Budget PC build help

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counihan3

Weaksauce
Joined
May 22, 2008
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I am looking at rebuilding my pc, I am trying to keep it cheap. I am going to be reusing alot of my components so I only need a cpu, motherboard, and ram. But I have run into the problem of not knowing whether to go with AMD or Intel. I have always built AMD but everyone is saying to go with Intel now. I do a little gaming and some video encoding. I was thinking of going with AMD becuase it looks like their new chip size will give me more upgrade options, but I am not sure if that is worth it. Here is what I am looking at. I have never oc'd but wouldn't mind trying, and I am going to run XP, at least until vista gets better support.
AMD
AMD X2 4850e 45 watt or AMD 64 X2 5000+ Brisbane Black addition
Gigabyte GA-MA74GM-S2H
GSkill 2GB (2x1GB)
Arctic Cooler 64

Intel
C2D E4500 or E4600
Gigabyte GA-G31M-S2L
GSkill 2GB (2x1GB)
Arctic Cooler 7
 
Both look like good setups, but may I ask why you're going with microATX motherboards? Are you going to utilize the onboard graphics?

And specifically, which parts are you going to reuse?
 
MicroATX just becuase they were cheap, is there a draw back that I am unaware of. 2 320GB Seagate 7200.11, DVD-RW, 7900GTS video card, 430w Antec power supply, and my case. I am not sure if I want to use my old soundcard or not, its one of the Audigy Pros, but it is several years old. Would one be better than the other in long terms of upgrading?
 
counihan3 said:
Would one be better than the other in long terms of upgrading?
Click to expand...

Well in terms of CPU upgrades, neither is better than the other.

Intel is switching to a new CPU socket later this year when their new Nehalem CPUs come out in Q4 2008. The mainstream parts won't be out till Q1 2009. The Nehalem CPUs will not be compatible with the current 775 socket since the Nehalem CPUs will now have an onboard memory controller like AMD CPUs do. So basically, this is the last year for socket 775.

AMD on the other hand may look like they have the better future since they have said in the past that their AM3 as well as AM2+ socket CPUs will be backwards compatible socket AM2 motherboards. However recent events have shown that isn't the case. When AMD's Phenom AM2+ CPUs came out, only 17 motherboards officially supported them at launch and for the next few months. Right now, there are still compatibility problems even with AM2+ motherboards. Many 740G and 780G mobos cannot support AMD's 125W Phenom CPUs due to a poor phase design IIRC. So considering these events, don't expect AMD's socket AM3 CPUs to be actually compatible with your AMD motherboard.

Thus, neither have good CPU upgrade paths.

Also, the E4500 performs just a little bit better than the X2 5000+:
http://www.anandtech.com/cpuchipsets/showdoc.aspx?i=3112&p=11

However once you OC the E4500, clock for clock, it will beat the X2 5000+. In fact, even the cheap $60 E2180 OC'd to 3.0Ghz will beat the X2 5000+.
Intel Pentium Dual Core E2180 CPU - $60

The P35-S3G would allow to use more than 4GB of RAM.
 
then would the GIGABYTE GA-P35-S3G and the E7200 be the best, there's about a $40 difference, and then overclock?
 
Yes, that'd probably be the way to go, but if you want to save more money even the E2160 is a very capable chip, faster than AMD's dual cores once OCed..
 
This will more than likely be my workhorse for a while, so I don't mind spending a little extra if it is worth it. I think that the motherboard upgrade is needed, but i don't know whether to get the E7200 or the E4600. Also would the Arctic Freezer be enough, or should I look at getting something different if I am going to oc?
 
I think I'd swing for the 7200. Around 20% performance increase for around 10% price premium.

If you're playing World in Conflict, definitely e7200.
 
I would recommend you get the GA-EP35-DS3L instead of the GA-P35-S3G. It has a better power supply to CPU (4 phase versus 3), better audio (Realtek ALC888 with digital outs so you can ditch your old sound card), and more room on FSB to overclock. It'll support a future CPU upgrade + overclock better and it's only a few bucks more.

As for CPU, I'd skip the E4500 and go with either an E2180 for $60 or a Q6600 depending on how much video encoding you really do. I say E2180 over E4500 as the extra 1MB L2 cache means virtually nothing in video encoding and neither CPU when overclocked will limit your 7900GTS. Q6600 won't hold you back with your gaming either but it'll be far faster encoding video than a dual.
 
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