Building a CPC (Companion PC)

[One4yu2c]

Bork, you're on the right path with that second build proposal. As pointed out, a system built today will inevitably feel long in the tooth five years from now as more demanding applications surface. Two things you can do to help:

1) Put yourself in a position to upgrade, which will extend the life of your system.

2) Venture into the world of overclocking. To clarify, reckless overclocking (cranking the volts, disregarding temperatures, not checking for stability, etc) is asking for trouble, but when performed intelligently, an OC'd system is at very little risk of hardware failure. We're currently working on a extensive OC'ing guide for the site that will touch on this and explain the 'whys', as well as a variety of other topics, so stay tuned.
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If you're really wanting to focus on a future-proof system (and I use that term loosely), you'd be looking at an X38 chipset with DDR3 memory. But the smart build will focus on a solid P35 board at a fraction of the price, and taking advantage of DDR2's pricing while it's still rock bottom. To put it into perspective, you can pick up an enthusiast level 4GB kit of DDR2 for about $100 less than a 2GB kit of DDR3. Combined with what you'll save on the motherboard, that could open up new worlds in the GPU department, which will have the greatest impact on your gaming performance, both today and tomorrow.

And finally, be sure and browse our Recommended Lists.

[Bokranator]

i think ill go with the ddr2 x38 but which one would you suggest? i quite like the gigabyte rendition however my main concern is getting an x38 that can take 1600 cpu's.

[screwballl]

Theres a problem, most current X38s do not support the 1600MHz FSB (or it will with the CPU but not the memory). The current limitation of the X38 is max DDR3-1333 (but some board makers may update their BIOS in the future to support it on DDR3 boards)

[Bokranator]

hmm... is ddr3 a worthy investment now? it doesnt seem like it but if and only if the mother board will allow 1600 cpus to be used in the future via bios change or what not then so be it. motherboards are a troublesome thing lol.

Will it ever get to a point were northbridge and southbridges will not be enough to run the futures programs?

I guess my main confusion was from my first pc being a windows 98 from time pc's which had more system locks on it then alcatraz had bolts. However it did run very well for the first years and ok up to last year. it allowed me to view hl for the first time so im looking for a serious build to replace it.

i love computers lol.

[One4yu2c]

Whether DDR3 is a worthy investment right now or not depends on you. Compared to DDR2, whose pricing has plummeted below rock bottom, DDR3 looks grossly expensive. But on its own, DDR3 costs as much as DDR2 did last year, and about half as much as it did when it first debuted. It's right where it should be, and DDR2 is an anomaly.

It's the overall cost you need to look at, and how willing or unwilling you will be to upgrade your foundation. You can build a P35/DDR2 based system and save a few hundred dollars, or jump to X38 and DDR3. I personally favor the former, but to each their own.

And if a RAM upgrade is a priority, there are DDR2/DDR3 hybrid motherboards out there.

[Bokranator]

i think shall go with the p35 idea for now i guess my weak area is really motherboards.

ive seen the gigabyte p35-dsr3 but could someone explain the differences im seeing here:

Newegg.com - GIGABYTE GA-P35-DS3R LGA 775 Intel P35 ATX Intel Motherboard - Retail

the top one at new egg has 8 usb ports and looks rather bare lol

the one below is the one from scan and although obscure doesnt look the same at all

Computer hardware and software at amazing prices, available online from Scan Computers UK

whats going on?

[polobunny]

Originally Posted by Bokranator

i think shall go with the p35 idea for now i guess my weak area is really motherboards.

ive seen the gigabyte p35-dsr3 but could someone explain the differences im seeing here:

Newegg.com - GIGABYTE GA-P35-DS3R LGA 775 Intel P35 ATX Intel Motherboard - Retail

the top one at new egg has 8 usb ports and looks rather bare lol

the one below is the one from scan and although obscure doesnt look the same at all

Computer hardware and software at amazing prices, available online from Scan Computers UK

whats going on?

Variations between products can occur to comply with American/European standards. I believe both are the same model, maybe simply different versions.

[Bokranator]

so on the european version which i presume this to be i can still oc fsb up to 1600 which is marked on the american version? (i understand no oc is a certainty but no fear in hoping)

[polobunny]

GIGABYTE - Product - Motherboard - Overview - GA-P35-DS3R (rev. 2.1)
Look at all the different versions. Right under the board name there's a link to older revisions.

Edit: The image over scan looks to be Rev 1.0
GIGABYTE - Product - Motherboard - Overview - GA-P35-DS3R (rev. 1.0)

[azianai]

just saying you may want to hold off and get a 9000 series vid card. If you're gonna try to "future-proof" your computer, may wanna spring for the 8800GTS G92 as its near GTX performance. Ofcourse the highest way to go is to drop down 600+ for the Ultra lol.
Or just wait a week or 2 and get the 9800GX2