Author Topic: Need opinions (Read 2425 times)

decepticon · « **on:** July 29, 2007, 09:26:30 AM »

I'm looking to build a new gaming system from the ground up. Obviously there are 2 options, AMD's X2 processors or Intls C2Duo's. I'm minding my budget so I can't afford the core 2 duo extreme;s nor the Athlon 64 FX's. I've read reviews compairing the 2 processors and contrary to amd's past, even the lower end c2duo's out-perform the higher end amd's. I know that the amd system generally cost less, but is the performance cut really that noticeable?

Basicly, what are you running and how has your experience been with whatever you had? If you had exeprience with both, I really would like to hear from you and your real world comparisons.

I will be coming from an Intel Pentium 4 northwood HT 3.4ghz and an ATI radeon X800 256mb AGP.

Thanks in advance for your opinions!

zx2slow · « **Reply #1 on:** July 29, 2007, 10:10:17 AM »

$266 will buy you a Quad Core Q6600, DDR2 is cheap. Put a little extra in a motherboard and cooler (Scythe ninja, tuning tower both around $50) And it will be easy to turn up the clock, more so if you get the GO stepping core. You will be able to get to 3GHz+ with very very little effort (Some are reporting ~4GHz on air with high end PSU's and Very good 680i chipset motherboards.

decepticon · « **Reply #2 on:** July 29, 2007, 01:19:03 PM »

Quad core would be great, but that's just a tad more than I want to spend on a processor. My budget for the complete system (CPU, MB, RAM) is between $300 and $400. I know I am gonna have to spend a little more on a vid card to accomodate. BUT I will keep the quadcore in mind, if I can up my budget at all.

_!Rathe!_ · « **Reply #3 on:** July 29, 2007, 08:46:15 PM »

I just put a system together. Mine was a budget build as well. I spent $450 total on everything including shipping. The most important thing to get on the high end of the build is the mobo. Everything else can be swapped out later for better components easily. Just a hint.

decepticon · « **Reply #4 on:** July 29, 2007, 10:24:52 PM »

Hmm, good point. I'll keep that in mind when researching the mobo. Thnx!

.:F3ar0n:. · « **Reply #5 on:** July 30, 2007, 07:12:53 PM »

I just got my system up and going and it owns for what I spent...120 bucks on a C2D E4400 (2 ghz stock crushes AMD 2.4s on the market) with a Gigabyte n650sli mobo and 2gb of OCZ Memory....330 bucks total for everything on Newegg and I've had it cranking 3.5 ghz after OC'ing....The best bang for your buck on a kick ass fast system.

decepticon · « **Reply #6 on:** July 31, 2007, 10:44:02 AM »

Saw this on newegg. Looks decent. The vid card bundle is good for the price. I know it's a 1x PCIe 16x but honestly if I am gonna do an SLI setup, Iwill spend lot's o' cash on it in the future when the prices come down on those systems.

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813138051
look at the combo deals at the bottom.

I was thinkning the Intel Core 2 Duo E6400 Conroe 2.13Ghz combo for $339.00. All I need is a PSU and some ram, which is coming down in price day by day. Your opinions?

zx2slow · « **Reply #7 on:** July 31, 2007, 06:12:12 PM »

DDR2 hit rock bottom over a month ago, it;s starting to go up, the quicker you buy the better.

There are a ton of 2GB DDR2 kits in the $70 range, just get some corsair or ocz DDR800 with tight timings.

Damien_SLi · « **Reply #8 on:** October 11, 2007, 10:45:30 AM »

I just went through a rather larger rebuild myself, and stepped into the AM2 CPU-Socket standard with a purchase of an AMD Athlon 64 X2 6000+ (3.0GHz Stock) and a Gigabyte GA-M57SLI-S4 Motherboard. Not bleeding edge, but with the nVidia bForce 570-SLi northbridge, I really can't complain. I found both of these for a combo deal of only about $250. DDR2 Memory isn't too expensive if you don't need it to be. Keep shopping around. The longer you hold out, the better deal you'll find. Meantime, I'll keep my ear to the dirt for any good deals...