CPU And Cooler
Processor: AMD Phenom II X4 925
The quad-core AMD Phenom II X4 925 has four 512 KB L2 repositories and a heaping 6 MB of shared L3 cache. This 45 nm Deneb-based processor runs at 2.8 GHz and has a 95 W thermal design limit. Our C3 stepping HDX925WFGMBOX has since been deactivated, but the older C2 revision is now back in stock.
Read Customer Reviews of AMD's Phenom II X4 925
CPU Cooler: AMD Retail Boxed Heatsink & Fan
Unfortunately, this boxed cooler uses a small, all-aluminum heatsink, and not the copper heatpipe-based design bundled with the more expensive 125 W Black Edition chips.
The thin 70 mm x 70 mm x15 mm PWM fan is fairly quiet at idle, but easily audible as it approaches its 3000+ RPM maximum speed.
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i think orange looks spiffy
worst case in the world.
"I’ll certainly entertain the possibility of Intel’s newly-available Core i3-2100 for the next SBM."
Have fun overclocking that rig!
I'd choose my O/C'd i3-530 @ 3.75 GHz (stock, air-cooled) over any of the new Sandy Bridge offerings any day.
The 2100 just cannot compete with that- it's marginally better than a first-gen i3, and it cannot be pushed harder.
*Hopes Bulldozer will be ready by that time*
Pretty darn good for $500!
Good Build!
Need the optical drive?
now finaly a low SBM build I like.
++ on the PSU (finaly not a 500W+ waste)
+ on the case (looks decent)
Pretty good build for the $. I would've gone with the Athlon x4 or x3 to keep things under budget, but that is just me. There are plenty of GPU options in the ~$170 price range. I think you might've got one of "those" GPU's that you read about. This is why "expecting" OC'ing abilities with whatever part you buy, shouldn't be taken for granted. Buy what you can afford and if you get a good OC on your parts, feel blessed
I would've taken the savings on the CPU and bought better RAM or maybe even a different case, but that is just nit picking a bit
Would someone please explain the point of comparing the old SBM to the new one if there isn't a list of the parts from the SBM done in the past? These have always been annoying when the reader is forced to look back to December for a detailed list of parts. This has been practiced for years here. It makes no sense comparing to something the reader has no idea as to the parts being used in the past. Seriously....
Edit: Why Did I get a Minus one the second after my post was submitted?
Very nice build for the price. However, I simply can't help but think for another hundred or so dollars a Sandy Bridge build would be worth saving up another couple of months for by the person who had a very tight budget. It's what I'd recommend to a friend, unless he/she had an immediate need that couldn't wait.
Would someone please explain the point of comparing the old SBM to the new one if there isn't a list of the parts from the SBM done in the past? These have always been annoying when the reader is forced to look back to December for a detailed list of parts. This has been practiced for years here. It makes no sense comparing to something the reader has no idea as to the parts being used in the past. Seriously....Edit: Why Did I get a Minus one the second after my post was submitted?
There is a list, but it requires reading the story through page eight, at least =)
Nice system! I don't know if a SB cpu will be much better. Bear in mind that the SB would have to be the i3 due to price. And as a Dual-Core with no ability to overclock what-so-ever, it may have a heck of a time going up against a true quad-core. On this config, I would have dropped down from the X4 925 to the X4 640. Then used the saved $25 towards a 6870 ( http://www.newegg.com/Product/Prod [...] la-search) Cheapest at Newegg is $190 (not to mention a $20 rebate, that brings it down to $170).
Actually there is a new review .. sort of ... for the 2100 in which it shows some pretty interesting numbers, and it's available here:
http://www.phoronix.com/scan.php?p [...] 2100&num=1
Numbers aside, looking forward to the next SBM.
Would someone please explain the point of comparing the old SBM to the new one if there isn't a list of the parts from the SBM done in the past? These have always been annoying when the reader is forced to look back to December for a detailed list of parts. This has been practiced for years here. It makes no sense comparing to something the reader has no idea as to the parts being used in the past. Seriously....Edit: Why Did I get a Minus one the second after my post was submitted?
I hope Tomshardware editors never stoop to writing reviews geared to people that won't make the effort to look up past articles.
yeah because who would want to live in a world that's convenient......
delete please!
There is a list, but it requires reading the story through page eight, at least =)
Sorry, can't read with my foot in my mouth.
Nice system! I don't know if a SB cpu will be much better. Bear in mind that the SB would have to be the i3 due to price. And as a Dual-Core with no ability to overclock what-so-ever, it may have a heck of a time going up against a true quad-core. On this config, I would have dropped down from the X4 925 to the X4 640. Then used the saved $25 towards a 6870 ( http://www.newegg.com/Product/Prod [...] la-search) Cheapest at Newegg is $190 (not to mention a $20 rebate, that brings it down to $170).
I was thinking it would be more in my first post, but a quad-core SB can be had for $60 more, a mainboard can be had for $5 more, so now that I've actually looked it up, you can get into an i5 Sandy Bridge with a decent Asrock mainboard for a total of another $65. Overclocking on the stock cooler? My guess is results would be similar.
That would be a 13% increase in price, and I'd be willing to bet the overall performance difference would be more than that.
The better you know your software needs, the better you can tailor your system. I think a lot of gamers would shift as you would for the better graphics card, but that would actually hurt some games that need the stronger CPU. World of Warcraft is an example - while Cataclysm brought changes that make the video card much more important, the CPU is still a major player and when player populations get high the most critical element. It's something I think FPS multiplayer gamers might think about as well.