Hmm...AMD or Intel

[HAL9000]

Ummm... what Intel chipset was that that is allegedly so horrible... cuz if it was a PIII, it would be the BX... again.. best chipset out there to date.... if you were having problems with those, I would say it was due to a poor quality motherboard manufacturer such as PC Chips or similar knockoff... not the chipset.

[digitalfreedom64]

Can we please not turn this into a chipset war? Because I really don't think this is what this thread was started for. I'm not trying to be rude HAL i'm just saying that everyone has just started arguing over which chipset is better.

[timbit]

Originally Posted by JayBee Don't think I am starting this thread to get people arguing etc, cuz im now. I know there are plenty of AMD vs. Intel threads. Im not lookin for whos better. I just want your guys opinion on certain things.

ahem.

Originally Posted by kram8806 The first two questions: Intel or AMD and nVidia or ATI are purely self preference. I assure you members will pile up here and state their self-preference - it's all good. Intel and AMD are both good companies that both make good CPUs.

wow. you talk about your degenerating threads. it started off so well. anyways guys, remember why we are here -- to help people with their questions. some newb reading this could be totally turned off of building his/her own after reading this, or if they got replies like this. and i wouldn't blame 'em.

ok, now for JayBee's questions...
first off, are you not liking the performance you are getting out of your sig rig? that's a pretty decent machine, and you could save a lot of money by doing some upgrades to that, as opposed to getting a new rig (ie: new vid card for gaming.... and maybe a dvd drive.)
if you really don't like the performance you are getting, then here is what i suggest. i have only had experience with amd, so i will post an amd build that would be acceptable for the tasks you said you would be doing. i would hope that one of the respected intel enthusiasts around here (maybe kram??? ) would do the same.

Originally Posted by JayBee It would be used mostly for gaming. However I do A LOT of internet surfing as well as some photoshop stuff, maybe some video editing a long the lines, and a lot of muisc storage and playing music on the pc.

all right then. the ram you have is great, it will do fine. 1 gig should be enough. your hdd is ok. i don't use maxtor personally, but it should work. it is a little small though. believe me, 80 gigs is nothing if you get into video editing. that, however, is something that can be dealt with later.

mobo: asus and msi will both be releasing sli boards in the next 2-5 weeks. they want them out before christmas. however, unless you are a really heavy gamer, i'm not sure sli is right for you. you'll pay a lot more for sli boards, esp at the beginning. so, i'm going to suggest the Asus A8V Deluxe $130
if you feel that pci express is an important future proofing option, then i would wait for the Asus A8V-E. It's the same as the mobo i mentioned, except with pci-express. it hasn't been released just yet, so i don't know the price, but it shouldn't be too bad, as it does not have sli. link here. now these are both via based boards. i realize that hal does not like any via chipsets, and i respect his opinion. to be honest, i don't like via chipsets either, except for the k8 versions. i have not been hearing the complaints on the net that are normally associated with via, and mine is exceptionally stable, running f@h 24/7.

cpu: AMD Athlon 64 3200+ at 2.0 ghz $194. it's oem, so you need a heatsink. i suggest the Zalman CNPS7700-CU at $51. it is very quiet, and will keep that proc very cool. incidentally, since you seem to be an oc'er already, this is a 90 nano proc. don't want to make any promises but: i've heard they can oc pretty well. 2.4 shouldn't be out of reach...

optical drive: NEC ND-3500A $67
burns dvd+ or - at 16x and it does dual layer. comes highly recommended by anandtech.com. and it's got a great price. only prob: good luck finding media that burns at that speed or dual layer media. but that will come in time, and it will burn slower media in the meantime.

video card:
budget agp:
ATI 9800 Pro 128 mb, 256 bit $215
expensive agp: Leadtek GeForce 6800GT $390
budget pci-e:
Albatron GeForce 6600GT $190
expensive pci-e:MSI GeForce 6800 $365
none of these video cards are the best you can get, but they are reasonable.

case... i like the more "minimalist" cases, so i'm not going to say anything lol. just go to newegg.com and see what they have. or go to the websites of antec, thermaltake, raidmax.... there's lot's of them out there. just make sure that either a: it comes with a good psu, or b: you replace the psu in it.

total cost: $657-$832 depending on agp vid card. (plus case). it will be a bit more if you go with pci-express, just cause it's newer tech.

now that i've posted all of this: intel will do just as well, and probably at close to the same price point. so it really is up to you. ignore anyone who says that there is no contest, because there is. here in the tech community, we tend to forget that it's not always about the decimals and fractions of frame rates. JayBee, you were comfortable with intel before, so why switch? unless you, yourself, want to give amd a try. and if that's the case, then that's a decision you have tg make.
i really hope this helps. and if anyone feels the need to critique my build, or anyone elses, don't let it be that intel or amd will do "far better." we all know, deep down, beyond our fanboy hearts, that that's not true lol. we're all fanboys, we just gotta learn how to accept that and get along.

[JayBee]

Thanks. Nice to see you went into depth to try and help out.

Anywayz. I am happy with my build right now .. actually haven't had a single problem. I think I was just thinking "Yay, something new..." when I thought I would build a complete new system.

Now, if I can upgrade somethings I am going to that, as though purchasing all the stuff all over again is just too expensive.

What I think I need:

Sound Card. Audigy 2 ZS. I have 5.1 Logitech 5300's and I have on-board sound. So I want to be able to get everything I can out of those speakers.

Anybody recommend something different?

Video Card: I have a 9600 Pro right now, it does fine... but I want something new/better. When I built this pc I kinda went on a budget so I couldn't go all out like some people do... and my brother just built his and hes got a 9800 Pro 256, so I gotta upgrade

I don't want THE best, but I want something good and something that isn't going to be completly old in a year or two. It won't be long for I will build a new pc, maybe middle of next year... and I am also still debating on whether or not I should go with the 9800 Pro 256, or go something newer? How much of a difference is there between the 9800 Pro and the newer cards? I want something I can put into my next build and not have it be old..

So whats good/not too expensive?

Monitor? Not for sure, just wondering what some good/cheaper side 20" monitors are .. whether it be CRT, or Flat. Since I game a lot, I figured something bigger than 17" would be cool!

So whats good here?

I think that about does it... anything else you guys would recommend?

[Panama Red]

Take a look at this review of 19" LCD monitors. You'll be surprised at the outcome.

http://www.anandtech.com/displays/showdoc.aspx?i=2289

[timbit]

for the vid card, i would go with one of the GeForce 6800 gt class cards. i don't think i can safely say that the 9800 pro will "play tomorrow's games" anymore.

also, consider another hard drive, pref one with a good chunk of space, if you are seriously going to be getting into vid editing.

[Avenger]

Ummm... what Intel chipset was that that is allegedly so horrible

It was sake of those i-820 chipsets (the first ones were faulty). And about the mobos, we only used Intel retail mobos for Pentium II/III builds.

Regards.

[Panama Red]

Watch the language, Avenger.

--------------moderator-----------------

[JayBee]

Back on topic please....

[Avenger]

Ooops, sorry.

Next time, I'll be careful.

Cheers.

[wutzu]

don't buy the 9800 pro 256 unless you're going to flash it to 9800xt, because it performs exactly as well as the pro 128

[MrAustin]

My advise is to go with the 9800 Pro 256-bit Interface, and use that for a while. Save up your cash throughout the next year, and then splurge and get your dream system (or a realistic variation of it ) I just got a 9800 Pro (make it is 256-bit) and it runs HL2 on my system below at 65FPS, so I'm sure it'll handle business until your next build.

Just my 2 cents.

[ric449]

Guys, you're a bit late replying.

[Propain]

Originally Posted by ric449 Guys, you're a bit late replying.

maybe the guy who made this thread hasnt built it yet since its only been a month

[faint545]

I'm not sure if this topic has been discussed but with using dial up I've done about a good two hours of searching and reading up on different threads that address the AMD and Intel debate and I think i've become frustrated with my dial up. Now my question is (coming from a neutral point of view) is it proven that AMD runs cooler than Intel using the same speed CPUs? My friend tells me his friend did a test with 8 different clocked CPUs, both Intel and AMD (so 16 total) and his results were, AMD were generally cooler.

[Lespaul20]

This thread is kind of old. You probably could have started your own. But to answer your question.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/CPU_power_dissipation

[faint545]

thanks