Hello, I need recommendations for a long lasting computer

D

Damodred

Limp Gawd
Joined
Feb 27, 2007
Messages
171
Hi

My current setup (in sign) is working well but I feel its a bit dated now plus its a three year old installation so it is time to update. Im looking for a system that will last as long (at least aiming for that) as my current setup. So the motherboard is more important than the cpu, which I can update as needed without reinstalling. I understand that Intel is about to launch Nehalem in a few months and AMD is working on AM3, should I wait for these before I buy? If not, what would you recommend today? I've updated my rig slightly, running three monitors and therefor Id like to combine a built in graphiccard and keep my current one as well. Is this possible with the motherboards today? Also looking for some easy overclocking. Is DDR2 the way to go or wait for DDR3?

So what are you guys recommending?

Motherboard
Cpu
Ram (I want 8gb)

Got the rest
Thanks in advance :)



Edit: Ops I realised this should be in the General forum...Could someone move it? Sorry...
 
Longlasting depends on what you are doing with it, and how much you are willing to spend.

1.) DDR2 is a lot cheaper than DDR3 and does not fall behind unless you buy DDR3 with speeds of around 1600mhz
2.) I would recommend the Q6600 because its cheap as hell, overclocks really well, 4 cores, and future proof for next gen multi threaded and multi cored apps
3.) Motherboard depends, since you are doing 3 monitors I would think you are doing SLI or XFire so I would say the X48 chipset for crossfire, or a 790i chipset for SLI
Recommended : X48 I like the Asus Rampage Formula
as for the 790i chipset Idk because I dont keep up with nVidia chipsets.
3.) The Corsair XMS2 Dominator series are uber overclockers and plus they are corsair.
 
Thanks for the reply

Most I do is surfing, some casual gaming (this one is important, once I game I want to do it with high settings), and some general working. I havent set a max price yet, seeing as I dont know what Im looking for yet.

1. Sounds like DDR2 is the way to go then
2. Heard a lot good about this one, by default it should outperform my Opteron 165 at 2900mhz, right? For future upgrades, is this the same socket as for the upcoming Nehalem?
3. Im not using SLI actually but I have two graphic cards. Will have a look at the crossfire- chipset because my current cards are from ATI. HD4870 also seem to be beast, and in my opinion one or two will last pretty long.
 
Yea at default the Q6600 would be a good 20-30% faster than my E6550 clocked at 3.0GHZ. And DDR2 can be had for 1/3 the price of DDR3. Lol the 4870 are the beast for the price, 2 will last a long time, especially for what you do.
 
Nehalem will use a completely different socket from the Q6600's LGA755 socket. In fact Nehalem will use two different socket types: one meant for higher performance systems and the other for budget mainstream systems. So as a CPU upgrade path, Intel's current socket 775 is a dead-end.

Now AMD socket AM3 CPUs is suppose to be backwards compatible with socket AM2 and AM2+ CPUs and sockets. However don't think that'll work out well. AMD's socket AM2+ CPUs were suppose to be compatible with socket AM2 motherboards. However, it turns out, out of the hundred or so socket AM2 mothreboards out there, only 20 or so of them could actually support socket AM2+ CPUs. So as a CPU upgrade path, AMD isn't much better.

And yes it is possible to use an onboard video to drive a 3rd monitor. However, that is only capable with AMD's 780G chipset, so you'll have to go with an AMD CPU. And the onboard video is limited to a max res of 1280x1024 IIRC.

Definitely stick with an Intel chipset and Intel CPU. They're more stable and reliable than their Nvidia counterparts. I recommend these motherboards:
Gigabyte GA-EP43-DS3L Intel P43 Motherboard - $90
MSI P45 Neo3-FR Intel P45 Motherboard - $120
Gigabyte GA-EP45-DS3R Intel P45 Motherboard - $145
Asus P5Q Pro Intel P45 Motherboard - $150
DFI Lanparty DK X38-T2R Intel X38 Motherboard - $185
Gigabyte GA-X48-DS4 Intel X48 Motherboard - $225

Just to help you out: Everyone of these motherboards have PCI-E 2.0 which may be useful for future upgrades. If you don't need RAID, more than 6 SATA ports and only need semi-decent overclocking, check out the DS3L. If you need 8 SATA ports, RAID, 4 PCI slots, and legacy ports, then get the Neo3-Fr. If you don't need more than 6 SATA ports but want RAID, firewire, a second PCI-E x16 port, a second gigabit port, support for 16GB of RAM, optional eSATA, and high overclocks, then get the DS3R. If you like the DS3R but need 8 SATA ports, want an onboard pre-installed fast booting Linux setup or don't need a second gigabit port, get the Asus P5Q Pro. If you want Crossfire with full x16/x16 bandwidth, get the Lanparty DK X38.
 
So...hmm okay...
I tried google but I end up with too many answers, do you know when Nehalem and AM3 is supposed to be released? It might be worth the wait (and the eventual higher price) just to get a platform that will last for a bit.
 
Damodred said:
So...hmm okay...
I tried google but I end up with too many answers, do you know when Nehalem and AM3 is supposed to be released? It might be worth the wait (and the eventual higher price) just to get a platform that will last for a bit.
Click to expand...

Nehalem will be released in Q4 of 2008. However, like what happened with the Intel Core 2 Duo CPUs, only the high-end Nehalem CPUs and motherboards will be out. Though IIRC, one of the Nehalem CPUs being released in Q4 2008 will be around $300. So factor in about $1000 for the motherboard, CPU and DDR3 RAM. Though if there's a high demand for these CPUs, which there will be, expect to see jacked-up prices for the Nehalem CPUs and motherboards. Might be as high as $1000 for the CPU and motherboard alone.

AM3 is due out sometime in Q4 2008 as well along with AMD's 45nm CPUs.

But don't bother with worrying about CPU upgrade paths. No matter what, you'll end up replacing your CPU and motherboard whether you wait 6 months or 3 years from now. Despite staying with the same socket, Intel keeps changing their chipsets which forces people to upgrade their motherboard if they want the new CPU. Example: Intel's 925 chipset is not compatible with Intel's 65nm C2D CPUs, the P965 chipset is not compatible with Intel's 45nm C2D CPUs , etc. AMD changes sockets every few years or so.

So don't worry about the longevity of your system. Your system will last as long as you want it to last. Don't upgrade just for the sake of upgrading. Is your system actually slow? Can it not handle everything you ask of it?

Wait until you can no longer wait and then buy/build the system.
 
many wise words there. I dont really 'need' to upgrade, however I need another computer and it feels pretty convenient in my head (I hear a lot in my head, from time to time) to buy a new, faster, system and keep the old one (will serve as backup to my fileserver). Main problem is that even the slightest upgrade right now would force me to buy a new motherboard, cpu and memory so buying a whole new, high end, system might be the best solution.
 
I went through this process recently. I had a 4 year computer that was beyond being upgraded (no PCI-E, no Core2Duos, etc) for what I wanted to do with it. It served me well.
So, I was pricing buying a new system from Dell (Quad core for about $499 if you shop around) or building a new system. It comes down to what you want to do with it.
If you go the Dell route, your upgrade options are limited. They have a 350W PSU and a motherboard that was not built for upgraders (sure you can probably add some memory, but does it have a PCI-E 2.0 slot? SLI? Not sure...). For certain uses, I think a Dell is fine. It's cheaper and you don't have to monkey around installing hardware, software, etc.
If you build your own - you can pick out exactly what you want. If you choose certain components wisely, your new system can be upgraded over time (if you want).
I spent about $800 on my new system. It's more than I was planning on spending - however, I believe most of this system will likely be around for the next 3-4 years.
I picked the Asus p5Q Prop Mobo. It supports Crossfire. I can drop in another video card and get an instant boost.
It supports (I think) up to 8 GB ram. I currently only have 2gb in it. (I'm forced to run a 32 bit OS for now - I use a VPN client for work and they do not support Vista yet).
I can also upgrade the CPU. I went with the E7200 Dual Core. I have it OC'd to 3.2 ghz. I spent a lot of time debating about the Q6660 or this processor. Tough choice...
 
Damodred said:
many wise words there.
Click to expand...

Yes, Danny Bui is very knowledgeable :)

Damodred said:
I dont really 'need' to upgrade, however I need another computer and it feels pretty convenient in my head (I hear a lot in my head, from time to time) to buy a new, faster, system and keep the old one (will serve as backup to my fileserver).
Click to expand...

It sounds like you will be buying a pre-built computer instead of building your own. In that case, I highly recommend AVA Direct. Other boutique vendors that are popular here on [H] are Puget Systems, Velocity Micro, and Maingear. All of them have good customer support, but AVA Direct is the least expensive, and has a huge number of components available. You can also check out http://www.resellerratings.com for more reviews of these companies.

I recently purchased a computer from AVA Direct. If you are interested, you can read my review here.

I would be more than happy to help you configure a system at AVA Direct, if you decide to use them, and decide when you want to buy, and how much you want to spend.
 
Damodred said:
many wise words there. I dont really 'need' to upgrade, however I need another computer and it feels pretty convenient in my head (I hear a lot in my head, from time to time) to buy a new, faster, system and keep the old one (will serve as backup to my fileserver). Main problem is that even the slightest upgrade right now would force me to buy a new motherboard, cpu and memory so buying a whole new, high end, system might be the best solution.
Click to expand...

Well what are you using your PC for anyway? Gaming? Photoshop?
 
AndonSage: Thanks for the offer and the links! But I live in Sweden so can't really use them. My plan is to build a new system myself so I can chose parts. However, buying from Dell or similar start to sound more convenient every day, guess Im getting old...

Is there any idea to get the cpus with a higher bus- speed? For example, what does the Q9300, or the Q9550, do better than the Q6600?

Danny Bui: Well Im using it for everything, a bit of gaming, some work, some photoshop (very basic), surfing - if I ever need a computer, my current computer is the one that can do it. "It just works" is a term I have stolen from someone. Being a Windows Server 2003 user, I like to play around with webservers, fileservers, remote administration, remote backups and so on as well.
 
Damodred said:
Is there any idea to get the cpus with a higher bus- speed? For example, what does the Q9300, or the Q9550, do better than the Q6600?
Click to expand...
On average, the Q9300 is 7% faster than the Q6600 in games and apps. The Q9550 is roughly 10 to 15% faster than the Q6600. All three CPUs overclock about the same. However, the Q9300 and Q9550 are a bit harder to overclock since they have a lower multiplier and cannot take as much voltage as the Q6600. The Q9300 and Q9550 do run a bit cooler and uses up less power than the Q6600.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top