What to invest in...

[stocky]

I'm a little lost with all this Yonah, Conroe, Kentsfield business since I went to my portable computer. However, the time has come to buy a mobo/ CPU and GPU combo to perhaps bide me through to late September when I intend to go all out on top spec to get some benchies in for the team

I'll probably be running 1GB BH5 (til I make the big move) and air (XP-90C).

I was thinking along the lines of an Opty...

What components would you recommend?

 

[DonS1mpson]

To be honest, if you're building a new system, then Conroe Is really the only way to go.

Maybe you could go for a 805 based system with decent RAM and motherboard and upgrade the CPU to conroe when you're ready

 

[stocky]

Those Conroe look a bit dear - especially when I have suspicions the next significant hardware release will be around late Sept...

 

[maverik-sg1]

Whats your budget Stocky mate?

 

[stocky]

hmmm... the max should be about £350 for CPU and mobo. That sort of area anyway, oh and I don't mind second hand goods

 

[DonS1mpson]

Well, if you're looking for the mobo and CPU for £350 then I'd suggest a 4600+ X2 and a DFi motherboard. The 4600 costs about £160 and the motherboard is about £100 to £150.

 

[maverik-sg1]

Scorchio is selling some bits that might be of use to ya stocky mate.

Mav

 

[stocky]

oooh! Let me know what he's selling and prices

 

[stocky]

Thanks to all those who helped me find some bits!

Here's what the new rigs gonna have:

DFI NF4 SLI-DR Expert

AMD Athlon64 FX-60

2x 1GB Corsair XMS PC4400

WD 150GB 16MB Cache Raptor

Nasteq 600W Silent PSU

Now all I need is some bench worthy graphics - but I'll have to sell some more stuff before I can afford it! :$

What to go for? 7800GTX/ 7900GTX/ 7950 GM2???

 

[K404]

I`m biased, but i`d say 7800GTX 512 unless ya can wait for X1950

Let us know how ya get on with the PSU? Never heard of them :$

 

[stocky]

I`m biased, but i`d say 7800GTX 512 unless ya can wait for X1950

Let us know how ya get on with the PSU? Never heard of them :$

The PSU is a beauty - I kept it from my previous system as they are quite hard to come by. Imagine the Audi of PSU's - That's what this is

It basically has a quiet 120mm fan which only activates when necessary - so is 100% silent when not under heavy load.

+12V1 = 18A

+12V2 = 30A :B

 

[Faaip De Oiad]

hmmm... the max should be about £350 for CPU and mobo. That sort of area anyway, oh and I don't mind second hand goods

Asus P5W DH Deluxe - £145

Intel Core Duo 2 Conroe e6300 - £125

You could even change the e6300 to a e6600 and it wouldn't be that much over £350. Froogle tells me the e6600 is around £220 atm.

 

[niko-time]

Thanks to all those who helped me find some bits!

Here's what the new rigs gonna have:

DFI NF4 SLI-DR Expert

AMD Athlon64 FX-60

2x 1GB Corsair XMS PC4400

WD 150GB 16MB Cache Raptor

Nasteq 600W Silent PSU

Now all I need is some bench worthy graphics - but I'll have to sell some more stuff before I can afford it! :$

What to go for? 7800GTX/ 7900GTX/ 7950 GM2???

I would not go for the AMD route, I would go conroe. An E6400 can beat an FX-62 in 85% of benchmarks, so I would not advice going for that.

Graphics whise I would go for the 7900GT/X. The GT is plenty enough to power any game and will hold you out untill DX10.

 

[stocky]

I agree with that, but the FX-60 is overkill for my applications as is...

I will see how I do with it - I rarely keep bits for longer than a couple of months anyway!

 

[niko-time]

But....Isn't the conroe cheeper than it? And better?

 

[stocky]

Yes :$

But I got a good deal on an FX-60 and Expert, so I'll be happy with that for now! Stop making me think I've made a bad decision! :O

 

[DonS1mpson]

Have you deicided on a Video card yet? If you want to spend £200, I'd recommend a X1900XT (They can be found for £200 if you look hard enough) or if you are willing to spend £300, then go for a 7950GX2 (again, if you look hard enough...)

And why does everyone say wait for DX10? There are no guarantees that they’ll wipe the floor with the current DX9 cards so you could just be waiting for nothing

 

[stocky]

That does seem to happen quite a bit - you wait and wait, dates are pushed back, then you keep waiting and then they release another product marginally better than the one you could have had months ago!

Although saying that, the release for DX10 has been quite a while, a suppose its had quite a build up, we'll have to wait and see

I'll have to look into some reviews - I should think the X1900XT is quite a likely candidate