Spec me an AMD setup

ntg

ntg

ntg

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Considering that the new Deneb will deliver a good performance ratio compared to the current intel quads/duals I am looking forward to putting together an AMD system afterall (I was going for an i7 system).

I do not have a desktop, only a laptop, so there is no upgrade path for me. Everything is going to be new and that's why I originally pondered about getting an i7.

However it seems that the mobo/ram setup for i7 is ludicrusly expensive and I intend to build my rig by the end of december.

Therefore I have decided to setup an AMD rig that has low cost motherboards and cheap ddr2 that will support the new deneb and next processors (AM3, please correct me if I am wrong). My impression is that I can build a good overall system but with a dirt cheap amd cpu at the moment and then just wait for the denebs to fall in price and upgrade to a deneb by March/April. I speculate that my saving compared to an i7 setup will be considerable due to the benefit of keeping the mobo/ram.

The monitor is decided on the dell 27'' one.

I was thinking about an ati 4850 (not an avid gamer, just the odd game or two).

2x F1 spinpoint 1gb (I like lots of space)

4gb ram (but which?)

a dirt cheap amd processor for now (which?)

a relatively good mobo that will support the deneb and am3+ (which?)

any dvd-writer

a good psu (around 650w but which?)

The computer will be used mainly for office work (at home) so it has to have some good (but not ueber) number crunching abilities and be fast (well at least when I upgrade to the deneb). I am not keen on upgrading again quickly so I would like to keep the rest of the setup minus the cpu for 1 or 1 1/2 year at least.

So what are your suggestions?

Thank you in advance for any replies.
 
mobo

ram

psu

gfx

Based on your monitor being 27inch you really want 1gb of ram & for the sake of £40 between the 1gb 4850 & 4870 you might as well get the 4870.

budget cpu

heatsink

Seen as its an oem cpu you might as well get a decent cooler you now that you can swap over to your deneb this with a push pull pair of noctuaswould be by fair the best.

cheap dvdrw the oem ones are out of stock :(

As for hardrives how about a smaller windows drive & then a pair of f1s
 
That looks really sweet PwnDirect. Thank you very much.

I suppose that I could save a few bobs here and there if I got a cheaper ram or slightly cheaper mobo (although that mobo seems to fit the bill perfectly).

About your suggestion for getting a sort-of-dedicated disk for the OS and main progs, I have always wondered if it does make a difference in speed and if yes of what magnitude? Any ideas?

If it's worth it I could get a small fast one for the OS and delay the second F1 until later.

Thank you again!

P.S that 4870 is steep!! Any idea when the next gen of gpus comes out so I could see if its worth getting a cheapo gpu now and upgrading to a 4870 with the next gen when its price is gonna crash?
 
http://www.overclockers.co.uk/showp...53-DF&groupid=701&catid=5&subcat=808&name=DFI Lan Party DK 790FXB-M2RSH AMD 790FX (Socket AM2) PCI-Express DDR2 Motherboard, this is better and better layout..

http://www.overclockers.co.uk/showp...14-OC&groupid=701&catid=8&subcat=817&name=OCZ 4GB (2x2GB) PC2-8500C5 1066MHz Dual Channel Platinum Series DDR2 (OCZ2P10664GK) or http://www.overclockers.co.uk/showp...86-OC&groupid=701&catid=8&subcat=813&name=OCZ 4GB (2x2GB) PC2-6400C5 Dual Channel Vista Gold Series DDR2 (OCZ2G8004GK)

http://www.overclockers.co.uk/showp...9-HT&groupid=701&catid=56&subcat=938&name=HIS ATI Radeon HD 4850 512MB GDDR3 TV-Out/Dual DVI/HDMI (PCI-Express) - Retail... i have a 4850 with a 26iinch monitor, it run perfectly at max res.

http://www.overclockers.co.uk/showp...78-AM&groupid=701&catid=6&subcat=803&name=AMD Athlon 64 X2 Dual Core 4200+ 2.20GHz (Socket AM2) - OEM or http://www.overclockers.co.uk/showp...25-AM&groupid=701&catid=6&subcat=803&name=AMD Athlon 64 X2 Dual Core 5400+ 2.70GHz (Socket AM2) - Retail

http://www.overclockers.co.uk/showp...TQ&groupid=701&catid=57&subcat=821&name=Tuniq Core Contact Freezer CPU Cooler (Socket 754/939/940/AM2/LGA775) or http://www.overclockers.co.uk/showp...C&groupid=701&catid=57&subcat=821&name=Noctua NH-U12P CPU Cooler (Socket AM2/LGA775)

also yes get a F1 1gb hdd or two of them
 
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I would strognly recomend PC2-8500C5 1066MHz memory, if you plan on overclocking the deneb. You dont want to be in the situation where you need to upgrade the RAM later on as yours doesnt clock very high.
 
EvilOne said:
I would strognly recomend PC2-8500C5 1066MHz memory, if you plan on overclocking the deneb. You dont want to be in the situation where you need to upgrade the RAM later on as yours doesnt clock very high.
Click to expand...
but if he gets the deneb black edition he won't need to worry about that because he'll just oc by upping the CPU Multiplier
 
Gareth170,

Thank you for the great suggestions.

Seems I can get a good saving by using a 4850 afterall. I am not really into games so I wouldn't bother if games aren't maxed out anyway, so I feel a 4850 should suffice, especially since the difference with the 4870 seems to be a hefty 80 quid.

Plus you suggest I could save around 60£ on the RAM by buying the cheap set at around 35£. Would you please give a bit more detail as how that wouldn't affect any overclocking? (I am not familiar with the overclocking techniques and requirements but I would be interested to try it for additional speed in the future).

Regards,

kgi
 
kgi said:
Plus you suggest I could save around 60£ on the RAM by buying the cheap set at around 35£. Would you please give a bit more detail as how that wouldn't affect any overclocking? (I am not familiar with the overclocking techniques and requirements but I would be interested to try it for additional speed in the future).

Regards,

kgi
Click to expand...
basicly if you get the deneb black edition you won't need to worry about under clocking the ram when upping the fsb because with a deneb black edition you just oc by upping the CPU Multiplier so it won't touch the ram speed.
 
Thanks for the link to this thread kgi as i posted a similar topic the other day except I was not even considering AMD, but with way prices are rising I'm open to anything. So I have a few questions regarding AMD.

How overclockable is X2 AM2? I would consider something like the X2 Dual Core 5400+ 2.70GHz.

Are they better value than Intel taking into account overclocking potential because the motherboards are hardly cheap.

I have read the post but just want to be sure; is it correct that the latest (current) motherboard and socket will be supporting their next CPU Deneb which I know nothing about.

That leads me on the the next question, any indication on how competitive Deneb will be up against Intel 775 and i7?
 
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