Need help with possible AMD Phenom build

3

3far4shot

Gawd
Joined
Nov 4, 2006
Messages
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I dont know much about AMD's best Phenom motherboards. Could someone please price out a good phenom system. I already have a case, monitor and KB/Mouse, but the rest is a mystery. I dont have plans to OC. I may go Crossfire in the future tho. And i need a DDR2 mobo that doesn't need a BIOS update or something to support Phenoms. But i still dont know where to start and whats a good mobo?
 
No offense, but why are you considering a Phenom build? A similar Intel-based build (based on even the Q6600) could easily beat it in most tasks.

Additionally....

tiraides said:
For those who are overwhelmed by the variety of choices out there, or are too lazy to do some research first:

If you post a thread asking for help in building your rig, the following are some of the questions you should answer -- or will have to answer -- before you get any help from us.

  • What is your budget? Are shipping and/or taxes included within that budget?
  • Where do you live? Where are you (planning on) buying everything at?
  • Which components do you need to get? Which components do you already have? Which components are you going to reuse (from older builds)?
  • What are you going to use your computer for? Which games/programs are you going to use?
  • Do you plan on overclocking? Are you going to use water (or some other form of "exotic") cooling?
  • Which monitor are you using? What resolution do you use? Are you using multiple monitors? Do you plan on buying a new/multiple monitor(s) any time soon?
  • Which features do you want on the motherboard?
  • How long do you want this system to last? Are you (planning on) making any incremental upgrades during that time?
Again, be as specific AND as brief as possible. But please -- do some research first, and at least check out some of the more recent "help me build" threads before posting your own.
Click to expand...
 
1. Budget is about $600 to $700

2. Live in U.S. and planning to buy from Newegg.com

3. I am reusing my Case, Mouse, Keyboard and Monitor.

4.Computer will be used for Gaming and Internet usage no benchmarking.

5.No, i am not OCing and i am water cooling.

6.I am using one monitor, a Hanns.g 19'' Widescreen and i game at 1440x900, not planning for new monitor

7. What it to support Phenom out of the box and want to use Crossfire and DDR2 RAM.

8. It should last a long time and i have no planes to upgrade it till somthing really good comes out.
 
And i am also trying to choose between this build and another build with a E8200 in it which runs at 2.66Ghz. But remember i am not OCing.
 
You don't need CrossFire (or SLI, for that matter) for a 19" LCD.

But why again do you want Phenom? Is it because you want a quad-core, or are you trying to support AMD?

Which case are you reusing, and does your water cooling kit fit well inside that case?
 
Well, just to try a new CPU and there Quads are cheaper (Plus there HSF are better so i dont feel like i am about to break the board). But i could stay with Intel, but i dont want to OC and Intel are basically based on OCing them. I was thinking about picking up a Core 2 Duo E8200 Wolfdale(2.66ghz) but i dont want to OC it and there maybe something cheaper on AMD's side with a faster clock speed. And i dont need crossfire i guess(was just thinking about more power).

Case is a Cooler Master CM690. Btw i don't want to Water cool it was a typo.
 
While the appeal with Intel is that you can overclock their processors easily, they are still very competitive at stock speeds. The Q6600 can perform better than all (save for their high-end Black Edition) other Phenoms at stock.

For gaming, however, you don't really need a quad core, as few games utilize them properly. A faster dual-core, like the E8400, would be better for your needs.

Before I offer a recommendation, I have a few more questions to ask....

- Which features do you want/need on the motherboard?
- Which games are you going to play with this system?
- Do you already have a(n unused) license of Windows available? If so, XP or Vista (and which version)? 32-bit or 64-bit?
 
For the motherboard, if i get Intel i want it to have 45nm support out of the box i here the Asus P5Q Pro is a good board and i might pick that up. I also am using DDR2 memory. And if possible i would like a board with PCI-E 2.0.

If i go AMD i just need something reliable, i havent build a AMD system in a while(Since AMD Athlon 64 3200+) So i dont know what mobo i would really pic for AMD(probably would like a board with the stuff i suggested above for Intel also).
 
Intel's P43 and P45 chipsets support 45nm processors and PCI Express 2.0 right out of the box. Here's a short list based on the features they have:

Danny Bui said:
Gigabyte GA-EP43-DS3L Intel P43 Motherboard - $95
MSI P45 Neo3-FR Intel P45 Motherboard - $120
Gigabyte GA-EP45-DS3R Intel P45 Motherboard - $135
Asus P5Q Pro Intel P45 Motherboard - $150
DFI Lanparty DK X38-T2R Intel X38 Motherboard - $180
Asus P5E Deluxe Intel X48 Motherboard - $220
Gigabyte GA-X48-DS4 Intel X48 Motherboard - $225

Just to help you out: All of these motherboards have PCI-E 2.0 which may be useful for future GPU 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, x8/x8 Crossfire, 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, only need support for 8GB of RAM and 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. Do note that the Asus website can be slow sometimes. If you have cash to burn and don't give a damn about getting the most value for your money, get the Asus or Gigabyte X48 motherboards.
Click to expand...

I'll start by creating a "base" to build upon:

$80 - G.Skill 4GB (2x2GB) DDR2 800 dual channel kit
$90 - Western Digital Caviar 640GB SATA HDD
$27 - Samsung SH-S203N SATA DVD burner
$125 - EVGA 9600GT ($20 mail-in rebate)
$70 - Antec Earthwatts 500W power supply
=====
$392 - Subtotal (not including shipping, taxes, or rebates)

A note on the video card: The 9600GT is good enough for most games at the resolution you're playing. If you want slightly better performance, you could go with the 8800GT (which can be found for around $150 before rebates); however, I don't believe the HD4850 is worth it unless you plan on some serious gameplay (like, Crysis with everything maxed out).

The above "base" gives about $300 (minus shipping, if that's included within your budget) to play with for a processor and a motherboard.

AMD Build:

$105 - ASUS M3N78 Pro
$114 - AMD Athlon X2 6000+ OR
$205 - AMD Phenom 9850
=====
$219/$310 - Subtotal (dual-core/quad-core) of AMD build
$611/$702 - System subtotal (dual-core/quad-core - not including, shipping taxes, or rebates)

Intel Build:

$100 - MSI P45 Neo-F
$125 - Intel Core 2 Duo E7200 OR
$200 - Intel Core 2 Quad Q6600
=====
$225/$300 - Subtotal (dual-core/quad-core) of Intel build
$617/$692 - System subtotal (dual-core/quad-core - not including, shipping taxes, or rebates)
 
Thanks a whole lot triaides!!:) And thanks for the Intel info. And thanks for the sweet list of mobos danny.;)
 
think out loud... er... think with your keyboard... er... let us know what you're thinking so we can help you decide, hehe.
 
Intel's processors are more powerful, and run with less wattage... besides, how often are you going to look at the HSFs?

If you need a computer right now, I recommend going with Intel. It doesn't cost that much more for comparatively better performance -- especially in regards to quad core processors.
 
Intel's chips don't run that hot, so they don't need 4-heatpipe HSFs if ran at stock speeds. ;)
 
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