New PC: X2 4800+ vs. E4300

[CACard]

Hey guys I'm building a new pc and trying to stay under 1k since at the present time that's all I can really afford to spend. I've come up with 2 systems of comparable price and was wondering which would give me the most bang for my buck.

Intel System @ $909
Core2Duo E4300 @ 1.8 Ghz
Gigabyte GA-965P-DS3 (rev1.3) MB
2 Gig Corsair XMS2 DDR2 800
EVGA 8800GTS 320MB

AMD System @ $887
Athlon 64 X2 4800 Brisbane @ 2.5Ghz
Gigabyte GA-M61P-S3 GeForce 6100 MB
2 Gig Corsair XMS2 DDR2 800
EVGA 8800GTS 320MB

Thanks a lot,
Chris

 

[melarcky]

i think i would go for the X2 4800+

 

[sickofsoyo]

if overclocking, the intel system is the way to go. That is a good overclocking board too, and all you'd really need is a better hsf, which you can get and still stay under budget.

 

[jjknoll]

I'd go for the intel package also. But you should really OC it. The upgrade path for the intel is really good also with the 1333fsb and quad compatability. It gives you a chance to watch for a nice deal on a quad in the future.

 

[CACard]

Will a 500W PSU work in these systems or should I bump it up to 600W?

 

[proof]

Neither one is very good... I would suggest this:

Intel Core 2 Duo E6320
Gigabyte DS4-P35
Crucial Ballistic 2GB PC2-6400
EVGA 8800GTS
Corsair 620W PSU

The E6320 has a 4MB cache which will help substantially in games and benchmarks.

The Gigabyte DS4-P35 has both DDR2/3 support as well as 1333MHz FSB and Penryn support. The P35 chipset is also much faster than any nForce chip. That and it overclocks like a monster. Almost as good as a LANParty... 8)

With the Ballistix RAM you will be garunteed to get D9 chips which are far superior to the Promos in Corsair. They are also around the same price. They overclock far better than the Promos.

The Corsair 620W is a very nice PSU that will handle GTS SLi.

 

[nhobo]

P35. At least you will be able to upgrade the processor later.

 

[proof]

P35. At least you will be able to upgrade the processor later.

The 680i LT chips support the 45nm Penryn and 1333MHz FSB but not DDR3.

 

[Heyyou27]

The E6320 has a 4MB cache which will help substantially in games and benchmarks.

I think substantially is an overstatement; sure the 4MB helps, but it really depends on the situation, and games don't usually benefit that much.

 

[CACard]

Thanks for all the suggestions guys! Some of you are spending money I dont have but it's making me go back over things so I appreciate it none-the-less.

I'm a college kid so I have to get by on about 3 months of income a year which is the reason for such a tight budget. Luckily I only have a year left of that lifestyle but unfortunately for now it pretty strongly dictates just what I can and can't buy. 1k is my max limit but obviously the lower the better without sacrificing too much.

I kept my old computer for 5 years before it finally died but I think I'll probably only keep the major components of this computer for 2-3 years max since by then I should "hopefully" have a more steady income and higher purchasing power. Again thanks for the tips, I'm having a great time figuring all this out - it's been an extremely educational experience.

Chris

 

[CACard]

Alright I've decided to go with the AMD setup simply because of the fact that, due to my limited funds, I cant afford to OC and screw any of my hardware up. Being that I have no OC'ing experience, for me it's better to be safe then sorry.

Later in life when I can afford to experiment with OC'ing I probably will. Again thanks for all your help. This process has been extremely fun!

Chris

 

[proof]

The Wolfdales are coming for $100?! Now THAT, is uber 1337.

 

[proof]

I just gained a lot of respect for you. Home made phase change is XS material and wicked 1337. I am really, really, psyched for the 45nm procs and at that price! Do you know what the frequecnies will be?

 

[Ycon]

Intel system,
BUT get a P35 board instead since you dont want to lose that upgrade path.
And you dont need DDR2-800. Some cheapo 533/667 will do exactly as well.

 

[bkiserx7]

$110-$180 is where they'll be priced at, so I'm actually considering to get a top of the line wolfdale myself and just use my homemade phase to take it 5 or even 6ghz if the effects of high k will be what I predict

Hey taco, do you have a link to some pricing info and/or release dates?

 

[nachowarrior]

i'd change the mobo to an asus, and the x2 to a 2.4 or 2.8 (cuz you can take full advantage of the ddr2 800 with thoes speeds) there's a chart here on tomshardware somwhere that shows which chips hit the full ddr2 speeds. and i just like asus boards... havn't had a non asus board since well.... like 10 years ago or more.

 

[ARM]

Intel system,
BUT get a P35 board instead since you dont want to lose that upgrade path.
And you dont need DDR2-800. Some cheapo 533/667 will do exactly as well.

The intel system doesn't need ddr2 800, it will have much more of an effect on the amd system. 800 vs 667 is 100 bucks versus 200 bucks, at least in the UK. Your choice, but i'm leaning towards the c2d with ddr2 667.


I'm sure there are p35 based boards for ~$140.

 

[ARM]

asus p5k $160
2gb g.skill ddr2 800 $75
corsair hx 620 $170
seagate barracuda 320gb $95
8800gts 640mb $320 mir
e6420 $187

Total $1007 (ex. shipping)

After looking on newegg, it would seem that the price difference in the US between ddr2 800 and 667 is small, so I put ddr2 800 in.

You could save ~$50 by changing things. For example, the seagate barracuda had 3 identical listings, but this was the most expensive. $15 saving.
The 800 ram cost about $10 more.
A cheaper psu could be used (~$30), and also a cheaper mobo.

If someone wants to put together a comparable AMD system?

 

[nachowarrior]

I just checked TODAY on ram prices, ddr2 800 2x 1gig chips is 85 bucks from wintec, and other brands aren't far behind on the price point... eg corsair if you want brand name. honestly I just figure ram is going to be what suits your system the best, not the price, because it's all so inexpensive now.... unless you're running Shista (vista) it's not likley that you'll need more than 2 gigs of ram... especially if you're running an os like ubuntu, linux or anything like that. they eat less resources then even xp. and from personal experience run faster and more smoothly. (dual boot direct comparison xp x64 vs. ubuntu x64)

ps. if you hit up a socket am2 system you should be able to upgrade for a while, i think they're still putting the "phenom" or four core procs on the socket am2... I'm not sure about all that stuff on the intel side... i DO know however that amd is going to cost a little less, and will handle larger instruction sets much more smoothly than intel... intel will run small instruction sets faster than amd's, so i mean, games and photoshop and all that jazz, i'd definitly get an amd... cuz unless you're running 200 instances of programs like aim, gaim, pidgin, fifty browswers... even so, you won't notice a big difference in the small programs anyway... however when you do need your proc to crunch the big numbers as in 3ds max you'll notice faster render times and what no (on amd)t. (not my opinion, test charts and what not stated, i read way too much). unless you're going for a huge tweak system, i'd just hit the amd... save some dough, you wouldn't notice the difference either way for the most part on standard os/operating system/games and what not... i mean, if you're a freak about the numbers, than read some of the charts for systems similar to the ones you've mentioned. But if you just want somthing that saves you some dough, and kicks all the wait time out of the way, again... AMD.

ps. last time i checked you can hit up a 320 gig hd for less than 95 bucks, i think newegg had some decent ones for around 75 or so (oh, and the chache size hardly affects the performance as noted in a review on tomshardware) and a 2.4ghz amd is floating around 100 bones on newegg for the socket am2.