View Full Version : Time for an Upgrade !
Tysonator
25-08-2007, 20:47
Hi, it’s that time again when I start thinking about upgrading my RIG to something better.
At present I have,
CPU AMD XP3000+
Fan Coolermaster Aero 7+
MoBo ASUS A7N8X Vr 2.0 ( Socket A )
RAM 2Gb Corsair XMS PC3200
HD 160 GB WD Caviar Special Edition 8Mb Cache
SATA 1
PSU Tagen 580watt 18db SLI
VGA Gainwood 6800GT
I will be selling all the above apart from the PSU.
The proposed set is
CPU` AMD Athlon 64 X2 Dual Core 6000+ 3.00GHz
Fan ! ? not sure yet
MoBo Asus CROSSHAIR nForce 590 SLi (Socket AM2) PCI-Express DDR2
RAM Corsair 4GB DDR2 XMS2 PC2-6400C5 TwinX
HD now, I am not sure what to do on this
Do I have a WD raptor 74Gb for C drive or 150Gb Raptor for Program drives, or raptors for both drives !
Or WD Caviar RE 500GB 5000ABYS SATA-II 16MB Cache for programs, and 160Gb Caviar SATA II 16Mb cache for C drive.
VGA some 7950 for now
Case All the above set in a P182, does
any one know if I can get a Side window this ?
What are your thoughts and recommendations please.
Any reason for staying AMD when Intel give much more bang for the buck performance these days?
Richard Slater
25-08-2007, 21:22
Just to echo what Feek said, I am in a similar situation to you at the moment as I have always been a AMD/ATI man, now however I am switching to a Intel/nVidia combination because the Core 2's are better value for money and the ATI vs. nVidia Graphics card argument seems to have come down to preference now.
Tysonator
25-08-2007, 21:26
Yeah,.. I hear what you 2 are saying about Intel !
I want to switch, but sime thing is saying no !
It's saying no because it thinks you should support AMD because Intel are an evil multinational conglomerate blah blah blah.
But you're better off not having a brand loyalty in this situation. In some cases I'd argue it but not here, why pay more for worse performance? It doesn't make sense.
What OS are you looking at? If you use a 32 bit version then you'll be wasting some of that RAM as it can't access the full 4Gb.
The prices of the X2 range is a lot lower than I remember them not so long back, so the X2 6000+ isn't such as bad deal as it used to be. Still slower than a Core2, especially if you give it a boot up the backside.
The WD Caviar RE drives are optimised for RAID arrays where heat tends to be a problem, so they might be slightly slower than other typical drives. I'd suggest choosing something else unless you have RAID or tight spaces in mind. I don't hold much faith in Raptors though - that little extra performance comes at a price (noise/heat).
Do you really need 4GB? Most users don't. 2GB is getting to be the standard for Vista + gaming. I'm not saying don't here, I'm just saying think what you'll use it for first.
Tysonator
25-08-2007, 23:37
Operating system is going to be Xp pro for the mean time. Till Vista SP1 issues are sorted and the prices come down a bit.
Raptors are expensive so I think the WD SATA II should be OK. was not thinking about RAIDing them as of yet, mayby in the furture.
the X2 AM2's are some what cheaper now, so not a bad buy. Core 2 Intel are running away at the moment and I have been tempted to jump ship, though holding off doing that at the moment.
I'd not bother with the 4GB RAM unless you plan to upgrade to Vista soon (preferably Vista 64-bit). XP Pro just won't be able to make good use of it. I'm not entirely sure what 'problems' you're waiting for SP1 for, either.
As for disks, I'm not saying get Raptors, I'm saying the RE drives aren't the quickest (non-Raptor), though they're quick enough for most things.
PS - as for the side window, there was a limited edition P182 that did have one, but that's been and gone.
Have to agree with others - going AMD right now when you're changing the motherboard and processor is madness - Intel all the way. I junked my old AMD system a month ago for an Intel one and haven't looked back.
LeperousDust
26-08-2007, 11:06
I agree with everything said here, unless you have money to throw away staying loyal is useless...
Stan_Lite
26-08-2007, 11:31
Another one for the Intel fan club here.
The core 2 chips are so much better than AMD just now. If you're building the rig virtually from scratch, I can see no logic in spending money on inferior hardware.
Just one question.
How did you come to have a 580W tagan in a socket A system? - slight overkill n'est-ce pas?
Justsomebloke
26-08-2007, 11:33
Get something like a 6600 & clock the nuts of it. I am old school AMD myself but if i upgrade it'll be to a Pentium.
I can hear baby jesus crying right now :'(
How did you come to have a 580W tagan in a socket A system? - slight overkill n'est-ce pas?
My XP1700+ system had a 550W PSU (actually it had two as the first one died). :huh:
Did have a shedload of disks in it though. :evil:
Tysonator
26-08-2007, 21:05
Another one for the Intel fan club here.
The core 2 chips are so much better than AMD just now. If you're building the rig virtually from scratch, I can see no logic in spending money on inferior hardware.
Just one question.
How did you come to have a 580W tagan in a socket A system? - slight overkill n'est-ce pas?
Yes over kill, I got it for future proof when I upgrade to SLi.
The price was right at the time, so I brought it.
It will fit nicely into my new build.
Tysonator
26-08-2007, 21:58
Which Intel chip do you guys suggest ?
I can't really comment on the quad cores as I've not looked into them, and the new ones are higher fsb than when I was looking so I can't really advise now :(
Right. Pricing up the X2 6000+ I came up with £108.09. Price-wise, the best you can get is the E6550 at £107.50. Trouble is that's a 1333 MHz part, which tends to limit options on other components.
I still think the E6600 is one of the best buys around in the Core2Duo range, at £131.59.
Of course, if you want silly amounts of power, then the Core2Quad range starts at £176.24.
Prices from scan.co.uk, other retailers may vary. :)
Davey_Pitch
27-08-2007, 00:49
Right. Pricing up the X2 6000+ I came up with £108.09. Price-wise, the best you can get is the E6550 at £107.50. Trouble is that's a 1333 MHz part, which tends to limit options on other components.
I still think the E6600 is one of the best buys around in the Core2Duo range, at £131.59.
Of course, if you want silly amounts of power, then the Core2Quad range starts at £176.24.
Prices from scan.co.uk, other retailers may vary. :)
The E6750 is available from Scan for £122.19. Wouldn't that be a better choice?
Matblack
27-08-2007, 01:00
This is what I am looking at at the moment
http://img509.imageshack.us/img509/9448/untitledne4.jpg
I'll be using the on board VGA and the mobo has to be uATX to fit my case which doesn't seem to leave much choice :(
MB
Stan_Lite
27-08-2007, 04:44
This is what I am looking at at the moment
I'll be using the on board VGA and the mobo has to be uATX to fit my case which doesn't seem to leave much choice :(
MB
The onboard graphics on the Gigabyte boards is about as good as onboard graphics gets - unless you intend playing any graphics intensive games,you'll be all right with that lot.
Dunno about that board but the Gigabyte uATX board I had didn't have much scope for overclocking. If you don't intend overclocking too much, I'm sure you'll be fine with that board :)
Tysonator:
I thought that's what it would be. I usually get PSUs about 100W more than I'm going to need at the time to allow for upgrades. That Tagan should do you well, I have the same PSU in my gaming rig and thats a Q6600 with an 8800GTX with 2x320Gb Seagates and it copes splendidly.
The E6600 is an excellent chip, bloody fast at stock and very overclockable.
If you're looking for something a bit cheaper the E6320 should be a good buy - if it's anything like it's lower cache counterpart, the E6300, it should overclock very well.
For another fiver, you could have the E6550. I haven't seen one of these so can't comment on their performance. Only thing with that is that as it's a 1333MHz chip, you'd be limited to 680i or P35 motherboards.
Richard Slater
27-08-2007, 09:56
Lots of people saying good things about the Q6600 G0 steppings (often marked as "Low Energy" or "95W") that is pretty much what I am going on for my build.
Also often marked as SLACR, though it's far from a slacker. :p
T'is the one I'll go for if I decide to go ahead. :)
Not often marked as SLACR - always marked as such unless I'm much mistaken.
Some of these are doing daft speeds, up to 4Ghz on air in some cases. Personally I went with the E6850 as I don't need a quad right now and value silent cooling which would be harder to achieve with a quad as it chucks out a load more heat.
I'll probably go quad early next year when Penryn arrives as it'll just be a drop-in replacement now I've upgraded the rest of my kit.
Not often marked as SLACR - always marked as such unless I'm much mistaken.
Always by Intel, yes, otherwise only by those who bother. :)
Tysonator
27-08-2007, 11:22
The E6660 is the one I think I will go for, might as well for the best I can afford. Its a big push finance wise, hopefully will pay off in the future. What about MoBo's as I was going to get Asus CROSSHAIR nForce 590 SLi (Socket AM2) PCI-Express DDR2 !
Is there an equilvalent in Intel E6660 ?
Cheers
Gigabyte DS3 in various forms seems to be the most popular around here. There have been the odd reports of stuck reboot loops with early models, but mine's certainly behaved (well, I have a DS4 but pretty much the same).
Definitely go with a P35-Express based board now as it'll give you the best future proofing.
The Abit IP35 is well regarded (using one here) and the IP35-E version is pretty cheap if you don't need all the bells & whistles of the standard and Pro versions.
Stan_Lite
27-08-2007, 19:10
Definitely go with a P35-Express based board now as it'll give you the best future proofing.
Only if he doesn't intend going SLI in the future - there are currently no SLI enabled P35 boards as far as I know.
If you don't intend to go SLI, then Vertigo1 is absolutely right, I would have had one for my quad if I didn't intend to go SLI at some point.
If you intend going SLI, you'd be better with a 680i board.
I'm currently using the P5N32-E SLI with the Q6600. One possible setback is that there are only 2 PCI slots (not a problem for me). I like the board, it overclocks well and works well.
On the other hand, my P5N-E SLI was the biggest hunk of junk this side of the Datsun factory.
Tysonator
27-08-2007, 19:37
Wooh, alot to think about now.
I was hoping to get the ASUS Crosshair in Intel version.
The VGA I will get is more likely to be nVidia 8800 model. Not sure about SLi, would like to perhaps if I could afford another VGA !
May I let my noobishness show here and ask just WTF is SLi? :undecided:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Scalable_Link_Interface :)
Admiral Huddy
26-10-2007, 10:08
Thread resurection time..
I was livid when i found this !! How many time have you asked me all this? I seem to spec you a system every 6 months, then you ask all over again???
I even explainned to you the reason for going intel over AMD at the moment.. That's not to say it will stay thay way but it looks certian for the time being.
I'd say the Q6600 is a bargan at the moment and will keep you going a few years yet.. That with some GeIL PC6400 (2GB is under £50), 8800GTS 320, and any of the P35 motherboards.
I'm not sure your existing system if worth much now, so don't expect any big returns.
Tysonator
31-10-2007, 14:52
I will be looking at some intel options over the weekend.
Huddy, every time I look into this for a rebuild sometining comes up. Mainly work, then the DIY / improving work around the house. Not only does it take my time but also my MONEY ! ! ! ! !
So hence why I keep looking a the kit that has moved on since I last looked.
sorry to pain a reoccuring pain, bit like AMD at the mo !
Admiral Huddy
31-10-2007, 15:00
The best thing to do is ask when you have the money and know of a budget. That way we can compile a list that's value for money at that time.
For a decent system (mid to top range) you're looking at around £600.
Tysonator
31-10-2007, 18:07
Ok, I think I will have to wait till after Xmas. As things are getting busy again.
I do fancy that Dell TFT as well, so thats a £1,000 m8 on a rebiuld ! ouch !
Admiral Huddy
01-11-2007, 11:19
You can get a Sumsung 24" for £100 less which was what I was going to go for if I couldn't have got my hands on a non-HC Dell 2407.
At least with the monitor it's not something you change that often. Hopefully, my dell will be still playing the likes of Crysis 3 and HL2-Ep8 :D
I'd go Intel myself, if I was getting a whole new rig :)
vBulletin® v3.7.4, Copyright ©2000-2025, Jelsoft Enterprises Ltd.