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xrey   05-01-2007 at 06:55:52 PM

I've decided to get myself a new system but i can't decide on what to get. I've drawn up two plans (which are very similar apart from processor).

Computer 1

Case: NZXT Trinity Tower 400W Case w/ Side-panel Window (BLACK Color)
CPU: (Sckt775)Intel® Core™ 2 Duo E6700 CPU @ 2.66GHz 1066FSB 2x2MB L2 Cache EM64T
Motherboard: (Quad-Core Supports) Asus P5N-E nForce 650i SLI Chipset LGA775 FSB1333 DDR2 Mainboard
Memory: (Req.DDR2 MainBoard)2GB (2x1GB) PC6400 DDR2/800 Dual Channel Memory (Corsair XMS2 Xtreme Memory w/ Heat Spreader)
Video Card: NEW!!! NVIDIA GeForce 8800 GTS 320MB 16X PCI Express Video Card
Video Card 2: NONE
Monitor & LCD: NONE
Hard Drive: Single Hard Drive (250GB SATA-II 3.0Gb/s 8MB Cache 7200RPM HDD)
Data Hard Drive: NONE
Optical Drive: SONY DUAL FORMAT 18X DVD±R/±RW + CD-R/RW DRIVE DUAL LAYER (BLACK COLOR)
Optical Drive 2: NONE
Sound: HIGH DEFINITION ON-BOARD 7.1 AUDIO

£901.23 Incl VAT

Computer 2

CASE: NZXT Trinity Tower 400W Case w/ Side-panel Window (BLACK Color)
CPU: (Socket AM2) AMD Athlon™64 X2 6000+ Dual-Core CPU w/ HyperTransport Technology
MOTHERBOARD: (Socket AM2)Asus M2N-SLI Deluxe nForce 570 SLI MCP Chipset DDR2/800 MBoard w/ Dual PCI-Express
MEMORY: (Req.DDR2 MainBoard)2GB (2x1GB) PC6400 DDR2/800 Dual Channel Memory (Corsair XMS2 Xtreme Memory w/ Heat Spreader)
VIDEO CARD: NEW!!! NVIDIA GeForce 8800 GTS 320MB 16X PCI Express Video Card
VIDEO CARD 2: NONE
LCD Monitor: NONE
Hard Drive: Single Hard Drive (250GB SATA-II 3.0Gb/s 8MB Cache 7200RPM HDD)
Data Hard Drive: NONE
Optical Drive: SONY DUAL FORMAT 18X DVD±R/±RW + CD-R/RW DRIVE DUAL LAYER (BLACK COLOR)
Optical Drive 2: NONE
SOUND: HIGH DEFINITION ON-BOARD 7.1 AUDIO

£835.95 Incl VAT

I have a couple of questions

Firstly which do you think is the best, they are very similar but i want to know if you think that Core Duo will outperform the AMD dual core.

Secondly, i was wondering, is it worth putting in a secondary graphics card of the same kind? Please note i plan to change this over time so some components will probably change.

Thanks

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Track   05-01-2007 at 09:12:57 PM
- 0 +

AMD are dead, stop kicking them.

Out of all the things, the CPU bothers me the most. Change it to an E6420 and dont ask anymore questions about it.

Also, make sure the PSU is powerfull enough for an 8800 GTX. No, the watts dont matter.

And Corsair suck.. dont buy from them.

Reply to Track
lostandwandering   05-01-2007 at 09:29:28 PM
- 0 +

The E6700 will perform better than the 6000+ (the amount depends on the game), but costs more. For the GPU, it depends on the resolution you play at. If it's 1280x1024 it's not worth it. Leave the option open for later.

As far as Track's comment, the E6420 doesn't out perform the 6000+ to the best of my knowledge. He is right, your PSU will not cut it. I'm not sure about what to make of his comment on Corsair. He is either speaking from one experience or has seen so many bad chips of Corasir RAM that he won't bother with it. who knows.

Reply to lostandwandering
akhilles   05-02-2007 at 02:21:42 AM
- 0 +

Read this ASAP:

http://www.xbitlabs.com/articles/c [...] dup_8.html

Basically, at stock AMD is the best bang. When overclocker, C2D is.

If you get 650i, you don't need to o/c the ram. Just run it unlink/unsynched, & o/c the cpu. That said, you don't need expensive ram. Any brand name value ram at 533/667/800mhz will do. dual channel kits are preferred.

If I had the money, I'd take the e6700 hands down & o/c it to hell.

At least get a budget psu such as Hiper.

http://www.slizone.com/object/slizone_build_psu.html

Reply to akhilles
xrey   05-02-2007 at 06:04:44 PM
- 0 +

Thanks akhillis i'll probably go with the core 2 duo and overclock it probably.

If i dont want to overclock, you're saying the AMD should be the choice?


And also, track, which should i change it to the e6420?

thanks

Reply to xrey
wilcoxon   05-02-2007 at 06:36:24 PM
- 0 +

I would go with the C2D setup even if I wasn't overclocking.

As others have said, you definitely want a better PSU.

Instead of getting SLI, you're better off buying the best single card you can afford and then just replace it in a year or two. SLI almost never makes sense. If you don't go SLI, you could also look at non-nForce mobos (such as Gigabyte DS3).

I believe track was saying go with the E6420 and overclock it because the E6420 is much cheaper. Personally, I went with the E6600 as it looks like the best bang for the buck right now.

Reply to wilcoxon
akhilles   05-03-2007 at 03:33:54 AM
- 0 +

Not what I'm saying, but the article. It has nothing to do with better/worse. It has to do with the bottle line. :)

If you get c2d & don't o/c, you should get at least 6400/6600.

Ah one thing about socket 775 is that the quad cores have been out for ages & just had a price cut. In Q3, there'll be another price cut.

Reply to akhilles
wilcoxon   05-03-2007 at 03:53:09 AM
- 0 +

One note on the C2Qs. They aren't true quad core. They are really dual dual core. The Q6600 is very nearly two E6600 in one cpu. The problem with this is that each pair has to use the FSB to talk to the other pair (instead of communicating on-die which is much faster). True quad core C2Qs are supposed to be out in Q3.

Reply to wilcoxon
alcattle   05-03-2007 at 10:20:34 AM
- 0 +

I think the QX6700 is a true Quad CPU. It is not worth $1k but not much is.

Reply to alcattle
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