Should I upgrade from A64-3000 to AX2-4200 or C2D 6300?

[ipo]

Hi there,

I'm confused how to upgrade my computer. I'm a AMD fan ( 8) ) but the Intel Core2Duo looks very promising to me.... But I have fear of unbelievably high noise I experienced from my first Presscott machine (Prescott 2.8 with high temps at 75*C and very very loud fans).

My current setup:
* Proc Athlon64-3000
* Mobo Asus A8N
* RAM 1GB DDR400
* HDD 2x Hitachi 160 IDE
* VGA Sapphire X800GTO Ultimate PCX
* Sound Audigy2 Platinum eX
* DVD LG-H20L atapi + Samsung S163A sata
* PSU Enermax EG495P

I'm db specialist and software developer & I use my computer for money earning - most of the time I run VisualStudio, Delphi 2006, a lot of VMWare Workstations, Oracle/Sybase database servers, Photoshop, some dvd authoring; games only 1hour a week, so no top spec VGA is needed.

These are my choices for upgrade:
* Proc AthlonX2-4200
* Mobo Asus M2N-E
* RAM 2x 1GB Corsair DDR2-667
* HDD WD3200KS 320GB 16MB Sata2 or Seagate ST3320620AS 320GB 16MB Sata2
* Rest to use from my old computer

Or this one:
* Proc Intel Core2Duo E6300 or E6400
* Mobo Asus P5B
* RAM 2x 1GB Corsair DDR2-667
* HDD WD3200KS 320GB 16MB Sata2 or Seagate ST3320620AS 320GB 16MB Sata2
* Rest to use from my old computer

And here are my confusions:
1.) What to choose? I'm totally confused :roll:

2.) Hardrive confusion - some people say that WD is better that Seagate, some people say vice versa. I'd like to have a quick hdd but also very silent (therefore no Maxtor for me).

3.) Cooling confusions - I'm very keen on silent computer, but I cannot use water cooling. Currently I have a Chieftec case, with 3 additional fans (AC12 & AC8) and the processor is being cooled by Thermaltake GolderOrb2 (rpm lovered to 900rpm). These I'd like to use with my new processor also, but I didn't find any results here about cooling the C2D using GoldenOrb2. Will the GoldenOrb2 be enough?

Thanks for anybody willing help me to decide!

 

[1Tanker]

I would suggest going with the E6400...it is comparable in performance to an X2 4600+-X2 5000+. You can safely drop down to PC4200(assuming you aren't going to overclock), to save money..as Core2Duo works best with a 1:1 RAM/FSB ratio...ergo 533MHz. The downside of this setup, is that the P5B uses the Intel P965 chipset, which only has one PATA port, and i see you have 2 IDE drives. Using your DVD drive will only leave room for one PATA drive.

The X2 4200+ won't present that problem, but to perform optimally, it should be paired with PC6400 and tight timings(4-4-4-12). So, the more expensive RAM for the AMD will cancel the more expensive Intel motherboard.

The only way around the single PATA problem on the x965 board is a PATA controller card, or get SATA drives, or get a motherboard with x975 chipset that has 2 x PATA controllers.

Maybe something like this one:

MSI 975X Platinum:
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=N82E16813130051

The Seagate is a very good drive, and has a 5 year warranty, and has perpendicular recording technology....the better choice of the 2.

As far as cooling, the stock cooler is fine, at stock speeds, and will not be loud like prescott coolers. GL

 

[ipo]

1Tanker: Thanks for the quick reply! I think I'll get rid of the old PATA drives (1 will be a portable drive), so maybe 1 PATA port will be enough for me. I checked the 975 chipset spec and for me there's no other benefit - and the price is rather higher.

Regarding the overclocking, the last succesful attempt with overclocking
in my case was the old Slot1 Celeron 300 running at 450 Mhz 8) Later then I stopped the experiments and was happy with box stock performance. But maybe should I try to oc E6300 to E6400 speeds?

Thanks for the info on Seagate drives. I've had Seagate drives only once, the first SATA 120GB ones - within 5 weeks I had to replace them 3 times :? What's interesting, the Seagate drives have only 24 months warranty here in Europe (WD and Hitachi has 36 months).

Thanks again for the help 8)

 

[1Tanker]

1Tanker: Thanks for the quick reply! I think I'll get rid of the old PATA drives (1 will be a portable drive), so maybe 1 PATA port will be enough for me. I checked the 975 chipset spec and for me there's no other benefit - and the price is rather higher.

Regarding the overclocking, the last succesful attempt with overclocking
in my case was the old Slot1 Celeron 300 running at 450 Mhz 8) Later then I stopped the experiments and was happy with box stock performance. But maybe should I try to oc E6300 to E6400 speeds?

Thanks for the info on Seagate drives. I've had Seagate drives only once, the first SATA 120GB ones - within 5 weeks I had to replace them 3 times :? What's interesting, the Seagate drives have only 24 months warranty here in Europe (WD and Hitachi has 36 months).

Thanks again for the help 8)

Well, over here the Seagates are fairly reliable, and i've heard my share of WD problems(i'm a WD fan..mostly use them, and never ever had a problem), but i agree about staying away from Maxtor...i've had lotsa bad luck, their hot, noisy, and die...they can be fast though. :? As far as overclocking the 6300 to 6400 speeds, that'll be a breeze...won't even require additional voltage. Will only take an FSB of 304x7=2128, but your RAM will have to run at 608 in order to run at 1:1. Sounds good.....GL

 

[impreza]

If your current motherboard support dual core i'd go with the 4200 but if it does't the e6300 would be better.

 

[f1nal_0men]

Conroe, definitely. And they run really really cool. You could also overclock the e6300 to e6600 levels without even breaking a sweat. You could go alot higher yet too, if you wanted. Also the e6600 rivals the FX-62 in terms of performance. And you could do this all on air cooling.

e6600 is 2.4ghz, so you'd need to hit 343mhz fsb (quad pumped) x7 = 2401. Thats 686mhz on the memory, wich you could easily achieve with DDR2 667 memory. And most likely you wont need to up the voltage at all yet. THIS would be perfect memory just for that.

In terms of harddrive, I am a WD fanboy. I will buy nothing else. That goes for my entire family, and no one has had a problem. But I have heard Seagate has pretty good drives. The harddrives you listed Seagate and WD main difference is the warranty, but WD does have a 5 year warranty drive just like that, only problem is they don't come in 320gb capacity in sata as far as I know. I'm thinking of the "Raid Edition" drives from WD. They are meant for 24/7 operation and come with a 5 year warranty.

 

[ipo]

Thanks for everybody who helped me to make the decision!
Finally my choice is the Asus P5B, Core2Duo E6300 and Seagate harddrive.
I'm looking forward to put the new system together, although I have eyes like this 8O because of reinstalling everything.
I'll post some info when my new rig will be finished!

Thanks everybody again for help!