Core 2 Duo

[Tiger89]

would you reccomend getting one now or early part of next year? I need a new system so bad. Do you really need SLI to play Games? Or will just one good PCIE work just as good?

 

[evilr00t]

would you reccomend getting one now or early part of next year? I need a new system so bad.

LOL, if you need a new system badly, get one now...

 

[luminaris]

Might as well get one now if you got the money. No, you don't need SLI to play games. One good graphics card will do the job nicely.

 

[HYDRO777]

If your gonna build now I recomend getting an Abit AW9D-MAX board with any P4 D8xx or D9xx series chips the prices just dropped on the chips due to the release of the Core2 Duo. The board supports the Core2 Duo chips also and you will be able to upgrade CPUs as time passes. Take a look at the article on the D805 chip running @ 4.1 gig on Toms. That will get you thinking in the right direction. Im waiting for this board to hit the shelves so I can get one. Im gonna OC the D805 and wait till the Conroes drop in price a little. Even at 3.4 gig the cheap little D805 kicks pretty good! Ive got 2 systems and the D805 is kicking my OC'd northwoods butt! One good ATI X1800 will do fine unless your rich....

 

[smelly_feet]

dont waste your time getting a p4D series chip whether it 800 or 900.
There's no point buying a chip with the intension of upgrading a year later.

Get the conroe 6300 or 6400. They are not that expensive.

It runs cooler, will outperform any of the p4D chips which underwent the price drop, and it will save you from having to change the cpu in a years time.

or better yet.....see what AMD brings to the market to compete with conroe.


cheers

 

[rodney_ws]

I'd say get a low-end C2D and a good motherboard... if you're the type that upgrades often, Intel will be releasing a quad-core CPU that'll work in existing motherboards... so says Tom's (got an teaser article on the front page)

 

[redraider_gamer]

If your gonna build now I recomend getting an Abit AW9D-MAX board with any P4 D8xx or D9xx series chips the prices just dropped on the chips due to the release of the Core2 Duo. The board supports the Core2 Duo chips also and you will be able to upgrade CPUs as time passes. Take a look at the article on the D805 chip running @ 4.1 gig on Toms. That will get you thinking in the right direction. Im waiting for this board to hit the shelves so I can get one. Im gonna OC the D805 and wait till the Conroes drop in price a little. Even at 3.4 gig the cheap little D805 kicks pretty good! Ive got 2 systems and the D805 is kicking my OC'd northwoods butt! One good ATI X1800 will do fine unless your rich....

Go for for Core 2 for sure! Any of the model are the right choice right now. Get an X1900XT or 7900GT and wait for DX10 for the next upgrade. I would get a SLi or Crossfire board as being prepared for the future never hurts, but I wouldn't do SLi or Crossfire now unless your running a 22" or bigger screen at Max resolution.

My Rig:
Core 2 Duo X6800 Conroe (Stock Clock for Now)
Intel D975XBXLRK
Thermaltake Big Typhoon HSF
2 GB Corsair Pro PC6400 4-4-4-15
74GB 10k Raptor
ATI X1900XTX
SB Audigy 2 ZS
NEC DVD OEM Burners (x2)
Ultra X-Finity 600w SLi Certified PS
Gigabyte 3D Aurora Case

 

[Tiger89]

Yeah that's what i have been thinking. I work for a computer reseller so i have the advantage for the discounted pricing on processors. I think your right about getting a low end then upgrading to the quad. What do you think those would start at, price wise??

 

[Tiger89]

Hahha, who still has a machine like that.

 

[Slobogob]

If your gonna build now I recomend getting an Abit AW9D-MAX board with any P4 D8xx or D9xx series chips the prices just dropped on the chips due to the release of the Core2 Duo. The board supports the Core2 Duo chips also and you will be able to upgrade CPUs as time passes. Take a look at the article on the D805 chip running @ 4.1 gig on Toms. That will get you thinking in the right direction. Im waiting for this board to hit the shelves so I can get one. Im gonna OC the D805 and wait till the Conroes drop in price a little. Even at 3.4 gig the cheap little D805 kicks pretty good! Ive got 2 systems and the D805 is kicking my OC'd northwoods butt! One good ATI X1800 will do fine unless your rich....

That´s not the smartest way. Either wait and then buy all components at once or just keep on with your old rig. If you need a full upgrade in the end and keep buying parts over a time frame of 3 to 4 month you end up with a half-upgraded computer. Once you get the processor you want, you´ll notice that there are mainboards that are cheaper AND better than the one you bought 3 months ago. Same is true for ALL other components.
It makes no sense buying stuff and then waiting for other components to show up since computer parts age really fast and constantly become cheaper. The only valid reason would be if you can strike a bargain that is sooo unbelievably good NOW that it still would be considered a really good deal in three to four months - a really, rare thing.
The only exception should be if you burned a part of your old rig or if you fried it totally.

I don´t really stick to my own advice either - i bought a Pentium D 820 as an "upgrade" from a Socket A XP 2600, but i would never claim that it was a clever upgrade either... :lol:

 

[myfree]

I am going to be building a new system soon and started pricing various barebones configs + looking at the CPU Charts here at Tom's.

What I find is unless you are looking to buy at least a core 2 duo E6600, then you have to consider the AM2 X2 4600/4800 as well. The E6400 wins no more than 4 or 5 bechmarks vs those 2 AM2 chips and none by more than 10 to 15%. Also, everytime I put together a system whether through an online configurator or from parts, the AM2 system comes out $100 to $175 cheaper. The reason is the motherboards and CPU price. One can get comparable quality Mb's a little cheaper for AM2 - I'm talking feature sets (additional SATA ports, 1394 ports etc.) not equivalent brand for each platform.

So the bottom line, unless you don't think that AMD is going to come through on their promise of socket AM2 compatibility for the K8L and 4X4 AND you are prepared to spend the premium (on price) for a E6600 or higher - the AM2 platform is not to be overlooked.

I'm still at least 4 to 6 weeks from being ready to buy but at todays prices and performance, the AM2 X2 4600/4800 are just as viable as the E6300/E6400.

Because Intel doesn't take the performance crown outright unless you have an extra $100 or so to spend on the E6600 or even more on the E6700.