Pentium D 820 vs E6300... ???

[newbiestnoob]

Sorry for the Noob questions... but that's what I currently am

Pentium D 820 @ 2.8/800 vs E6300 @ 1.89/1066

I've never OC'ed, and if I did would keep it very conservative.

Which is better? I really have zero idea on these things, though I'd guess the Conroe. If I order the pre-made box, I'll be putting 4gigs of 533mhz for the 820, or 4gigs of 667mhz for the Conroe.

Use??? Photoshop with files ballooning up to 2gigs, and will be even bigger in the future. I plan to use the 3gig switch to give PS as much memory as possible and XP can work with what's left.

Feel free to school me on anything else that you think I may need. I'm planning to order something from Dell, so any advice in regards to that are quite welcome also.

Doh! Also: Would it just be foolish not to spend an extra $150 and get the 6600?

Thanks bunches,
Newbiest

 

[Adidas4275]

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=N82E16814130017

in terms of the video card..... $150 for a 6600 is too much, get this card ^ and install it yourself

 

[BinaryApe]

I'm Fairly Sure he was talking about an E6600 since he was talking about a proc. Yes Its worth getting the E6600 over the 6300 since it has 4mb of cache. The E6700 is not worth it though!

 

[newbiestnoob]

I'm Fairly Sure he was talking about an E6600 since he was talking about a proc.

Yes, I was. Sorry about that Adidas! I should have been more clear, but thanks for looking out for me all the same.

Yes Its worth getting the E6600 over the 6300 since it has 4mb of cache. The E6700 is not worth it though!

That's what I figured. All I see is numbers, however, and can only guess at what performance increases lurk behind them.

 

[StealthyFish]

Although E6700 has unlocked multipliers... that = higher bus speeds and ultimately, maybe better Overclock.

Look at all of the reviews. Everywhere has reviews of conroes. Toms Hardware, Xbit labs, anywhere. Just look for em and you'll find them. You'll find a HUGE performance increase over a PD820.

 

[newbiestnoob]

You'll find a HUGE performance increase over a PD820.

Yes, but are we talking the 6600/6700 when you say HUGE; or the E6300 as well? I want to make sure on that. I've looked at several Conroe reviews (thus my interest), but still can't really get a grasp how much of a potential improvement over a PD820 it might be (E6300). I know the 6600 will be much nicer by sheer virtue of the increased cache. The PD820, however, is about one full GHz faster, though only 800 FSB. I really don't know how that works out in real world performance, which I'm looking to drive fairly intense photo editing in PS CS.

Here's the general idea: Is it worth my while to go for a Conroe over the PD820 in the first place? If it is, I'd likely spend an extra $150 for the 6600 version since, economically speaking, it would be almost criminal not to.

To let you all in on a little interesting detail, I'm not paying for the system. If I were, I'd simply see if my account balance could afford the higher grade CPU and wouldn't bother anyone here. Since, however, I'm really spending someone else's money, I'm trying to figure whether or not I'd be justified in seeking the added performance. In other words, is there enough real performance increase to justify asking for more dough towards what will by my personal computer?

Edit: The system with the E6600 is just about $2200, while a virtually identical PD820 would run $1700 (slower memory, lesser audio which I don't care about)

 

[tpfaff]

Is there a reason your not building this system yourself? If you dont know how you can find some decent tutorials here. You would save a good deal of money

 

[newbiestnoob]

Is there a reason your not building this system yourself? If you dont know how you can find some decent tutorials here. You would save a good deal of money

I'd love to do it if there is enough potential savings. Even if it weren't that much, I suppose it'd still be worth it for the knowledge gain. What do you suggest? I live in Japan which does add some shipping costs for what I cannot get locally (either price or lack of availability).

What do you think I could build a system for? Keep in mind I know nothing but that (I've now determined) I want one of the Conroes, 4gigs of memory, whatever is an edequate graphics card for PSing.

Potential savings and higher learning will always cause me to listen

P.S. Thanks for the hint about xbitlabs.com above. They had exactly what I was looking for regarding the 6300/820. For some reason I didn't think I'd be able to find such a clear breakdown of the info I needed... but low and behold... Thanks all!

 

[tpfaff]

hmm ok i dont know what kinda shipping charges youd get there but I get all of my parts from newegg.com, and it really is just a great experience to build your own, if you saved only a like 100 dollars(which here in the us youd save alot more I just dont know how the shipping would work out) Its still pretty valuable to know how to do it, for upgrading in the future and fixing internal problems yourself, I bought my computer from gateway, and soon after I realized that my 1000$ computer could be had for just around 700(Id say 300$ is enough to DIY) if you DIY, I have a custom rig now but you should really go for it. Give me your budget and ill show you what components id buy besides your e6600 If i was given that money

 

[newbiestnoob]

Well, if you don't mind, how about first giving me an idea of how easy/difficult it is to put one together once I've acquired all the parts. I'm not horrendous at DIY or anything and it doesn't seem like it would be rocket science or anything to do, but I'd like a general sense of what to expect on a first build.

I'll have to get a budget from the generous person who is gonna lay out the money, though my personal hope is that I could put something together for around $1500 or so. It'll probably be pretty difficult, though, because the monitor I'm looking at (Dell's 2007FPW) is $459.

 

[PrkChpXprss]

Here's my suggestion -- You most likely will save anywhere between 10% and 50% depending on components and budget. But if someone else is contributing the money AND you don't want the hassle of building / troubleshooting / repairing your own PC, then go with a pre-built system from a well-known vendor. They are much easier to deal with in the long run if you are short of time and/or patience. I find myself short of both lately (cause / effect?)

If you build a system yourself, be VERY prepared that you could get a component that doesn't work properly and/or isn't compatible with other components for one reason or another. The more research you do, the better chance you have at picking components that play nicely together. There are several people on various message boards that may say "I've built 1,328 systems and have never had a problem!", but who's interest are they really serving? Are they just trying to justify building a system themselves, or are they honestly looking out for you?

Also, if you are going the Dell route, you can save alot of money by looking for coupon codes and/or special deals. Check the Hot Deals thread here or slickdeals.net, or some other Google search (e.g. Dell Coupon Code)

Cheers

 

[newbiestnoob]

Thanks, PrkChpXprss, I think that is solid advice. The thing is, I'd actually like to build it myself so that I can fix it myself if and when the time(s) come. The only reason I was thinking to order a pre-made box was I'd heard that I'd likely spend the same or a little more to do it myself. If that's the case, cheaper is better. If I can save a fair amount and learn in the process, I'll be a happy camper.

The troubleshooting you mention (being prepared for some stuff not working right) is a little concerning. I can deal with it, though obviously wouldn't like to have to. At this point, if I can get an idea of expense, I'm hoping that research and forums like these will help me get it right the first time.

 

[Dennis Gordon]

Building your own machine can be a very rewarding experience, both in money saved and in knowing every component for dealing with repairs and upgrades, but as PrkChpXprss so rightly put it, be prepared for the agony of troubleshooting. There are so many factors that can drive you batty, and dealing with failed motherboards or power supplies is maddening. However... in the end you can have a machine built just the way you want and even save some money. In my experience, the home made machines hold up way better than the cheaper prebuilts because of better parts and the total lack of bloatware and junk when you install the OS yourself. Also, you have tremendous online resources to help you get through the rough spots. It can even be fun...;-)

 

[Marvelous]

If your enthusiastic about computers than it is fun to build your own... Sometimes building can be a pain or rewarding exprience...

For $1500 you're really stretching it on a conroe E6600 and 4 gigs of ram and that $459 monitor.... Unless you start taking stuff out... Like 2 gigs of ram, cheaper power supply and case, cheaper video card... Maybe a E6400 instead... Prebuilt systems from Dell are actually cheaper lot of times because they sell you whole thing as a package price...

$459 Dell Monitor
$350+ conroe e6600
$360+ 4 gigs of ram
$230 Asus p5b delexe
$100 320 gig seagate
$150 Case and power supply
$230 Radeonx1800 or Geforce 7900GT
$60-100 keyboard and mouse
$60 Speakers?
$80 Windows XP License?

$80 Heasinks and fans?