Need help building a new uatx system

C

commissioneranthony

[H]ard|Gawd
2FA
Joined
Jul 2, 2008
Messages
1,352
First off, I desperately need to substitute my 1.2ghz t-bird system since it can't handle almost all of the work I conduct on my pc. This includes Photoshop, video editing, playing videos online (video.google.com), opening 50+ tabs on firefox, video conferencing online, minor games (C & C 95, tiberium wars, renegade, C&C 3, populous the beginning) or any sort of multitasking, transferring data (usb 1.1), etc.
I am not looking for my new rig to play crysis @80fps. I would just like a quad core system that can handle playing music/video, word 2007 and firefox at the same time, no lagg whatsoever.

Here's what I have so far for my build:
-PC Power & cooling 610 silencer
-Lian LI pcv-350b
-corsair 1066 mhz xms2 ram (2x1024)
-pioneer 16x dvd drive
-usb mem card reader
-(2) 8800gts 320mb gpu's, will probably use one though
-Arctic cooling freezer 64 (skt 939, AM2/+

Here's my ideas so far:

Motherboard
​
-DFI uatx mobod: either AMD or intel. Here are all the models I am considering:
AMD
-LP JR 790GX-M2RS
INTEL
-LP JR P45-T2RS
-LP JR GF9300-T2RS
-LP JR GF9400-T2RS
-LP JR P45 T3RS
all of these mobods have 2 x16 slots, adequate sata and 4 ram slots. more than enough usb and ocing abilities and plenty of nice features.
*I will not consider any other manufacturer of matx mobods, not gigabyte, asus, asrock, biostar, etc...
CPU
​
AMD:
-Phenom x4 9950be 125 w or 140w edition

Intel:
-Q6600
-Q9300
-Q9450
-Q9550
-Core 2 extreme (quadcore)
Heatsink
​
-I have not conducted research other than the true copper heatsink from thermalright, nice review by the way.
-I don't think a freezer 64 will cool a 9950be well at all, probably not well at all on an oc

Harddrive
​
-Have not decided yet. Will not consider an excelstore hdd, you'd understand
-I have not conducted research of a hdd yet, bare with me
-HDD must have at least 90mb sec read/write, prefer 100 though
-*I don't care about storage, I care about speed, even if the hdd is 40gb, speed matters most
-Hdd must be bigger than 30gb, that's the smallest I can go
-3 yr warrenty at least
-mechanical hdd, no ssd, out of price range
-considering raid
-2.5in or 3.5in depending

Budget explanation
​
-My budget is up $500 or $600 depending
-Located in Huntington, New York, 11743
-I can't buy Items over a $200 price tag, that is the max of gift cards sold near me. If an item is $250 I might be able to do it if I nag my parents but then again that's very flaky. I don't have a credit/credit card, I am not of age. Unfortunately you can't do much at 16 these days.

OC'ing
​
-I will be overclocking this rigg, probably not at first though (after a months or so stable)

Monitor
​
-I have a Hyundai TN 1280x1024 monitor, which is plenty. I will not upgrade the monitor until after rigg is build and running. 20-22in screens are also kinda expensive.

-This rigg will be build before end of December PERIOD. I can't be productive on a 1.4ghz t-bird anymore.

This rigg also must last 4-5 years. My Compaq lasted 9 at least and I'm using it now...

The predominant issue:
I can't decide on whether I should create an Intel build or an AMD build. I am focused on expandability and upgrade-ability and don't have the time to wait for the AM3 and i7 platforms to develop fully. I already have ddr2 ram so I don't want to be faced with another expenditure either, as with ddr3. There is a possibility that AMD will produce AM3 cpu's compatible with am2+, but that is a very big iff (AM2+ with AM2 compatibility). Intel platform doesn't have very much expandability either. All I'd be able to upgrade to would be from a Q6600 to a Q9550 or so. My options are limited, but I think in the long run the 775 platform would outperform the AMD, assuming the AM3 cpu's will be unable to compete with Intel's.

Any help would be greatly appreciated.
 
The list of demands that you've made of us makes things difficult.

For starters, the 320MB 8800GTS isn't the best card to build around. To support two of them properly, you would need to find a board that supports SLI, which limits what you could get. Having looked at the thread on the LP JR GF9400-T2RS, I don't like what I'm seeing. (Keep in mind that the 8800GTS is a dual-slot card.)

And what issue do you have with non-DFI motherboards?

Gift cards? Where were you planning on buying everything from?
 
I'm probably not gonna use both of the 8800's, just one since there are no dfi nvidia certified matx sli mobods yet. I just wanted to state I had 2 for possibilities. Also, I buy most of my stuff from newegg, ZZF and Tigerdirect. IF there's a site with a deal like $5 less than newegg or so, I'll go for it.

The reason I don't like any other company other than DFI is because I have had bad experience with Gigabyte and asus. I have purchased 2 am2 Gigabyte mobods in the past and they have all has serious problems, my S5 mobod didn't overclock and took 3 min to pass bios every start. my S3h had serious chipset issues and did not post more than twice due to some error in manufacture. The asus mobod I had with my p4 was lacking everything needed for a stable pc, no sata, no overclocking and a tendency to burn out ide cables. And a Asus M3n78-vm which I purchased from newegg did not boot with any of the 3 ram types I has even though all I had were on the mem support list. That's why I'm going DFI. My Asrock mobod also didn't overclock and has sata 1.5, which annoyed me, after learning there are 3 versions of the same mobod. biostar mobods don't seem to have enough features I need, but their ocing is usually pretty good.
 
With the resolution you're using, you have no need for CrossFire or SLI. There are plenty of cards out now -- even a few for $200 or less -- that can power your monitor much better than the antiquated 8800GTS can.

I'm going to suggest the following (the stuff that I've reused from your list is in italics):

Keep: PSU, case, card reader, DVD burner, ONE 320MB 8800GTS
Sell: RAM, CPU cooler, second 320MB 8800GTS

AMD Build
$140 - DFI LP JR 790GX-M2RS
$170 - AMD Phenom X4 9550 (free shipping)
$37 - Xigmatek HDT-S1283 (free shipping & $10 mail-in rebate)
$60 - G.Skill 2x2GB DDR2 1066 (free shipping)
$70 - Western Digital SE16 640GB SATA HDD (free shipping)
$80 - Vista Home Premium 64-bit OEM (free shipping)
=====
$557 - Subtotal (not including shipping, taxes, or rebates)


Intel Build
$150 - DFI LP JR P45-T2RS
$190 - Intel Core 2 Quad Q6600 (free shipping)
$37 - Xigmatek HDT-S1283 (free shipping & $10 mail-in rebate)
$45 - G.Skill 2x2GB DDR2 800 (free shipping)
$70 - Western Digital SE16 640GB SATA HDD (free shipping)
$80 - Vista Home Premium 64-bit OEM (free shipping)
=====
$572 - Subtotal (not including shipping, taxes, or rebates)

Both setups included the same things. The Xigmatek HDT-S1283 is one of the best CPU coolers around. The WD6400AAKS is as fast as the last-gen Raptor X. Since you didn't tell us whether or not you had an OS license handy , I included a 64-bit copy of Vista Home Premium as an insurance measure. With the 64-bit OS, you'll also have full use of your 4GB of RAM -- which would make running Photoshop and having 50 open tabs in FireFox much easier on you.

However, for overclocking, it would be better to go with a 2x2GB set than having four 1GB sticks. With that said, I included a different 4GB set. The Q6600 really doesn't benefit from RAM faster than DDR2 800 (though, to be honest, I'm somewhat ignorant of the Phenom's overclocking potential). Speaking of which, your $200-per-component limit narrowed my Intel choices down to the Q6600.

What do you think?
 
Well, I have a copy of every vista edition made and windows xp 32bit and x64. I will most likely be using vista 64 bit or win xp, depending.

Also, I would be using both my 8800's because I have one for use in my 939 rig and one fr this rig. Since I can't run sli, I will just use 1. I don't see the need to upgrade my gpu because a $200 investment wouldn't be worth it if most of my time is used looking at blank word documents.

I was planning to upgrade my ram later on, since ddr2 prices will continue to fall as ddr3 is introduced and eventually buy 4 2gb sticks, but I'd still prefer 1066 speed. I'd like to take advantage of the ram I already have, so I don't have to spend extra.

My main argument was whether it's worth to build an intel rig or amd rig in the long run. Any imput?

I definitely agree with the heatsink choice, because I feel I'd max out my arctic cooling. However, If I'd go amd, I'd choose a 9950be

Also, will the heatsink fit in a 350b case? I haven't checked, I'll check the thread in a few minutes
 
The link that I provided IS for the Black Edition model.

You would benefit from having at least 4GB of memory. At the prices they are now, why wait to get more? However, many vendors are either out of stock or asking too much for another 2GB of Corsair XMS2 DDR2 1066 RAM -- especially compared to the current prices of a 4GB DDR2 800 or 1000 kit.

The long story short is that while either platform (Socket 775 or AM2+) would be an improvement over your current setup, their overall longevity (in terms of additional available parts) are in question. As you've already mentioned earlier, there's no guarantee that AM3 will work properly (right off the bat) with AM2. Once the mainstream parts arrive for the Core i7 (scheduled for some time around Q2-Q3 of next year), Socket 775 will shortly thereafter see EOL status.

Ideally, you'd get something (near) top of the line now so you could use it with very few tweaks over the next few years. But since you've waited for so long already, I almost want to recommend that you wait it out.
 
I think I'm gonna go the cheapest way possible, since the wait would be unbearable and spending top dollar would be non beneficial. Technically, All I need is a cpu, mainbord, heatsink and hdd. It's still a rough decision though. I think the AMd system would be cheaper though.
 
I'm going with the Amd platform, It's cheaper and has longer lasting upgrades Phenom II and more stable mem controller, advantage of my 1066 ram and possibility of 6 core/32nm tech
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top