Computer advice(What computer shall i buy ?)

[scy12]

I am consentrated to E8500 as it this dual core system is both cheaper and better that Intel's Quad processors.

I am also thinking that DDR2 memmory will be better at the moment.
The mainboard will acomodate this , i am looking at an X38 version.

Another thing i am thinking of buying is ATI Radeon 3870 .

So how do these choices look ?

 

[Balderstrom]

If we look over at ArsTechnica's last recommendations, for a Budget Box
they went w/
MOBO: Asus M2A-VM HDMI
CPU: AMD Athlon64 X2 4600+ Retail (Socket AM2)
RAM: 2-4 Gigs of DDR2 800

DDR3 performance-wise is not worth the price premium atm.

If you really want to go w/ Intel, the E8400 is much more bang for the buck, and OC's just as well as the E8500... and about $100 bucks cheaper.
The E2180 is still a wicked deal, but then yer coming in on the low end.

That Radeon actually looks good, I haven't even considered one since my 9800Pro went kaput a few years back, and replaced it with a Nvidia 7600GT.

 

[Aramazd]

I am consentrated to E8500 as it this dual core system is both cheaper and better that Intel's Quad processors.

Looking on Newegg the E8500 is $80 more than the E8400. Get an E8400 or a Q6600.

I am also thinking that DDR2 memmory will be better at the moment.
The mainboard will acomodate this , i am looking at an X38 version.

DDR2 is the way to go. How much are you looking to spend?

Another thing i am thinking of buying is ATI Radeon 3870 .

Go with it or the 9600GT, whichever you can get cheaper.

So how do these choices look ?

A couple questions:
How much do you want to spend?
Do you have any parts your planning on reusing?

 

[scy12]

Looking on Newegg the E8500 is $80 more than the E8400. Get an E8400 or a Q6600.


DDR2 is the way to go. How much are you looking to spend?

Go with it or the 9600GT, whichever you can get cheaper.

A couple questions:
How much do you want to spend?
Do you have any parts your planning on reusing?

Looking on Newegg the E8500 is $80 more than the E8400. Get an E8400 or a Q6600.

How much difference in performance there is between those models (E8400 and E8500) ? And isn't Q6600 substantialy worse than the E8500 model ?

DDR2 is the way to go. How much are you looking to spend?

I actually chose Two CORSAIR DOMINATOR DDR2 4GB (2X2GB) PC2-8500 (1066MHZ) CL5 DUAL which costed around 287 Euros. For 8Gigabyte of memory i think that is a good price. (I will be paying max Around 300 Euros for memory) I will use 64 bit software to accomodate it. It seems right now that DDR3 is a waste.

Go with it or the 9600GT, whichever you can get cheaper.

Fine.


Motherboard is something i am completely undecided on . Regarding the choices i made above which one should i buy ?

 

[lutzj]

How much difference in performance there is between those models (E8400 and E8500) ? And isn't Q6600 substantialy worse than the E8500 model ?

The difference between E8400 and E8500 is a mere 166MHZ; you barely notice the difference and it's definitely not worth a 50% price hike. Q6600 has a lower clock speed than both the E8400 and E8500, but has more cache and two extra cores, so it'll be much better in multithreaded applications or heavy multitasking. You would also want to check out the new 45nm quad cores; they're supposed to be very overclockable.

I actually chose Two CORSAIR DOMINATOR DDR2 4GB (2X2GB) PC2-8500 (1066MHZ) CL5 DUAL which costed around 287 Euros. For 8Gigabyte of memory i think that is a good price. (I will be paying max Around 300 Euros for memory) I will use 64 bit software to accomodate it. It seems right now that DDR3 is a waste.

DDR3 is a waste, especially in a relatively low-cost machine. For the same reason, I'd hold off on getting 8GB of memory; you probably won't need it, and it can only get cheaper in the furture. As a rule of thumb, try to spend less on memory than on your processor/ gfx card; it'll keep you from overspending. 287 Euros is definitely WAY too much.

 

[Aramazd]

How much difference in performance there is between those models (E8400 and E8500) ?

Minimal, none if there both overclocked to the same rate, IIRC.

And isn't Q6600 substantialy worse than the E8500 model ?

Depends. Sometimes the higher Ghz of the E8500 is better, and sometimes the extra 2 cores give the advantage to the Q6600. Quad-core will be the way to go as more software will be able to benefit from many cores.

I actually chose Two CORSAIR DOMINATOR DDR2 4GB (2X2GB) PC2-8500 (1066MHZ) CL5 DUAL which costed around 287 Euros. For 8Gigabyte of memory i think that is a good price. (I will be paying max Around 300 Euros for memory) I will use 64 bit software to accomodate it. It seems right now that DDR3 is a waste.

DDR3 doesn't offer enough performence except at higher clock rates (DDR3 1600) and are too expensive.

Motherboard is something i am completely undecided on . Regarding the choices i made above which one should i buy ?

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813127033
I don't know if a Q6600 would work on this as the FSB is too fast.

 

[scy12]

Thanks from both. I get the consesus is so far "Go with 8400 use 4Gb of memory because 8 GB is too expensive". Alright. What do you think about the graphic card of the systrem ? Is 3870 the best i can choose ? Is there any alternative ?

 

[Aramazd]

Thanks from both. I get the consesus is so far "Go with 8400 use 4Gb of memory because 8 GB is too expensive". Alright. What do you think about the graphic card of the systrem ? Is 3870 the best i can choose ? Is there any alternative ?

The 3870 is a mid range card, along with the 9600GT. If you want a faster card, there is the 8800GTS 512MB or a slightly weaker 8800GT.
Also, both nvidia and AMD are releasing new cards next week. AMDs new cards might be good to look at, but the new nvidia cards will be expensive.

 

[jono256]

Nvidia's new gfx has come out!
Basically they kick ass and cost an arm and a leg (or half your liver and a kidney)

About the 9600 vs 3870, it depends: do you use anti-aliasing?
If you do, buy the 9600. If you plan on buying the same card down the road, get ATI, Xfire is better than SLI (in % gained from a 2nd card) and it's easier to do motherboard wise.

If you can't choose get the cheapest, they're quite similar in performance.
If you can wait, ATI is releasing new stuff soon in the mid-range, resulting in cheaper products within a month depending on where you live.

On the rest of the config: you don't need a 1.21 JigaWatts PSU, it's just marketing; 500W is the max you'll ever need. Crazy fast memory is useless, but never buy brandless RAM, I recommend G.skill: overclockable ram for a decent price, otherwise go with *OCZ-Corsair-Geil-whatever* value RAM.

Get a QuadCore if you use Adobe, video/music encoding and the like, or a dualCore if games are the most intensive task (except for Supreme Commander, it take advantage of up to 3 cores).

As for the motherboard, it depends on overclocking, number of USB/firewire/esata ports, SLI compatibility and expected lifetime.

 

[FriendlyFire]

E8400 is a better choice, cheaper and just as Overclockable.
DDR2 ? Is pretty much standard dont bother with the more expensive DD3 ?
3870 Is fine a bit patchy for some of the newer games a 512 9600GT is preferable buy. If it wasnt for it strange low performance I would recommend it over the nivedia counterpart.

 

[scy12]

The BEAST is ready.

Here are the specifications :

8400 Processor
8Gb 1066 Mh DDR2 Memmory
9800 Graphic card (Found a very nice price for it , but yes i know the new ones are coming ...)
the P70 Diamond motherboard
and a bazillion of coolers , an 750 power supply and others...

I already bought it and i am using it right now.

So how good is it ?

 

[lutzj]

The BEAST is ready.

Here are the specifications :

8400 Processor
8Gb 1066 Mh DDR2 Memmory
9800 Graphic card (Found a very nice price for it , but yes i know the new ones are coming ...)
the P70 Diamond motherboard
and a bazillion of coolers , an 750 power supply and others...

I already bought it and i am using it right now.

So how good is it ?

Looks pretty nice, except for the fact that it doesn't have a 4850 in it.

 

[Aramazd]

The BEAST is ready.

Here are the specifications :

8400 Processor
8Gb 1066 Mh DDR2 Memmory
9800 Graphic card (Found a very nice price for it , but yes i know the new ones are coming ...)
the P70 Diamond motherboard
and a bazillion of coolers , an 750 power supply and others...

I already bought it and i am using it right now.

So how good is it ?

It looks great.

A quick look at some benchmarks shows that the 4850 is comparible to the 9800GTX and only $199. Way to go AMD!

 

[scy12]

Looks pretty nice, except for the fact that it doesn't have a 4850 in it.

It looks great.

A quick look at some benchmarks shows that the 4850 is comparible to the 9800GTX and only $199. Way to go AMD!

Thanks ! The thing is where i live you have to wait at least two months to get the graphic cards (and other computer related staff) after they are released.

Anyway the 9800 has not shown any sign of weakness so far.

 

[Zelig]

I am consentrated to E8500 as it this dual core system is both cheaper and better that Intel's Quad processors.

It's not.

In short:

1. In the best comparison in favour of the E8400, the E8400 will be 25% faster than the Q6600.

2. In the best comparison in favour of the Q6600, the Q6600 will be 60% faster than the E8400.

Situations approaching scenario 1 are only likely to arise in current/older games at low resolutions, and in current/older cpu intensive tasks which take very little time to complete in any case.

Situations approaching scenario 2 are going to occur more frequently in future games and programs, as well as in many multitasking situations.

 

[FriendlyFire]

HD4850 isnt out yet and we have the "leaked" benchmarks to look at. Very nice performance from ATI
Though a 512MB 9600GT here is $150 au vs HD4850 $230 au

----------------

I am in the same situation
It was either the older Quad Q6600 55m, or the newer Dual Core E8400 45nm.
In the end a year or two from now you can bet both CPUs will be pretty much obsolete.

 

[Aramazd]

HD4850 isnt out yet and we have the "leaked" benchmarks to look at. Very nice performance from ATI
Though a 512MB 9600GT here is $150 au vs HD4850 $230 au

It's out here Also the 4850 is on par with the 9800GTX, not the 9600GT.

I am in the same situation
It was either the older Quad Q6600 55m, or the newer Dual Core E8400 45nm.
In the end a year or two from now you can bet both CPUs will be pretty much obsolete.

Nehelem comes out early next year, IIRC, but it will use a different socket, and he'd need a new motherboard.

 

[lutzj]

2. In the best comparison in favour of the Q6600, the Q6600 will be 60% faster than the Q6600.

A processor faster than itself? THAT WOULD BE AWESOME!

 

[Zelig]

A processor faster than itself? THAT WOULD BE AWESOME!

Oops.