Need advice on which CPU for my uses!!!

[Street Glide]

Hello All,

I am new to the forum. I hope I do not insult anyone with my noobness!

Here is my question. I am currently getting ready to upgrage my old P4 2.8 6600 GT system. I have read many articles on Tom's Hardware. I need advice on which cpu to get for my use. I basically only play America's Army, Civilization III and IV, along with some online poker. Here are my conclusions so far. Any advice/suggestions would be greatly appreciated.

Power Supply-Silverstone ST50 EF
Memory-G.Skill 2GB (2x1GB) PC2 6400
Video-EVGA 8800GTS 320mb ram
Motherboard-Gigabyte GA-P35-DS3R
Hard Drive-Seagate Barracuda 7200.10 320GB
Cpu Cooling-CoolMaster HyperTX2
Monitor-HP W2207 22" (will come later)
CPU-????
CPU 1-Dual Core E2160 1.8Ghz (will overclock to 3.0Ghz 333fsb if needed for my games)
CPU 2-Core 2 Duo 6750 2.66Ghz

What do all of you think based on my gaming needs? Thanks in advance!!! After reading some of these post you seem like a great bunch of helpful people.

Hopefully your new friend,
Street Glide
(2007 model Harley-Davidson that I ride alot!!!)

P.S. Anyone know how to email Tom's Hardware?????

 

[Guest]

Which CPU to get depends on your budget. My recommendation is the Q6600. Your games my not fully use the 4 cores today but chances are they will later. 4 cores is also better when you multi-task. The Q6600 G0 will cost you about $280 + tax and shipping. The Q6750 is a good CPU.

To contact Tom's hardware you could try the "Contact Us" link at the bottom of the main page. That normally works

 

[mrmez]

Yeah, thats right, get a quad coe for AA and online poker :/
First question do u want to or plan to OC?
If u do (depending on ur budget)...
Id suggest pretty much any e2xxx or 4xxx chip. They are well priced and pretty much all of them should ht 3Ghz (with proper cooling).
This wont hold ur gts back either.

The extra cache doesnt make much difference, but id prob go the 4xxx.
I had a 4300 and ran it @ 3.2 day and night.

 

[englandr753]

After reading the OC review for the 2160 I don't think you could go wrong with that. If money is no object then go with either the E6750 or the E6850. The E6750 is cheaper and faster than the E6600.

Unless you just want new hardware and have money to burn I would wait a little longer and see what the next generation chips that are soon to come out offer. They will most likely drive the price on these current chips a bit more and make them a better value if you can hold off a bit longer.

By the sounds of the games you play you wont be maxing out new hardware (and barely maxing out old hardware). But I know how it is when you get the itch and I can't really blame u...

Been there, done that and most likely will do it again.

 

[systemlord]

I think the system you put together is a great set-up for your needs. That GSkill is very popular stuff, I have seen the HP w2207 in action and must say that the color is sweat with a great design. I would go with the E6750 because I think theres more overclocking headroom there. You would be hard pressed to put together a better system than the one you made up. You've seemed to use your gut instint on this one. Good luck on you new build!

 

[lunyone]

Generally the build looks solid. Did you have a budget for the build? If money was tight, I would go with the e2160 and OC it to 3.0gig. Then in a year or so you could get the latest CPU (with the $100 you'd save by getting the e2160). Or you could invest that $100 later in a GPU upgrade, using the eVga 90 day Step Up program.

 

[Street Glide]

Thanks so far people.

Money is always an issue. The reason I am upgrading is the wife's P4 2.8 died. She does nothing intense, so she will get my P4 2.8.

How long before the new intel goodies are released???

I will have to look into this evga 90 program.

OC is fine even thought the last over clock I made was my celeron 333. It ran at 416 which over cloced my Viper 550 as well. My friends who upgraded processors and went to Viper 770 (TnT vs TnT 2 I think) could not understand how they spent all that money and I was only 5-7 frames slower than them in Quake 2. (hehe the good ole days)

So AAO is not a hardware hog???

Keep it coming people.

 

[lunyone]

http://evga.com/stepup/default.asp Link!

 

[zenmaster]

Massive overkill on much of this stuff.

Get the E2160 for the CPU.
The 8800GTS is also a waste - This is MUCh cheaper and will do.
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814102700

at some point in time, new games will come along that are more demanding, but at that point you can upgarde your video card.
Most likely you can get a better one at that point with just the saved money.

 

[zenmaster]

Thanks so far people.

So AAO is not a hardware hog???

Keep it coming people.

No, AAO is not a hod.
The minimum specs are recommand a 3-D card with 128mb of memory and recommend is 3-D card with 256.
The CPU and Memory requirements listed are also quite low.

 

[Street Glide]

Thanks for the evga link.

I tend to agree on the 2160 as it will most likely do 3.33Ghz out of the box with a moderate overclock. It is only $90 on newegg. I think I will stick with the 8800GTS, I do own Quake IV, but have not played much because the old P4 2.8 and 6600GT just do not cut it. I like to be competitive.

The AAO specs are recommended 3.0Ghz cpu and 256mb video ram. Again I only have 2.8Ghz and 128mb video. Even though I should be able to compete and do, better specs offer an advantage IMHO. Net connection is 8mb down and 768 up.

Again thanks. Any idea when we will get some new processors released??? I would hate for better ones to come out in a month and drop prices even more!!!!

Much appreciated!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

 

[Street Glide]

Well, after reading the advice and reading the overclock results people are getting I thought I would get the E6750. However, I believe I may wait until the release of the Penryn and see if the prices drop a bit more. What does everyone think about that???????

Thanks again for all the opinions!!!

 

[systemlord]

Well, after reading the advice and reading the overclock results people are getting I thought I would get the E6750. However, I believe I may wait until the release of the Penryn and see if the prices drop a bit more. What does everyone think about that???????

Thanks again for all the opinions!!!

I believe that the prices will not drop on the Core 2 Duo's, I think for Penryn processers they'll just cost between 300-500 ish for the mid range and about $1000 for the Extreme high end with the E6750 being low end. Remember when the E6700 was $500+ dollars at the start, they will just fill in the gaps.

 

[mad-dog]

Alright, come back to earth will ya...........
All this talk of overclocking and waiting for penryn,
The computer is for role-playing games and online-poker

Intel C2D E4300 1.8GHz CPU $118
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16819115013

XFX 8600GT 256MB VGA card $110
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814150229

2GB Patriot DDR2 800MHz RAM $98
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820220070

Antec 430W PSU & P180 Case $180
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817103942

19" Widescreen LCD $155
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16824254001

2-250GB WD Caviar's RAID(1) $140
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16822144701

To be honest with you that's a nice system for $800,
I prefer to use EVGA in lieu of their "step-up program" but in this category the XFX was a better choice.
The Allendale will play all your games without breaking a sweat and will OC nicely, an added bonus.
There are less expensive choices than Patriot but again I'm in a overclocked state of mind and couldn't think of a better choice for RAM.
Antec makes a solid PSU and the P180 is a very nice, quiet mid-tower case.
Go look at a 19" wide-screen before thinking you need something bigger, 1440 x 900 native resolution and 5ms response time, lot of monitor for $155.
The security offered by RAID(1) is worth every dollar spent on a pair of HDD's, if 1 drive fails no data is lost and the system is easily rebuilt since all data is backed up on both disks, it's not as fast as RAID(0) but who cares........
It's still overkill for what your doing but it will grow with you and your need for more graphically intensive programs.

Folding@Home

 

[lunyone]

Here's a couple of deals that you might consider. Everything you have posted above looks good.

CPU - $80 shipped e2160
http://www.mwave.com/mwave/skusearch.hmx?&scriteria=BA23881

Mobo - $98 shipped - $20 MIR (if you trust MIR’s) = $78 Hard to beat at this price.
ABIT IP35-E INTEL P35 CHIPSET ATX FORM FACTOR 1xPCI-E(X16)/2xPCI-E(X1)/3xPCI/4xDDR2 W/SATA2,LAN(Gb),USB 2.0 & AUDIO
http://www.mwave.com/mwave/skusearch.hmx?&scriteria=BA23929

And since your already paying about $100 for unmatched sets of DDR2, here are some options of faster CAS4 DDR2 and they will OC well too! And if you take advantage of the MIR's, you can have some $ in your pocket for a decent dinner!!

Memory - $102 shipped - $40 MIR = $62!! Solid performing CAS 4 DDR2
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/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820145034

Memory - $110 shipped - $47 MIR = $63!! Good OC’ing RAM + CAS 4 too.
Crucial Ballistix 2GB (2 x 1GB) 240-Pin DDR2 SDRAM DDR2 800 (PC2 6400) Dual Channel Kit Desktop Memory – Retail
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820146565

Memory - $93 shipped - $30 MIR = $63!! CAS 4 and good RAM
GeIL 2GB (2 x 1GB) 240-Pin DDR2 SDRAM DDR2 800 (PC2 6400) Dual Channel Kit Desktop Memory - Retail
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820144062

 

[Street Glide]

Well here are my prices via newegg. If you think they will not come down much I may go ahead.

Power Supply-Silverstone ST50 EF=$99.99
Memory-G.Skill 2GB (2x1GB) PC2 6400=$74.99
Video-EVGA 8800GTS 320mb ram=$289.99
Motherboard-Gigabyte GA-P35-DS3R=$149.99
Hard Drive-Seagate Barracuda 7200.10 320GB=$79.99
Cpu Cooling-CoolMaster HyperTX2=$29.99
Monitor-HP W2207 22" (will come later)
CPU-????
CPU 1-Dual Core E2160 1.8Ghz=$84.99
CPU 2-Core 2 Duo 6750 2.66Ghz=$194.99
CPU 3-Core 2 Duo E4300 1.8Ghz=$117.00 (this one offers a $20 discount with 965p motherboard) Not $20 on all. Some are 945p, anyway

What bothers me about the two slow ones is if they will not reach 3.0Ghz over clock I do not consider them a value. Some results have been low.

As far as games. Some of my friends play higher end games like Battlefield, Quake IV etc... so I may be inclined to play with them from time to time. If so I want to be able to "keep up". I always research and read a subject to death before spending my hard earned money. I usually avoid the "I wish I had gotton the other one" complaint. Keep the ideas coming and again, I cannot tell you all how much I appreciate it.

 

[lunyone]

Here is what I would consider with what you have listed.
1) Your $150 DS3R must be a P35C version, because the regular P35 (no C) is listed for $137 w/shipping. The P35C version supports DD3, which is WAAAYY too expensive now and probably for quite some time. Read Tom's just recently did a review w/x38 mobo here -> http://www.tomshardware.com/2007/09/26/intel_x38_chipset/
So I wouldn't spend the $13 more on this, but that is my opinion.

2) The main issues (I believe) with some of the 2160's/4300's not reaching 3.0 gig is mainly because of cheap DDR2 being used. All of the reviews that I've read there hasn't been any issues reaching 3.2gig with decent DDR2. I don't know for sure that this is the reason, but that is just what I've read on several forums.

The rest of your build looks solid and should work out just fine! Enjoy building it and come back and tell us how things worked out.

 

[Street Glide]

lunyone,

That makes sense on the motherboard. I can no longer find the memory I was referring to so see what you think of this http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820231098

or recommend some good memory that should not give me problems if you do not mind. Thanks again. I looked at the motherboard. I see several Gigabyte boards. I see a P35 for 129.99. I am not stuck on Gigabyte. I have owned Abit and Asus and had zero problems. I just want a good, solid board capable of overclocking without any issues. If you have any recommedations please let me have them. I will include a link to the 129 board.

I tend to research big ticket items to death in order to avoid complaining later, hehe. Thanks again, as I do really appreciate every ones input!!!!!!

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813128050