computer checking (skt AM2 motherboard)

computerbuyer101 · #1 (**permalink**) 02-04-2007, 09:40 PM

i have decided to go differently, and i have decided to switch from intel to AMD, for gaming purposes.
this is my current planned build:

MOTHERBOARD:
sata2, PCI-E x16, ebuyer.com - Motherboards » Motherboards AMD » Socket AM2 AMD » Product details

GRAPHICS CARD:
ati radeon x1950xt, 256mb, ebuyer.com - Graphics Cards » Graphics Cards ATI » ATI Radeon X1950 Range » Product details

PSU:
600W, +12v 30A, ebuyer.com - Cases PSUs Barebones » Power Supplies » Extra Value » Product details

RAM:
DDR2-800, 1GB, getting 2 of these, http://www.tpcsystems.co.uk/acatalo...A IL_2949.html

CPU:
AMD Athlon 64 3800+ (2.4GHz), ebuyer.com - Processors & Cooling » Processors AMD » AMD AM2 Athlon 64 / Sempron (Socket 940) » Product details

CASE:
good cooling, getting more fans, ebuyer.com - Cases PSUs Barebones » Cases » *Gaming / Modding Cases » Product details

HDD:
SATAII, getting 2 of these on raid0, http://www.ebuyer.com/UK/product/94406

DISK DRIVE:
DVD-RW X8, ebuyer.com - CD/DVD Drives » CD/DVD Drives » DVD-RW Drives » Product details

feel free to mention anything and make any changes!!!

By The Way, i will be using this system for gaming!!!

also, feel free to ask any other questions!

thanks!!!

**Ash** · #2 (**permalink**) 02-04-2007, 11:12 PM

Hmm.

I'd say that if you are going for a gaming computer that'll play games made in the future, you should go dual-core. And right now, Intel are leading the market with their C2Duo CPUs. If you built this computer, I think that the CPU wouldn't be on par with the other components.

guyladouche · #3 (**permalink**) 02-05-2007, 05:01 AM

I wouldn't say that it's true anymore that AMD is what gamers/good gaming computers use--maybe if you're really hardcore you'd get a single-core fx series CPU and overclock it, but not really anymore. A lot of people are using C2D for their gaming machines because of the power of the processor.

In addition, if you want to build an AMD computer for gaming purposes, the 3800+ single-core is not a good choice--it's not exceptionally fast, plus it has a relatively small L2 cache--only 512k. Games love L2 cache, and you'd see a big difference going from 512k to 1MB cache. I highly recommend going dual-core like Ash mentioned, and if you want to go AMD, go with the 4400+ socket 939 or the 5000+ socket AM2 because they both have 1MB per core of L2 cache (the 5000+ seems to be the only socket AM2 out now that has 1MB cache per core). If you're worried about going socket 939 and that it doesn't support DDR2 RAM, that's not a problem--it doesn't really perform much better than DDR. The reason I went with the slower 4400+ socket 939 in my rig over the faster clock speed of the 4800+ is because at the time, the 4400+ socket 939 was the only one to have 1MB/core cache--all the others has 512k. I think this is the reason that most gaming rigs currently being built like to use C2D is because of the cache. Anyway, that's what I would recommend--you'll see a big difference, and if you're building a new computer for gaming, you don't want to skimp on the CPU or RAM.

Speaking of the RAM, you might want to buy RAM that claims to be a dual-channel kit--not two separate pieces of the same brand because typically manufacturers pre-screen two pieces of RAM to make sure that they in fact work in dual-channel mode. Sometimes two pieces of the same RAM won't work in dual-channel mode despite the fact that they are the same brand/type. I'd look for "matched" or dual-channel "kits" of RAM.

Also, I had the dvd burner you posted--a LiteOn one--it was problematic at best, and while it's specs were the same as my memorex burner, it never performed as fast as my memorex. I think it burned dvd's at a max of 4x despite the fact that it claimed to be up to 16x--and it wasn't a firmware problem. Also it was a bit sketchy when reading CD's--you might want to go with a different brand if it's going to be your only/primary optical drive.

Regarding the motherboard--this is basically the same one that I have, only for the AM2 socket processors. It's not a bad motherboard by any means, and will also do some light overclocking (though I wouldn't call it an overclocker). The only thing to be wary about is whether the PCI-E x16 interface actually transfers at x16 speeds. For some reason, I've noticed that sometimes in the bios, it only shows that it's operating at 8x. Don't exactly know why, but if you're spending money for a motherboard with a PCI-E x16 slot, you might as well get x16 speeds. Just something to keep in mind. Google some reviews of the motherboard to see what people have said about it.

computerbuyer101 · #4 (**permalink**) 02-05-2007, 08:45 PM

i think that i will stay with the AM2 SKT, as i can get ddr2. but the CPU's that you recommended are unfortunately a bit out of my price-range. how is this CPU?

ebuyer.com - Processors & Cooling » Processors AMD » AMD AM2 Athlon 64 / Sempron (Socket 940) » Product details

it is dual core for multi-tasking!!!

guyladouche · #5 (**permalink**) 02-05-2007, 09:47 PM

Well, it's not an improvement in cache per core, but it's not a step back either. I think unless you plan on overclocking this processor (which apparently they're quite good overclockers), you might as well go with the single core 3800 because there is a 400 mhz drop in speed when you go to the X2 3800 from the single core 3800. But there are tons of people who game that got this processor and have it clocked up to 2.6 or 2.8 GHz (from 2 GHz) on air cooling with the right motherboard. It's up to you--if you don't think single core is enough, then get it. If you think single core is enough, then go single core. But I can say this for myself--I'll never go back to a single-core computer.

computerbuyer101 · #6 (**permalink**) 02-05-2007, 09:55 PM

i think that i shall go for the dual-core, thanks for the info. are there any good motherboards that you would recommend (UK), overclocking wise, and not too expensive?

thanks

guyladouche · #7 (**permalink**) 02-05-2007, 11:19 PM

Well, I do know that the DFI motherboards are supposed to be the best for overclocking, but I've never used one, so I have nothing to recommend. I have heard that the DFI Lanparty nforce4 boards are supposedly the best. I am going to go towards overclocking in the future, and the socket 939 version of that board is supposedly the best--I'm sure the same is true for the AM2 board.

I just looked and it seems as if that board is $188 on newegg

computerbuyer101 · #8 (**permalink**) 02-06-2007, 06:00 PM

ebuyer.com - Processors & Cooling » Processors AMD » AMD AM2 Athlon 64 / Sempron (Socket 940) » Product details

how about this, it is 1mb cache, and 2.2GHz, and it is dual-core!!!
seemes pretty good, and also, i think that those motherboards are a bit expensive!, i will try to find a cheaper okinsh one!
thanks

**Ash** · #9 (**permalink**) 02-06-2007, 06:02 PM

That's 512kb of cache per core. Would be sufficient, but I still suggest getting Intel unless you don't want to play many games released in the future.

guyladouche · #10 (**permalink**) 02-06-2007, 07:31 PM

Yes, despite my tendency towards AMD, I would still recommend going Intel C2D. Reason being is while that 3800 you mentioned is not a bad processor, and it overclocks well, it's still not a newer processor--I believe the 3800 was AMD's first Athlon 64 dual-core processor (of course AMD was releasing opterons and others as dual-core before the athlon 64 dual core's). So really, while it's a good bang for your buck if you want to overclock, it will play games with it's 512k/core cache, it's really not the greatest for a future investment--unless you plan on building another computer in a year or so. I understand that you said you changed your mind from C2D to AMD, but still, I would recommend C2D despite my preferences up to now. If you wanted to stay with AMD, I would still suggest one of the two processors I mentioned before--or get an opteron because they're quite good processors, though they can get quite pricey, so much that you might as well go with the E6300 like before.

Keep in mind that especially with computers, you get what you pay for. I learned this after my first build, and try to make sure no one else runs into the problems I had. If you buy a budget system, it won't perform great. If you are able to spend a bit more, it will really be worth it. But of course, don't go overboard if you don't want to/can't afford it.

The system you mentioned should work just fine, and assuming that you won't be upgrading to Vista (and won't be using a directX 10 video card), it still should play new games for quite some time.

computerbuyer101 · #11 (**permalink**) 02-09-2007, 04:56 PM

thanks for that, but the thing is that the E6300 is only 1.86GHz, where as the games state that they need a minimum of say 2.7GHz, i don't see how they can play them!!

**Ash** · #12 (**permalink**) 02-09-2007, 05:13 PM

They need 2.7ghz on a single-core processor.

Each core operates at 1.86ghz. You can think of it as 3.72ghz of power.
Clockspeed is not a good way of evaluating a processor's performance.

guyladouche · #13 (**permalink**) 02-09-2007, 06:46 PM

I know that Ash doesn't really mean that you get an equivalent 3.72 GHz power from a dual-core 1.86 GHz C2D. Please don't confuse the person that asked the question because dual core cpu's (unless you have a multi-threaded application) can only execute code at the speed of the core--in this case 1.86GHz for the E6300.

To the person that asked the question: I don't know how many times I or other people on this forum must say this--There is a big difference in performance between a 2.7 GHz P4 processor and modern processors that run at lower clock speeds, but they are still "faster" than any P4 because they operate more efficiently--they have a completely different design. Clock speed is a poor indication of processor speed/power. Please look up performance charts--you will see that the C2D processors are at the top of any benchmark list, and believe me, they are much faster than any P4 released.

Let me summarize the points so far:

Q: Is a E6300 1.86 GHz faster than a P4 2.7 GHz?
A: Yes

Q: But the clock speed is only 1.86 GHz, how can it possibly play a game that requires 2.7 GHz?
A: They're completely different and much faster than any P4 regardless of clock speed.

Q: But is the E6300 faster?
A: Yes!

Q: But the processor is slower than a 2.7 GHz P4
A: It's faster but has a lower clock speed.

Q: Really?
A: YES!!!!!!!!!

I'm really not sure how much longer this can go on. Here are benchmark charts from one of the websites I like to go to for tech things--the C2D's are faster than any of the mainstream CPU's in all benchmarks except for the AMD fx-series CPU's in some of the benchmarks:

Videos | Tom's Hardware

The url I pasted is for a FEAR game demo benchmark--The 2 cpus I compared are in red. See that the E6400 is even faster than the P4 670 Prescott 3.8 GHz cpu--so you have nothing to worry about, and please stop asking whether any of the C2D's are faster than a P4, because they are.

computerbuyer101 · #14 (**permalink**) 02-09-2007, 08:02 PM

ok then, thanks for that. BTW, is that ATI Radeon X1950pro any good?

i was thinking of getting it!!!

guyladouche · #15 (**permalink**) 02-09-2007, 08:44 PM

Hi again.

Yes, I like the x1950pro a lot--at least it's the best bang for your buck right now in my opinion. But if you want to spend another fifty bucks or so, you can get the x1950xt which has the same amount of RAM, but more pixel and vertex shaders--gives better performance, but at the time I bought my card, it wasn't worth it. Though perhaps prices have gone down a bit to make it more worthwhile. Here's a review of the best GPU's currently released--it's the same website as the one with the CPU benchmarks in my previous post:

The Best Gaming Video Cards for the Money: February 2007 | Tom's Hardware

I think that the x1950pro was rated the best for ~$175--tied with the 7900GS.

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