DDR2 or DDR3 for a minor upgrade? Mobo recommendation plz.

[Huncowboy]

Hi folks! I first posted this on the wrong forum so here it goes again. Meanwhile I have been reading/researching more...

One last upgrade before I build a new one from bottom up. This will be a budget upgrade. I don't want to waste the case and other components so I figured I will do a small upgrade now, play games with it for a year, then use the rig for multimedia, home office.

Budget: the cheaper the better, but $3-400. OC or SLI is not important. RAID is a must. eSATA ports would be good but not a must.

What I have now:

ATX Case
ASUS A8N-E 939 Mobo
AMD Opteron 165 Denmark 1.8GHz
EVGA 640-P2-N821-AR GeForce 8800 GTS 640MB
4x GeIL Value 512MB 184-Pin DDR SDRAM DDR 400 (PC 3200)
2x WD5000AAKS 500GB for Vista 64 boot
1x WD2500KS 250GB for XP 32 boot
600W PSU

This time I have not researched AMD. Unless someone can show me major savings I would like to go back to intel. I am thinking a Q8200 CPU. OK for gaming and perfect for multimedia later. I am not sure what kind of mobo to get:

a, Get a DDR3 board with 4G and I can later transfer 2G into my next build.
b, Get a DDR2 board with 2 or 4G and be done with it.

So the question is, what kind of performance difference will I see with the different rams?

I have looked at these mobos:

for DDR2 GIGABYTE GA-EP45-UD3P LGA 775 Intel P45
for DDR3 GIGABYTE GA-EP45T-UD3LR LGA 775 Intel P45
another DDR3 with an X48 Foxconn BlackOps X48 LGA 775 Intel X48 ATX

The Foxconn looks good for $119 so far. I am open to any suggestions even different CPU. But I do like the quads. The rig will end up running win 7 eventually.

Thanks!!!

[glc]

If you want Intel and are NOT using i5 or i7, go DDR2. There is no advantage to using DDR3 in socket 775.

The Q8200 is a weak processor. If you must have a quad, get a Q9550. Otherwise, a E8400 or E8500 dual core is a considerably FASTER processor. You need to look at 3 things - clock speed, FSB, and cache.

Stick with P45. Gigabyte is okay, but I prefer Asus. I do NOT care for Foxconn.

[Huncowboy]

Originally Posted by glc If you want Intel and are NOT using i5 or i7, go DDR2. There is no advantage to using DDR3 in socket 775. The Q8200 is a weak processor. If you must have a quad, get a Q9550. Otherwise, a E8400 or E8500 dual core is a considerably FASTER processor. You need to look at 3 things - clock speed, FSB, and cache. Stick with P45. Gigabyte is okay, but I prefer Asus. I do NOT care for Foxconn.

Thanks for the help. So go DDR2.

As far as the CPU I have been looking at the Tom's Hardware CPU charts for games and application. I have no clue if those are correct but that seems to suggest that the Q8200 is comparable with the E8400 in games. At least not much slower. However in other applications it is much better.

What am I missing?

I was thinking the Q8200 would give me a nice boost in gaming over what I have now, but it should run win7 with several applications open for years to come. Hence the Q8200.

[glc]

I look at it this way - the Q8200 has a low clock speed in comparison, and less cache.

[Huncowboy]

Originally Posted by glc I look at it this way - the Q8200 has a low clock speed in comparison, and less cache.

Thanks!

[Huncowboy]

Ok so I have reconsidered about going with intel. Sorry for dancing around but I have been reading too much good stuff about the X4 955 Black. Newegg has it combo with the M4A79XTD for $279. Budget got upped because I fell in love with the sniper black case which is also going for $50 less than normal... arghhh I really should not spend more money on the rig but this always happens when I am researching.

So please take a of this build:

AMD Phenom II X4 955 Black Edition Deneb 3.2GHz 4 x 512KB L2 Cache 6MB L3 Cache Socket AM3 125W Quad-Core Processor - Retail

ASUS M4A79XTD EVO AM3 AMD 790X ATX AMD Motherboard - Retail

G.SKILL 4GB (2 x 2GB) 240-Pin DDR3 SDRAM DDR3 1600 (PC3 12800) Dual Channel Kit Desktop Memory Model F3-12800CL9D-4GBNQ - Retail

COOLER MASTER Storm Sniper SGC-6000-KXN1-GP Black Steel, ABS Plastic, Mesh bezel ATX Mid Tower Computer Case - Retail

from my old stuff, all of this will be upgraded piece by piece in the next few months:

EVGA 640-P2-N821-AR GeForce 8800 GTS 640MB
2x WD5000AAKS 500GB for Win 7 x64 boot
1x WD2500KS 250GB for XP x32 boot
600W PSU

My questions is, is the M4A79XTD EVO a good mobo choice with the 790X? Should I look into 790FX or nVidia bridges? It seems if I don't SLI, it is fine but I have read about some poor HD performance about the 790 but it was an old article. Good HD performance is important to me. Plans are in for better HDs soon.

Thanks once agian for the help!!!

[Masaki 7-11]

Originally Posted by Huncowboy Ok so I have reconsidered about going with intel. Sorry for dancing around but I have been reading too much good stuff about the X4 955 Black. Newegg has it combo with the M4A79XTD for $279. Budget got upped because I fell in love with the sniper black case which is also going for $50 less than normal... arghhh I really should not spend more money on the rig but this always happens when I am researching. So please take a of this build: AMD Phenom II X4 955 Black Edition Deneb 3.2GHz 4 x 512KB L2 Cache 6MB L3 Cache Socket AM3 125W Quad-Core Processor - Retail ASUS M4A79XTD EVO AM3 AMD 790X ATX AMD Motherboard - Retail G.SKILL 4GB (2 x 2GB) 240-Pin DDR3 SDRAM DDR3 1600 (PC3 12800) Dual Channel Kit Desktop Memory Model F3-12800CL9D-4GBNQ - Retail COOLER MASTER Storm Sniper SGC-6000-KXN1-GP Black Steel, ABS Plastic, Mesh bezel ATX Mid Tower Computer Case - Retail from my old stuff, all of this will be upgraded piece by piece in the next few months: EVGA 640-P2-N821-AR GeForce 8800 GTS 640MB 2x WD5000AAKS 500GB for Win 7 x64 boot 1x WD2500KS 250GB for XP x32 boot 600W PSU My questions is, is the M4A79XTD EVO a good mobo choice with the 790X? Should I look into 790FX or nVidia bridges? It seems if I don't SLI, it is fine but I have read about some poor HD performance about the 790 but it was an old article. Good HD performance is important to me. Plans are in for better HDs soon. Thanks once agian for the help!!!

Looks good, I've done a few builds with the 790X chipset (and the updated 750 southbridge) and they all work really well. The old 790X and 790FX motherboards used the SB600 southbridge which had pretty poor hd and I/O performance, the newer SB750 (like in the motherboard you linked to) has much better HD and I/O performance and also has ACC (Advanced Clock Calibration) which improves overclocking and stability. The 790X is a good chipset for most builds, even if you are running dual cards (as long as it's not in SLI and as long as the cards aren't too high end). This 'upgrade' should last you quite a while, the fastest processor I've used from AMD so far has been the Phenom II X4 940 BE and the performance on that was comparable to my Q9550, so the Phenom II X4 955 BE should be even better. After you upgrade everything and don't have need for a backup computer, you can always sell your current computer and reduce the overall amount of money you spend on a new one.