (and so do the motherboards & RAM). So it's your call.

If you opt for i7 you'll pay probably $100-200 more depending on the combo you are able to find. I like those combos I linked because of the nice savings, you can also look at newegg.com under the i7 920 (or the PhII chips) for available combo deals.

And on the topic of memory, ST has gotten kind of an underground reputation for performance at a discount. G.Skill, mushkin, Corsair and Crucial are the other major manufacturers I'd recommend and I've seen G.Skill 3x2GB DDR3-1333 sticks at newegg for $120 shipped.

Timings & speed - very little difference. Going from DDR3-800 to DDR3-1600 speed nets 3-4% gain in some applications, none at all in others. Timings have a minor impact but again it's not major - definitely not worth spending extra money for tighter timings.

Finally, DDR3-1333 will allow you to OC an i7 920 to as high as 4.4GHz so you're not going to be limited there.

 

[Denithor]

Oh, yeah - and sell your X2 3800 on eBay. I've seen them selling for $100-150 recently. Boggles the mind but with AMD having quit making them several years ago the supply has dried up and used sales are booming.

 

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Thanks for all the assistance!

After reviewing all the provided links, it solidified my thinking that I7 is the way to go! DDR3 is the future and this way I'll hopefully have a "drop-in" update new chip if I so choose in the next 2 - 3 years.

Here's what I'm looking to order.......

Asus P6T Deluxe (perhaps with the OC Palm view)

Intel I7 920

6GB Mushkin DDR3 1600

 

[Denithor]

No reason for DDR3-1600, just get 1333 rated memory instead. (G.Skill 6GB kit for $120 shipped)

 

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Originally posted by: Denithor
No reason for DDR3-1600, just get 1333 rated memory instead. (G.Skill 6GB kit for $120 shipped)

LOL! But the Mushkin DDR3 1600 6GB kit is $114 and change........ Figured faster couldn't hurt............

 

[yh125d]

$600 - i7/mobo/DDR3
$150 - A second 4850, or sell your current one and get a 4870x2/GTX295/etc


That Seasonic should be fine, unless its 5 years old like the other parts. If that's the case I'd upgrade to a Corsair TX650 or something similar


Spend the rest on a faster 1TB drive maybe? Spinpoint F1 or Caviar Black