What's best AMD for general use?

[Gikaseixas]

thanks.

back on topic:

OP, i suggest you get a 1055T, great cpu for $200

 

[heyheybooboo]

I get the impression that he's going to be re-using his DDR2 if he goes with an AMD system.

Sorry I missed that (with all that is going on :\ ) --- I'd encourage him to sell his DDR2 (get his money back, fer sure these days) and go AM3 with an upgrade path to BD Zambezi.

I guess his wishes of having a COM and LPT port are pretty much out of the question, regardless of whether he goes AMD or Intel...
So far I haven't found a board on either side that still supports them.

I think he said COM *and* LPT. I don't see LPT, do you?



Ah yea, there comes the Intel-bashing again.
I think we could do without that. Why don't we concentrate on finding a board with COM and LPT first...

It's actually easy to find COM and LPT headers on Asus and Gigabyte AMD AM2+ and AM3 motherboards --- here are three off the top of my head:

GB 785g AM2+
GB 870 AM3
AS M4A88T

Folks in office environments like to hook up dot matrix printers for multi-part forms so there is still a demand for LPT fer sure.

Anybody want an Oki 320?




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[Tsavo]

BD is going to be AM3?

 

[Scali]

It's actually easy to find COM and LPT headers on Asus and Gigabyte AMD AM2+ and AM3 motherboards

Yea, I noticed that Gigabyte says there are headers for both on many of their boards (including various Intel P55 socket 1156 boards).
I just couldn't spot them on the pictures of the board (and I rarely see them listed on sites like Newegg)... so I was wondering if they had just copy-pasted the same specs everywhere, and never bothered to fix it

Folks in office environments like to hook up dot matrix printers for multi-part forms so there is still a demand for LPT fer sure.

We use one of those HP JetDirect things for that.
Plugs to the network on one side, has LPT on the other.

 

[heyheybooboo]

BD is going to be AM3?

BD Zambezi with a motherboard BIOS update will run on AM3 according to a chart from AMD:

There is an alleged AMD 'internal' chart making the rounds at XS that lists compatibility with AM3rc2 (or AM3+) plus 890FX and 890GX AM3 chipsets.

The BD Zambezi IMC is 'rumored' at 1866MHz versus the current 1333MHz. If you note some of the current 890FX/GX motherboards, compatibility with 1866MHz RAMs is listed. Ain't that interesting? LOL



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[DrMrLordX]

Sorry I missed that (with all that is going on :\ ) --- I'd encourage him to sell his DDR2 (get his money back, fer sure these days) and go AM3 with an upgrade path to BD Zambezi.

I guess it's really a matter of how good of a wheeler/dealer he is. If he's got 4 gb of good DDR2 he might be able to get a good price for it, but since it's currently in his main rig, selling it would necessitate taking his current machine down for awhile to make the sale. That's not something I'd enjoy doing, especially if it were the only machine in the house.

But that is certainly an option.

It's actually easy to find COM and LPT headers on Asus and Gigabyte AMD AM2+ and AM3 motherboards ---

I think my MSI 790FX-GD70 has them too. I know this because I'm constantly disabling them in the BIOS whenever I have to clear the CMOS from reckless overclocking.

 

[holabr]

OK guys. After sorting through all the replies and thinking through what I want immediately and what I might want to do in the future, I think I have decided to go with the following:

GIGABYTE GA-890GPA-UD3H
Crucial Ballistix 4GB (2 x 2GB) DDR3 1600 BL2KIT25664BN1608
AMD Phenom II X6 1055T Thuban 125W Retail

The total from Newegg comes to $429.97 plus a $10 gift card for future purchase (possibly an aftermarket HSF to try to push the speed to 4.0 Mhz) For right now I will use the onboard video and save my $$$ for a true gaming card down the road. I'm also going to see if I can push the speed a little with the stock HSF while keeping an eye on temps. Any ideas where to start on this are welcome.

Any comments are still welcome since I haven't pressed the submit order button yet.

 

[lopri]

Why did you decide on those Micron sticks..?

 

[holabr]

Micron sticks?

 

[DrMrLordX]

OK guys. After sorting through all the replies and thinking through what I want immediately and what I might want to do in the future, I think I have decided to go with the following:

GIGABYTE GA-890GPA-UD3H
Crucial Ballistix 4GB (2 x 2GB) DDR3 1600 BL2KIT25664BN1608
AMD Phenom II X6 1055T Thuban 125W Retail

The total from Newegg comes to $429.97 plus a $10 gift card for future purchase (possibly an aftermarket HSF to try to push the speed to 4.0 Mhz) For right now I will use the onboard video and save my $$$ for a true gaming card down the road. I'm also going to see if I can push the speed a little with the stock HSF while keeping an eye on temps. Any ideas where to start on this are welcome.

Any comments are still welcome since I haven't pressed the submit order button yet.

I would highly recommend the 95W 1055T over the 125W 1055T. I think I pasted a link in an earlier post in this thread. Sadly, you will probably only find this chip in OEM form, requiring you to buy an HSF, though getting someone to part with their stock HSF (quad headpipe AMD HSF, that is) shouldn't be too difficult.

Also, I do not recommend Ballistix. Lots of people have had those die for no good reason. Get the G.Skill ECO DDR3-1600 CAS7, it's like $102. Awesome RAM for the money.

Or just get some Ripjaws.

 

[holabr]

Other than power consumption and resulting heat, why do you suggest the 95W OEM version? I really don't like the 30 day warrantee vs. 3 year on the retail.

I picked the memory because Newegg has a package price.

 

[DrMrLordX]

Power consumption, resulting heat, probably better OC headroom. Also, if you're going to overclock, you're going to be voiding all those warranties anyway. Damn the torpedoes, full speed ahead, and all that.

I will reiterate, Ballistix kits have had high failure rates since the DDR2 days, and they really haven't shaken that rep. I wouldn't touch those with a 10-foot pole.

 

[jvroig]

I wouldn't touch those with a 10-foot pole.

How about a 10.5-foot pole?

I really don't like the 30 day warrantee vs. 3 year on the retail.

If you OC, warranties are void (officially), just something to consider. But proving you overclocked is difficult (so either way can be beneficial, given enough contrived scenarios), and CPU RMA's are rare anyway, the CPU is the most reliable part of the system (except maybe for the case itself, which can last several generations of upgrades). I suppose it's a toss-up, and you just got to go with what makes you more comfortable.

I picked the memory because Newegg has a package price.

It wouldn't be the first time that not-very-reliable products got bundled in order to move them. It's up to you if you want to risk it, but you've been sufficiently warned.

 

[Markfw]

They have $25 off on a gskill ripjaws combo !

http://www.newegg.com/Product/ComboDealDetails.aspx?ItemList=Combo.470221

As for the heat and all on the 95 watt, its good, but only if you can find it, its in your budget, and you like OEM 90 day warranty. the 125 watt is fine IMO.

 

[DrMrLordX]

How about a 10.5-foot pole?

. . . maybe. But I'd have to be wearing gloves first.

They have $25 off on a gskill ripjaws combo !

Link was b0rked on my end, but ripjaws can be good stuff. A lot of the Zoners run that memory and it has worked well with C3 chips, so it should play nicely with an E0.

 

[Cerb]

GB 785g AM2+
GB 870 AM3
AS M4A88T

Folks in office environments like to hook up dot matrix printers for multi-part forms so there is still a demand for LPT fer sure.

Also various embedded devices, and older niche-market peripherals. USB adapters usually work, but not always.

But, watch out. It's hard to find long enough cables with connectors for some boards. Make sure the headers aren't way in the top-right, like on MSI's 7(60|85)GM boards.

Anybody want an Oki 320?

Nah, already got one. Can't pawn it off, and can't stand to trash it .

 

[Joey Propane]

I don't know if its been mentioned already, but the 555BE is the best bang for buck AMD CPU available right now imo... but only if you get one that unlocks into a quad. Mine did with a simple BIOS option (Asus Core Unlocker) and was running every game and app I could throw at it without flinching once.

They've just slashed the price aswell (at least over here in the UK), making it an even more tempting gamble.

Thuban CPU are great value for what they are, but realistically I can't see why anyone would need 6 cores yet.

 

[Markfw]

. . . maybe. But I'd have to be wearing gloves first.




Link was b0rked on my end, but ripjaws can be good stuff. A lot of the Zoners run that memory and it has worked well with C3 chips, so it should play nicely with an E0.

yea, somehow this "tinyurl" crap corrupted my link. Fixed now.

 

[Rifter]

That 1055T system you posted will be fine if you ditch that crap ram as suggested above, i personally would not worry about finding the 95w version, trust me i looked into it and its not so easy to find.

 

[holabr]

Thanks for the heads-up on the memory. I scratched it from my shopping cart. How do you guys feel about the ripjaw memory recommended above. How important is the latency of 9 vs the 7 for the G.Skill ECO DDR3-1600 CAS7 also recommended but not packaged at Newegg. The difference in cost would be about $33 more for the G.Skill.

 

[DrMrLordX]

yea, somehow this "tinyurl" crap corrupted my link. Fixed now.

Ah, okay. Hate it when that happens.

That is a good deal on the ripjaws!

Thanks for the heads-up on the memory. I scratched it from my shopping cart. How do you guys feel about the ripjaw memory recommended above. How important is the latency of 9 vs the 7 for the G.Skill ECO DDR3-1600 CAS7 also recommended but not packaged at Newegg. The difference in cost would be about $33 more for the G.Skill.

The Ripjaws might have the potential to do DDR3-1600 CAS7 with some extra voltage (it's good for about 1.6-1.65v unless your case temps are bad), or it might be good for some extra clockspeed @ CAS9, hard to say. The ratings specified by G.Skill for both kits are rough approximations of what the DIMMs can actually do (and you do have the right to return them if they won't perform as advertised under any circumstance).

That being said, the difference between CAS7 and CAS9 for the 1055T would probably amount to a few percentage points worth of performance depending on the app. I know you are probably in a hurry to place your order and get this stuff shipped, but if you want to wait, I can bench CAS 7 vs CAS 9 DDR3-1600 on my Sempron 140 (same basic uarch as the 1055T, just 1 core vs 6) to give you an idea of how it affects something like SuperPi that is really sensitive to memory timings. There are plenty of AMD owners here that could probably run similar tests for you in the meantime.

There are plenty of situations where you might not notice the difference.

 

[holabr]

Well I hit the submit button.

GIGABYTE GA-890GPA-UD3H
G.SKILL Ripjaws Series 4GB DDR3 1600 (PC3 12800) Model F3-12800CL9D-4GBRL
AMD Phenom II X6 1055T Thuban 125W Retail

Now I can't wait to get the pieces and put it together.

Thanks for all your help and guidance. I'm sure I'll be back for more help in memory setup and processor OCing advice.

P.S. I did give up on the lpt port. I will add a card down the road if I find I still need it.

 

[DrMrLordX]

Sounds good. Your system is shaping up nicely.

 

[jvroig]

Have you actually paid for it? How long will shipping take? Because if there is still ample time to cancel the order, I can try giving a dose of buyer's remorse right now. I mean, the 1055T only has a 14x multiplier, it's gonna be hard to reach the OC potential of an X4, you'd be dependent on the FSB capabilities of the board, and I'm not so sure about that board :hmm:

Just kidding. Looks solid so far, and I actually like that board - simply because I've had good experience with Gigabyte so far - handles OC well, and stays pretty cool, and that's with ambient temps like a hot Australian summer. Although, there was this review that noted something strange about that motherboard: "I/O shield didn't line up with rear ports" I don't know if they were kidding, but at least they did say "High overclocking potential", which is what you need in large doses to unleash the power of Thuban.