Core 2 Duo or AM2 Advice?

Mista.Gee · 12 Dec 2006 at 13:34

I'll probably end up go with the DS3 is it currently the best choice of Motherboard to use for the new Core 2 Duos?

Also is it worth me going for the 6400 instead of the 6300 or not?

Apologies for all the questions just want to build a decent all round PC.

Fr0dders · 12 Dec 2006 at 14:43

geepee said:
Gigabyte GA_965P_DS3 (Socket 775) PCI-Express DDR2 Motherboard - Retail.
Intel Core 2 DUO E6300 "LGA775 Allendale" 1.86GHz (1066FSB) - Retail.

And your saying this is the best choice to go for gaming etc.

yes

the 6300 is a very overclockable chip, the intel boards arent overclockable at all, so you wouldnt be able to overclock that nice Core 2 Duo e6300 which is why we advise against them. Anything from brands like asus, gigabyte etc.. will be fine for overclocking, so you can get the most out of your Core 2 Duo

the DS3 is a good board, and the Core 2 Duo 6300 is a good chip, it cant be beaten for £110.

Fr0dders · 12 Dec 2006 at 14:44

geepee said:
I'll probably end up go with the DS3 is it currently the best choice of Motherboard to use for the new Core 2 Duos?

Also is it worth me going for the 6400 instead of the 6300 or not?

Apologies for all the questions just want to build a decent all round PC.

not if your on a tight budget, you can get that speed increase with a bit of bios tweaking.

lots of people have got C2D 6300 thats clock to 6800 speeds of 2.9ghz.

geepee said:
Is there any particular reason why i should not go with the Intel DP965LT 965 (Socket 775) PCI-Express DDR2 Motherboard?

Don't think DFI Infinity 975X (Socket 775) PCI-Express DDR2 Motherboard will be on offer next week as i'm placing the order not until then.

Intel boards are woefull at overclocking, in fact they dont have half the functionality that over boards have. Dont even think they allow vcore adjustment. Buy a DFI, buy a Gigabyte, buy the Asus P5b i suggested, but anything other than an intel board

mcwildcard · 12 Dec 2006 at 14:54

easyrider said:
Its not the DS3 and 6300 will cost you around

£215

You can get that down to £200 if you shop around.

Mista.Gee · 12 Dec 2006 at 15:57

Yea i have been looking around.

dheyworth1981 · 12 Dec 2006 at 18:44

Cant shop around its a taboo subject around here

Coming from a overclocking noob, I was suprised how much the e6300 could be boosted by. 1.86ghz to 3.22ghz with ease.

As soon as you get it, post on here that you are thinking of overclocking, and you will be flooded with easy and safe instructions on how to overclock. And apparently the current batch are good OC'ers

Even I can get you as far as I did.

I read somewhere about someone OC'ing their AMD X2 4200+ and getting a SuperPI 1M score of 36s.....on my 3.22 e6300, im around the 18s mark (double the speed)

I also read that the e6300 is a bad choice if you aren't overclocking. That was my ideal at first but given the vast wealth of info on this site, I would!

Millwall.FC · 12 Dec 2006 at 22:15

easyrider said:
Nicely put,

The die Hard AMD fans just dont get it!

I notice the people suggesting AM2 have AM2 rigs themselves.

lol, brand loyalty and fanboys make me laugh

tutu · 12 Dec 2006 at 22:24

I've read this thread with great interest. I've only ever owned AMD systems (whenever I upgrade they seem to be on top!). But this time I am seriously considering a C2D system - because they are simply more powerful.

Is it possible for 65nm to bring anything more to the AMD table? I'm sure a die shrink may allow higher clocks, but it won't effect how many pipelines it has etc. so C2D will still be more powerful? (slightly simplyfing things here)

So if I pickup a 6600 - how high can it go on Thermalright Ultra-120 with a relatively quiet 120mm fan? Or is there a better cooler? Is watercooling recommended? How much higher? Is there any "noob" kits? My case us a Lian-Li PC-7A Plus (120mm fans so it's nice and quiet). Is there an all in one watercooling case? (that is quiet!). Good overclocking memory? Is 620W PSU enough?

Why are the nforce 680 motherboards so expensive - I get the feeling they are really pushing it too much (£250 for an ASUS!) - £150 was enough but that is beyond a joke.

When are the 1333fsb c2d out?

PS Sorry to hijack the thread - Intel noob here

Fr0dders · 12 Dec 2006 at 22:31

tutu said:
Is it possible for 65nm to bring anything more to the AMD table? I'm sure a die shrink may allow higher clocks, but it won't effect how many pipelines it has etc. so C2D will still be more powerful? (slightly simplyfing things here)

dont think anybody on here can really answer that, just provide a best guess. And that best guess is just what you say, a smiple die shrink wont bridge the current performance gap.

but we dont know for sure AMDs next processor will just be a die shrink. we'll have to wait and see

drunkenmonkey · 12 Dec 2006 at 23:09

hey some food for thought if your buying this rig to power a 8800 card

some review i read said you needed a core 2 duo x6800 to get the best out of it and anything less isnt gonna cut it,ie your wasting your dosh and might as well get something cheaper!

so if your gonna get a 8800 and are on a budget its gonna have tobe a 6300 with some overclocking!

http://tomshardware.co.uk/2006/11/29/geforce_8800_needs_the_fastest_cpu_uk/

sajtion · 13 Dec 2006 at 03:48

man this guy is delusional let him be lol
don't help him anymore cuz he ain't listening

pastymuncher · 13 Dec 2006 at 10:45

sajtion said:
man this guy is delusional let him be lol
don't help him anymore cuz he ain't listening

Did you not bother to read this thread at all? Geepee was the OP and he has already stated that he is going with a DS3 and either a 6300 or 6400. He came on here looking for advice and ended up getting flamed. Is it any wonder that he has'nt posted back. This started off as a help/suggestions thread and ended up turning into a flame war between a couple of people and then you come on here and post something idiotic like that. If you can't post something helpful then don't bother!! You have to remember that not everyone knows everything there is to know about pc's and components. That's why this forum, and many others, exist in the first place.

mishima · 13 Dec 2006 at 11:06

I'd wait till the new year if your not in any rush, by then CPU prices will have dropped with the introduction of the Intel Extreme! Thats what I'm gonna do, I've only ever built AMD systems but in the new year I will be investing in a C2D they might be a little bit more £££ but they offer better performance, who knows by Jan/Feb C2D may of dropped in price even closer to what X2's are atm.

MaX_PoWah · 13 Dec 2006 at 23:35

geepee said:
Gigabyte GA_965P_DS3 (Socket 775) PCI-Express DDR2 Motherboard - Retail.
Intel Core 2 DUO E6300 "LGA775 Allendale" 1.86GHz (1066FSB) - OEM

And your saying this is the best choice to go for gaming etc.

Thinking of going for this, but with a msi board as i have no faith in gigabyte to be honest, also not sure about the ram and cpu cooler, looking at the crucial anniversary stuff and a zalman atm, how would that cope with overclocking the chip ?

My shopping list currently looks like

MSI 975X Platinum PowerUP Edition (Socket 775) PCI-Express DDR2 Motherboard

Zalman CNPS9500-AT Aero Flower (Socket 775) CPU Cooler

Crucial 2GB (2x1GB) DDR2 PC2-5300C3 667MHz Tenth Anniversary Dual Channel Kit (TY2KIT12864AA663)

Intel Core 2 DUO E6400 "LGA775 Allendale" 2.13GHz (1066FSB) - Retail

which will be used with an x1800xt, a 74gb raptor, a 380w antec trueblue, and a audigy 4, can anybody see any problems with that ?

I must admit, msi boards have always been reliable and stable, but i have never acheived decent overclocking results with them, i want to be getting over 3ghz with this chip stable.

Margaret · 14 Dec 2006 at 00:18

Oliet_No1 said:
The FACT of the matter is that AM2 option is the cheaper option, its not better (thats not in question).

It is around 10% weaker but is maybe 15% cheaper = better bang for buck.

And i dont give a flying **** about brand loyalty either.

Now I know the original poster said he won't be overclocking, but however your statement is rather cringe-worthy.

To say a AM2 is a cheaper option compared to a Conroe is absolutely mental (Even if not overclocking, the ability IS there still) now I only have a E6300, but that's however been clocked to 3.3 Ghz Stable with no troubles, now last time I checked that is (as Holly would say) kicking bottom when compared to the Athlon FX-64 (I think that's the name) which is what? 450+ quid or so?

I went from a Athlon 64 3000+ / Geil Value 2GB@333 Mhz and these would not let me run BF2142 smoothly at Max with 4x AA (stuttered a bit with 2x AA) , loading times on BF2142 kick arse now also and it runs PERFECT on Max with 4x AA, and I can even have Supersampling and my graphics card set to High Quality!, it's like Zoom Zoom, like the Mazda advert!, Conroe kicks bottom!

AMD at this time make me giggle!

Anyway@ geepee, you can save a few extra quid by getting the S3 board instead of the DS3, I was told there is no difference except the DS3 has 'Solid Caps' (I'm not sure what that means however

)

easyrider · 14 Dec 2006 at 00:56

Man geepee is spamming the boards with a plethora of carp

hes now getting a 680i mobo.

mods

please delete

Mista.Gee · 14 Dec 2006 at 07:37

I'm quite entitled to make posts regarding information that i require before i make a purchase i can't see how i'm spamming to be honest.

I have no reason to boost my post count as i can't see what it will achieve in the long run. Don't know what your version of spamming is as i've not mentioned or advertised any other online retailer just made sensible posts for further information and stayed within the T&C of these boards provided by OcUK.

I've emailed OcUK and recieved a reply, that there is nothing wrong with my posts simply making enquires.

It is up to me what i do and choose for hardware and whos advice i wish to take.

Oliet_No1 · 14 Dec 2006 at 08:57

Just because he chooses to be 100% sure prior to spending his hard earned?

Surely a forum is a place for opinions/advice etc?, in someones world it appears that unless you buy E6300 and DS4 within 5 mins you are an idiot?

I know who's post's i'd delete.

SidewinderINC · 14 Dec 2006 at 09:25

Oliet_No1 said:
Just because he chooses to be 100% sure prior to spending his hard earned?

Surely a forum is a place for opinions/advice etc?, in someones world it appears that unless you buy E6300 and DS4 within 5 mins you are an idiot?

I know who's post's i'd delete.

this is not the point at all, the point is he has many threads open at one time saying he's buying all different things, so unless he is building 3 different systems its very confusing as to what he is actually buying half of the time.

Mista.Gee · 14 Dec 2006 at 09:35

I didn't say i was buying i said i'm currently looking to upgrade, and on this note i've just purchased.

Intel Core 2 DUO E6400 "LGA775 Allendale" 2.13GHz (1066FSB) - Retail.
EVGA nForce i680 (Socket 775) PCI-Express DDR2 Motherboard - Retail.
2GB (2x1GB) Corsair TwinX XMS2, DDR2 PC2-6400 (800), 240 Pins, Non-ECC Unbuffered, CAS 4-4-4-12, EPP - Retail.

Kudos to those who have helped and have put my mind at rest, also on another note those many threads amount to three and i didn't see OcUK complaining about the £550 quid they just took out of my bank account. So i don't think they would mind how many threads i made, all for a good cause.