Intel/AMD x2 x3 x4

VirusType2

VirusType2

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I'm going to upgrade my computer for Windows 7 64 Bit, and I'd like some advice.

The parts I need to order are:

1) Motherboard
2) CPU
3) RAM

Do I go with AMD or Intel? Which is faster, cooler, more efficient, best deal, best for games, best for non-games, etc.

DDR3?

a particular socket?

I want at least 6 GB of RAM. I want to keep a budget of $250-$500. Should I spend $500 for quad or spend $250 for a dual system?

My computer now is a CeleronD 3.33 Ghz, like from before they invented dual core, with 2x 512MB of RAM. It's really pathetic.

I mean is this a good starting point for a fast system? AMD Phenom II X4 965 - $195

Or should I pay half that for a dual core Intel or something? I'm very impatient. I don't want to wait on the computer after clicking things.

EDIT: or this one is a lot cheaper - AMD Phenom II 720 2.8GHz X3 Honestly, the most intensive game I'll play would be like DiRT or Oblivion, so maybe I should get something like that.

Shit, I was just thinking, with Windows 7 pushing the market, maybe prices will be coming way down on Quads soon, maybe I should wait.
 
Get intel. Get this.

If you're going to go with a least 6 gigs of ram, you probably should go for a quadcore. So do it.

And get DDR3.

And tell us what graphics card you have. You have a Celeron D processor, thats like, AGP era. If you have an AGP graphics card then you wont be able to use it with a new motherboard.
 
Thanks, that chip seems good.

I'll be getting something with performance around the 8800 range of GPUs for games, but in the mean time, I'm just using a PCI 5200FX for operating windows (not for games). Will that work? I don't have the budget for a graphics card at the moment.
 
http://www.newegg.com/Product/ComboDealDetails.aspx?ItemList=Combo.292820

I figured I'd get this combo, but it's only DDR2 board.

Also it says dual channel. Does that mean only dual channel, and is that what I want? What if I decided to just get 4GB now, can I get 4GB more later? How does that work on Dual channel. (don't know anything) it's got 4 RAM slots...

I don't know, this is starting to get too tedious to match parts, because I don't know what I'm doing. The board has a lot of things I want, but maybe too much. I don't need two PCIe x16 slots, for example.
 
I guess I'm looking to match FSB? I narrowed it down to these boards, I've matched the FSB speed and socket type:

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produ...09908 1070631947 1070731640&name=1600/1333MHz


EDIT: do I want to match the RAM speed as well?

For example
CPU - FSB: 1333
MoBo - FSB: 1333
MoBo - Memory Standard: DDR3 1333

Is that a good idea for them to all match?

then find ram that is DDR3 1333 as well?


I looked over all the boards, I think this is the best DDR3 match. It's much cheaper than the combo board I was going to get, since this only has (1) PCIe x16:
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813128371

So what do you think?

I've had enough for now. Tomorrow, I'll try to find 4GB of RAM that matches my other components. Any help is appreciated with extra gentle rape.
 
VirusType2 said:
I looked over all the boards, I think this is the best DDR3 match.
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813128371

I'll try to find 4GB of RAM that matches my other components. Any help is appreciated with extra gentle rape.
Click to expand...
If you have any suggestions, I'll probably be picking the RAM from these Combo deals, saving up to $115 dollars:
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produ...ubCategory=280&SortField=0&PageSize=10&page=1

Could really use some help with the RAM, I don't want some slow shit.
 
AMD Phenom II X4 965 - $195
Click to expand...

Jesus Christ I paid $50 more for a 955. Damn you Americans and your cheaper computer parts. :(

I'd go with the AMD, just because it's cheaper. Besides, I doubt that you'd find much difference between the two.
 
No, it's not just you, that's the new selling point... from what I read in the reviews.

The PSU I selected is now sold out, so I'd like to order this stuff before that happens again. I still need some help with the RAM.
 
Intel just released a couple new sockets to replace the 775. Although there are 2 of them splitting their product line. The 1156 for the bulk of their CPUs and 1366 for the high end.
AMD's future CPU "Bulldozer" will be socket AM3 which means if you have a AM2, AM2+ or AM3 socket you could upgrade assuming your board's bios can be updated to be compatible as well.

Intel commands the top spot. If I was looking for something in that price range I would pick Intel. (I bought my q9300 because it was one of the first 45nm quads and the lowest priced model. So I got good speed compared to the old CPUs and very low power usage. That's what I was looking for at the time.)

AMD and Intel have comparable parts in the mid range and similar prices. It's your pick here. If you go with AMD you could pick any of their CPUs and probably be able to upgrade. Lot of choices in that platform. Going with Intel you would either pick one of the few CPUs on the 1156 socket or choose from one of the many CPUs on the older 775 socket but you'd have to rebuy board etc to upgrade later.

There is a guide for PCs less than $825.
If you already have a bunch of parts that you are going to use (HDD, Case, dvd writer etc) then check out parts in their $700-1700 guide.

Also, you can grab a Phenom II X2 550 and unlock the other 2 cores to get a quad. Lot of people have had success and no hardware modifications that need to be done like in the old days of OCing (unlocking multipliers etc).
 
Thanks Asus. I had heard something about the 775 being phased out. It's not an issue for me, I don't upgrade very often. By the time I upgrade CPUs, I'll want a motherboard that supports features not even available yet.

Do you have any resources on RAM timings, latency, RAM socket types? I'm totally worried about this part. If you remember, I always end up with incompatible RAM.
 
I don't OC any more so the RAM parts I pick will just be running at stock. But even some ram that isn't at blazing fast speeds has their Voltage jacked up beyond specification. See if you can get sticks with proper voltage. (1.5v for DDR3) Simply because of compatibility. I'm not even talking about frying the memory controller (which is more for the new Intel sockets and AMD stuff since they have the memory controller onboard the CPU).

I don't know why but I've always got Corsair or Kingston and used popular brand name boards. Never had a problem really with RAM. Of course a few PC builds is hardly the volume to notice a trend.
I think I've had OCZ once when building a friends. Never had Mushkin or Geil. I can't say I know why memory is not compatible beyond guesses.

A safe thing to do is check the kinds of memory that work on a board (compatibility list). But just because it is not on the list doesn't mean it won't work. So...it is not that meaningful.
 
I was going to go with the Geil, being part of the combo at $115 off. The ram sounded sweet; in the reviews people praised it. However, then I realized that when I pick up the other 4GB later, it wouldn't be part of the combo, and thus it would be $220 - not in my budget for 4GB, and I want all 8GB to match.

I won't be overclocking at all. I will pay attention to the voltage, thanks for the advice. The unknown part for me is the things like PC2700 - what do those numbers mean? And should the RAM speed be 1333 Mhz, to match the FSB of the CPU and MoBo?
 
VirusType2 said:
I was going to go with the Geil, being part of the combo at $115 off. The ram sounded sweet; in the reviews people praised it. However, then I realized that when I pick up the other 4GB later, it wouldn't be part of the combo, and thus it would be $220 - not in my budget for 4GB, and I want all 8GB to match.

I won't be overclocking at all. I will pay attention to the voltage, thanks for the advice. The unknown part for me is the things like PC2700 - what do those numbers mean? And should the RAM speed be 1333 Mhz, to match the FSB of the CPU and MoBo?
Click to expand...

PC#### is just another name for DDR2 ###

Also, why do you need so much ram? You could buy a decent video card if you just went with 4 gigs.
 
oh, ok - thanks. I am going with 4 gigs. I'm talking about buying 4 more (2 more sticks that match) later.

I don't need to play games as much as I need to do my work faster right now. More work done, more money, better video card later.

I have priorities.
 
Krynn72 said:
PC#### is just another name for DDR2 ###

Also, why do you need so much ram? You could buy a decent video card if you just went with 4 gigs.
Click to expand...

Because 8Gb is awesome!
 
Doing a lot of research, making final preparations, I uncovered this -

This processor does not support VT
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16819115055

And neither does the next chip I selected, the

Intel Core 2 Quad Q8300 2.5GHz LGA 775 95W Quad-Core Processor Model BX80580Q8300



VT = Virtualization Technology, required for XP mode in Windows 7

Shit just got more complicated for my Windows 7 Ultimate build.

http://www.google.com/#hl=en&source...=&oq=windows+7+require+vt&fp=6b22d27f49a5e7dd

Looks like I'll need to pick a different CPU, (and probably a different Motherboard and RAM to match), at least if I want to use XP mode.
 
What is your price range? At least in Canada, the i5's are way overpriced.

I'm going through the same struggle atm, but there's no way I can afford an Intel. Not only that, but AM3 looks like it'll last a lot longer.

For you or any other prospective AMD buyers: I wouldn't go with the 720. It's very unlikely you'll be able to unlock the fourth core (only a few certain weeks of the 2009 build cycle are unlockable). Either go for the X2 550 which you have a much greater chance of unlocking, or one of the X4 9xx's (depending on your socket choice).
 
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