Mobo Info

[Lost]

I'm shopping for a wishlist and I've got a pretty good grasp on what's good in the way of vid cards, memory, HDD's but really don't have a clue about what to look for with main boards these days. Since that determines what CPU I can stick on it, what processor should I be looking at to go with it? The quad cores seem to be performing awesome and with Intel holding the crown right now, is it worth sticking with AMD?

[SomeOldGuy]

These are the usual first questions:

- What do you want to be able to do with it? Gaming? Photo/video editing? General purpose?

- How "futureproof" (if there is such a thing) do you want to make it (i.e. upgradability)

- How much $$$ are you going to spend?

- Do you want to overclock?

In general, Intel wins at speed and AMD wins in the budget area. But IMHO, the answers to the above pretty much dictates which cpu/mobo/memory you are looking for...

[Lost]

For the whole rig I don't want to break $1,000 if I can manage, but seeing how cheap memory and hard drive space is, I don't think that'll be a problem. As for longevity, I use it for gaming almost exclusively but work and web surfing otherwise. So I'd like to make sure it's possible to upgrade as long as I feasibly can. I've had my current PC for going on 5 years, upgraded everything but the CPU and motherboard and I hope to get the same out of whatever I make next. I don't want to skimp on performance for cheap parts but I don't mind bargain hunting for a slightly lower end unit.

[Mooga]

Going up to the i7s are expencive. But you can get a highend Core 2 Quad system for in the $1,000 range. RAM, HDD, and DVD drives are dirt cheap. You can get 4GB for about $50. A 1TB drive for about $90. A SATA DVD burner for about $25.

[Lost]

Originally Posted by Mooga

Going up to the i7s are expencive. But you can get a highend Core 2 Quad system for in the $1,000 range. RAM, HDD, and DVD drives are dirt cheap. You can get 4GB for about $50. A 1TB drive for about $90. A SATA DVD burner for about $25.

Yep, pretty much what I've seen as well. There are some i7 combos on Newegg right now that I was browsing but the reviews for the motherboards on them were less than supportive. I haven't done any research beyond Core 2 quads at the moment since the i7 stuff is quite a bit more expensive. I really don't know what I should be considering too 'new' and thus more expensive than they're worth for the upgrade, if you get what I mean.

[EquilibriuM]

Well i just build me a rig a little while back, cost me a little over $500.
I know intel suposed to be the best, well it is i guess, but anyway i stuck with AMD, since i mostly use it for gaming, but also a little web surfing and other things, and it runs nice. I went with the tripple core 2.6 and a Gigabyte motherboard 2gb ram and a geforce 9800, i did not get a new hdd, b/c my old one still works fine.
N82E16814130435 <- Video card
N82E16819103648 <- CPU
N82E16813128377 <- Motherboard
N82E16820104014 <- Ram

[Mooga]

Lost, can you give us a budget?
With standarnd components getting cheaper, more moeny can be spent things such as CPU, Mobo, and GPU.

Do you need a case? (If so, any preference on style?)
Do you need an OS?
Do you need a screen?

[Lost]

For the case I found RAIDMAX AZTEC ATX-619WB to my liking. I'm fond of the 'screwless' mounting of drives for sure.

I know I'll have to get a new OS, I'm still using the same copy of 32 bit XP that I've had forever and I'd like to be able to use more than 2 gigs of memory. It seems the 64 bit version isn't the greatest and I've been leery of Vista with how much I read about it being such a resource hog, MS bashing aside. And to be honest, I didn't even know Windows was working on a new version till I read it on here, lol. Since it seems its still in beta, or thereabouts, I don't see that I'll be able to pick it up before I build a new system. So that leaves Vista as far as I can tell.

I don't need a monitor and I could probably get by with onboard sounds or use the Audigy I've been using for years if I need to. So basically I'm in the market for case, motherboard, CPU, memory, HDD's and vid cards, wanna go SLI if at all possible. I've been doing the reading on the vid cards and RAM, that shit's pretty easy to dig into, but I don't know jack about what's good for the price right now for main boards and processors.

The Phenom that Eq linked seems competitive; low cost and comparable on speed. But what's with the 3 core and something about unlocking a 4th? Could they not get the last core stable and just said fukkit?

As for funding, I want to put the parts together and price them before I say yea or nay, I want to keep it under $1,000 though.

[Mooga]

64-bit XP is 100% TOTAL SHIT.
64-bit Vista runs beautifully on a powerful system.
64-bit Windows 7 RC is Vista with a FINISHED GUI and other nice tweaks. Plus, it's free for about a year. It has the same driver support as Vista.

I'll price out an INTEL system The only issue with SLI is the FAT PSU that is needed. Someone else will have to confirm if the PSU I choose will work.

Basic breakdown:
Case: $80
Mobo: $200
CPU: $200
RAM: $50
GPU: $200 x 2 = $400
TOTAL: $930

That's without other minor things (thermal paste, DVD drive(?), third party Heat Sink).
I'll see what I can do

[Mooga]

Mobo: EVGA 132-CK-NF79-A1 LGA 775 NVIDIA nForce 790i Ultra SLI ATX Intel Motherboard - $199.99
CPU: Intel Core 2 Quad Q8400 Yorkfield 2.66GHz 4MB L2 Cache LGA 775 95W Quad-Core Processor - $184.99
RAM: OCZ NVIDIA SLI-Ready Edition 4GB (2 x 2GB) 240-Pin DDR2 SDRAM DDR2 800 (PC2 6400) Dual Channel Kit Desktop Memory - $44.99
PSU: OCZ GameXStream OCZ850GXSSLI ATX12V v2.2 and EPS12V 850Watts Power Supply 100 - 240 V CB, CE, CSA, UL - $129.99
Heat Sink: ZALMAN 9500A 92mm 2 Ball CPU Cooler - $44.99
HDD: SAMSUNG Spinpoint F1 HD102UJ 1TB 7200 RPM 16MB Cache SATA - $74.99
GPU: EVGA 01G-P3-1155-TR GeForce GTS 250 1GB 256-bit GDDR3 PCI Express 2.0 x16 HDCP Ready SLI Supported Video Card - $149.99 x 2 = $299.98

TOTAL: 979.92
You still need some good termal past... but too lazy :-p

[Lost]

Holy shit, I didn't expect that but thanks!

I see there are Yorkfield and Kentfield CPU's out there, is there a difference in performance or are they just fancy names? And to be honest, will I get the most out of a quad core setup or should I get the AMD or core 2 Duo?

You actually linked some of the same stuff I've been looking at. I'm not sure about the vid cards, seems that the GTS 250 is just a remake of the 9800 but with 1GB of vram vs 512. Reading up on the GTX versions, it looks like they dropped the speeds on the vram and cores a bit but upped the stream processors and memory interface. I've heard the GTX is the best you can get of the nVidia shit, dunno if its worth the extra money for the boost.

[Mooga]

I did check the 9800GTX+ and GTS 250. They seem to run VERY close. The main difference is that the GTS 250 is a little more recent and uses nVidia's most recent numbering system I have a 512 9800GTX/GTX+ and it a great card. The only issue going down to a 9800GTX+ is the power requirements. The GTS 250 made some changes which greatly reduced power usage. However the 9800GTX+ requires 2 6-pin connectors EACH...

Also a note:
The motherboard is over-the-top, but it should give room for upgrades.

For the CPU I just found a quad core in your range. The Dual-core/Quad-core argument I think is starting to die down. However you really have two choices: a 2.4+ Quad core or a 3.0+ Dual core. Truthfully, I like quad core, it gives you plenty of room for power, even if games don't use it yet. Going up to a 3.0Ghz will cost almost the same, but it wont give you much.

You might want to choose faster ram or more ram. It's just that 4GB of 800MHz ram is SO cheap.

Also, I didn't do a compatibility check between all the components. You should DEFINITELY double check all the hardware before you consider buying it.

[Lost]

Aight Mooga, I think I found a Phenom quad core for $170 on sale from newegg today. It looks like a good deal and that prices have dropped since my last inquiry. I'll post the exact item when I get home.

[Epidemic]

Originally Posted by Mooga

Mobo: EVGA 132-CK-NF79-A1 LGA 775 NVIDIA nForce 790i Ultra SLI ATX Intel Motherboard - $199.99
CPU: Intel Core 2 Quad Q8400 Yorkfield 2.66GHz 4MB L2 Cache LGA 775 95W Quad-Core Processor - $184.99
RAM: OCZ NVIDIA SLI-Ready Edition 4GB (2 x 2GB) 240-Pin DDR2 SDRAM DDR2 800 (PC2 6400) Dual Channel Kit Desktop Memory - $44.99
PSU: OCZ GameXStream OCZ850GXSSLI ATX12V v2.2 and EPS12V 850Watts Power Supply 100 - 240 V CB, CE, CSA, UL - $129.99
Heat Sink: ZALMAN 9500A 92mm 2 Ball CPU Cooler - $44.99
HDD: SAMSUNG Spinpoint F1 HD102UJ 1TB 7200 RPM 16MB Cache SATA - $74.99
GPU: EVGA 01G-P3-1155-TR GeForce GTS 250 1GB 256-bit GDDR3 PCI Express 2.0 x16 HDCP Ready SLI Supported Video Card - $149.99 x 2 = $299.98

TOTAL: 979.92
You still need some good termal past... but too lazy :-p

Pft, whatever! Get a barebones kit, add a $100 video card and call it a day.

Price with $100 video card and without taxes, $1089 and it's the latest and greatest and supports SLI for when you want to team your video cards.

http://www.tigerdirect.com/applicati...015&CatId=2431

[Mooga]

Epidemic, you do realize that that list is nearly 4 months old.

[Epidemic]

Originally Posted by Mooga

Epidemic, you do realize that that list is nearly 4 months old.

I do now lol. I'm tired... So that must account for something.

[Lost]

Yep, but its cheaper now!

FFS, that barebones kit is awesome but its far more than I need, 3 way SLI? 6 SATA ports? I know its the shit but I wouldn't be able to tap into the potential of that until its already obsolete. Not really, but you get what I'm saying.

It seems like you could shave off $100 or so buying those pieces directly from Newegg from the prices I saw.

Either way, I appreciate the effort Moo put into piecing my shit together, I can start getting bits here and there now, little bit more financial freedom than I had when I first inquired. Bit more knowledgeable too.

[Mooga]

Lost, what's your current budget?
Hardware has dropped... You should probably look at improving my build. For example, you can probably get MUCH better GPUs now. They also discontinued that mobo

I can take another look around... is your budget still in the 1K range?

[Lost]

The Phenom II's are looking mighty tempting. AMD Phenom II X4 945 Deneb 3.0GHz 4 AM3

Looks like it might work with this board as well. MSI 790GX-G65 AM3 AMD 790GX

Many of the other boards advertise SLI or Crossfire, do the AMD boards only support ATI cards?

Yah, Mooga, it's about the same, but I'll be getting pieces here and there until its done, catching deals as they come around.