could use some help on an AMD/Intel desicion

[Colt]

Ok im building my first rig basically and cant decide between these options


a GIGABYTE S3 with any of the following:

C2D e4300, 6300 or 6400 (!?)

-OR-

and AMD 4600 with a motherboard (need some good suggestions)

and i need Ram, gotta stay below 600 bucks total

so basically my question is this:

should i try to get an e4300 and OC it up to 3ghz with cheaper 667 Ram?
or should i hit up a 6300 or 6400?
or check out an AMD system?

jeez i REALLLY need some help on this one im really confused

 

[mythos]

Don't bother with the 4600 if you are planning on overlocking. At stock speeds AMD's price/performance is decent now after all the price cuts but if you oc - no contest.

The 4300 is your best choice unless you really like the feeling of having a higher number on your CPU. In which case, you should go for the 6600 - that's really the next logical step. But unless you're on an unlimited budget, my suggestion would always be to sink extra money into getting an 8800GTX rather than a faster CPU right now =D

And finally - I wouldn't bother with 667 RAM, 800 is virtually the same price. Give yourself the extra headroom. You can always underclock to run it at 1:1 with your 4300 at 3GHZ

 

[BaronMatrix]

If you are planning to overclock, then the C2D line is the way to go... the E4300 is hitting 3.0 to 3.2 GHz on air fairly easily and this would put it in performance regimes outside of anything AMD CPUs can achieve.

Of the 3 choices, I believe your best and most fun CPU to work with is the E4300.... it has the right multiplier to get good performance at relatively decent FSB speeds.

If you plan this route, your DDR2-667 will limit you to 333 MHz system clock, 1333 MHz FSB, and a CPU speed of 3.0 GHz on the E4300 but you would run the memory at 1:1 dividers which would be optimal.

The S3 is a good board, you should not have any problems.

Jack

Do you really take yourself this seriously?

 

[jaguarskx]

So exactly what parts do you need to buy with the $600?

 

[Ranman68k]

If you are planning to overclock, then the C2D line is the way to go... the E4300 is hitting 3.0 to 3.2 GHz on air fairly easily and this would put it in performance regimes outside of anything AMD CPUs can achieve.

Of the 3 choices, I believe your best and most fun CPU to work with is the E4300.... it has the right multiplier to get good performance at relatively decent FSB speeds.

If you plan this route, your DDR2-667 will limit you to 333 MHz system clock, 1333 MHz FSB, and a CPU speed of 3.0 GHz on the E4300 but you would run the memory at 1:1 dividers which would be optimal.

The S3 is a good board, you should not have any problems.

Jack

Do you really take yourself this seriously?

I take him seriously. Actually... I look forward to Jack's post because they are usually filled with lots of good info.

Maybe you should do the same.

 

[Colt]

im gonna need this for about 600 bucks

Mobo (100)
CPU (180-222)
Ram (86*-120)
Graphics card (140)
PSU (50)

*i found some DDR2 800 by OCZ (1gb) for 86 after rebate! but why are they so cheap? should i get them? [LINK]

-so if the 4300 is such a great value than why would anyone buy a 6400?
-if i spent the extra 50 bucks for a 6400 it would be a waste

 

[jaguarskx]

*i found some DDR2 800 by OCZ (1gb) for 86 after rebate! but why are they so cheap? should i get them? [LINK]

I generally recommend people to stay away from using OCZ RAM because people have had bad experience with them recently. It could be a bad batch and the issue may have been fixed, but I don't know that for sure.

-so if the 4300 is such a great value than why would anyone buy a 6400?
-if i spent the extra 50 bucks for a 6400 it would be a waste

There are people who are argue that one or the other is better for overclocking. I remember reading a post where someone said the E4300 is simply a defective E6xxx series CPU, but I think that is pure BS.

The E4300 is still relatively new and the E6400 has been out for some time. Therefore, the E6400 has a better overclocking track record than the E4300 so far.

I think the E4300 is a better value because of the 9 mulitplier, and I really see no reason why the majority of E4300 CPU cannot be overclocked to 3.0GHz.

 

[turpit]

im gonna need this for about 600 bucks

Mobo (100)
CPU (180-222)
Ram (86*-120)
Graphics card (140)
PSU (50)

*i found some DDR2 800 by OCZ (1gb) for 86 after rebate! but why are they so cheap? should i get them? [LINK]

-so if the 4300 is such a great value than why would anyone buy a 6400?
-if i spent the extra 50 bucks for a 6400 it would be a waste

If you have an idea of which mobo you want, you should go to the manufacturers web site look for a list of 'qualified/approved ram' or down load the motherboards manual and look in there for the list of 'qualified/approved ram'. Ram in those lists arre approved by the manufacturer for use in that mobo. If the ram is not in that list, it dosent mean that it wonk work, but its also not gaunteed to work. Theres usually not a problem, but on occasion certain brands/sku's of ram will experiance problems with certain mobos/bios revisions.

Another trick you can use to gather info is to google "XXXX 'problems'" where XXXX is the ram or motherboard manufacturer/SKU

As far as OCZ ram goes, there have been some issues noted on the web

PC 6400/micron IC issue


You can also contact this individual with specific questions regarding OCZ ram:

eryder@ocztechnology.com

 

[jaguarskx]

im gonna need this for about 600 bucks

Mobo (100)
CPU (180-222)
Ram (86*-120)
Graphics card (140)
PSU (50)

I recommend these parts:

Intel Core 2 Duo E4300 - $169
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?item=N82E16819115013

GIGABYTE GA-965P-S3 - $108
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?item=N82E16813128017

EVGA 256-P2-N624-AR GeForce 7900GS - $160, but there is a $15 mail-in rebate
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?item=N82E16814130056

CORSAIR XMS2 1GB (2 x 512MB) 240-Pin DDR2 SDRAM DDR2 800 - $109
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?item=N82E16820145566

FSP Group (Fortron Source) AX450-PN - $50
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?item=N82E16817104954

Total Price including shipping and excluding mail-in rebates is about $608 - $609. After the $15 mail-in rebate the cost of the parts will drop below $600.

I guess I'm pretty loyal to Corsair RAM. Sure they cost more than most others, but they also give less headaches; usually. Unlike OCZ where it seems people left and right have been complaining about compatibility issues.

 

[Colt]

Thanks, that sounds like a good setup.

my only question is
-Will i see a big difference in 4-4-4 vs 5-5-5 timings?

 

[Sirfiroth]

If you are planning to overclock, then the C2D line is the way to go... the E4300 is hitting 3.0 to 3.2 GHz on air fairly easily and this would put it in performance regimes outside of anything AMD CPUs can achieve.

Of the 3 choices, I believe your best and most fun CPU to work with is the E4300.... it has the right multiplier to get good performance at relatively decent FSB speeds.

If you plan this route, your DDR2-667 will limit you to 333 MHz system clock, 1333 MHz FSB, and a CPU speed of 3.0 GHz on the E4300 but you would run the memory at 1:1 dividers which would be optimal.

The S3 is a good board, you should not have any problems.

Jack

Do you really take yourself this seriously?

Come on Byron!
Even I know when to quit.
Jack did answer the OP's question with good solid advice.

________________________
”No matter where you go or what you do, you live your entire life within the confines of your head”. ~Terry Josephson

 

[RandMcnally]

Why doesn't anyone mention the OS price that will need to be included. That system looks great, but you forget that to buy an OEM copy of vista or xp it's going to cost between 110-200 dollars for media center through vista ultimate.

 

[gr8mikey]

If you are planning to overclock, then the C2D line is the way to go... the E4300 is hitting 3.0 to 3.2 GHz on air fairly easily and this would put it in performance regimes outside of anything AMD CPUs can achieve.

Of the 3 choices, I believe your best and most fun CPU to work with is the E4300.... it has the right multiplier to get good performance at relatively decent FSB speeds.

If you plan this route, your DDR2-667 will limit you to 333 MHz system clock, 1333 MHz FSB, and a CPU speed of 3.0 GHz on the E4300 but you would run the memory at 1:1 dividers which would be optimal.

The S3 is a good board, you should not have any problems.

Jack

I actually did this exact build for a friend of mine who gave me a budget of $700 for the whole box. The E4300 on the Gigabyte S3 worked without a hitch at 3Ghz using 2GB of 667 Kingston value ram

 

[gr8mikey]

If you are planning to overclock, then the C2D line is the way to go... the E4300 is hitting 3.0 to 3.2 GHz on air fairly easily and this would put it in performance regimes outside of anything AMD CPUs can achieve.

Of the 3 choices, I believe your best and most fun CPU to work with is the E4300.... it has the right multiplier to get good performance at relatively decent FSB speeds.

If you plan this route, your DDR2-667 will limit you to 333 MHz system clock, 1333 MHz FSB, and a CPU speed of 3.0 GHz on the E4300 but you would run the memory at 1:1 dividers which would be optimal.

The S3 is a good board, you should not have any problems.

Jack

Do you really take yourself this seriously?

Baron, please quit crapping on threads and go order your 8GB memory supporting QuadFX already.

 

[Colt]

-i have the copy of windows xp from my old comp, but its version 2002. is that ok?

 

[gr8mikey]

-i have the copy of windows xp from my old comp, but its version 2002. is that ok?

Yes, it is fine. To stay legal though, you will need to uninstall from your old machine.