So, who is the resident computer guy these days?

[Norm In Norman]

I have a CPU question for somebody who keeps up with that type of stuff, but I'm not going to bother if there is nobody to answer me. yermom was quite the bust.

[SoonerStormchaser]

http://www.geocities.com/jimmyfallonforlife/Nick_Burns.jpg

This guy...

[jk the sooner fan]

what can i help you with Norm?

[Norm In Norman]

Well, I'll just change what I asked yermom and post it. Maybe someone will magically answer me tomorrow...

So I'm about 4 years out of the loop on computer hardware and don't know what to do. I am needing to build another computer (<$600 if possible) and have no idea on whether to use Intel or AMD. The info I keep seeing seems a bit old since AMD dropped their prices. Right now I figure it's between the Athlon 64 X2 5600+ Windsor (http://www.newegg.com/product/product.asp?item=N82E16819103771) and the Core 2 Duo E6320 Conroe (http://www.newegg.com/product/product.asp?item=N82E16819115015). They are both about the same price. It appears that the intel motherboards are more expensive than the AMD ones. I like ASUS boards and I can get more features for less $$ for the AMD versions than the Intel ones. Now the question(s) start...

Are the core2 duos still running way cooler than the X2s? I know they were last year but I figure that has been fixed. One thing I'd like to do is have a quieter system and I figure if the CPU runs cooler I can get a quieter CPU fan.

Also, do I need to be worried about PCI express? I've noticed there are PCI Express x16 slots and PCI Express x1 slots. I assume the 16s are faster than the 1s or something. Is that just for video cards? I don't plan on buying any video games so maybe this doesn't matter.

Finally, I dunno what would be a good ~$100 video card. I'm not a gamer but do watch a lot of videos and it seems as if some use DirectX to render videos.

Any suggestions?

[jk the sooner fan]

yes, my suggestion is that you go with your gut instinct on this

it wont ever mislead you

[soonerboomer93]

I don't know about heat issues, but my understanding is that they are running cooler now. Unless you're over clocking, heat shouldn't be a problem with stock cooling anyways. That, and there are plenty of decent to very good aftermarket fan/heatsink combo's you can go with to get as silent as possible. Hardocp.com forums are at hardforum.com and has a board just for cooling. You can vary a lot, smaller heat sinks, bigger fans, low rpm 120mm fan on a good heatsink will give you the best performance.


PCI express 16 slot is for your video card, boards with 2 x16 slots are meant to run dual nVidia cards in SLI mode.

[soonerboomer93]

Oh, personally, i would buy the best nVidia card you can afford for graphics, but I am biased...

[Vaevictis]

Are the core2 duos still running way cooler than the X2s? I know they were last year but I figure that has been fixed. One thing I'd like to do is have a quieter system and I figure if the CPU runs cooler I can get a quieter CPU fan.

According to the tech sheets, the AMD processors dissipate almost twice as much heat. You can arrange for even less consumption by moving onto the power efficient intel chips, if you have a little extra money to spend.



Also, do I need to be worried about PCI express? I've noticed there are PCI Express x16 slots and PCI Express x1 slots. I assume the 16s are faster than the 1s or something. Is that just for video cards? I don't plan on buying any video games so maybe this doesn't matter.

PCI Express x1 has about double the bandwidth of PCI. x16 has about as much as AGP. It depends on what you're going to be putting into the slot. If it was a video card, I'd probably want it to be an x16. If it was an ethernet adapter, I wouldn't care.


Finally, I dunno what would be a good ~$100 video card. I'm not a gamer but do watch a lot of videos and it seems as if some use DirectX to render videos.

For that application, any modern $100 video card will do. Get something that supports DirectX 9 if you can. Prefer to buy an NVidia or ATI card.

(I generally prefer NVidia because they have historically made a better effort to support older cards longer.)

[yermom]

sorry Norm, the only hardware i've been paying attention to is Sun and Apple lately

you know you just want to buy a MacPro with dual quad-cores

[Ike]

As for the cooling, might I recommend going with a completely fan-free alternative: Vegetable Oil (http://www.tomshardware.com/2006/01/09/strip_out_the_fans/)

[Norm In Norman]

I can't - I'm on a diet.

So I went to some site called hardware.info and the AMD I listed beats the Intel in almost all ways except for heat (if the info is correct). So now it's clear as mud.

Ok, you guys know of any chipsets I need to stay away from on whatever motherboard I pick? Or maybe a chipset I should get? I need this thing to last me a while.

[RacerX]

Sperry univac.

[soonerboomer93]

The AMD's are supperior because the memory controller is on die (on the cpu) so they have better bandwidth and don't have slowdowns from accessing the nothrthbridge(since there is none). Their implementation of dual core is also technically superior.


I would go with an nVidia chipset. Really chech the hardocp forums. There are some heavy duty overclockers on their, but the hardware they recommend is the best.

[Norm In Norman]

nVidia is still the best chipset, eh? One of the problems with the hardware sites is they like the top of the line stuff and I need more midrange. Then of course there are so many people that are only AMD or only Intel that it's hard to get an unbiased view. And then they all overclock, which I'm not too interested in right now.

I will say that I've used AMD for at least 8 or 9 years now. i think my last Intel was that Celeron that was so overclockable (350? I can't remember).

[NormanPride]

I've had both AMD and Intel in the past couple years. I haven't been able to tell a difference. I've also had ATI and nVidia in the same span. 3 ATI cards and one nVidia. :D

Get a good power supply. Don't trust the one in a cheap case, because they frequently put bad/inferior ones in there. I'd hate to have you drop $550 on the guts only to have a $20 power supply fry it all.

[yermom]

300A? 366? those are the ones i remember people doing crazy stuff with

[slickdawg]

Cray makes a GREAT computer. I highly recommend them.

[TheUnnamedSooner]

www.pricewatch.com You can get the CPU and motherboard in a package or separately, and it watches for the cheapest prices...

[GrapevineSooner]

ECS boards were really wonky 4 years ago.

Don't really know about now, though.

[soonerboomer93]

nVidia is still the best chipset, eh? One of the problems with the hardware sites is they like the top of the line stuff and I need more midrange. Then of course there are so many people that are only AMD or only Intel that it's hard to get an unbiased view. And then they all overclock, which I'm not too interested in right now.

I will say that I've used AMD for at least 8 or 9 years now. i think my last Intel was that Celeron that was so overclockable (350? I can't remember).


nVidia is the best for AMD yes. and yes, they use the high end, but a lot of time they may use the -sli with 7.1 audio everything board, when you can get the same model, without the sli and with normal audio for less, but it's still a good board just minus the extra features


I would go with abit or asus

[Norm In Norman]

I've had both AMD and Intel in the past couple years. I haven't been able to tell a difference. I've also had ATI and nVidia in the same span. 3 ATI cards and one nVidia. :D

Get a good power supply. Don't trust the one in a cheap case, because they frequently put bad/inferior ones in there. I'd hate to have you drop $550 on the guts only to have a $20 power supply fry it all.
With the motherboard I'd want they have a good deal ($40 off) on a 700 watt power supply that has some awesome reviews, so I'm probably going to go with it. I'm usually one to get a barely sufficient power supply, so maybe this will be better. If anything, it's supposed to be quiet.

[Norm In Norman]

nVidia is the best for AMD yes. and yes, they use the high end, but a lot of time they may use the -sli with 7.1 audio everything board, when you can get the same model, without the sli and with normal audio for less, but it's still a good board just minus the extra features


I would go with abit or asus
This is what I'm thinking about getting:

http://www.newegg.com/product/product.asp?item=N82E16813131013

It's a pretty awesome board. It's almost a year old now but is still getting awesome reviews. I already have an a7n8x deluxe, so it's hard for me to give up any features and the stablenessness...

[thenotman]

I recently built this

HITACHI Deskstar T7K500 HDT725025VLA380 (0A33423) 250GB 7200 RPM SATA 3.0Gb/s Hard Drive

ASUS P5N-E SLI LGA 775 NVIDIA nForce 650i SLI ATX Intel Motherboard -

Intel Core 2 Duo E6300 Conroe 1.86GHz LGA 775 Processor Model BX80557E6300 - Retail

GIGABYTE GV-NX76T256D-RH GeForce 7600GT 256MB GDDR3 PCI Express x16 Video Card -

GeIL 2GB (2 x 1GB) 240-Pin DDR2 SDRAM DDR2 800 (PC2 6400) Dual Channel Kit Desktop Memory Model


With Vista Ultimate and it runs like a champ. I love it.

[soonerboomer93]

i would go with antec true power, making sure it has good rails is most important. I don't know that computers need 700 watts unless you're running multiple drives and vid cards...


http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813131022

looks to be the non-deluxe version of the board with the big difference being it has no SLI which you don't need without dual vid cards.. there's also a difference in the sata support (mainly external sata) and the number of pci x slots...

[soonerboomer93]

isn't the 7600gt a bit dated for a rig that new?


but I'll be a bastard and say my lappy has nearly the same

my lappy has
2.16 ghz duo core
2 gb 677 ddr2
nvidia 7600


oh, and a note, I buy nVidia by BFG Tech, I don't know how any would not want to buy from a company that has a Lifetime Warranty for their vid cards. Just the same reason I buy Mushkin memory...

[thenotman]

isn't the 7600gt a bit dated for a rig that new?


but I'll be a bastard and say my lappy has nearly the same

my lappy has
2.16 ghz duo core
2 gb 677 ddr2
nvidia 7600


oh, and a note, I buy nVidia by BFG Tech, I don't know how any would not want to buy from a company that has a Lifetime Warranty for their vid cards. Just the same reason I buy Mushkin memory...


Possibly, But I don't game. I wanted it because it doesnt have a fan on the card. Just exhaust ports and a large heat sink. I do run dual monitors and have no complaints. :)

[Sooner_Bob]

I just built my girls a PC with an older Abit AN7 MB and AMD processor (can't recall the model off hand).

So far it's running like a dream . . . as soon as I can afford it I plan to add some more Kingston ValueRAM (http://www.newegg.com/product/product.asp?item=N82E16820141424) to give it 1 or 1.5 GB.

[soonerboomer93]

Mushkin > Kingston in the memory department...

[soonerboomer93]

Possibly, But I don't game. I wanted it because it doesnt have a fan on the card. Just exhaust ports and a large heat sink. I do run dual monitors and have no complaints. :)

yeah, I game, that's why I have a desktop replacement laptop. I love having a 17" monitor, but I wouldn't mind a slightly smaller 1 at times...

[Ike]

Turns out that the Intel Core 2 chips are Buggy as hell (http://marc.info/?l=openbsd-misc&m=118296441702631)

[OUTromBoNado]

In my gaming community, everyone seems to recommend Core 2 from Intel. The run fast, cool, and efficient. If you decide to go that route, wait about a month. Supposedly, there is going to be a major price drop in July on Core 2 CPUs as well as the release of some new ones. Some of these price drops are around 45%.

In January, I just built a single-core AMD, Socket 939 machine to get me by until I can save up a lot to build my next big gaming rig.

[Norm In Norman]

Well, I decided to go the AMD route. It was more horsepower for cheaper, especially since the motherboards seem to be cheaper (or at least you can get more features for cheaper). Here is what I got:

Wishlist (http://secure.newegg.com/NewVersion/wishlist/PublicWishDetail.asp?WishListNumber=4542774)

I figure it's about midrange on most of the stuff. I'm also sure somehow I'm going to get screwed on this. Tomorrow everything will be half price or something.

[yermom]

Norm sucks at the innerweb

:norm:

[Vaevictis]

]I figure it's about midrange on most of the stuff. I'm also sure somehow I'm going to get screwed on this. Tomorrow everything will be half price or something.

Heh. I've heard rumors of 45% price cuts on everything but the extremely low end processors starting mid-late July.

[Norm In Norman]

Norm sucks at the innerweb

:norm:
oops. Updated.

[Norm In Norman]

Heh. I've heard rumors of 45% price cuts on everything but the extremely low end processors starting mid-late July.
If I wait another month I'll chicken out because it will be right before I start paying for daycare. It was now or never.