Three systems (Opteron, Pentium, Athlon 64 x2) - need help

[rfelice]

Hello Guys,

I'm very close to buy 1 of these computers (Tomorrow). Please send me your feedback; I can't live any longer with my wife's Mac !!!

System 1: $1,557
CAS: X-BLADE Mid-Tower 450W W/
CPU: (Sckt775)Intel® Pentium® D 940 Dual-Core CPU @ 3.2GHz 800FSB 2x2MB Cache 64-Bit
FAN: CoolerMaster Liquid CPU Cooling Fan System Kit + 2 EXTRA CASE FANS
HDD: 300GB SATA-II 3.0Gb/s 16M Cache 7200RPM Hard Drive
MOTHERBOARD: MSI P4N Diamond nForce4 SLI Chipset LGA775 DDR2/667 SATA RAID Dual PCIE w/7.1Audio,2xGbLAN,IEEE1394&USB2
MEM: (Req.DDR2)1GB (2x512MB) PC5300 DDR2/667 Dual Channel Memory (Corsair Value Select)
VIDEO: NVIDIA Geforce 7800 GT 256MB 16X PCI Express Video Card

System 2: $ 1,713.25
CPU Processor : AMD Dual-Core Opteron 175, Socket 939, 2.2GHz, 64-Bit, 2MB, 1GHz FSB
CPU Fan : FAN:754/939/940: CoolerMaster High Performance Cooler DK8-81D2A
System Board : Asus A8N32-SLI Deluxe,NVIDIA nForce4 SLI,Socket 939, Dual Core,1000MHz,Dual DDR,PCIex16/SLI,iRAID/sRAID
Memory: (2 GB) DDR: 1024MB 400MHz / PC3200 x 2
Hard Drive 1 : Maxtor 250GB Serial ATA 7200RPM w/ 16MB Buffer
VGA Card 1 : PCI-E16: Geforce 7800GTX: 256MB: AOpen 7800GTX-DVD256,GDDR3 w/SLI
Server Case : Broadway Tower ATX: [ 888KHACW-BK ] Black w/ 500W

System 3: $1,701.00
Case: X-Super Alien Aluminum Case 500wt Black
Motherboard: MSI K8N NEO4 Platinum Sc939 nFORCE4 Ultra PCI-Ex16 DDR400 SATA Raid IEEE1394 Audio GIGABIT Lan ATX
CPU: AMD Athlon 64 X2 4400 DUAL CORE RETAIL BOX w/Heatsink & Cooling Fan
Cooling Fan: Thermaltake A1770 VENUS 7+ Heat Sink & Cooling Fan
High-Density Polysynthetic Silver Thermal Compound Artic Alumina 1.75 Gram Tube
Memory: (2GB) 1GB PC3200 DDR400 Samsung x 2
Hard Drive: Western Digital 250GB 7200 RPM 8MB SATA-II WD2500JS
Video Card: eVGA 256MB GeForce 7800GT PCI-Express SLI Ready N515
Operating System: Microsoft Windows XP Professional X64 EDITION

Thanks !!

 

[teh_squaterer]

System 2. If you want dual core, you should stay away from Intel for the moment. Opterons are pretty much the same thing as Athlons, just slightly higher quality.

 

[apache_lives]

the 940 (system1) would overclock like crazy but if you cant reach ~4ghz with it all is lost, so perhaps system 2 is a wiser choice (also should overclock great).

 

[thebunny]

buy sistem 2 I LOVE OPTERONS :trophy:

 

[mdd1963]

System2 would offer the best gaming performance in light of it's GTX card...

(Do they offer non-SLI boards, and 1900XT variants? Most GTX256 cards are overpriced at around $450, considering a 1900XT is about $500, and a much faster gaming card....; you might end up twice as fast at high res gaming for $100 less)

 

[WOWchamp]

First off system 2 is the best but their are issues.

The 7800GTX is a waste of money, considering price and how well it stacks up to other cards in its class. A 7800GT would be the better choice for right now and if you could wait 2-3 more weeks the 7900GT is the way to go. Supposed works as good or alittle better then the 7800GTX and should be alot more affordable.

If your going opteron save yourself almost 200$ and get the 165. With the stock heatpipe cooler they give you their should be no issues getting to 2.6ghz on air with some AS5. Invest 60$ into a Zalman 5000 and you should be able to hit 2.7-2.8 with good temps under load. Ditch that CPU fan thats in your list, its probably not even as good as the cooler that comes with the 165.

Never EVER go with the PSU that comes with the case. I suggest a Forton or Enermax PSU >485W with dual 12V rails and decent amperage at 12V (34A should be fine).

Other then that you should be fine, just make sure your case has atleast 2 120MM fans.. that your ram has heat spreaders and all should be good.

 

[MU_Engineer]

Well, I have a couple suggestions. I'll base them off System #3.

1. The 4400+ just has more cache than the 4200+, but it is about $60 more. Most things do not care if you have 512K or 1M cache, so save youself the bucks.

2. Windows XP x64 is basically Microsoft's proof-of-concept OS for 64 bits. There are few drivers available and fewer apps that run natiely on it.Vista will be 64-bit and will have drivers and apps that work with it. You can run regular i386 apps on XP x64, but performance suffers. Either stick with 32-bit XP unless you REALLY want 64 bits, then I'd say use Linux.

 

[Heyyou27]

I have Windows XP 64-bit edition, and have not noticed any performance issues with 32-bit applications. There are also pretty many drivers available, if you pick a decent brand name for your hardware and accessories.

 

[Bootloader]

Yeah, don't even bother with XP 64. I had the trial, and gave up on it after I couldn't even get drivers for my ATI tv tuner. Don't even bother. Novell has a really good version of their SUSE linux available for free download (just with no tech support), it supports 64 bit, and the best thing is that almost everything you'll need is precompiled for 64 bit computing, no recompiling necessary.

 

[rfelice]

Then, I will go with the regular Windows XP (I will save some bucks there, and wait to see what comes with Vista). On the other hand, these are the specs of the Video Card (you can also visit the link: http://usa.aopen.com/Products/vga/Aeolus7800GTX-DVD256.htm) : $389


GPU: NVIDIA GeForce 7800GTX - Chip Technology : 256-bit - Core Clock : 450MHz - DirectX Generation : 9
Video Memory: -1.6ns - DDR3 - 256 MB
Bus Type: PCI-E
Highest Resolution/Colors/Refresh Rate: 2048x1536 / 32bit / 85Hz
RAMDAC speed: 400 MHz
Revolutionary 3D Accelerator Features: Optimized DirectX and OpenGL acceleration
Connectors: DVI connector x 2 / TV-Out(S-Video) x 1
Driver Support: Direct3D, DirectDraw ,DirectVideo and ActiveX for Windows 2000/XP - DirectX : 8 / 9 - SGI OpenGL ICD : Windows 2000/XP

In regards to the memory; this is what the vendor offers:

DDR: 1024MB 333MHz / PC2700 ($82) (do not know make, will call vendor)
DDR: 1024MB 400MHz / PC3200 ($84) (do not know make, will call vendor)
DDR: 1024MB 433MHz / PC3500 ($250) (Kingston)
DDR: 1024MB 466MHz / PC3700 ($275) (Corsair)
DDR: 1024MB 500MHz / PC4000 ($287) (Kingston)

Based on your recommendations; most likely I will look into Opty 170, and Athlon X2 4200.

 

[MU_Engineer]

Get the DDR400 as it is the highest speed that the computer is rated for. The other stuff is only good for overclocking.

 

[rfelice]

Will do...
I think 2 GB will do.
I know OC is the trend, however, I need this system to run well, even if I decide not to OC; cause $1700 is a lot of cash

thanks !

 

[mdd1963]

"The 7800GTX is a waste of money, considering price and how well it stacks up to other cards in its class."

I admit they are a little too pricey for me for the 5-10% boost in performance over the 7800GT...

(I am indeed looking forward to seeing the 7900GT benchmarked; a simple FEAR performance demo at 1600x1200 will do nicely!)

 

[Gfreeman]

I think you should get system 1 but instead of the 940 get a 920. I have mines overclocked to 3.8 stable with no increase in voltage or anything like that. I just increased the fsb. It also runs really cool.If you get this you can save some money or throw it somewhere else in the system. But if you dont plan on overclocking get the opteron.

 

[apache_lives]

Hello Guys,

I'm very close to buy 1 of these computers (Tomorrow). Please send me your feedback; I can't live any longer with my wife's Mac !!!

System 1: $1,557
CAS: X-BLADE Mid-Tower 450W W/
CPU: (Sckt775)Intel® Pentium® D 940 Dual-Core CPU @ 3.2GHz 800FSB 2x2MB Cache 64-Bit
FAN: CoolerMaster Liquid CPU Cooling Fan System Kit + 2 EXTRA CASE FANS
HDD: 300GB SATA-II 3.0Gb/s 16M Cache 7200RPM Hard Drive
MOTHERBOARD: MSI P4N Diamond nForce4 SLI Chipset LGA775 DDR2/667 SATA RAID Dual PCIE w/7.1Audio,2xGbLAN,IEEE1394&USB2
MEM: (Req.DDR2)1GB (2x512MB) PC5300 DDR2/667 Dual Channel Memory (Corsair Value Select)
VIDEO: NVIDIA Geforce 7800 GT 256MB 16X PCI Express Video Card

System 2: $ 1,713.25
CPU Processor : AMD Dual-Core Opteron 175, Socket 939, 2.2GHz, 64-Bit, 2MB, 1GHz FSB
CPU Fan : FAN:754/939/940: CoolerMaster High Performance Cooler DK8-81D2A
System Board : Asus A8N32-SLI Deluxe,NVIDIA nForce4 SLI,Socket 939, Dual Core,1000MHz,Dual DDR,PCIex16/SLI,iRAID/sRAID
Memory: (2 GB) DDR: 1024MB 400MHz / PC3200 x 2
Hard Drive 1 : Maxtor 250GB Serial ATA 7200RPM w/ 16MB Buffer
VGA Card 1 : PCI-E16: Geforce 7800GTX: 256MB: AOpen 7800GTX-DVD256,GDDR3 w/SLI
Server Case : Broadway Tower ATX: [ 888KHACW-BK ] Black w/ 500W

System 3: $1,701.00
Case: X-Super Alien Aluminum Case 500wt Black
Motherboard: MSI K8N NEO4 Platinum Sc939 nFORCE4 Ultra PCI-Ex16 DDR400 SATA Raid IEEE1394 Audio GIGABIT Lan ATX
CPU: AMD Athlon 64 X2 4400 DUAL CORE RETAIL BOX w/Heatsink & Cooling Fan
Cooling Fan: Thermaltake A1770 VENUS 7+ Heat Sink & Cooling Fan
High-Density Polysynthetic Silver Thermal Compound Artic Alumina 1.75 Gram Tube
Memory: (2GB) 1GB PC3200 DDR400 Samsung x 2
Hard Drive: Western Digital 250GB 7200 RPM 8MB SATA-II WD2500JS
Video Card: eVGA 256MB GeForce 7800GT PCI-Express SLI Ready N515
Operating System: Microsoft Windows XP Professional X64 EDITION

Thanks !!

sorry guys but i have to say this

if you can wait bout 4 months, get a conroe, or even by then AM2 might lower prices to make a better deal perhaps.

 

[Rustol3um]

System two far and above

 

[Rustol3um]

Hello Guys,

I'm very close to buy 1 of these computers (Tomorrow). Please send me your feedback; I can't live any longer with my wife's Mac !!!

System 1: $1,557
CAS: X-BLADE Mid-Tower 450W W/
CPU: (Sckt775)Intel® Pentium® D 940 Dual-Core CPU @ 3.2GHz 800FSB 2x2MB Cache 64-Bit
FAN: CoolerMaster Liquid CPU Cooling Fan System Kit + 2 EXTRA CASE FANS
HDD: 300GB SATA-II 3.0Gb/s 16M Cache 7200RPM Hard Drive
MOTHERBOARD: MSI P4N Diamond nForce4 SLI Chipset LGA775 DDR2/667 SATA RAID Dual PCIE w/7.1Audio,2xGbLAN,IEEE1394&USB2
MEM: (Req.DDR2)1GB (2x512MB) PC5300 DDR2/667 Dual Channel Memory (Corsair Value Select)
VIDEO: NVIDIA Geforce 7800 GT 256MB 16X PCI Express Video Card

System 2: $ 1,713.25
CPU Processor : AMD Dual-Core Opteron 175, Socket 939, 2.2GHz, 64-Bit, 2MB, 1GHz FSB
CPU Fan : FAN:754/939/940: CoolerMaster High Performance Cooler DK8-81D2A
System Board : Asus A8N32-SLI Deluxe,NVIDIA nForce4 SLI,Socket 939, Dual Core,1000MHz,Dual DDR,PCIex16/SLI,iRAID/sRAID
Memory: (2 GB) DDR: 1024MB 400MHz / PC3200 x 2
Hard Drive 1 : Maxtor 250GB Serial ATA 7200RPM w/ 16MB Buffer
VGA Card 1 : PCI-E16: Geforce 7800GTX: 256MB: AOpen 7800GTX-DVD256,GDDR3 w/SLI
Server Case : Broadway Tower ATX: [ 888KHACW-BK ] Black w/ 500W

System 3: $1,701.00
Case: X-Super Alien Aluminum Case 500wt Black
Motherboard: MSI K8N NEO4 Platinum Sc939 nFORCE4 Ultra PCI-Ex16 DDR400 SATA Raid IEEE1394 Audio GIGABIT Lan ATX
CPU: AMD Athlon 64 X2 4400 DUAL CORE RETAIL BOX w/Heatsink & Cooling Fan
Cooling Fan: Thermaltake A1770 VENUS 7+ Heat Sink & Cooling Fan
High-Density Polysynthetic Silver Thermal Compound Artic Alumina 1.75 Gram Tube
Memory: (2GB) 1GB PC3200 DDR400 Samsung x 2
Hard Drive: Western Digital 250GB 7200 RPM 8MB SATA-II WD2500JS
Video Card: eVGA 256MB GeForce 7800GT PCI-Express SLI Ready N515
Operating System: Microsoft Windows XP Professional X64 EDITION

Thanks !!

sorry guys but i have to say this

if you can wait bout 4 months, get a conroe, or even by then AM2 might lower prices to make a better deal perhaps.

conroe is paper tiger at this point and since it is.....Opty 175 is best choice now since those are his three choices..and that is what he was asking about..so get back in line for your conroe and stay on subject

 

[linux_0]

Hello Guys,

I'm very close to buy 1 of these computers (Tomorrow). Please send me your feedback; I can't live any longer with my wife's Mac !!!

System 1: $1,557
CAS: X-BLADE Mid-Tower 450W W/
CPU: (Sckt775)Intel® Pentium® D 940 Dual-Core CPU @ 3.2GHz 800FSB 2x2MB Cache 64-Bit
FAN: CoolerMaster Liquid CPU Cooling Fan System Kit + 2 EXTRA CASE FANS
HDD: 300GB SATA-II 3.0Gb/s 16M Cache 7200RPM Hard Drive
MOTHERBOARD: MSI P4N Diamond nForce4 SLI Chipset LGA775 DDR2/667 SATA RAID Dual PCIE w/7.1Audio,2xGbLAN,IEEE1394&USB2
MEM: (Req.DDR2)1GB (2x512MB) PC5300 DDR2/667 Dual Channel Memory (Corsair Value Select)
VIDEO: NVIDIA Geforce 7800 GT 256MB 16X PCI Express Video Card

System 2: $ 1,713.25
CPU Processor : AMD Dual-Core Opteron 175, Socket 939, 2.2GHz, 64-Bit, 2MB, 1GHz FSB
CPU Fan : FAN:754/939/940: CoolerMaster High Performance Cooler DK8-81D2A
System Board : Asus A8N32-SLI Deluxe,NVIDIA nForce4 SLI,Socket 939, Dual Core,1000MHz,Dual DDR,PCIex16/SLI,iRAID/sRAID
Memory: (2 GB) DDR: 1024MB 400MHz / PC3200 x 2
Hard Drive 1 : Maxtor 250GB Serial ATA 7200RPM w/ 16MB Buffer
VGA Card 1 : PCI-E16: Geforce 7800GTX: 256MB: AOpen 7800GTX-DVD256,GDDR3 w/SLI
Server Case : Broadway Tower ATX: [ 888KHACW-BK ] Black w/ 500W

System 3: $1,701.00
Case: X-Super Alien Aluminum Case 500wt Black
Motherboard: MSI K8N NEO4 Platinum Sc939 nFORCE4 Ultra PCI-Ex16 DDR400 SATA Raid IEEE1394 Audio GIGABIT Lan ATX
CPU: AMD Athlon 64 X2 4400 DUAL CORE RETAIL BOX w/Heatsink & Cooling Fan
Cooling Fan: Thermaltake A1770 VENUS 7+ Heat Sink & Cooling Fan
High-Density Polysynthetic Silver Thermal Compound Artic Alumina 1.75 Gram Tube
Memory: (2GB) 1GB PC3200 DDR400 Samsung x 2
Hard Drive: Western Digital 250GB 7200 RPM 8MB SATA-II WD2500JS
Video Card: eVGA 256MB GeForce 7800GT PCI-Express SLI Ready N515
Operating System: Microsoft Windows XP Professional X64 EDITION

Thanks !!

sorry guys but i have to say this

if you can wait bout 4 months, get a conroe, or even by then AM2 might lower prices to make a better deal perhaps.

conroe is paper tiger at this point and since it is.....Opty 175 is best choice now since those are his three choices..and that is what he was asking about..so get back in line for your conroe and stay on subject


Indeed :-D

Rustol3um is absolutely right.