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e2160 vs 4200+? Need some input

Forum CPU & Components : CPUs - e2160 vs 4200+? Need some input

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I am building a new budget system to upgrade a friends older 478/AGP system. I am a bit new to CPU's and would like to know which would be the better choice, the e2160 or an Athlon 64 x2 4200+ . Don't have too much experience with AMD and I'd like to stay away from ATI cards. Trying to do this all for around 300ish. Thanks in advance.

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If you overclock, e2160 hands down. Otherwise, 4200+.

Reply to akhilles

I am not sure how to overclock, I am just looking for the better one to have until the newer processors come out, in which i will buy a quad or the new amd.

Reply to gjt86

Get E2160 now and think about overclock it later when you feel like doing it. That's all you have to do now.

Reply to tik

Damn, I meant 4600 x2 not the 4200

Reply to gjt86

Better increase your budget.

Reply to roadrunner197069

The thing is..ATM I only play WoW and TFC2, so I am basically looking for somethign to hold me off until the newer processors come out, in which i will be spending around 3-4 grand on an all new machine. Nothing has to be cutting edge. Just looking for something dual core and pci-e and more ram, and i dont know much of the difference between amd and intel, in terms of actual performance.

Reply to gjt86

The new processors are comming next month. Start buying componets now. Intel 100%

Reply to roadrunner197069

I am starting a new job in March, that is when I plan to build my next system, just need something to get me up until then. Thanks for the info however.

Reply to gjt86

BTW..Roadrunner. Unless you want to pay 999.99 for a penryn processor...It's not next month..It's Q1 2008. The first penryn processor is a extreme edition....The budget orientated versions com something around January.

Message quoted 1 times
Message edited by Kamrooz on 10-11-2007 at 04:27:59 AM

Reply to Kamrooz

Go with a pk5 mobo and an intel 2160 cpu and overclock it. Then youll be set.

Reply to roadrunner197069

Kamrooz wrote :

alright guys let's be realistic. Not everyone feels safe overclocking. If you don't want to attempt it nab an AMD solution. If you plan to overclock then hands down intel as you can push the chips FARRRRRRR above what you pay for. If this rig needs upgradeability...Both will due...If you go with a AMD solution you got Phenom coming shortly. For intel you could also toss in a Q6600 or a Penryn processor which comes out in 1q next year..

BTW..Roadrunner. Unless you want to pay 999.99 for a penryn processor...It's not next month..It's 1q 2008. The first penryn processor is a extreme edition....The budget orientated versions com something around January.

Well he said 3-4 grand was his budget when the new ones come out so ya next month.

Reply to roadrunner197069

If you are buying a system for certain in March then it doesn't matter. Both will hold you nicely until then. If you aren't going to over clock though I would go AMD just to throw your bit of cash their way, support the underdog and what not. Of course as everyone else says, overclocking the e2160 involves changing 3 settings in bios pretty much no questions asked. At 2.6+ ghz you might not need to build a new system in March

Reply to steven zwickel

How difficult is it to overclock? does it require a heavy amount of cooling? Im not looking to turn this machine into a heavy project of mine as my next one will be. At the moment I'm currently just trying to have something that will run TFC2 and WoW a lot better than my p4s800d-x/478/AGP (5200le) combo could ever do (not looking for spectacular results) for about 300 or so. I am buying all these parts online and it will be my first actual build I plan on doing myself. Currently, this is what I will be ordering:

CPU: AMD Athlon 64 X2 5200+ Windsor 2.4GHz Socket AM2 Processor
Mobo: GIGABYTE GA-M61P-S3 AM2 NVIDIA GeForce 6100 ATX AMD Motherboard
Ram: WINTEC 2GB (2 x 1GB) DDR2 800 (PC2 6400) Dual Channel Kit Desktop Memory
Vid Card: ASUS EN7300GT SILENT/HTD/256M GeForce 7300GT 256MB 128-bit GDDR2 PCI Express x16 SLI

OR

CPU: E2160
Mobo: ASRock 4CoreDual-SATA2 LGA 775 VIA PT880 Pro/PT880 Ultra ATX Intel Motherboard
Ram: G.SKILL 2GB (2 x 1GB) 240-Pin DDR2 SDRAM DDR2 667 (PC2 5300) Dual Channel Kit Desktop Memory
GFX: EVGA 256-P2-N541-T2 GeForce 7600GS 256MB 128-bit GDDR2 PCI Express x16 SLI Supported Video Card
PSU: FSP Group FSP400-60THN-R ATX 2.0 400W Power Supply

I have an ATX case and due to the mobo only having 1 IDE Slot, I am picking up a controller so I can have the extra slot I need to add up to 2. (Old Pata HDD and 2 Optical Drives)

The vid card may change, but thats pretty much what I came to the decision to get. I am ordering from Newegg so would like it to be from there. Also if anyone has any better suggestions I am open to them as I said, this is my first entire build.

Reply to gjt86

if your not going to upgrade to an intel quad core and your going to overclock (if your not oc then your leaving the best part on the table and oc systems last just as long when done right) then go amd

yes as the #1 intel fan boy - if your going low end i would go amd - you can get a good 3ghz system with amd and cpu for $100

Reply to dragonsprayer

The question is what is your current budget?

Reply to akhilles

E2160 + GigaByte P35-DS3
All you need

Reply to Ycon

This chart is a little old and does not keep in account overclocking. It give a rough idea of speed comparison between AMD and Intel ATM:

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

Reply to evongugg

$300, hmmm, I just spent that on a nice little package. 2 gigs of Corsair $70. 790G motherboard $80. AMD BE-2400 $100. Samsung SH-S203B $35. Makes a nice low power (low wattage) system. Something that'll make a nice HTPC (the 790G boards can be had with HDMI and HDCP) after you upgrade to the full-boat game machine. Of course you'll need a game card too.

In my case I'm reusing a power supply and a case.

Reply to cbxbiker61

4600+X2 or even the slower 4200+X2 outperform the pentium Dual core processors easily.These Pentium Dual cores have less catch than the Core2Duo's and this disadvantage shows in benchmarks. I have even seen benchmarks where the lowly AMD 3800+X2 has defeated the E2160 in games, which just goes to show how crippled these Pentium Dual cores really are. Of course if you want to overclock then these pathetic stock Pentium's can potentially outperform Intel's top processors, which is excellent value.

Reply to speedbird

Over clocking isn't hard or expensive. Get the E2610 and a Gigabyte DS3 or Asus P5K mobo with a $30 after market CPU cooler and your all set. I would suggest the Arctic Cooling Freezer 7 Pro CPU cooler. There is a guide in the CPU section for overclocking intel CPU's with very detailed dummy proof instructions.

Reply to jonnyli

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