New System

simmonz · 14 Mar 2007 at 11:54

G'day fellas,

I'm looking at building a new machine pretty soon (aiming to start building in perhaps a month or so. My current rig is a AMD Athlon 64 4000+ (939), nForce motherboard, 2GB PC3200, 350GB HDD and a ATi X1950XT-X.

I'm not looking to upgrade my video card (yet)but the rest of the system i'm looking to improve. I'm a gamer at heart so games such as Crysis, Age of conan etc are going to be played often (and at a good graphics quality).

I've been tempted to make the swtich back to Intel but I've been hearing mixed reviews. Things such as DRM, overheating, slowing down which has put me off slightly. I did want to wait to see what AMD came back with (i was. how shall we say..not interested in AM2).

Obviously I'll be running Windows Vista (Ultimate) so i know im going to need a beefy system with all this (Aero gloss malarky).

You guys got any recommendations for me?

melbourne720 · 14 Mar 2007 at 12:05

How about this:-

Intel Core 2 DUO E6300 "LGA775 Allendale" 1.86GHz (1066FSB) - Retail
(£119.84)

Gigabyte GA_965P_DS4 (Socket 775) PCI-Express DDR2 Motherboard
(£111.61)

GeIL 2GB (2x1GB) PC6400C5 800MHz Value DDR2 Dual Channel Kit (GX22GB6400DC)
(£99.86)

Akasa Eclipse 62 Aluminium Case - No PSU
(£93.99)

Seagate Barracuda 7200.10 320GB ST3320620AS SATA-II 16MB Cache - OEM
(£66.96)

Samsung SH-183LBEBN 18x18 DVD±RW Dual Layer Serial ATA Lightscribe ReWriter (Black) - OEM
(£23.49)

Tuniq Tower 120 CPU Cooler
(£35.24)

Corsair HX 620W ATX2.2 Modular SLI Compliant PSU (CMPSU-620HXUK)
(£99.86)

Total : £663.72

simmonz · 14 Mar 2007 at 12:16

Would 2GB be enough for Vista? I've heard from various news feeds on the net that 4GB is whats needed for it to ren "efficiently".

I know nothing about Intel chips these days, it's been 5 years or so since i last used one. So i'm assuming Allendale is one of the top chip architectures for Intel (on a Kentsfield motherboard?).

Thanks for the help though

...just switching back to intel im never too sure which is which these days

melbourne720 · 14 Mar 2007 at 12:25

I'm not a VISTA user so I'm not sure, I think that the 4GB is a lot of scaremongering though TBH.

Allendale core is part of the Core 2 Duo set of chips. It has only half the cache of the Conroe core, but in all other aspects is a powerful chip. And it has good vfm. There is nothing particularly 'Kentsfield-like' about the DS4, it is a socket 775 motherboard that many people have had running at 400-500 FSB. Quad core is prohibitively expensive at the moment, and not used enough by games and other single apps to be useful in much other than multi-app work.

steve258 · 14 Mar 2007 at 12:30

simmonz said:
Things such as DRM... Snip

Sorry but what does DRM have to do with Intel C2Ds? :confused:

Yes 2Gb is fine... you can always add another 2Gb later if you want or wait till 2x 2Gb kit comes down in price.

Kentsfield is the code name for the quad-core chips (QX6700, Q6600) which the motherboard also supports.

Allendale is the entry level C2D with 2Mb L2, where Conroe has 4Mb. Go for the E6600 if you have the money.

All three are part of Intel's new Core architecture.

simmonz · 14 Mar 2007 at 12:32

I was told (about 5 months ago) that conroe is "the chip" to get. I've been waiting for performance specs and comparisons to AMDs lineup.

I'm seriously contemplating a conroe, but i just need that extra "nudge" if you get what i mean

melbourne720 · 14 Mar 2007 at 12:37

simmonz said:
I'm seriously contemplating a conroe, but i just need that extra "nudge" if you get what i mean

<nudge> I have one <nudge> They're really fast <nudge> They overclock really well <nudge> its new hardware to play with <nudge>

Stelly · 14 Mar 2007 at 13:02

melbourne720 said:
<nudge> I have one <nudge> They're really fast <nudge> They overclock really well <nudge> its new hardware to play with <nudge>

Conroe will last you easily for the next three years or so especially if you get the 6300 and overclock it stupidly

Stelly

melbourne720 · 14 Mar 2007 at 13:06

Stelly said:
Conroe will last you easily for the next three years or so especially if you get the 6300 and overclock it stupidly <nudge melbourne720>

Stelly

LOL

p4radox · 14 Mar 2007 at 16:26

Buy this:

A quality motherboard
Arguably the best CPU cooler with a silent fan.
Brilliant case.
520W PSU is more than enough.
The best price/performance RAM on the market currently.

That chip should do 3.2GHz with the above spec.

You'd be crazy to buy anything else tbh.