[Jackler]

Well, sadly, yesterday my old Compaq presario 5430US, which I bought brand new at 1500, today nearly 6-8 years old(forgot buy date), died. The caps on the mobo were bloated, XP froze loading the first console apps, and thats that. I took it to a shop, and they said there wasnt anything they could do.

RIP Sexmachine...(guess why it was dubbed as such,haha)

So, now im parting it out and building and modding a new gaming system. After reading several topics on dual core AMD/Intel, ive so far read that AMD tops out on intel.

So now Im looking for:

mobo with at least 3 PCI slots, Dual Core AMD, ATX/M-ATX, 4GB Mem.

DualCore AMD, fastest I can find for about 6-700.

PSU that can handle intensive hardware and proggies(upgrades in the future definite)
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These are what Im looking at for processor thus far:

http://www.newegg.co...N82E16819103866

and the case:

http://www.newegg.co...N82E16811119110

Im not sure what mobo would accomodate it, and was hoping for opinions on both choices, and suggestions, if any

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The parts being parted out from the old 5430US would be:


Soundblaster Audigy ZS2 Platinum soundcard

ATI Radeon 9200SE ****** edition(128MB, Yellow RCA VID out)

(2x) Maxtor 200GB 7200 HDDS

1 CDRW writer(random)
1 LITEON DVDRW writer

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Ill be replacing those soon enough, but for starters, Im looking for the mobo and CPU, and any other tidbits and pieces ill need. This is my first real *BUILD*, as ive only ever done various upgrades, so im not sure what else im going to need.

Would you all be interested in helping me build a powerhouse?

[Advertisements]

don't know what you've been reading, but the new Intel Core 2 Duos absolutely destroy any AMDs currently on the market.

I'm confused being that you want a gaming system and a PSU which can handle intensive hardware, yet you wish to use your old-as-dirt-in-terms-of-computer-parts graphics card.

You are going to want to get a new video card, preferably a NVIDIA Geforce 8 series card. They are ridiculously expensive, but the best cards on the market.

heres a good mobo+proc combo to get you started. if you told me your budget, i could give you recommendations for an entire system.

EVGA Socket T (LGA 775) NVIDIA nForce 680i SLI ATX Intel Motherboard
Intel Core 2 Duo E6600 Conroe 2.4GHz 4M shared L2 Cache LGA 775 Processor

[stettybet0]

don't know what you've been reading, but the new Intel Core 2 Duos absolutely destroy any AMDs currently on the market.

I'm confused being that you want a gaming system and a PSU which can handle intensive hardware, yet you wish to use your old-as-dirt-in-terms-of-computer-parts graphics card.

You are going to want to get a new video card, preferably a NVIDIA Geforce 8 series card. They are ridiculously expensive, but the best cards on the market.

heres a good mobo+proc combo to get you started. if you told me your budget, i could give you recommendations for an entire system.

EVGA Socket T (LGA 775) NVIDIA nForce 680i SLI ATX Intel Motherboard
Intel Core 2 Duo E6600 Conroe 2.4GHz 4M shared L2 Cache LGA 775 Processor

[Jackler]

As stated earlier, I plan to replace all the parts that are being parted, but since Im on a budget, Im working with whatever I have atm,hehe. I cant even run elder scrolls 4 atm with the 9200se, so when the budget allows, ill spring for a higher card.

My budget is 1200, give or take a hundred. I may be willing to hold off to get better equipment if its not too far off the mark. This is also just a starter amount to get the system up and running. I plan to fully upgrade over time, but right now 1200 to get a running system with current parts and new ones.

The MOBO looks great, however im wondering if there are faster processors I could get.

[JimB]

I'm preparing to do a build myself, and at newegg you can put together a pretty smokin setup for that kind of money. The only faster CPU you can get on that budget is the e6600 Core 2 Duo. Here's a link to one of my shopping lists for an e6600 build. I'm no expert on MOBO/memory etc. It's just an example of what $1200 can get you.
Newegg Wish List E6600 w BFG 7950GT

If you want to save some money you can use a non-SLI board. Supposedly, single DX10 video cards outperform SLI setups of DX9 cards. However, who knows if SLI DX10 cards will yield mega results down the road? If you want to SLI, it will cost roughly $100-$150 more for the MOBO. The upgrade from E6400 to E6600 is about $100 too.

Edited by JimB, 05 January 2007 - 08:07 AM.

[Jackler]

Whats the best processor for core 2 duo other there atm? I may consider holding off and getting the best of the best that I can find, or get a cheapie and save for the best.

Im not sure how to tell whats the fastest..I always thought the higher the GHZ, the higher the speed,hehe. Then I see these more expensive 2.4GHZ chips, and i dont really get it,heh..

Edited by Jackler, 05 January 2007 - 10:32 AM.

[kidnova]

C2D are the fastest chips on the market right now, other than the quad-cores which are ridiculously expensive. Generally, CPUs are priced according to their performance, so a $180 C2D CPU (the 6300) will perform similarly to a $180 AMD (Athlon 64 X2 4200). C2D chips have proven to be excellent overclockers, however, so they are the choice of most enthusiasts.

So, when choosing a CPU, don't worry too much about the GHz, which was a myth perpetuated by Intel. Look at price and benchmarks. There are many sites out there that will show you benchmarks and comparisons for the various processors.

In the C2D case, the higher the series number, the faster the performance. Everything from the e6600 and above has twice the L2 cache of the lower numbers, helping to improve performance. Thus ranking from lowest to highest they would be:

e6300
e6400
e6600
e6700
and up from there.

Edited by kidnova, 05 January 2007 - 11:02 AM.

[JimB]

Top end CPUs -least powerful to most powerful

E6700- Five hundred and ten dollars (core 2 duo)
E6800- Nine hundred and sixty dollars (core 2 duo)
QX6700- One thousand dollars (quad core)

All prices New egg or zip zoom fly... that's a lot of cabbage, but the processors are blazing fast. You'd be way ahead of most applications right now.

Like kidnova said, the slowest core 2 duo chips are on average rocking the best AMD chips out there right now. So even if you picked up the E6300 and saved for the best CPU later, your system is still going to perform quite well in the mean time even at stock. The benchmarks and comparisons tell the story.

And if you overclock, it's all gravy, baby.

[Jackler]

Thats prolly the route ill go down, get the e6300 for starters and save for the QX. That way I can up my vid card sooner.

Ill want the mobo to be able to equip the highest CPU when im able to save for it. So whats the best choice?

These are the two boards I'm looking at:

http://www.newegg.co...N82E16813131074

http://www.newegg.co...N82E16813188009


Im looking for a mobo that when the time comes, can handle everything I throw at it.

[stettybet0]

The EVGA is cheaper and better. You will be VERY pleased with that board.

also, if you are willing to spend $1,000 on a QX6700 (which doesn't give any boost to games vs. the E6700), you might want to invest that money in 4gigs of RAM and a 8800GTX. Those will give you better gaming performance than a QX6700.

Edited by stettybet0, 05 January 2007 - 07:48 PM.

[kidnova]

I agree with stettybet as far as the mobo is concerned. I see no justification for the price premium on the asus board that you listed. Also, avoid quad core CPUs for now as the ones currently on the market are really just 2 dual core CPUs put together. Similar to how the Pentium Ds were just 2 single core procs. By this summer you will see true quad core procs hit the market and then they will be worth a look.

[Jackler]

Hehe, was looking into it cause im a horrible multitasker. Thats normally what bogs down my system.