CPU, GPU, & RAM..help me please?

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LYNCH HUNG

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Hey guys i'm in the process of building myself a new PC that i'm planning to use mainly for gaming but also for applications like photoshop, illustrator, flash, fruity loops and reason. I wanted to ask for some opinions and recomendations on what Cpu, Memory, and Graphics card to buy. This is what I had in mind.

CPU - AMD Athlon X2 4400+ or a Opteron 170 or a 175 (which would be a better choice & why?)

GPU - 256Mb Leadtek 7800GTX or a 256Mb XFX 7800 GTX (EVGA isn't available to me in Australia. So which of the two brands do you guys recommend?)

RAM - I want 1Gb but I really am not sure what exactly to look for when buying memory.

I already purchased these two items

Motherboard - DFI LANPARTY UT NF4 SLI-DR Expert

PSU - SilverStone Zeus ST65ZF 650W


I have never overclocked in my life but am interested in giving it a shot (as long as i don't ruin my parts that is).

Thanks in advance
:)
 
1. Id go with a dual core, because not only is it the future of most applications, but if you are going to be running games and doing other things at the same time, dual core reigns supreme. The opteron is better for overclocking though...

2.1 Gig of fast ram should be plenty
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=N82E16820145486
And you can overclock it even faster.

3. Ive heard good things about XFX but I'm not entirely sure.
 
Just like HotkeyCC above, I'd go with dual-core also. I do a lot of multi-tasking and I like the idea of being able to play a game while ripping or burning something at the same time... Or run a defrag, virus scan, spyware scan blah blah blah, and play games at the same time without slowing down.

I believe that dual-cores are the way of the future. There are already a couple of popular games out with patches to fully take advantage of dual-cores. Given the time the majority of apps will mostlikely support dual-cores. If you are planning on any heavy oc'ing, the Opterons are probably your best bet.

As far as RAM 512MB sticks (1GB total for dual-channel), oc better than 1GB sticks (2GB total for dual-channel). Either way you can't go wrong with Corsair XMS series (personal preference here). The Twinx1024-3200C2(PT) or the Twinx2048-3200C2(PT) will give you solid stock performance and can oc a little bit. Timings? Well, generally most will probably tell you the lower the better. That all depends I think specially when your apps feed off of clock speed and not mem bandwidth. To make it simple, just stick with something with a 2 or 2.5 CAS rating. the two Corsairs I mentioned are both rated at 2 CAS. The price is good too for the 1GB dual-channel kit. I think they are still on sale at NewEgg for less than $100 after rebate.

Alpha D.
 
First off i really appreciate the help, so a big thankyou is in order.

Ok so which cpu should i choose, the Opteron 170 or the X2 4400+? Which of the two has the fastest stock speed? And as for the Graphics card should i go XFX or the Leadtek?
 
The 4400 does stock, but you could overclock the opteron higher than you could overclock the 4400. The thing is, when it comes to dual cores vs single cores, the clock speed isnt as big of an issue. Check out some reviews of the FX57 vs the FX60. Although the FX60 is 200 mhz slower, it beat the FX-57 in just about everything, dual core enabled and not.

Personally, I would go with the 4400 but its up to you. Im not going to tell you which you should get, because in this case it really is personal preference.

I would go with the XFX, but Im not 100% sure that its better, or if theres even a difference between the two as far as quality is concerned.
 
HotkeyCC said:
The 4400 does stock, but you could overclock the opteron higher than you could overclock the 4400. The thing is, when it comes to dual cores vs single cores, the clock speed isnt as big of an issue.
Click to expand...

They are both dual cores though, aren't they?
 
Yeah, sorry I wasnt paying attention. So yeah, if you are going to overclock get the opteron, if not get the 4400+. Sorry about that.
 
I would try to get your hands on a 170 if you can, but they are getting scarce now. The 4400+ will be fine.

For ram I would either go OCZ or G.Skill for overclocking
 
Mayhs said:
and id get 2 gigs...that is becoming standard for gaming now
Click to expand...

No it's not, 2 gigs of ram is slower than 1 gig of fast ram when it comes to gaming. The only time you benefit from 2 gigs is on super high res with every setting at its highest, and since he isnt running SLI or crossfire, there is no reason to get 2.
 
discochan said:
I would try to get your hands on a 170 if you can, but they are getting scarce now. The 4400+ will be fine.
Click to expand...

Yeah I cand seems to find a place to buy one.
 
I'm gonna go with 1 Gb of good quality ram. Then later on when I need it i'll get another 1Gb. I'm not sure what to do with the CPU though...Anyone got a opinion on wether to XFX or Leadtek?
 
HotkeyCC said:
No it's not, 2 gigs of ram is slower than 1 gig of fast ram when it comes to gaming. The only time you benefit from 2 gigs is on super high res with every setting at its highest, and since he isnt running SLI or crossfire, there is no reason to get 2.
Click to expand...

2gisg meaning 2 x 1gig in dual channel...try playing FEAR and alt tabbing it and bringing task manager up..it says 1.14gigs used and im on 1 gig...a few of my friends had paging on 1 gig in FEAR and BF2 and when they upgraded it disappeared... and hes buying a 7800gtx which will be able to run games at high res...so he does require it...he might multi task too you never know...

if he does only get 1 gig (2x512) then when he NEEDS to upgrade in the near future hell have to run his memory at 166 and 4x512 which is slower than 2x1gig :p
 
LYNCH HUNG said:
I'm gonna go with 1 Gb of good quality ram. Then later on when I need it i'll get another 1Gb. I'm not sure what to do with the CPU though...Anyone got a opinion on wether to XFX or Leadtek?
Click to expand...

Honestly man, I dont think it matters. Oh, well gl then.
 
I've decided to go with these two. Costing me a pretty penny but it should be worth it.

CPU - AMD Athlon X2 4400+

GPU - XFX 512Mb 7800 GTX
 
LYNCH HUNG said:
I've decided to go with these two. Costing me a pretty penny but it should be worth it.

CPU - AMD Athlon X2 4400+

GPU - XFX 512Mb 7800 GTX
Click to expand...

Holy cow...Nice=)
 
Yeah. God that graphics card is expensive. Im paying $1125 (Australian dollar) for it. It is a decent jump from the 256Mb right?
 
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