Computer Died, Need help with Purchase Decision

[SlackMaster]

My old computer fried itself the other day and I am now in need of a replacement. I was hoping for to wait for the AMD-X2's to come down to a reasonable price, no such luck.

The PC will be used for video editing & gaming. I plan on running 1-2 gigs of Ram and will replace my video card at the same time I purchase the CPU & Mobo.

I am looking for a good combo to use for the next 6-12 months and will then be moved for use as a media PC.

Requirements (pretty much in order)
3000+ CPU speed
PCI-E support
Quiet Operation
4 DDR(DDRII,DDRIII) slots
4 SATA slots

I know for video editing the P4 is the way to go. But looking around it appears that to get a decent P4 Mobo you have to shell out a good bit more than for a good AMD64 mobo. I have no problems OC'ing but am not interested in a noisy PC (been through that already). Best option would be a M-ATX board but they do not seem to be very good.

Please give me your recommendations on the best bang for the buck given my requirements. My target price is $250-$300 for Mobo & CPU. If you have reommendations on the best bang for the buck video card please make those also.

What is the likelihood of an AMD price drop at the end of the month with the release of the X2?

 

[chuck232]

For video editing the X2s and Pentium Ds are pretty much undisputed, however the X2s are kinda expensive. But then for gaming you'll probably want to go with the A64 line so it's a toss-up.

In any case, chances of a price cut aren't very good since AMD already cut prices recently on some of the higher end A64s to make way for the expensive X2s.

You should probably look towards a 3000+ Venice along with a DFI LanPartyUT nF4 Ultra-D (other nF4 boards would also do). That'll overclock very wel if you get a nice HSF for it. (something like a CNPS7000 is quiet or a XP-90c with a quieter 92mm fan)

<A HREF="http://nfiniti.blogspot.com" target="_new">nfiniti plus one - my blog</A>

 

[SlackMaster]

Too bad the X2's & Pentium D's are so expensive, but not surprising.

I was pretty much figuring a nf4 ultra board.

Gaming is a pretty far second to video editing.

What does a Rev E CPU give me? The Venice replaces the Winchester correct? What is the advantage of the Venice? Been out touch with Hardware lately and I need to make a purchase in the next week or so.

 

[dunklegend]

<A HREF="http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=N82E16813123236" target="_new">http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=N82E16813123236</A>

Great nF4 ultra mobo!

 

[endyen]

The venice core has an improved ODMC, to better support 4 sticks of ram @ DDR400 speeds, supports SSE3, and generally has a higher max temp/ It also has a few other fine tuning adjustments.

 

[chuck232]

If gaming is a far second to video editing, you may be better off waiting til those Pentium Ds show up. They aren't actually going too expensive. The motherboards may be a little on the high side but the CPUs themselves are looking to start off at ~$250USD.

<A HREF="http://nfiniti.blogspot.com" target="_new">nfiniti plus one - my blog</A>