Options and future considerations for my new build

[finles]

I'm looking at putting together a new build shortly, but am not decided on a few things.

I don't upgrade often, so would like to have a system that is reasonably future resistant (I'm still running an Athlon 2500XP with a Ti4200 as my main box). Likely future upgrades are RAM & Graphics, bluray reader.

I am not very worried about the overclockability of the CPU or other components. (except maybe the ram, how would DDR2800 overclock to 1066?).

I am not decided on AMD or Intel, but will definately be going for quad core.


For CPU/MB these are the options i'm considering:
[fixed]Phenom 9550 $330NZD
Gigabyte GA-MA790X-DS4 $243NZD
-------
$573NZD[/fixed]

or
[fixed]Intel Q9300 $460NZD
Asus P5K series $218NZD
-------
$678NZD[/fixed]

I'm not very familiar with the 9300 specs/performance, is it worth the extra cost? Phenom seems to be the cheapest quad I can spot.

I am after 8GB DDR2 at the moment, but RAM is always a good upgrade path. Are there any current DDR2/DDR3 combo boards that support 16GB of RAM? The only ones that I I have seen only support 8GB, in which case I don't think that future me would bother upgrading from 8gb ddr2 to 8gb ddr3.

I hear Phenoms like DDR2 1066 better than DDR2 800, but the price jump is significant. How much overclocking can DDR2 800 take? I'm looking at getting 2 lots of Corsair XMS2 DHX; TWIN2X4096-6400C5DHX, 2x2GB, DDR2-800, CL5.

Are there issues where you can only run the RAM at certain speeds limited by the CPU speed/multiplier (or something like this - like there was with the X2 (I think) series? I can't find a link to describe this at the moment)?

For your interest the other components in my list are:
Lian Li PC7B Plus II case
Coolermaster Modular PSU 500W
500GB Seagate
Asus EN9600GT
Vista Home Premium 64bit
Thermalright Ultra 120 extreme cooler
Dell 2408wfp monitor

I will be doing a bit of everything on this machine, photoshop, premiere elements, gaming etc.

Thanks for any suggestions/comments/help!

 

[guanyu210379]

Actually the performance difference between phenom x4 series and intel quad series are reflected also in their price diffrences. So..you get what you paid...
If you can still afford intel q9300, just go for it.

For the RAM...don´t go for DDR2 1066 they are still too expensive at the momment. DDR2 800 is still gut. Or you can get yourself a DDR2 1000. The price from DDR2 1000 are not very much different from DDR2 800. But DDR2 800 and DDR2 1066 are not too wide differently in performance. So what you pick just have to match your pocket. 4GB CL5 DDR2 1000 from Mushkin is a good bargain, at least I may say it so myself.

hmmm...the link...Gotta ask the others bout that one.

PSU : I am a TAGAN, Silverstone, and CORSAIR only fan.
HDD : be sure your 500GB is the 7200.11 32MB.
The rest is OK.

 

[guanyu210379]

'lmost forget go for P5E-X38 or GA-X38-DS5 but do not go for P5K. P35 is out of date man.

 

[Nick868]

16GB of RAM? You only need 2GB of RAM for most things as most applications can't utilize more than that unless you are running loads of things at the same time. If you are doing a lot of video editing or memory hungry apps. then you might want 4GB but you need a 64bit OS to use it. 2GB is good for games or anything else. I would go for the intel quad core if you can afford it.

ps. that monitor on your list is a beauty...expensive though but worth the pennies I think - best around at the minute and as furture proof as you get.

 

[starkie24]

Hey, seems you are from new zealand before buying try looking up the price for the cpu on pricespy.co.nz they have a large catalogue of prices for all parts and a pile of general items and list the cheapest prices over a large number of different shops/stores/online stores that sell the products in New Zealand.
I reccommend going for the intel one if you can afford it. the ram 4GB its more then enough even running games like crysis and what not. havent seen RAM useage go over 45% and i have 4GB so 4GB is all you need. the more ram you get the lesser over clocking will be so 4GB will be more then enough for you.

 

[Maroc]

If you want to save some money, then it would be wise to scrap the Q9300 and get a Q6600 instead. The performance difference is minimal and you can overclock to close that gap.

 

[finles]

guanyu, the p5k series may be out of date, but it is $100 cheaper, and seems to have everything I need on it, is there a performance difference or some other advantage in having a later chipset?
Is the 32MB cache on the seagate much of an advantage over the 16MB version?

starkie, pricespy is great, but I like to shop locally and not get components from shops scattered across the country, paying shipping on each item. I'm most likely to buy from ascent, who arn't the cheapest, but have free shipping and have a good rep.

 

[guanyu210379]

to finles :

The price between Seagate 250GB with 16MB (69 euro) and Seagate 500GB 32MB(73 euro) is only about 4 euro (it was on a special discount bargain) different..so...don't ask why I have bought it.
But I do feel an increase of performance, and I feel that the performance is about the same as WD 10000rpm series (not yet technically tested but only lying on feeling).

I am always looking for the newest mainboard that I can afford.
I have one too for myself, I've bought it about 3 weeks ago.
It works super, and a better soundcard.
hmmm...100 dollars? you must be talking about low end P5K series. I have bought P5EX38 for 159 euro and on the other hand P5K premium WiFi/AP costs about 139 euro. It is only 20 euro difference, so I choose X38 over P5K.
But there is P5K EPU for example, yes you are correct it does have a 100 dollars difference.