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  • #1

    Building PC

    Looking to build an AMD based PC. What's the best bang for the buck CPU at this time? Usually, I'd usually do alot of "researching" on this before pulling the trigger but I'm being lazy or too busy. . Basically, looking for what's current out there. Wondering if someone out there looking at the same thing. Taking in all advice.
    CPU: AMD based
    Motherboard: ?? chipset: ??
    Vidcard: ATI based
    RC Agent
    AMD Athlon 64 X2 5000+ Brisbane 2.6GHz, MSI 785GT-E63, 6 GB(2x1GB, 2x2GG) DDR2 800 Corsair XMS2, Asus EAH4850 TOP
    AMD Athlon 64 X2 7750 Kuma 2.7GHz, ASRock A790GXH/128M BIOS 1.7, 4 GB(2x2GB) DDR2 800 Corsair XMS2, Gigabyte HD 6850 1GB DDR5
    AMD Phenom II X6 1045T 2.7GHz, Asus M5A99FX Pro R2.0 BIOS 2501 , 8GB(2x4GB) DDR3 1866 CL9 Crucial BallisticX(BLT4G3D1869DT1TX0) , Sapphire HD7870 2GB GDDR5 OC, Seasonic 850w powers supply
    Tags: None
  • #2
    I just built a new AMD machine, and here's what I ultimately went with.

    Athlon64 X2 4600+ AM2
    Asus M2N-E (nForce 570 Ultra)
    Sapphire Radeon X1900GT 256MB

    I have no plans to ever use SLI/Crossfire, so this mobo was insanely good value at $115.00CAD. The 4600+ seemed to be the best GHz/$ in the X2 series, and the X1900GT was also great value. I don't plan to do any overclocking, so I'm using all stock cooling. So far this thing can handle all the latest games (that I've tried) at reasonable resolution and quality settings. It's also wicked fast at running multiple VMWare sessions, and it handles Vista quite nicely.
    Last edited by agallag; 27 November 2006, 09:49.
    Lady, people aren't chocolates. Do you know what they are mostly? Bastards. Bastard coated bastards with bastard filling. But I don't find them half as annoying as I find naive, bubble-headed optimists who walk around vomiting sunshine. -- Dr. Perry Cox

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    • #3
      New Egg has the 4600 X2 for $232.99 USD.

      They also have the Asus M2N-E for $93.99 USD.

      Not bad at $327

      As for the vid card:

      Best Buy has a 2 day Cyber Monday sale on the ATI X1600 Pro 512m PCIe (or AGP) for $205.99 USD;

      http://www.bestbuy.com/site/olspage.jsp?skuId=7634795&type=product&id=1130987444322


      Several online dealers have the Sapphire X1900 GT 256 for ~$205 USD. Ex:

      http://www.chiefpick.com/ProductDetails.asp?ProductCode=VC-100189
      Last edited by Dr Mordrid; 27 November 2006, 12:41.
      Dr. Mordrid
      ----------------------------
      An elephant is a mouse built to government specifications.

      I carry a gun because I can't throw a rock 1,250 fps

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      • #4
        So, go with socket AM2 over the old 939? Also, how many generations ahead is the X1900 over the X850? I hate how ATI renames stuff, I haven't kept track.
        RC Agent
        AMD Athlon 64 X2 5000+ Brisbane 2.6GHz, MSI 785GT-E63, 6 GB(2x1GB, 2x2GG) DDR2 800 Corsair XMS2, Asus EAH4850 TOP
        AMD Athlon 64 X2 7750 Kuma 2.7GHz, ASRock A790GXH/128M BIOS 1.7, 4 GB(2x2GB) DDR2 800 Corsair XMS2, Gigabyte HD 6850 1GB DDR5
        AMD Phenom II X6 1045T 2.7GHz, Asus M5A99FX Pro R2.0 BIOS 2501 , 8GB(2x4GB) DDR3 1866 CL9 Crucial BallisticX(BLT4G3D1869DT1TX0) , Sapphire HD7870 2GB GDDR5 OC, Seasonic 850w powers supply

        Comment

        • #5
          Why aren't you considering nVidia? I have an X850 myself, but it looks like nVidia's midrange cards are the leaders right now.
          Gigabyte P35-DS3L with a Q6600, 2GB Kingston HyperX (after *3* bad pairs of Crucial Ballistix 1066), Galaxy 8800GT 512MB, SB X-Fi, some drives, and a Dell 2005fpw. Running WinXP.

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          • #6
            I prefer the ATI X1xxx AVIVO's video output (desktop and TV out) and their AVIVO Encoder module. It's very useful for creating WMV, MPEG, DivX etc. because of the accelerated rendering. MUCH faster than using the CPU alone, sometimes 4-5 times as fast. It's H.264 playback looks to be smoother than NVIDIA's from what I've done vs. my sons secondary system.

            As for the "X" generations: anything over X1000 are the new AVIVO cards, and yes there is a major difference from the X600/X850 etc.
            Last edited by Dr Mordrid; 27 November 2006, 13:16.
            Dr. Mordrid
            ----------------------------
            An elephant is a mouse built to government specifications.

            I carry a gun because I can't throw a rock 1,250 fps

            Comment

            • #7
              Originally posted by RC Agent View Post
              So, go with socket AM2 over the old 939?
              AM2 uses DDR2 instead of DDR. If you have extra DDR lying around, stick with 939 (the Asus A8N-E is a good choice). If you're starting fresh, AM2 is the way to go.
              Lady, people aren't chocolates. Do you know what they are mostly? Bastards. Bastard coated bastards with bastard filling. But I don't find them half as annoying as I find naive, bubble-headed optimists who walk around vomiting sunshine. -- Dr. Perry Cox

              Comment

              • #8
                On the other hand DDR2 is cheap. 1GB Crucial DDR2 = ~$119..99 @ NewEgg;

                http://www.chiefpick.com/ProductDetails.asp?ProductCode=VC-100189


                Regardless of memory type go for PCIe over AGP if at all possible. Both of the Asus boards under discussion have PCIe 16x slots.
                Last edited by Dr Mordrid; 27 November 2006, 15:25.
                Dr. Mordrid
                ----------------------------
                An elephant is a mouse built to government specifications.

                I carry a gun because I can't throw a rock 1,250 fps

                Comment

                • #9
                  Originally posted by Wombat View Post
                  Why aren't you considering nVidia? I have an X850 myself, but it looks like nVidia's midrange cards are the leaders right now.


                  the X1950Pro is a very strong contender, plus $400 bucks for Crossfire can't be beat
                  Why is it called tourist season, if we can't shoot at them?

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