Thoughts on a new MB and CPU

KnightRid · Post by **KnightRid** » Mon Apr 10, 2006 2:57 pm

Well I have some ideas in my head, but I figured I would get some thoughts from the experts floating around on here

I am looking at replacing my Gigabyte GA-7N400 PRO 2 and my AMD 3000+ Barton core cpu. I think the MB is starting to go - network wont stay working, and now the usb is going out..

I will NOT buy intel :p also I will not buy the top end cpus, because there is no money for that one ;)

I am looking around(key word - around) $500 for the MB and CPU together - doesnt matter OEM or Retail, since the price difference is so close I would probably get the retail just to have an extra hsf lying around.

Dual core? 64 bit?( does anything use 64 bit yet..lol ) Opteron?

Just curious as to what everyone thinks would be a good setup for that price range. I was leaning toward DFI and a single core...but I am still looking...so throw some ideas my way if you have a spare moment!!

Mike

P.S. and make my FX5900 video card run Oblivion...grrrrrrrrrrr

Post by **Apoptosis** » Mon Apr 10, 2006 3:15 pm

Do you like to tinker with your BIOS and update it often or do you like to set your system how you like it and leave it alone till you upgrade again?

Is this system going to ever be overclocked more than 10% higher than the default rating?

Why do you want single core over dual-core?

Silent Fox · Post by **Silent Fox** » Mon Apr 10, 2006 3:32 pm

You might need to update your graphics cards in order to make oblivion decent looking. Try to get at least Nvidia's 7600 if its in your budget.

KnightRid · Post by **KnightRid** » Mon Apr 10, 2006 3:53 pm

Apoptosis wrote:Do you like to tinker with your BIOS and update it often or do you like to set your system how you like it and leave it alone till you upgrade again?

Is this system going to ever be overclocked more than 10% higher than the default rating?

Why do you want single core over dual-core?

ok - BIOS - I can tinker, no problem

overclock - depends on if i can or not..lol..I never even tried with this 3000+, but a 2400+ that has a MB in it that I could overclock only goes to around 2.17...I am a newbie at overclocking on these newer cpus since 100-200mhz isnt very much anymore I havent done it.

Dual core seems pointless at this point in time to me, unless more programs are making use of it...Windows XP doesnt I dont believe, and dont programs have to be written to take advantage of it, or do programs like winzip, ulead mediastudio, etc just use it naturally?

Guess I should quit being lazy and do some more research on dual core huh ;)

Do you suggest dual-core? Vista I think will use all of it...but ewwwwwwwww.... does Linux?

Mike

See - I am just so confused over the overclocking thing - If I can add at least 500mhz, then I would overclock, if not - then it really doesnt seem worth it to me. Same with dual core- seems nice, but will it actually be beneficial? I got rid of a dual cpu intel setup ( dual 1ghz ) about 4 years ago just because it really didnt help on anything but editing video.

Immortal · Post by **Immortal** » Mon Apr 10, 2006 4:32 pm

in my opinion, and this is just mine, i would go for the latest thing if i could, that would mean dual core.
You really dont know how its gonna affect anything in 2 years time, so i would really consider the dual core option. It couldnt hurt could it?

KnightRid · Post by **KnightRid** » Wed May 17, 2006 5:28 am

Well I still havent gotten anything and this MB is getting crazier everyday! I might just have to take one of the folding boxes for my main system if this dies - kid needs to go to college for nursing in the fall, and it is amazing what the gov WONT give you to help out..lol..

If the wife lets me grab one by June - then it wouldnt effect the college..argh..marriage..lol

Mike

Oh I am going to go dual core - you talked me into it

kenc51 · Post by **kenc51** » Wed May 17, 2006 6:53 am

dual core is the way to go......alot more games take advantage of the second core now, even call o duty has a dual core patch.
yes XP does support dual core and so does linux ;)

Even if you don't run a prgram which supports dual core, you will still notice the difference.....It's just Gravy

You could get a X2 3800+ for ~300 bucks and have ~200 left over for a motherboard.

Id say get 3800+ ($300) --> 2x 2Ghz with 2x 512kb cache
or Opteron 165 (~$300) --> 2x 1.8GHz with 2x 1Mb cache

for a motherboard
Asus A8R32-MVP Deluxe -->~$200 bucks
This board is top of the line, easier to OC, very stable (Asus) and very fast
If you got this all your 500 budget is gone.....
You could get a DFI Lanparty Ultra D board for ~50 bucks less
They are great overclockers, but they have so many bios options it will mean alot of tweaking, which can be fun!
The DFI board is picky with ram though......mixing different sticks of ram might not work.....
The Asus A8N Premium is also good....costs about the same as the DFI board, uses a heatpipe to cool the chipset, but might not overclock as well as the other 2 boards.
Then there's the EPoX EP-9NPAJ SLI board which is fast, stable and can be got for ~100bucks......the only prob is it might not overclock very high (high enough though) + it's an SLI board, just incase ;)