Looking for some advice to finish my new build since it's about time I retire my circa 2001 PC with Shuttle Spacewalker AK31 DDR Socket A motherboard with Athlon XP1800+ CPU - the hamsters are on their last legs.
My indecision is which CPU. I'm not a gamer, but want to multitask without a big hit on performance - surf the web, email, some Office stuff, watch/record TV (SD today, possibly HD in future), download images/vids from camera, write DVDs, listen to music, some light .NET/Java/Javascript/Flex development. May dual-boot with Linux just to play around with it. Maybe have a VM instance with a small footprint. Eventually Blu-Ray when prices become affordable.
Most of the time I'll do 1 or 2 things but there will be the occasional time that I'll concurrently be recording TV, writing to DVD and surfing the Web.
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CPU - Athlon II X2 245, X2 250, X3 435, X4 620 or Phenom II X2 550
Will use the stock cooler since I hadn't planned on OC-ing, but if I do I won't push it much. I'm on a budget, but am looking for something to last awhile (willing to upgrade CPU in a few yrs. if need be) From what I've read it doesn't seem like L3 Cache will give me much but I included the 550 because of its speed. I had initial decided on the 620, but wonder if a faster triple or dual core would be better based on my usage profile and lower costs.
Thoughts?
*
Mobo - ASUS M4A785TD-V EVO AM3 AMD 785G HDMI ATX AMD
The ExpressGate sounds interesting and I can avoid purchasing a GPU at this time.
*
Memory - One of the following 2 x 2GB kits because I can get a combo deal with CPU
G.SKILL Ripjaws Series (2 X 2GB) DDR3 1600 (PC3 12800) F3-12800CLD-4GBRL
or
G.SKILL (2 X 2GB) DDR3 1333 (PC3 10600) F3-10600CL8D-4GBHK
I realize that I'll have to step down memory to 1066 for the 245 or 250 and step down the Ripjaw to 1333 for the others.
*
OS - Windows 7 64-bit (Home Premium or Professional - Depends on whether I'll need HP mode or not) I may dual-boot with Linux
*
DVD - I'll pick-up a SATA on either on Newegg or retail.
*
I already have the following:
HDD - WD Caviar Black 750GB 7200 RPM 32MB Cache Sata 3.0Gb/s 3.5"
PSU - OCZ Fatal1ty 550W ATX12V Modular Active PFC
Case - Antec Two Hundred ATX Mid Tower
Any other advice is welcomed & appreciated. Thanks in advance!
My indecision is which CPU. I'm not a gamer, but want to multitask without a big hit on performance - surf the web, email, some Office stuff, watch/record TV (SD today, possibly HD in future), download images/vids from camera, write DVDs, listen to music, some light .NET/Java/Javascript/Flex development. May dual-boot with Linux just to play around with it. Maybe have a VM instance with a small footprint. Eventually Blu-Ray when prices become affordable.
Most of the time I'll do 1 or 2 things but there will be the occasional time that I'll concurrently be recording TV, writing to DVD and surfing the Web.
*
CPU - Athlon II X2 245, X2 250, X3 435, X4 620 or Phenom II X2 550
Will use the stock cooler since I hadn't planned on OC-ing, but if I do I won't push it much. I'm on a budget, but am looking for something to last awhile (willing to upgrade CPU in a few yrs. if need be) From what I've read it doesn't seem like L3 Cache will give me much but I included the 550 because of its speed. I had initial decided on the 620, but wonder if a faster triple or dual core would be better based on my usage profile and lower costs.
Thoughts?
*
Mobo - ASUS M4A785TD-V EVO AM3 AMD 785G HDMI ATX AMD
The ExpressGate sounds interesting and I can avoid purchasing a GPU at this time.
*
Memory - One of the following 2 x 2GB kits because I can get a combo deal with CPU
G.SKILL Ripjaws Series (2 X 2GB) DDR3 1600 (PC3 12800) F3-12800CLD-4GBRL
or
G.SKILL (2 X 2GB) DDR3 1333 (PC3 10600) F3-10600CL8D-4GBHK
I realize that I'll have to step down memory to 1066 for the 245 or 250 and step down the Ripjaw to 1333 for the others.
*
OS - Windows 7 64-bit (Home Premium or Professional - Depends on whether I'll need HP mode or not) I may dual-boot with Linux
*
DVD - I'll pick-up a SATA on either on Newegg or retail.
*
I already have the following:
HDD - WD Caviar Black 750GB 7200 RPM 32MB Cache Sata 3.0Gb/s 3.5"
PSU - OCZ Fatal1ty 550W ATX12V Modular Active PFC
Case - Antec Two Hundred ATX Mid Tower
Any other advice is welcomed & appreciated. Thanks in advance!
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