15 replies to this topic

[Cyprus]

I have at most $300-350 to spend on a cpu.

I need to make a decision based on the new AMD price cuts, and the new release of the Conroe.
Here is the article.
Here is the chart.

I've been keeping my eye on the AMD 5000+ and the Conroe E6600. I'm not an Intel or AMD fanboy, I just want the best price/performance.
AMD x2 5000+ vs Conroe E6600
The articale seems to show that the E6600 and the x2 5000+ are very close. For this reason, I've been looking at lower end cpus.

If I go for a lower cpu, it would most likely be an AMD x2 4200+ or a Conroe E6400. I want a good cpu that would last long, and a high end graphics card for gaming. So if i have to, i would go with a lower end cpu to get a better graphic card for gaming.

Another problem is the Conroe motherboard. I don't like new 965 motherboards for Conroes. With a Conroe, i would probably go with 975x motherboards, which are still very expensive. I also know nothing about the AMD X2 motherboards, so if i go with an AMD x2, what motherboard do you guys recommend?

Any help would be appreciated.

[DarkShadow]

Well, I bet you that if you skim on the CPU, the GPU will be bottlenecked, and vice versa.

Btw, Conroe has very few support partners and the motherboards they have are sh*t compaired to nf4 atm imo.

I'd go with the 5000+, Still a pimp chip, especially AM2

[medel]

Well, I bet you that if you skim on the CPU, the GPU will be bottlenecked, and vice versa.

Btw, Conroe has very few support partners and the motherboards they have are sh*t compaired to nf4 atm imo.

I'd go with the 5000+, Still a pimp chip, especially AM2

hooah to that.

You just getting a CPU, or also mb/ram?

[Cyprus]

Well, I bet you that if you skim on the CPU, the GPU will be bottlenecked, and vice versa.

Btw, Conroe has very few support partners and the motherboards they have are sh*t compaired to nf4 atm imo.

I'd go with the 5000+, Still a pimp chip, especially AM2

Yeah, do you know any good AM2 motherboards?

hooah to that.

You just getting a CPU, or also mb/ram?

Im getting a whole new computer.

[DarkShadow]

Gigabit, Asus, or DFI

[Ezekiel]

DFI, I use one, and were reffered to them by a few friends. Very quality boards that give you everything you need to get the best out of anything. Very nice 6.1 surround sound integrated too, if you need to save a little extra cash.

Edited by Ezekiel, 24 July 2006 - 06:25 PM.

[Fuz_master]

I agree. DFIs are pretty good.

[Nagash]

ASUS is the best imo. I built a lot of computers with there motherboards and so far haven't had any complaints. Plus when I did need their support they were great.

[Sniprwulf]

If some one could help me find either one of those processors for those prices listed in the article I'll give them a nice big cookie.. I just cant find them at those low prices.

[Cyprus]

If some one could help me find either one of those processors for those prices listed in the article I'll give them a nice big cookie.. I just cant find them at those low prices.

Yeah same. I've been trying to find the AMD x2 5000+ at a reasonable price, but the closest i found it at was at Monarch Computers.

If you look on pricewatch, most of the prices seem like they are going up..?

Edited by Cyprus, 25 July 2006 - 02:38 PM.

[Sniprwulf]

yeah man, all of the new core 2 duo's are through the roof right now. an E6600, set by intel to be $316 is going for around $500 and are hard to find. E6700 is going for around $800-900 and was set to be around $500. The X6800 is going for around $1500-1600!!!

Lets play the waiting game... hopefully that 320 dollar mark for the E6600 will roll around sometime soon before school starts.. and hopefully by then more mobo's and sh*t will be out for me to make my dream machine.

i know they were only released a couple of days ago, but damn!.. once the dust settles..

[Cyprus]

If you want you can pre-order a Conroe at the prices you are looking for at JNCS. If the prices do go up, they will see the Conroe for the old price. If they go down, then they will sell it to you for a lower price. If i cant find an AMD x2 +5000 or an AMD x2 4600+ for the price I am looking for, then that's what I will do.

[Sacularky]

Try labs.anandtech.com if you haven't already. Otherwise I used ebay to buy Athlon 64 3200 because so many people are ditching their old processors. I should be able to clock it to fx 55 speeds.


Edit: might take a few days for AMD's july 24 price cuts to appear on most sites, but i am already seeing AMD Athlon X2 3800s for 150.00, which is half price of what they were.

Edited by Sacularky, 25 July 2006 - 06:38 PM.

[Sniprwulf]

the best price i found for an e6600 is 350 on backorder... bummer

[Cyprus]

the best price i found for an e6600 is 350 on backorder... bummer

I just called JNCS, and they told me that i would get 10% off a Motherboard/Cpu/Memory bundle. They are selling the Conroe's at the revealed prices. Seems all good to me, but i want a cpu soon.

Edited by Cyprus, 25 July 2006 - 11:15 PM.

[oneils]

I just called JNCS, and they told me that i would get 10% off a Motherboard/Cpu/Memory bundle. They are selling the Conroe's at the revealed prices. Seems all good to me, but i want a cpu soon.

Don't worry so much about the cpu, the gpu will be your biggest bottleneck in 3d gaming. For a good article on cpu scaling in gaming - check this link out:

http://enthusiast.ha...GhlbnRodXNpYXN0

If I were building a rig right now, for gaming, I'd go for a x2 4200 for $195 (you could even grab a x2 3800 for cheaper):

http://www.newegg.co...N82E16819103747

Asus ASUS M2N-SLI Deluxe for $135.99 (the non-sli version is 96.99) :

http://www.newegg.co...82E16813131013R


CORSAIR ValueSelect 2GB (2 x 1GB) 240-Pin DDR2 SDRAM Unbuffered DDR2 667 for 157.99 (or a 1gb kit for 86 bucks):

http://www.newegg.co...N82E16820145098


If you are going to be using for mostly encoding mpeg's and stuff like that, I would definately wait until conroe's are more readily available. But for gaming, I think that AMD is still the way to go. The cpus and motherboards are just so much cheaper and you aren't really going to see a big difference in gaming performance with conroe - unless you uses a crossfire or sli setup. If you plan on using sli or crossfire on a high resolution monitor...conroe cpu/mobo combo would probably be worth it. For a single gpu set-up - an AMD CPU is plenty.


oneils.

edit: of course, many people suggest that you buy as much system as you can afford so that it lasts longer....decisions decisions man - building a new rig is always tough.

Edited by oneils, 31 July 2006 - 05:31 PM.