[james_8970]

-In regard to the Phenom cooling systems, one of you mentioned that it does not come with a cooling system, and that I would have to buy after-market. However, on newegg for the 9850 it says it does have a heat sink and fan included. Can you maybe clarify? Maybe you're confusing it with the 9950...

All Black edition CPUs from AMD do not include a heatsink. To prove my point, Newegg states the following:
Cooling Device: Cooling device not included - Processor Only
To be honest, with the budget you are dealing with, there is no reason whatsoever to purchase a AMD CPU.

I second kamille316's comments.
James

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Alright, well you have me convinced. I've all but scrapped the amd build.

Here is what I've got for the current Intel build (the motherboard has been replaced, the wireless card has been replaced, and I have upgraded the ram to DDR2 1066):

Motherboard: ASUS P5Q Pro LGA 775 Intel P45 ATX Intel Motherboard - Retail

HD: Western Digital Caviar SE16 WD5000AAKS 500GB 7200 RPM SATA 3.0Gb/s Hard Drive

Memory: G.SKILL 4GB (2 x 2GB) 240-Pin DDR2 SDRAM DDR2 1066 (PC2 8500) Dual Channel Kit Desktop Memory Model F2-8500CL5D-4GBPK - Retail

Processor: Intel Core 2 Duo E8400 Wolfdale 3.0GHz LGA 775 65W Dual-Core Processor Model BX80570E8400 - Retail

Optical Drive: SAMSUNG 20X DVD±R DVD Burner with LightScribe Black SATA Model SH-S203N

Graphics Card: MSI R4850-T2D512 Radeon HD 4850 512MB 256-bit GDDR3 PCI Express 2.0 x16 HDCP Ready CrossFire Supported Video Card - Retail

Wireless Card: ENCORE ENLWI-N PCI 2.3 Wireless Adapter - Retail

Case: COOLER MASTER Centurion 5 CAC-T05-UW Black Aluminum Bezel , SECC Chassis ATX Mid Tower Computer Case

Power Supply: OCZ GameXStream OCZ600GXSSLI 600W ATX12V Power Supply - Retail

Monitor: Acer AL2216Wbd Black 22" 5ms Widescreen LCD Monitor with HDCP support


Questions:

-Should I go for an Intel Quad core, or do you think this super-sweet dual-core is enough? I just don't want to be left behind as software is more and more written for increasing numbers of processors.

-I'm pretty sure I already know that I'm just fine with this, but will I still be okay with an ATI card with an intel motherboard? I guess I will be...this motherboard even supports crossfire.

-Hopefully you all are satisfied with that motherboard, but it actually is not my first choice. My first choice is:

ASUS P5Q-E LGA 775 Intel P45 ATX Intel Motherboard - Retail

However, it is out of stock at the moment. It is slightly better, and $10 more, so if it comes back in stock before I purchase parts, I should get it right? Or should I stick with what I've got right now regardless?

[swiveldemon]

Alright, well you have me convinced. I've all but scrapped the amd build.

Here is what I've got for the current Intel build (the motherboard has been replaced, the wireless card has been replaced, and I have upgraded the ram to DDR2 1066):

Motherboard: ASUS P5Q Pro LGA 775 Intel P45 ATX Intel Motherboard - Retail

HD: Western Digital Caviar SE16 WD5000AAKS 500GB 7200 RPM SATA 3.0Gb/s Hard Drive

Memory: G.SKILL 4GB (2 x 2GB) 240-Pin DDR2 SDRAM DDR2 1066 (PC2 8500) Dual Channel Kit Desktop Memory Model F2-8500CL5D-4GBPK - Retail

Processor: Intel Core 2 Duo E8400 Wolfdale 3.0GHz LGA 775 65W Dual-Core Processor Model BX80570E8400 - Retail

Optical Drive: SAMSUNG 20X DVD±R DVD Burner with LightScribe Black SATA Model SH-S203N

Graphics Card: MSI R4850-T2D512 Radeon HD 4850 512MB 256-bit GDDR3 PCI Express 2.0 x16 HDCP Ready CrossFire Supported Video Card - Retail

Wireless Card: ENCORE ENLWI-N PCI 2.3 Wireless Adapter - Retail

Case: COOLER MASTER Centurion 5 CAC-T05-UW Black Aluminum Bezel , SECC Chassis ATX Mid Tower Computer Case

Power Supply: OCZ GameXStream OCZ600GXSSLI 600W ATX12V Power Supply - Retail

Monitor: Acer AL2216Wbd Black 22" 5ms Widescreen LCD Monitor with HDCP support


Questions:

-Should I go for an Intel Quad core, or do you think this super-sweet dual-core is enough? I just don't want to be left behind as software is more and more written for increasing numbers of processors.

-I'm pretty sure I already know that I'm just fine with this, but will I still be okay with an ATI card with an intel motherboard? I guess I will be...this motherboard even supports crossfire.

-Hopefully you all are satisfied with that motherboard, but it actually is not my first choice. My first choice is:

ASUS P5Q-E LGA 775 Intel P45 ATX Intel Motherboard - Retail

However, it is out of stock at the moment. It is slightly better, and $10 more, so if it comes back in stock before I purchase parts, I should get it right? Or should I stick with what I've got right now regardless?

[james_8970]

Should I go for an Intel Quad core, or do you think this super-sweet dual-core is enough? I just don't want to be left behind as software is more and more written for increasing numbers of processors.

I'm currently working on a article to help other decide this for themselves. Do you indend on having this computer for the long term, or do you intend on upgrading every few months?
Short term build -> Dual core is better
Long term build -> Quad core is better

If you purchase a quad core, you performance will lack somewhat in the present time as all non-multithreaded applications are limited to the frequency of the CPU, not the amount of cores. Any dual core will/should outclass a quad core in terms of frequency, as it can overclock much further and the stock frequency is higher when you are dealing with two processor that cost the same. Therefore if you buy a quad, the present situation will have slightly lower performance then the dual core, but in the long run, the quad core processor would be out the dual core processor by a significant amount. Though, there are extremely few multi-thraded applications that can support four cores, but over the next few years, that number should grow dramatically. I personally don't expect games to become quad core optimized for another 18 months, at least.

However, it is out of stock at the moment. It is slightly better, and $10 more, so if it comes back in stock before I purchase parts, I should get it right? Or should I stick with what I've got right now regardless?

Personally, I'd wait for the P5Q-E to come back in stock if you are dead set on these two motherboards.

I suggest considering a different case. I know a number of people that have had ventaliation issues with that case. Considering you have a GPU with a single slot cooler in that build, you'd likely be affected by this issue.

How much do you value light scribe for your optical drive?

I suggest you swap your hard drive out for this one.
http://www.newegg.co...N82E16822136218
James

Edited by james_8970, 25 July 2008 - 01:27 PM.

[swiveldemon]

Yeah, that's pretty much what I thought was the situation in regards to quad core vs. dual core. I could very easily get a dual core now and upgrade to quad in the future, right?

Alright, noted on the motherboards. Let's just hope that P5Q-E becomes available.

I was unaware of those issues with that case. Have any suggestions of a better model within that price range?

I would say light scribe is not a huge concern of mine right now.

Thanks for the tip on the hd! 140 extra GB for $10 is quite the steal.

[james_8970]

I could very easily get a dual core now and upgrade to quad in the future, right?

Yes you can, though it seems like a waste to me.

I was unaware of those issues with that case. Have any suggestions of a better model within that price range?

It's 25$ more, but this is a fairly popular case in the under 100$ price bracket.
http://www.newegg.co...N82E16811119137

Thanks for the tip on the hd! 140 extra GB for $10 is quite the steal.

Yup, it'll also be quieter and perform better. That drive is a no brainer
James

[swiveldemon]

Cool, well I like the new case. I think I'll go with it, if what you say is true about the other case having ventilation problems.

Yeah, I guess it would be a little bit of a waste. So what to you recommend that I do? It seems as if 18 months is an awful long time to wait for the investment in a quad-core to start returning dividends. The way I see it, I should go with a cual core now. Then, in my next build (2-3 years from now) I will upgrade to quad-core. Does this seem like a prudent course of action?

[james_8970]

It really depends on what you currently do with your computer. If you encode video and/or edit video, chances are, you'll see the benefits of a quad core processor right now.
James

[swiveldemon]

I don't plan on doing too much video encoding and editing. Mostly I plan on using this computer for gaming, CAD drawing, MATLAB, Photoshop, media purposes (music, video), and a bit of software development in Java. What sort of processor do you think would be most applicable for those sorts of functions?

[james_8970]

What programs are you using for CAD? Many of these programs can fully utilize quad core processors to their maximum potential.
Depending on how much time you spend doing CAD, it may be beneficial to get a quad. If you don't spend much time with it (hobby?), then a dual core processor will likely best serve your current needs.
James

[swiveldemon]

The only program I use for CAD is SolidWorks, and I use it sparingly at best. It looks like the dual-core would be my best bet then.

[james_8970]

Yup, it would appear so.
James

Edited by james_8970, 27 July 2008 - 06:22 PM.

[swiveldemon]

I have moved this to My First Computer Build v2.0 to get further input on the finalized version of this build.

btw the motherboard is now in stock!