Help me pick a CPU. I dunno one from another...

[needhelpnoobie]

Okay what I Want to do is build a nice rig for gaming. I want to spend $200 or less on a CPU. Whats the bes CPU for that money? I was looking at the AMD 3800+ NewOrleans AM2 CPU for $141.. but I have no idea if it's anygood? Could another $60 bucks over that price get me a lot better CPU?

 

[Kholonar]

I would recommend a dual core processor to building a computer now. Sadly, AMD CPUs are expensive at the moment (because they are in demand) so I would recommend to you a pentium chip. Don't worry if you think that intel is slower than AMD - it's not true. However, AMD chips have a small performance advantage in games but they command a high price premium for this.

Try tom's CPU charts to see the difference.
http://tomshardware.co.uk/cpu/charts.html?modelx=33&model1=323&chart=63&model2=328

Now, conroe (a new cpu) is coming at the end of July and iseems like it is going to be a big improvement on the current generation AMD/pentium chips. If you can't wait for conroe then here is the system I would recommend:

The Intel pentium 805 D. This is the slowest dual core processor there is but heck, games are not bottlenecked by the CPU these days. The reason why I recommend dual core is obvious once you start playing a game with them. They don't make your games go faster (not at the moment) but they make your computer feel far more stable. If you have a friend with one, ask them about it, have a play around with one.
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=N82E16819116001
$108.9

For the motherboard, try this Abit 975x motherboard. It should give you everything you need and is passively cooled. It doesn't support conroe though.
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=N82E16813127235
$176.99

One of the great things about this processor is that it can be overclocked extremely easily because its FSB speeds are set low by default. Bumping the FSB up to normal levels makes the CPU speed go sky high. There are two things to bear in mind with this, don't expect to go from 2.66GHz to 4GHz. It can be done but will not necessarily happen. Second, this will cause the CPU to run hot. Many people exaggerate the heat produced by this CPU as it is entirely managable and shouldn't be something to worry about.

If you plan on overclocking this CPU (and make it perform nearly as fast as an AMD FX-60/FX-62) try pruchasing a good heatsink and fan to go with the CPU. They aren't to expensive and often run quieter than the stock heatsink so you get another bonus with them.

Here's a good one:
The scythe mine
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=N82E16835185023
$44.99

But if you can find it, even better is the NH U-12
http://www.quietpc.com/us-en-usd/products/amdcooling/nh-u
$46.37

Goodluck, here's an article tom did on this processor (the processor's capabilities definately seem to be over estimated but it shows you how much of a bargin this processor is).
http://tomshardware.co.uk/2006/05/10/dual_41_ghz_cores_uk/

 

[chuckshissle]

If you want a good cpu that offers lots of performance for the price, then check out the Intel 805. It's price-to-performance and high overclockability is the best you can get.

 

[needhelpnoobie]

Hmmm interesting. Are those the best heatsink options? I can't find the 2nd one. If I'm going to spend the bucks on a new setup and OC it I'd just as soon find the best heatsink (no liquid cooling though I dont care for it).

I have the 805/abit mobo in my newegg cart. Also have this ram in my cart http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=N82E16820145590

Is that a good complement to the mobo/cpu?

Anyway if there is better heatsink for the CPU let me know I'm going to order this stuff in about an hour.

Thanks

 

[Kholonar]

Those are some of the best heat sinks, yes, but they are massive. The NH U-12 is slightly better at cooling than the Mine(by less than 1'C). The difference isn't too bad and they are both extremely good coolers.

I can't actually get onto the newegg site for some reason (I think their server is crumbling) so you might have to describe the RAM. DDR2 RAM can be expensive but it's good to get it right. I'd always recommend getting 2GB of RAM and don't get RAM that goes slower than 667MHz at timings of 4-4-4-12.

If you can bump up the speed, great, but try and keep the timings the same or lower.

Expect to pay $175->$225 based on brand.

**EDIT - I got onto the site, ok that RAM looks ok, I'd rather the timings were slightly tighter but you won't notice the difference. Besides Corsair is a good brand. The G.Skill RAM is better and ever so slightly cheaper http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=N82E16820231073 but you sacrifice the corsair name and G.Skill RAM runs at higher voltage.**

 

[needhelpnoobie]

Okay I ordered the first heatsink, the 805d, the abit mobo and I ordered the corsair ram I linked to. I have a $60 corsair gift certificate and then the rebate on newegg can be applied also, I couldnt pass up the deal. The certificate expires the end of june also.


Now I'm onto the video card part of the forum =]

Thanks for your help, greatly appreciated. Save me some money and hopefully a better overall setup than that AMD i was talking about.

 

[Kholonar]

Goodluck, unfortunately, video cards are very competitively priced and you're unlikely to find such a good deal. At least that means you don't have to worry so much about getting a bad deal.

Oh, forgot to say, this board is a crossfire board, not SLI, so dual nvidia cards is out.

 

[custompcz]

Go to Abit's website forum and you will find there are issues with that or ANY AW8 mobo overclocking that PD 805 past 170Mhz=3.4Ghz.

An Asus mobo will provide better results with that CPU. If you choose to keep the AW8, use a PD 930 or 940 for better results as you can see in my sig. 8)