Quad-core build for under $1000?

[Yellowhello]

Hi guys,

I may be doing a build for a friend. He wants quad-core, but under $1000 for the whole machine (sans OS). Is it possible? In addition to a quad-core, he wants decent all around performance but graphics isn't all the important. Something like a 8600GT or a X1950GT is plenty.

I was thinking, maybe AMD Phenom is a good choice for this build? Those quad-cores are cheaper than the Q6600, what do you guys think?

Here's what I was thinking:

Newegg.com - AMD Phenom 9600 Agena 2.3GHz 4 x 512KB L2 Cache 2MB L3 Cache Socket AM2+ 95W Quad-Core Black Edition Processor - Retail
Newegg.com - DFI LP UT 790FX-M2R AM2 AMD 790FX ATX AMD Motherboard - Retail
Newegg.com - Crucial Ballistix 2GB (2 x 1GB) 240-Pin DDR2 SDRAM DDR2 800 (PC2 6400) Dual Channel Kit Desktop Memory - Retail
Newegg.com - GECUBE HV195PG3-D3(RoHS) Radeon X1950PRO 256MB 256-bit GDDR3 PCI Express x16 HDCP Ready CrossFire Supported Video Card - Retail
Newegg.com - Antec Sonata III 500 Black 0.8mm cold rolled steel ATX Mid Tower Computer Case 500W Power Supply - Retail
Newegg.com - Western Digital Caviar SE16 WD2500KS 250GB 7200 RPM 16MB Cache SATA 3.0Gb/s Hard Drive - OEM

Comes to $990 (no special offers/MIR's) or $895 (with instant money off)


Thanks!

[polobunny]

Ouch, that's an expensive motherboard seriously cutting on the budget. Personally, I'd wait for Q9300 from Intel. End of February, start of March apparently. Should be round $299. There's tons of interesting motherboards out there and probably cheaper, too.

[gvblake22]

Why do you have to have quad core? At this point, you're still better off with a faster dual core than a slower quad core. And as polobunny mentioned, you can get a lot of cheaper AM2+ motherboards...

I would suggest an E8400 + P35 or X48 build.

[simple_inhibition]

since graphics arent his main priority, change that motherboard out for THIS GIGABYTE GA-MA770-DS3 for $109.99. use the saved money for a bigger hard drive and an HD3850.

[Yellowhello]

I dunno, he kinda anal about this whole quad-core thing... so a faster dual-core is really better than a slower quad-core? He does a lot of multitasking a stuff (he does a lot of audio editing) so maybe the quad-core is a must?

I agree with you guys on the motherboard, I just thought it was a cool mobo... but I'll look around for a cheaper one.

He's looking to buy really soon, I don't know if he wants to wait until March (or the end of Feb.). So what do you guys recommend if he were to buy tomorrow?

[gvblake22]

Take a look at this chart. The E6850 beats the Phenom 9600 in MP3 encoding by over a full minute. It also beats the Q6600 by 36 seconds. It will depend on the application (if the application is multi-threaded or not), but clock speed seems to be doing better than number of cores in most things these days.

[Yellowhello]

Originally Posted by gvblake22

Take a look at this chart. The E6850 beats the Phenom 9600 in MP3 encoding by over a full minute...

Oh wow... didn't know AMD was that far behind!

I'll try to convince him to get a dual-core.

[polobunny]

If he wants to buy now the hot thing really is the E8400. A nice P35 based mobo seems all advised, as Blake mentionned.

[Yellowhello]

OK, updated parts list:

Intel Core 2 Duo E8400 Wolfdale 3.0GHz 6MB L2 Cache LGA 775 65W Dual-Core Processor
DFI BloodIron P35-T2RL LGA 775 Intel P35 ATX Intel Motherboard
Crucial Ballistix Tracer 2GB (2 x 1GB) DDR2 800 (PC2 6400) Dual Channel Kit Desktop Memory
SAPPHIRE 100215L Radeon HD 3870 Video Card
Antec Sonata III 500 Black ATX Mid Tower Computer Case 500W Power Supply
Western Digital Caviar SE16 WD2500KS 250GB 7200 RPM 16MB Cache SATA 3.0Gb/s Hard Drive

Total: $855 before shipping/tax
Will the Antec PSU be able to run the 3870?

[gvblake22]

That PSU should be fine with that hardware (including the HD 3850).