First time builder

[DarT]

Hey there. This is my first build. I am doing this because I need a computer for college next year. So I'm knocking it out as my senior project.

For what I would like to have for this I have been looking into AMD and NVIDIA. I know Intel has supposedly been wiping the floor with them lately, but I am a loyal person who has had AMD all his life.

I am also a gamer, but I still need it for everyday use and word processing, my price is not really a factor but I would like to keep it under a $1000.

So that being said, I have a few questions about single core V. duel core. Which is more stable and faster for AMD? Which is better for gaming?

And then socket 939 V. AM2. Which is more stable?

I don’t really have anything planed out yet, I wanted to see what people's views on this were first. So nothing is set in stone.

I guess will start with that.

Thanks for any help.

[glc]

939 is more stable but a lot less future proof. Dual core is the only way to go now.

[DarT]

So, if i got a single core with a mobo that could suport the dual core, that would be a better rout for the netx year or so?

[Alaron]

With AMD's current pricing, there is really no reason to go with a single core CPU. We can build a $1000 AMD rig with a dual core easily.

[pam123]

You don't really have that option any more.
Socket 939 is being phased out and with it will go the option of switching from a single core to a dual (multi) core at a later date.
AMD has said that their dual core boards will, with a bios flash, run the quad core but that remains to be seen.

[DarT]

Ok, so then after some seatching I am looking at the fallowing for my CPU and Mobo:

CPU
Mobo 1
Mobo 2
Mobo 3

If there are others you think would be a better bet please post them.

Thanks

[pam123]

Are you planning on running an SLI set up in the future?

[DarT]

No I dont think so.

[newbuilder14]

Then I'd get the Asus M2N-E:

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16813131022

Very high quality. I plan on using one myself soon.

[pam123]

That board's a nice choice and SLI boards can be unnecessarily tricky to set up.
If you're going to use two cards then skip the hassle.

[DarT]

Ok, that board looks good, but I am confused about why its almost $100 less then the ones I found. Is it lacking in something that the others have?

I should also say that I am really looking for some quality parts. I need this computer to last at least 4 years.

[newbuilder14]

It's $100 less because:

-No SLI
-nForce 570 NB Chipset vs nForce 590 SLI chipset. You won't lose much at all.

[pam123]

It's less because it's not SLI.
Compare the specs between the SLI and non-SLI board for yourself.

[DarT]

Ok, So it doesn’t have the SLI.

So taking out the seconded PCI 16x slot, why the ASUS board? I see them mentioned on the boards here a lot. Are they the most reliable brand?

Other then that I have found a few other mother boards that I like:

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16813127008


And this one, even though it is SLI capable, it is in that price range.

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16813128321

--

After the Mother board, is there any comments on the CPU I have chosen?

If not I will move onto hard drives. I am not really looking for a big hard drive, but I am looking for one with 16mb and runs a 7200rpm or faster.

Here are a few I found:

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16822148140

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16822136062

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16822144701

Like I said, the size really doesn’t matter all of them are sufficient. Just looking for the best deal and the best brand for reliability.

[Science_guy]

Strongly recommend you avoid the socket AM2 boards. They have been having serious memory compatibility problems. If you want an AMD build, you should use a socket 939 board, as suggested. ASUS builds very high-quality boards.

The first HD you linked to is probably the best, and has a five-year manufacturer's warranty.

If you really want to have a machine that will still be performing well in four years, you'd be much better off with an Intel Core 2 Duo build. BTW, I'm using an AMD machine right now, but they currently don't have an answer to the Core 2. If I were building another machine tomorrow, I'd go with Intel.

[newbuilder14]

Science_guy, AM2 sockets aren't that bad... we have reports of Corsair XMS2 memory working well.. and there are other brands which will work, too. I actually tend to tell others to stay away from socket 939 as the upgrade path for it is quickly becoming obsolete. With AM2 you have future proof for AMD's new processors.

Although Intel is leading now, with the way the CPU world is today, you never know what may happen. I'm willing to bet AMD has something up its sleeves that is going to beat the Core 2 line.

All in all, go with whichever CPU you feel comfortable with, Dart - you really can't go wrong at this stage.

[pam123]

He needs the build to last for 4 years he doesn't have the option of using a 939 socket if he wants AMD and upgrade ability.
Yes Asus has a good reputation but so does Abit.
As to why it has that reputation, DarT needs to do some more home work.
Start here : http://www.tomshardware.com/2006/09/...d_summer_slam/

As for the choice between an inexpensive dual card board and a single card board at the same price...
What corners were cut to make a dual card board the same price as a single card board?
You could have found a great bargain (the Asus board in my signature was a cheapie with singal channel ram that out-performed more expensive dual channel boards) or you could have found an example of "getting what you paid for".
Google the motherboards and read the reviews!

[Mr.Ferrari]

Ive been hearing some pretty decent things about the abit kn9..

Although m2n-e is definately a safe choice for am2.

And I give my vote to the seagate 7200.10, Fastest 7200rpm drive 'round.

[DarT]

Ok, so as it right now, I am mulling over the two Mother boards (Abit and Asus)

Mobo1: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16813127008
Mobo2: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16813131022

I have decided on the dual core AMD Windsor CPU

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16819103747

And have also decided on the Seagate Hdd.

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16822148140

Now looking into other parts, For my graphics card I have found these that I like.

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16814122245
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16814127209
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16814121004

I have heard that the GT was the better for the models. I am also has you might have seen more into NIVIDA here too. But If you can convince me that ATI has some better deals then please by all means do so. The one thing I don’t want though is to spend over $200. Try to keep it around $170 or less.

Thanks for the help so far!

[Mr.Ferrari]

I would pick the asus.

If you can fully utilize the 200 dollar budget on the card. This will be an amazing choice:
Sapphire X1950pro $200

Or if you need something cheaper then:
X1800GTO
$160

Both will beat the 7600GT.

[pam123]

I don't know how the new DX10 cards will work out but I'd be inclined to get a decent place holder card to use till the first of the DX10 games arrived for Vista.
That way you'd be well placed to wait out any first generation bugs.
The 7600GT is a decent enough card but if you can get something better that's what I would do.
You don't have to spring for one of the $500 jobs but pick something with a little more 'umph'.
If you want nVidia and not ATI then this card is a better deal then the one you've picked (reputable manufacturer) and not that much more expensive : http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16814130056

[DarT]

The X1800GTO looks nice, but in every spec on newegg the MSI card beat it with the exceaption of the Memory Interface. It was 256 instead of 128... Whats the interface do?

[newbuilder14]

I'd actually go for an eVGA 7900gs with the Asus M2N-E. Should be awesome.

[pam123]

Originally Posted by DarT The X1800GTO looks nice, but in every spec on newegg the MSI card beat it with the exceaption of the Memory Interface. It was 256 instead of 128... Whats the interface do?

Bandwith is the difference that you're looking at and it makes a big difference.

Go here : http://www.tomshardware.com/2006/10/..._october_2006/

Tom's Hardware has done the comparison for you.

[DarT]

Great, thank you pam123!

I am really liking your eVGA 7900GS too!

[newbuilder14]

Good balance of price/performance. It's like a 7900gt for a great price.

[DarT]

I have looked and come up empty handed for what a PCI Ex4 slot is really for. Like what sort of cards do I put in it?

Also, I have been looking at some memory, let me know what you think:

(2x512)PNY (4-3-3-8): http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16820178091
(2x512)Corsair ( 5-5-5-15): http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16820145566
(2x512)Corsair (4-4-4-12): http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16820145040
(1gb)Corsair (5-5-5-12): http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16820145153

Not really sure if there are any benefits to having the 2x512 compared to just the one stick. Any reasons you know of?

I think for the moment I don’t want anything over 2GB. Also I had a question if my old memory (Kingston 1GB PC3200) would be able to run on this new mother board?

Thanks!

[Mr.Ferrari]

PCIE x4 is just for future proofing purposes. Hopefully more cards such as sound, hd tuner, raid cards will come to use the bandwith later on.

1. I would go with the 2x512mb 5-5-5-15
2. Yes dual channel is always prefered over single stick, memory performance is boosted.
3. No PC3200/DDR will not work with new Socket 775 or AM2 platforms. You need DDR2.

[pam123]

The benefit is that dual channel is somewhat faster.
It requires two matched sticks which can be difficult, though not impossible, to do if you don't buy them in pairs.
You download the manual for the motherboard of your choice and buy the ram from the HQV list.
This doesn't mean that some other ram won't work but it will protect you from incompatibility.

About PCI Express : http://zone.ni.com/devzone/cda/tut/p/id/3540

As for using pci-e 4x, some SATA RAID cards do : http://www.compsource.com/ttechnote....E16MLKit&src=F
as do some network cards : http://shopping.yahoo.com/s:Network%...20Express%20x4

If you needed to use it you'd know.
There may be other cards for it in the future.

[DarT]

Originally Posted by Mr.Ferrari PCIE x4 is just for future proofing purposes. Hopefully more cards such as sound, hd tuner, raid cards will come to use the bandwith later on. 1. I would go with the 2x512mb 5-5-5-15 2. Yes dual channel is always prefered over single stick, memory performance is boosted. 3. No PC3200/DDR will not work with new Socket 775 or AM2 platforms. You need DDR2.

Ok, thanks!

I was wondering about why the PNY timing was so low. I have had PNY products in the past, and I have had great success with them... But I have never had memory from them.