My new Core 2 Duo rig!

[Zambini]

[edit] READ BELOW! Changed from X2 => C2Duo E6400, but I cant change the subject of this thread :( [/edit]

All text below the *=*=* is original post.

Here's my rig I ordered:
Intel Core 2 Duo E6400 Conroe 2.13GHz 2M sharing L2 Cache LGA 775 Processor - Retail$220.00 http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16819115004

GIGABYTE GA-965P-DS3 Socket T (LGA 775) Intel P965 Express ATX Intel Motherboard - Retail$142.99 http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16813128012

ZALMAN CNPS9500 AT 2 Ball CPU Cooling Fan/Heatsink - Retail http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16835118003

HIPER HPU-4S580-MS ATX12V 580W Power Supply 100 - 120V - Retail $99.99 http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16817128003

Western Digital Caviar SE16 WD2500KS 250GB 7200 RPM 16MB Cache SATA 3.0Gb/s Hard Drive - OEM $77.99 http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16822144701

Seagate Barracuda 7200.10 (Perpendicular Recording) ST3250620AS 250GB 7200 RPM 16MB Cache SATA 3.0Gb/s Hard Drive - OEM
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16822144701

CORSAIR XMS2 1GB (2 x 512MB) 240-Pin DDR2 SDRAM DDR2 800 (PC2 6400) Dual Channel Kit Desktop Memory - Retail
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=N82E16820145040

Microsoft Windows XP Pro SP2b 1pk w/Upgrade Coupon for Vista - OEM$139.99 http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16832116175















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Hey guys :P I am lookin to build myself a new rig.

Not quite sure what my budget cap is, probably less than a grand.
My dad said if I gave my current PC [less the 6800] to my mom and set it up for her, and took out one of the HDs and made an external for it, he would pay for a new rig :mrgreen:

So far, this is what I have (only spent my 5th period researching);

Processor - AMD Athlon 64 X2 4400+ Toledo 2.2GHz 2 x 1MB L2 Cache Socket 939 Dual Core Processor - OEM $198.00
Motherboard - DFI LANPARTY UT nF4 SLI-DR Expert Socket 939 NVIDIA nForce4 SLI ATX AMD Motherboard - Retail $149.99

Still Required:
Heatsink (going with that one Zalman thats all copper)
Power Supply (550W)
Hard Drive (2 x 250gb SATA 3gb/s)
Optic Drive (Lightscribe dvd-r/dvd+r/cd-r/cd-rw)
Case -Will look @ and pick up at local Fry's
Memory - already have: Corshair XMS 2 x 1gb, but I need to buy some cheapie ram for my mom's rig, possibly just 1gb
Video Card - already have my 6800, hoping that one of my friends is going to buy it so I can buy something like a 7950 or the likes , but I still need a cheapie video card for my mom's rig.
Winblow$ XP Home- DAMNIT. I HATE paying for this.


I'm gonna keep researching in 5th period, and hopefully this site isnt blocked at my school so I can check up on this thread + other threads......

If there's anything I missed [component-wise] tell me, or if you have any suggestions for what pieces I should get I'd greatly appreciate it :)

[screwballl]

personally I would go for a Core2Duo rig...
something like a E6300/6400 with a similarly priced mobo.

also going dual core, it is better to go with XP Pro as I have heard of previous problems of dual core + XP Home

[Zambini]

Which is better for games?
Cuz thats pretty much what I do on this PC

[stinger608]

A very good place to maybe start, not that the links you have are not great, but you might take a look at HardwareLogic's recommended hardware.

http://hardwarelogic.com/news/125/

There is a lot of great advice at putting together a system within these recommended lists. A person can mix and match also.

[wtcnbrwndo4u]

Definitely get a Core 2 Duo rig. Drop AMD.

Grab some Corsair Value Select for the cheapie RAM for your mom's rig. And please don't cheap out on the PSU. Get brand names bro. Antec TruePowers are relatively cheap and offer great performance/wattage.

[drew and not u]

The recommended hardware guide stinger linked is a great resource. And as was mentioned, there's almost no reason to not go with a core2 at that pricepoint. If you wanted a $100 processor then AMD would be the way to go, but you could get an E6300 that would OC like crazy and end up being much much faster then an AMD based system in both gaming, multimedia, and content creation.

[Zambini]

I doubt I'll be doing any OCing, I have 0 room for instability or possible muck-ups, (mostly due to the fact that I will have little or no money when this is done) even if you only need air to cool an E6300 that's up to 3.0ghz. (Note; I've also heard that the 4400+ can go up to 2.7 using stock heatsink and voltage, not that it matters)


And looking at the numbers, the 4400+ beats the e6300 in a couple categories, having 2ghz HT (which I assume equates to FSB? not sure about that) and is almost 400mhz faster, not to mention the L1 cache on the 4400 is 4 times that of the e6300.

Unless I'm looking at the wrong numbers.

[drew and not u]

Regardless of the specs, even the lowest end E6300 will beat the 4400+ in nearly every category. The architecture is simply much more efficient then current AMD offerings (think about how AMD chips were so much more powerful then the much faster P4s). I understand not wanting to risk instability or damage, but even with stock voltage and the stock heat-sink, the E6300 and E6400 have a huge amount of overclocking headroom, and the ability to surpass FX-62 prowess.

[Zambini]

Are there some benches of both oc'd rigs somewhere [preferably from the same site, as they would have equal secondary components]? I would search now, but im 'working' on my physics project. Afterwards I'll google the crap out of it though.

[drew and not u]

I'm sure you can find OC'd comparisons, but here is a huge chart with tons of CPUs at stock speeds in many different benchmarks.

Here is an article comparing the two platforms. You'll notice how the E6300 beats out even the 4800+X2 in many benchmarks.