First Build, Advice Appreciated

CORSAIR XMS2 2GB (2 x 1GB) 240-Pin DDR2 SDRAM DDR2 800 (PC2 6400) Dual Channel Kit Desktop Memory - Retail

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Prod [...] 6820145590

SeaSonic M12 SS-600HM ATX12V / EPS12V 600W Power Supply 100 - 240 V UL, CE, CB, TUV, FCC - Retail

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Prod [...] 6817151030

^^ that thing will power anything that you throw at it and more.

^Hate to tell you but at stock the 6000+ beats the 6600 at stock most of the time and the motherboard will be cheaper. So if he is not wiling to overclock then the 6000 plus would be better for him.

I don't see many "cheap" AM2 boards that will do a X2 6000 justice. Low-end boards for sure, but the price differences at the mid range are negligble.

I would imagine the Gigabyte 965P-S3, Biostar 965PT, and MSI Neo-F would give any AM2 board a run for its money in terms of quality, features, stability, and price for non-overclocking. Mind you, low cost AM2 boards are plentiful, but they are cheap garbage.

My point is that if you were to find a DECENT AM2 board, it would not be as cheap as people think when compareed against the Intel ones I mention. It is a common misconception that AM2 boards are alot cheaper. They are cheaper, but not by much, apples to apples. And when you factor the total cost of the system, it's an extremely small cost difference actually. So in fact, the "AM2 mobos are cheaper" is widely used but also widely mistaken when those facts are taken in context.


Regardless, if he wants an X2 6000, then he wants it. I'm simply pointing out the facts and options for someone to make an informed decision. Certainly nothing "wrong" with the 6000, but I would hesitate to recommend it over a C2D simply because someone might incorrectly think the mobos are cheaper. Kinda like recommending a Porsche over a Ferrari because the oil changes are cheaper

I'm not too sure about that, unless your favorite applications are memory benchmarks. Flipping through the CPU comparisons here at Tom's I estimated about a 2 to 1 edge to the e6600 in victories, although many were effectively tied. The two CPUs are fairly closely matched in performance at stock speed and the only blowouts are in the synthetic benchmarks (AMD on memory and floating point, Intel on integer). Really either path AMD or Intel is a good call at the current pricing structures.

Also, what would be a good aftermarket CPU cooler. I have heard that I may need to mod a little to fit a tuniq tower or other such coolers if I were to install another fan on the side of the Antec 900. I do not wish to do this and would also like to avoid any unnecessary stress upon the motherboard from the cooler as I have read that some of the larger coolers do.