I'm building a new PC in a few weeks now, and I was going to go with AMD, because I want to support them (poor bastards).
Well, I'm about to crack, I've seen how bad the phenoms are, I've seen how well the C2s OC, and how they perform better at stock. I also am guessing that nehalem will kick major ass. My original plan was to get one of those cheap AMD dual cores, and OC to about 3.2ghz, then buy a 45nm deneb when they come out. My guess is the denebs will finally be on par with the C2s, clock for clock. But wait, nehalem is coming out, bringing big improvements. So I might go for an intel build, because its just way more bang for the buck.

Here is the proposed AMD build:

AMD X2 5000 BE - $100
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Prod [...] 6819103194

MSI K9A2 Platinum - $150
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Prod [...] 6813130136

HD 4870 - $310

G. Skill 2x2gb DDR2 1066 - $105
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Prod [...] 6820231166

Xigmatek HDT S1283 - $37
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Prod [...] 6835233003

PC Power & Cooling S61EPS 610W Continuous @ 40°C EPS12V PSU - $115
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Prod [...] 6817703005

Western Digital Caviar 640gb HDD - $90
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Prod [...] 6822136218

Sony NEC SATA DVD burner - $23
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Prod [...] 6827118012

AC MX-2 thermal compound - $7

Total: $937 before shipping and rebates (I don't count rebates in the overall price)


Now my proposed intel build:

Q6600 OEM - $195

GIGABYTE GA-EP45-DS3L LGA 775 Intel P45 ATX Intel Motherboard - $108
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Prod [...] 6813128345

HD 4870 - $310

G. Skill 2x2gb DDR2 1066 - $105
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Prod [...] 6820231166

Xigmatek HDT S1283 + retention bracket - $44
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Prod [...] 6835233003

PC Power & Cooling S61EPS 610W Continuous @ 40°C EPS12V Power Supply 100 - $115
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Prod [...] 6817703005

Western Digital Caviar 640gb HDD - $90
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Prod [...] 6822136218

Sony NEC SATA DVD burner - $23
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Prod [...] 6827118012

AC MX-2 thermal compound - $7

Total: $997 before shipping and rebates

Notes: I already have the Antec 900 which I got on sale at Fry's for $75. I do intend to overclock either build, and I want excellent stability for a few years, which is why I chose the rather expensive PC P&C silencer. I want to get 3.2-3.4ghz out of the AMD build, and 3.2ghz minimum (3.4-3.6 would be ideal) for the intel build. That is also why I chose DDR2 1066. I also heard the P45 chipset overclocks well, and I have seen a lot of recommendations for the gigabyte DS3L boards. I don't care for crossfire, so no X48 for me. In addition to the WD 640gb HDD, I have a samsung HD501 LJ. I will use the WD 640gb as the OS drive, and the Samsung as extra storage (currently, I have it filled with tons of media files). I also already have vista ultimate 64 bit. I am also throwing the Creative X-fi platinum sound card I already have into the mix.

I think thats about it, I'm seriously leaning for the intel build, its faster, provides more overclockability, all for only $60 more. I might also go for more tightly timed DDR2 800 on the intel build, since its cheaper and all thats necessary. Give me your thoughts and criticisms please. And remember one thing, I plan on keeping this for about 3 years or more, so future proof is a must, and I feel I accomodate for that with the Q6600.

EDIT: I game @ 1920x1200, I do some CAD work as well. And I'll be running a second monitor @ 1280x1024.

Only thing I'm not sure of is how well that mobo OCs, should I spend extra on a P45 with a better southbridge?

Go withe the P45, if you plan to crossfire get the X38 or X48.

No crossfire for me.

Come to the dark side. We have FAST.

Yeah, I'm throwing out AMD for now. I heard you also have cookies on the dark side?

The icing tastes like blue.

LMAO

I'm in, since the icing tastes like blue.

Now, question on the motherboards. Should I go for something a little more expensive, like the ASUS P5Q, which has the ICH10R southbridge, or the GA-DS3L I proposed which has the ICH10. I guess what I'm wondering is, will either one make a big difference in overclocking capabilities?

With your intel board, do NOT install the energy saver software(when it tries to save power your overclocks will suffer).

And remember all cpus clock differently. My Q6600 tops at 3.5(not pushing voltage to go farther), but i settled on 3.0 since the extra 500mhz cost me nearly 100 watts more.

Im not sure what the debate is about here?

Why not buy a relatively cheap amd duel core, set up expecially if you already have ram and other transferable components and oc it?

Buy the video card you want.

THEN....

when the Nehalem comes out that you speak of some time next spring or summer (for most mainstream desktop apps) really fork out the cash to step into your Vader Gear.
Cause any component you buy now that is intel will be useless for a nehalem setup.

Ok, cool. Energy isn't a big concern of mine. I just hope a get one of the Q6600 that like to clock past 3.2ghz.


So I should probably just stick with the GA-EP45-DS3L? It looks like a solid board to me.

No thanks. I'm in college and I don't have that much money to throw into a nehalem set up.

I understand your dilemma in the cash Dept.

But why even mention Nehalem in the original post then?

Additionally I would recommend the following strategy to keep costs down...

If you have a decent current rig only upgrade the video card...
then wait it out for nehalem.

Overall upgrade Case, mobo, cpu, and memory on even years or every other year. Then upgrade, video, sound card, psu, on odd years.
Only upgrade HDD or CD/dvd/optical drives when something breaks or a new technology hits the right price range.

dont build an AMD system