# $2000 Budget Build:AMD/Intel+Nvidia



## Castiel (May 8, 2008)

Im planning on building a new machine in August/September, and Im planning on only putting AMD/INtel and Nvida Products.And I can go Intel, but no ATI,and I have $2000 budget. Do you have any suggestions, or any pointers?This is what Im planning to put into it. And adding Vista Ultimate 64.

Antec 900 Case
ASUS CROSSHAIR AM2 NVIDIA nForce 590 SLI:
http://www.newegg.com/product/product.aspx?item=N82E16813131593
XFX PVT98FYDF9 GeForce 9800 GTX(G92):
http://www.newegg.com/product/product.aspx?item=N82E16814150287
Antec TruePower Quattro TPQ-1000 1000W:
http://www.newegg.com/product/product.aspx?item=N82E16817371012
AMD Athlon 64 X2 6400+ Windsor 3.2GHz:
http://www.newegg.com/product/product.aspx?item=N82E16819103228
OCZ SLI-Ready Edition 4GB (2 x 2GB) 240-Pin DDR2:
http://www.newegg.com/product/product.aspx?item=N82E16820227269
Western Digital Raptor X WD1500AHFD 150GB 10000 RPM:
http://www.newegg.com/product/product.aspx?item=N82E16822136011
LITE-ON Black 20X:
http://www.newegg.com/product/product.aspx?item=N82E16827106072
ZALMAN CNPS9700:
http://www.newegg.com/product/product.aspx?item=N82E16835118019


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## DaMulta (May 8, 2008)

That's a long ways away in the PC world. All the parts would be different by then.


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## panchoman (May 8, 2008)

i would go intel 45nm and wait till august/sept before choosing parts as new products are constantly being released.


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## freaksavior (May 8, 2008)

raptors are to expensive. get a 7200.11 or a samsung singpoint F1 drive. they are almost or as fast a raptor


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## panchoman (May 8, 2008)

freaksavior said:


> raptors are to expensive. get a 7200.11 or a samsung singpoint F1 drive. they are almost or as fast a raptor



or an ssd


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## FatForester (May 8, 2008)

Yea, waiting til' August/September will mean that really none of this will be the same. By then Nehalem will hopefully be pretty close, so the older LGA775 stuff should go down in price. If the machine in your specs is what you're upgrading, then it's already plenty fast as-is (at least in standards anyways..). If you want to see a performance boost, you'll want to go Intel.

Oh yea, stay away from Raptors. They're nice if you wanna blow the money on them, but the gains aren't really worth the price jump. You could RAID 2x500GB's and have better performance and more space for the same price.


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## Solaris17 (May 8, 2008)

that proc will bottlneck your card.


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## Morgoth (May 8, 2008)

i say,  wait til end 2008 and get your self an high end core2 system or nehalem


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## Odin Eidolon (May 8, 2008)

try this
case: antec 900      140$
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16811129021

hsf: xigmatek hdt1283      40$
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16835233012

mobo: EVGA 132-CK-NF78-A1 780i            260$
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813188024

ram: 2xG.SKILL 4GB 1066             300$
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820231166

video: 2xevga 9800GTX             600$
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814130339

hdd: 500gb     100$
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16822148288

psu: corsair 1000hx       300$
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817139007

cpu: quad 9300          285$
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16819115043


total: 2025$

this is far far better of your rig, but maybe you should wait till the end of the month to see if ati fourth serie is good as it seems to be.


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## Castiel (May 9, 2008)

Yeah after reading all of your replies I reconfigured my list, and found out that I was waisting alot of money for what I was planning on putting in there. So here is my reconfigured. 

Antec 900 Case
XFX MB-N780-ISH9 LGA 775 NVIDIA nForce 780i:
http://www.newegg.com/product/product.aspx?item=N82E16813141005
2x XFX PVT98FYDFU GeForce 9800 GTX(G92):
http://www.newegg.com/product/product.aspx?item=N82E16814150291
Antec TruePower Quattro TPQ-1000 1000W:
http://www.newegg.com/product/product.aspx?item=N82E16817371012
Intel Core 2 Duo E8400 Wolfdale 3.0GHz:
http://www.newegg.com/product/product.aspx?item=N82E16819115037
OCZ SLI-Ready Edition 4GB (2 x 2GB) 240-Pin DDR2:
http://www.newegg.com/product/product.aspx?item=N82E16820227269
SAMSUNG SpinPoint T Series HD501LJ 500GB 7200 RPM:
http://www.newegg.com/product/product.aspx?item=N82E16822152052
HP Black 20X:
http://www.newegg.com/product/product.aspx?item=N82E16827140026
ZALMAN CNPS9700:
http://www.newegg.com/product/product.aspx?item=N82E16835118019
Microsoft Windows Vista Ultimate SP1 64-bit:
http://www.newegg.com/product/product.aspx?item=N82E16832116493



And with this later on I can purchase another 9800GTX and tri-sli.


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## mlee49 (May 9, 2008)

Tri SLI wont be effictive on any build this year.  Sad but true...


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## Odin Eidolon (May 9, 2008)

yeah, thats really better, but i still dont like that PSU: it isnt modular and has four 12V rails. Thats not good (see reviews). The corsair 1000 is just amazing

and i HATE ocz memory, but if you dont want to OC, they will work great. Just they arent overclocking monsters. For your budget i'd catch a 1066mhz memory kit

as you can see at frostytech.com, the HDT is better and cheaper then the zalman

evga and xfx are both fantastic, just a bios difference i think. evga has the step-up program (http://www.evga.com/stepup/), while xfx has far superior warranty


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## nflesher87 (May 9, 2008)

stick with a higher clocking ram kit in 2x1gb variant for more performance...
odin, the antec is indeed modular, as for it compared to the corsair, there is no comparison, in price or performance, you can get the antec for as little as $160 if you look, whereas the corsair is $300
as for you video cards, please I beg you do not spending $600 freaking dollars on 2x 9800GTXs, if anything just get a GX2 and keep your options open, you could get 2x 8800GTS G92s for 2/3rds the price of 2x 9800GTXs and you'd have the same perf.


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## mlee49 (May 9, 2008)

Sycth has some sick CPU colers.  www.frozencpu.com is a 'cool' site too.

If your going for the e8xxx series, I would save the money and go for the 8200, less MHz out of the gate, but neither can get a 200% OC.  You can push a 8200 well into the high 3's. Sure the 8400 can push a half a GHz farther, but there putting out a e8600 @ 3.3 GHz later this year.


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## Silverel (May 9, 2008)

Don't try to part out a PC until you're ready to spend money. Prices drop like crazy over 6 months time, and new stuff will likely be released by both nVidia and ati by then. Over the past 3 months, I ended up with a decent rig, worth almost 300$ less than I paid for it. High-End rigs depreciate even faster.

Hang out at TPU for a few months, you'll have more than enough info when it comes time to build a PC.=)


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## spearman914 (May 9, 2008)

1000 Watts? thats too much for a 9800GTX and a windsor.


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## Castiel (May 9, 2008)

Odin Eidolon said:


> yeah, thats really better, but i still dont like that PSU: it isnt modular and has four 12V rails. Thats not good (see reviews). The corsair 1000 is just amazing
> 
> and i HATE ocz memory, but if you dont want to OC, they will work great. Just they arent overclocking monsters. For your budget i'd catch a 1066mhz memory kit
> 
> ...



Im a fan of OCZ, and Im not planning OC the memory. Just the CPU and maybe the GPU's.


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## mab1376 (May 9, 2008)

EMok1d08 said:


> Im a fan of OCZ, and Im not planning OC the memory. Just the CPU and maybe the GPU's.



you have to OC the ram in some cases for some cpu overclocks depending on FSB and multiplier. or to just get a better ratio. the closer you at to 1:1 the better performance you'll have.

so it's best to buy a better kit so you have some overhead for cpu overclocks.


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## niko084 (May 9, 2008)

I would opt for a better power supply, better chip cooling *if you are overclocking*.
Get a Samsung DVD/RW, they are on of the top rated and fastest according to the guys over at cdfreaks or whatever that website is, I have used a few recently and am very pleased.


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## mab1376 (May 9, 2008)

niko084 said:


> I would opt for a better power supply, better chip cooling *if you are overclocking*.
> Get a Samsung DVD/RW, they are on of the top rated and fastest according to the guys over at cdfreaks or whatever that website is, I have used a few recently and am very pleased.



a good power supply is a must for OCing, PCP&C ftw
also a good heatsink is very important. one of the Zalman CNPS serires is very good.


my Samsung SH-S183 just died on me so replaced it with a Asus.


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## mlee49 (May 10, 2008)

mab1376 said:


> a good power supply is a must for OCing, PCP&C ftw
> also a good heatsink is very important. one of the Zalman CNPS serires is very good.
> 
> 
> my Samsung SH-S183 just died on me so replaced it with a Asus.



I agree w/the PSU dont fudge on just the wattage, check for a couple of other key features like 12V rails.  A single rail system will preform better than a quad. 
This forum guide might help.
 I suggest a PCP&C 860  these things are crazy good!  With 2x9800 you may need the monster 1.2 KW!  Sick!


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## Castiel (May 10, 2008)

Well I sold out some extra pc's and parts and ect.... And now I have the money to buy some parts, so im planning on starting to buy the mobo and cpu, should I wait still, or go ahead and get the parts?


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## Odin Eidolon (May 10, 2008)

w8 mid summer man


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## Castiel (May 13, 2008)

Ok, ive been thinking, what would be better for gaming?
Asus Striker 2 Extreme 780i

               or

XFX LGA 775 NVIDIA nForce 780i


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## KBD (May 17, 2008)

I just wanted to comment on your case selection. Antec 900 is an excellent case, however, for the kind of system you are building with an SLI config or even if you go with a single card i would strongly recomend a larger case. Something both longer and taller. Those cards will be a very tight fit in the 900 and will not get sufficent airflow. Same goes for your other system components, basically the bigger the case the better the airflow. I suggest you take a look at the likes of Gigabyte 3D Aurora 570, Thermaltake Armor and Armor+, Coolermaster Cosmos and the like. What you need is a full tower or a large mid-tower. Also, cases with PSU on the bottom have their disadvantages: cable managent and hiding is more difficult. I have a Silverstone TJ09 with PSU on the bottom and i have had this problem, now i wish i got the Coolermaster Stacker 830.

Also, as others have said get another PSU. Preferably w/ modular cabling. Corsair 1000w is a good choice. So is the Enermax Galaxy line, Silverstone Zeus and Decathlon series, Ultra X3, PC Power & Cooling Silencer Series, Turbo-Cool are also good but they are noisy.


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## Odin Eidolon (May 18, 2008)

about the case, why dont you have a look at that montain-mods' UFO that TPU has recently reviewed? i love it!


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## Castiel (May 18, 2008)

KBD said:


> I just wanted to comment on your case selection. Antec 900 is an excellent case, however, for the kind of system you are building with an SLI config or even if you go with a single card i would strongly recomend a larger case. Something both longer and taller. Those cards will be a very tight fit in the 900 and will not get sufficent airflow. Same goes for your other system components, basically the bigger the case the better the airflow. I suggest you take a look at the likes of Gigabyte 3D Aurora 570, Thermaltake Armor and Armor+, Coolermaster Cosmos and the like. What you need is a full tower or a large mid-tower. Also, cases with PSU on the bottom have their disadvantages: cable managent and hiding is more difficult. I have a Silverstone TJ09 with PSU on the bottom and i have had this problem, now i wish i got the Coolermaster Stacker 830.
> 
> Also, as others have said get another PSU. Preferably w/ modular cabling. Corsair 1000w is a good choice. So is the Enermax Galaxy line, Silverstone Zeus and Decathlon series, Ultra X3, PC Power & Cooling Silencer Series, Turbo-Cool are also good but they are noisy.




Those are some really awesome cases, I have pretty much changed my mind to the Gigabyte 3D Aurora 570. It has a great low price,and it is a really nice Full Tower case. Thanxs


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## Castiel (May 18, 2008)

Odin Eidolon said:


> about the case, why dont you have a look at that montain-mods' UFO that TPU has recently reviewed? i love it!



Yeah just checked it out, its a nice case, but it is to big.


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## KBD (May 18, 2008)

EMok1d08 said:


> Those are some really awesome cases, I have pretty much changed my mind to the Gigabyte 3D Aurora 570. It has a great low price,and it is a really nice Full Tower case. Thanxs



Your Welcome. It was one of my top choices when building this system. Simply love the interchangeble mesh and side window. Mod that case and add a couple of more fans cause you only get 3.


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## Castiel (May 18, 2008)

KBD said:


> Your Welcome. It was one of my top choices when building this system. Simply love the interchangeble mesh and side window. Mod that case and add a couple of more fans cause you only get 3.



Yeah, the window is going to be nice to have, because I want to show off my investment. And I am changing the fans in it, because this is my SLI edition build so I am changing the fans to High Powered Green fans. And I'm putting 2 green Cold Cathodes in there to. But I'm going to be changing a lot of things so I have really good air flow in there.


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## KBD (May 18, 2008)

Cathodes sound great, i have 6 of various sizes in my rig. But i think you misunderstood about modding the case. I was saying that you should add 1 or 2 fan mounts to the 3 already present for even better airflow, i.e drill a fan hole or two in the plexi or buy one pre-drilled, or drill one in the top of the case for additional exhaust. Just remember that it's always better to have an equal or near equal number of intake/exhaust fans.


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## Castiel (May 18, 2008)

KBD said:


> Cathodes sound great, i have 6 of various sizes in my rig. But i think you misunderstood about modding the case. I was saying that you should add 1 or 2 fan mounts to the 3 already present for even better airflow, i.e drill a fan hole or two in the plexi or buy one pre-drilled, or drill one in the top of the case for additional exhaust. Just remember that it's always better to have an equal or near equal number of intake/exhaust fans.



Yeah, I new what you where meaning, and that was what I was planning on doing, because with all that hard ware there is going to be a lot of heat. And just those fans wont keep it cool.


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## KBD (May 18, 2008)

By the way, if you gonna get green LED fans, get these:

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16811999139

I have the same in Blue, Thunderblades are among the best in airflow/noise ration 78 CFM/ 21 dba (well, a bit more in my experience). I doubt you gonna find anything better in green.


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## calvary1980 (May 20, 2008)

Thermaltake exhadurates the decibel level on all there Fans. the Gigabyte case isn't very good.

- Christine


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## KBD (May 20, 2008)

Mine are barely audible, thus the suggestion. And i did say it's a little above 21dba. The 3D Aurora 570 is a quality case, reviews are very favorable.


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## calvary1980 (May 20, 2008)

favorable because it's an old case. the Aurora uses thin sheets of aluminum and plastic feet which do not favor vibration or the front door, hard drive cage impeads air flow and expansion slot clips are cheap. 

if you surrender to it's looks you lose, surely you can find a better case for $150

- Christine


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## blkhogan (May 20, 2008)

freaksavior said:


> raptors are to expensive. get a 7200.11 or a samsung singpoint F1 drive. they are almost or as fast a raptor


+1 

Things could really change up by the time you want to do this build.


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## KBD (May 20, 2008)

True, it's not perfect & it does have it's weak points and like you said it's been out for a while and received good reviews at that time (and still gets them from newegg customers), but overall it's a very nice case. Though i agree that $150 price is somewhat high.


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## calvary1980 (May 20, 2008)

Lian Li Lancool K7
Lian Li PC-A17
Silverstone Kublai KL03 Black
Silverstone Kublai KL03 Silver
Cooler Master 690

I would be happy to own any of these cases. you should never purchase a case that exceeds any of your components but that doesn't mean you should neglect it a 9800GTX isn't exactly budget.

- Christine


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## KBD (May 20, 2008)

Coolermaster 690 is awesome, i'm actually thinking of getting it for a build i'm doing. I think that the Kublai are way too big though and Lian Li are too small. Anyway, he has plenty to chose from, newegg has a ver nice case selection.


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## spearman914 (May 20, 2008)

Getting something cheaper, change the cooler for a Xigamatek HDT-S1283:
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16835233003
It beats the CNPS9700 and much cheaper with free shipping. And as for the raptor X, I suggest get the regular version. PSU: Too little for 1000 Watts. Get this: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817703005


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## Castiel (May 20, 2008)

KBD said:


> Coolermaster 690 is awesome, i'm actually thinking of getting it for a build i'm doing. I think that the Kublai are way too big though and Lian Li are too small. Anyway, he has plenty to chose from, newegg has a ver nice case selection.



I have been checking out this case for a while, and I really like it. But this is my SLI edition Build (all Nvidia/SLI products=All Green). I am even considering of taking out the 2 9800GTX's and add 1 GX2, and get another later on. With that I can budget in a Cooler Master Stacker case. Now when I found out that the CM 690 is compatable for a window, but you have to buy it seperate, I was considering about getting it.


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## KBD (May 20, 2008)

Coolermaster Stacker 830 is very nice, they even have an Nvidia edition:

http://store.nvidia.com/servlet/Con...idia&id=ProductDetailsPage&productID=58708300

But you have to get the side window separately, cause i think it comes with a mesh.


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## Castiel (May 20, 2008)

KBD said:


> Coolermaster Stacker 830 is very nice, they even have an Nvidia edition:
> 
> http://store.nvidia.com/servlet/Con...idia&id=ProductDetailsPage&productID=58708300
> 
> But you have to get the side window separately, cause i think it comes with a mesh.



Oh yeah, I just remembered about that case. Now im planning to get the Stacker, and add additional green led fans to it, to complete it.


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## KBD (May 20, 2008)

Just make sure to do some reading on that case (or any other you may choose) just to see that all of it's features are to your liking. That thing is huge, make sure you have room on your desk.


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## Odin Eidolon (May 20, 2008)

KBD said:


> Coolermaster 690 is awesome, i'm actually thinking of getting it for a build i'm doing. I think that the Kublai are way too big though and Lian Li are too small. Anyway, he has plenty to chose from, newegg has a ver nice case selection.



+1!


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## Castiel (May 20, 2008)

KBD said:


> Just make sure to do some reading on that case (or any other you may choose) just to see that all of it's features are to your liking. That thing is huge, make sure you have room on your desk.



Oh yeah there is a lot of room left to fill in my office. Yeah, and I'm still thinking of what case to choose. Its between the Stacker or 690.Okay I have updated my system, what do you think now?

COOLER MASTER Stacker or Cooler Master 690 Case
XFX 775 NVIDIA nForce 780i SLI 
XFX GeForce 9800 GX2 1GB
COOLMAX CUQ-1200B 1200W ATX12V / EPS12V Power Supply
Intel Core 2 Duo E8400 Wolfdale 3.0GHz LGA 775
OCZ SLI-Ready Edition 4GB (2 x 2GB) 
SAMSUNG SpinPoint T Series HD501LJ 500GB 7200 RPM SATA
HP 20X DVD±R DVD Burner with LightScribe
Microsoft Windows Vista Ultimate SP1 64-bit
Zalman CNPS 9700 NT


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## farlex85 (May 20, 2008)

Nice rig. You sure you don't wanna wait for the gt200 though?


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## Castiel (May 20, 2008)

farlex85 said:


> Nice rig. You sure you don't wanna wait for the gt200 though?



LOL.
Yeah, I'm just going to wait until they come out, so I can see the specs, and to see if I like them.


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## KBD (May 20, 2008)

EMok1d08 said:


> Oh yeah there is a lot of room left to fill in my office. Yeah, and I'm still thinking of what case to choose. Its between the Stacker or 690.Okay I have updated my system, what do you think now?
> 
> COOLER MASTER Stacker or Cooler Master 690 Case
> XFX 775 NVIDIA nForce 780i SLI
> ...



Everything looks good for the most part, read some mobo reviews just to see what to expect. I am concerned about the PSU like I & others have said get something better like a Corsair 1000w or any other brands mentioned above.


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## WarEagleAU (May 20, 2008)

Id recommend the Antec P180/182 or the Antec P190 (with two psus). Or the CM Stacker line or Cosmos S.


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## Castiel (May 21, 2008)

Well I was looking through my CPU and Maximum Pc magazines and I cept on seeing the Digital Storm advertisement, and I really liked the case, well I just found out the case that they where showing was the Silverstone TJ09 case. I really like it. Is it a good case?


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## calvary1980 (May 21, 2008)

cable management is the only problem on that case and the price tag. lol

- Christine


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## KBD (May 21, 2008)

EMok1d08 said:


> Well I was looking through my CPU and Maximum Pc magazines and I cept on seeing the Digital Storm advertisement, and I really liked the case, well I just found out the case that they where showing was the Silverstone TJ09 case. I really like it. Is it a good case?



I own the TJ-09 (the one with window), it is a very nice case of excellent build quality. However, like Christine said, cable management is an issue due, for the most part, to the PSU being mounted at the bottom. Other than that there are no problems with it, case has very good airflow and keeps things cool. But if you are gonna spend this kinda money get the Stacker 830 instead, it is better for hiding cables, looks nicer and has more fans. And i thought you wanted to get the Nvidia edition, what happened?


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## Castiel (May 21, 2008)

calvary1980 said:


> cable management is the only problem on that case and the price tag. lol
> 
> - Christine



Well I new that the Cable management will be a problem, but I found one for $259, same as if I were paying for a CM Stacker.


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## calvary1980 (May 21, 2008)

a couple months ago Newegg had the Cooler Master Stacker 830 Evo (White) for $99 AR, ouch? lol  Stacker is my favorite case it has all the right ingredients except for Cable Management most people tuck away i'm sure you can also find some similar techniques with the TJ09.

- Christine


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## Castiel (May 21, 2008)

calvary1980 said:


> a couple months ago Newegg had the Cooler Master Stacker 830 Evo (White) for $99 AR, ouch? lol
> 
> - Christine



lol
Well I was thinking of the CM Stacker SLI Edition.


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## calvary1980 (May 21, 2008)

you mean the Green nVidia Edition? all your getting is a paint job. the Stacker 830 nVidia Edition is basically a Stacker 830 with the 832 changes (EPS Support, RaptorX Rack and Rollers)

- Christine


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## Odin Eidolon (May 21, 2008)

EMok1d08 said:


> COOLER MASTER Stacker or Cooler Master 690 Case
> XFX 775 NVIDIA nForce 780i SLI
> XFX GeForce 9800 GX2 1GB
> COOLMAX CUQ-1200B 1200W ATX12V / EPS12V Power Supply
> ...



good, except for that horrible psu! A psu is one of the most important parts of a system. You could try to find a guide to decide what psu to take, i know there is a very good guide somewhere here in TPU, just google a bit


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## KBD (May 21, 2008)

calvary1980 said:


> you mean the Green nVidia Edition? all your getting is a paint job. the Stacker 830 nVidia Edition is basically a Stacker 830 with the 832 changes (EPS Support, RaptorX Rack and Rollers)
> 
> - Christine



True, but it costs $10 less than the 830 at newegg, if you do get it make sure the nvidia store doesn't kill you on shipping.


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## Castiel (May 23, 2008)

Ok with the system I am planning on building. What would be the best 1000w+ PSU that will be under $300?


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## KBD (May 24, 2008)

I would have to say either Corsair 1000w:

http://www.amazon.com/dp/B00154QAXQ/?tag=tec06d-20

OR

Ultra X3 1000W:

http://www.amazon.com/dp/B000OVFPZU/?tag=tec06d-20


OR

Enermax Galaxy 1000W:

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817194019


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## Castiel (May 28, 2008)

Ok, I kinda made a change now.
Since I am a AMD guy, you can tell by my avatar, I found a ASUS and MSI mobo that supports SLI and the new AMD CPU's. These are the ones I am looking at.

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813131292 :$274

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813131290 :$259

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813130160 :$249


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## KBD (May 28, 2008)

They are nice boards, however the 700a series need some time to mature. I personally like this Biostar:

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813138108

Too bad they don't have a 780a version.


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## Castiel (May 28, 2008)

KBD said:


> They are nice boards, however the 700a series need some time to mature. I personally like this Biostar:
> 
> http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813138108
> 
> Too bad they don't have a 780a version.



Well I was wandering, What is better the E8400 or the 6400X2 Black Edition?

But I am planning in putting Quad core or a Dual-Core.


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## KBD (May 28, 2008)

The e8400 is better, of course. but i thought you were going with AMd Phenom?


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## Castiel (May 28, 2008)

KBD said:


> The e8400 is better, of course. but i thought you were going with AMd Phenom?



I am, but I was just wandering.


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## Castiel (Jun 5, 2008)

KBD said:


> The e8400 is better, of course. but i thought you were going with AMd Phenom?



Could you elaborate on that, cause a friend of mine is still saying that the 8400 is weaker than the 6400.
Could you explain why it is better?


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## farlex85 (Jun 5, 2008)

Intel's current chips are faster clock for clock than amd's. So, although this isn't a precise statment, you could say it would take about 3.6ghz x2 to equal the speed of a wolfdale running at 3ghz. Of course, you can oc the 8400 upwards of 4ghz fairly easily also, while I don't think the 6400+ can't go near that fast. So, all around, the wolfdale is a far faster chip. You would have to put a max oc on the 6400+ to roughly equal the speed of the e8400 at stock speeds (again not a perfect comparison, but hopefully you get the idea). Now, you probably wouldn't actually notice this difference in real world performance, some things may noticably be a bit faster, but it would take benchies to truely see the difference. And in benchies, the difference is fairly large. Take a look at the superpi thread here if you want some bench proof. Fastest Amd score comes in at #78, the top 77 going to intel.  I'm gonna go out on a limb and say your friend owns amd?


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## KBD (Jun 5, 2008)

Yea, like farflex said, there is no doubt that 8400 is superior to the 6400+X2, look at at any benchmark and you will see that that is the case. I think the only thing the 6400 beats the  e8400 at is memory benchmarks due to it having an onboard memory controller like all AMD chips. So the 6400 being superior to the e8400 is just wishful thinking on the part of your friend, who is no doubt an AMD fanatic, not that there is anything wrong with that, i am too, but one has to admit that intel has the upper hand now, especially when it comes to overclocking. 

however, i would recomend that you hold off on your upgrade until the new intel & AMD platforms come out later this year. Intel socket 775 is a dead end in terms of upgrades since its being replaced by a new socket. AMD AM2+ mobos may or may not work with new AM3 CPUs, we just don't know at this point, they should in theory but who knows what AMD has in store for us. If this kind of future-proof is important to yiou wait for new chips if not and  you don';t mind upgrading again in a year go with intel now, though a Phenom is also a nice choice. Good luck on whatever you decide.


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## farlex85 (Jun 5, 2008)

KBD said:


> Yea, like farflex said, there is no doubt that 8400 is superior to the 6400+X2, look at at any benchmark and you will see that that is the case. I think the only thing the 6400 beats the  e8400 at is memory benchmarks due to it having an onboard memory controller like all AMD chips. So the 6400 being superior to the e8400 is just wishful thinking on the part of your friend, who is no doubt an AMD fanatic, not that there is anything wrong with that, i am too, but one has to admit that intel has the upper hand now, especially when it comes to overclocking.
> 
> however, i would recomend that you hold off on your upgrade until the new intel & AMD platforms come out later this year. Intel socket 775 is a dead end in terms of upgrades since its being replaced by a new socket. AMD AM2+ mobos may or may not work with new AM3 CPUs, we just don't know at this point, they should in theory but who knows what AMD has in store for us. If this kind of future-proof is important to yiou wait for new chips if you don';t mind upgrading again in a year go with intel now, though a Phenom is also a nice choice. Good luck on whatever you decide.



lol, you keep saying farflex. That just doesn't make any sense......


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## erocker (Jun 5, 2008)

I like AMD too, but if you want fast, get Intel.  Shed yourself of your corporate allegience, and get more power for your dollar.


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## KBD (Jun 5, 2008)

farlex85 said:


> lol, you keep saying farflex. That just doesn't make any sense......



sorry


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## farlex85 (Jun 5, 2008)

KBD said:


> sorry



S'all good. I just thought it was funny cause you did that before too.


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