Dual Core PC...

Y

YoungL

New Member
I currently have a average pc:

AMD Athlon XP 2800+ (SKT-A) 2.08ghz
2x512mb Crucial DDR 3200 RAM (1gb total)
ATI Radeon 9550 256mb Graphics AGP8
PC Chips Motherboard (very cheap )
160gb Western Digital IDE HDD
40gb Maxto IDE HDD

^nothing special really...

I've wanted to upgrade to a 64bit Dual Core system and have been looking at firstly differences between the Intel and AMD offerings, and decided AMD seems to have a better ratio of price to spec.

This then leaves me with the decision of AM2 or 939, again after looking around the prices are very similar and AM2 is here to stay for the time being. so AM2 seems to be my choice.

My Budget is about £550-600max so my choices are based on this price tag. I've choosen some cheap parts which I will replace when money is available

Heres my choices:

http://www.ebuyer.com/UK/product/109465
(Casecom KL-999 ATX Tower Case with LCD temp display and 350w PSU)
£24.55

http://www.ebuyer.com/UK/product/111290
(Athlon 64 4200 Dual Core 2.2GHz 512kb L2 cache AM2 940 pin)
£120.44

http://www.ebuyer.com/UK/product/110732
(MSI K9N Neo-F nForce 550 Socket AM2 PCI-E DDR2 Retail)
£48.65

http://www.ebuyer.com/UK/product/91121
(Kingston Valueram 1Gb 667MHz DDR 2 None Ecc Cl5)
£82.13

http://www.ebuyer.com/UK/product/111193
(Asus ATI X1600Pro 512MB PCI-E)
£68.20

http://www.ebuyer.com/UK/product/114106
(Seagate 250GB SATAII/300 7200rpm 8MB Cache Drive - OEM)
£55.72

http://www.ebuyer.com/UK/product/108748
(Samsung SH-S162A 16x DVD±RW/RAM Internal IDE (Beige) - OEM)
£17.62

http://www.ebuyer.com/UK/product/114209
(Belinea 1925S1W 19" Widescreen 5ms 850:1 (1440 X 900) Silver & Black MultiMedia TFT Monitor 3 Years Onsite Warranty)
£132.12

http://www.ebuyer.com/UK/product/89518/rb/22129910049
(Xpro 460w Quiet PSU - 12cm Blue LED Fan)
£23.99

I've looked around and read many articles on DVIvsANALOGUE
Seems for some reason many monitors/displays are not being made with DVI and it doesnt seem worth upgrading to DVI until it becomes more widely used.

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I would like to know if my choices are okay, if there are any choices ive made wrong, any compatability issues... anything else general like that.

Also will the increase in performance from my current system be noticeable greatly.

I want to know that im making the correct choice before I go ahead and make a purchase

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Thanks

YoungL
 
everyone on this forum will tell you to go with Intel's core 2 duo... AMD right now doesn't compare to those specific processors... if you really want AMD, you will have to wait until for a while til they make a CPU that compares to Intel's Conroe...

EDIT: here's a link to one on the site you are using... only 3 pounds more... (sorry if i got the currency thing wrong, as i'm american :P)
 
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Will that processor perform better than the AMD one I picked out?

Also I cannot find a motherboard for the same/similar price... basically the system stated above is the max I can afford.

So a motherboard for a core2duo would need to be of similar price to that of the AMD motherboard I selected.

--

Also, does the PSU ive chosen look okay? Im always unsure as to what I am looking for on a PSU....
 
YoungL said:
Will that processor perform better than the AMD one I picked out?

Also I cannot find a motherboard for the same/similar price... basically the system stated above is the max I can afford.

So a motherboard for a core2duo would need to be of similar price to that of the AMD motherboard I selected.

--

Also, does the PSU ive chosen look okay? Im always unsure as to what I am looking for on a PSU....
Click to expand...

here you go... select the 2 CPU's and go through all the tests... the Core 2 Duo will waste the AMD...

and i'll look for a motherboard for you...

EDIT: here's a motherboard... and that PSU won't work, it has a 20 pin power connector and most motherboards out now have a 24...
 
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goosy22 said:
everyone on this forum will tell you to go with Intel's core 2 duo... AMD right now doesn't compare to those specific processors... if you really want AMD, you will have to wait until for a while til they make a CPU that compares to Intel's Conroe...

EDIT: here's a link to one on the site you are using... only 3 pounds more... (sorry if i got the currency thing wrong, as i'm american :P)
Click to expand...

First, not everyone on the forum will tell you to go for the Core 2 Duo; there are certainly some dedicated AMD fans here that would never recommed an intel. I do not fall into that category, but I thought it should be pointed out.

Also, I noticed that the processor choices on the Tom's Hardware does not include the E6300 and the "lowst end" Core 2 Duo you can compare is the E6400 (which obviously outperforms the E6300 and does not allow us to compare to the AMD processor directly).

Comparing the E6400 to the X2 4200+ (both DDR2, although the Intel is benched with DDR2 800 and the AMD with 733) isn't too bad a comparison, both are not neither the top or bottom end of the respective processor lines. Looking at the benchmarks you see the Intel out performing the AMD by about 10 - 20% (a few are higher or lower than that range) in most of them.

So what you are seeing is the Core 2 duo, at stock speeds is about 10 - 20% better than the AMD X2 4200+.
 
pbdr said:
First, not everyone on the forum will tell you to go for the Core 2 Duo; there are certainly some dedicated AMD fans here that would never recommed an intel. I do not fall into that category, but I thought it should be pointed out.

Also, I noticed that the processor choices on the Tom's Hardware does not include the E6300 and the "lowst end" Core 2 Duo you can compare is the E6400 (which obviously outperforms the E6300 and does not allow us to compare to the AMD processor directly).

Comparing the E6400 to the X2 4200+ (both DDR2, although the Intel is benched with DDR2 800 and the AMD with 733) isn't too bad a comparison, both are not neither the top or bottom end of the respective processor lines. Looking at the benchmarks you see the Intel out performing the AMD by about 10 - 20% (a few are higher or lower than that range) in most of them.

So what you are seeing is the Core 2 duo, at stock speeds is about 10 - 20% better than the AMD X2 4200+.
Click to expand...

1. An AMD fanboy might not suggest it, but they are wrong. Core 2 Duo is better than the AMD X2 series.

2. It might only be 10-20% but it makes the differnece.
 
bigsaucybob said:
1. An AMD fanboy might not suggest it, but they are wrong. Core 2 Duo is better than the AMD X2 series.

2. It might only be 10-20% but it makes the differnece.
Click to expand...

My point is that, while I see nearly every suggestion of an AMD build shot down with a dismissive "Core 2 Duo kicks AMD's butt now", the difference is not earth shattering; especially for the many people that won't overclock.

10 - 20% (which is also about what you see between EX6800 and FX-62) makes the difference between running the most stringent applications and not? Playing the newest games? Not really.

Look at it this way, if someone makes $100,000 a year, is someone who makes $80,000 poor?

I guess my point is that saying AMD X2 or FX "doesn't compare" to Core 2 Duo is just kinda misleading and doesn't take into account the fact that the Core 2 Duo probably only exists because of the competition AMD has put on Intel.
 
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pbdr said:
I guess my point is that saying AMD X2 or FX "doesn't compare" to Core 2 Duo is just kinda misleading and doesn't take into account the fact that the Core 2 Duo probably only exists because of the competition AMD has put on Intel.
Click to expand...

i suggested the BEST CPU FOR THE MONEY... the E6300 that i suggested is 3 pounds more than the CPU he wanted... nothing compares to intel once you get into the dual core market dollar for dollar... even the most stringent AMD fans know that in their heart, don't believe me? you're talking to one...
 
Thanks for the info so far... its great...

I've seen systems for sale on ebay for Pentium D Dual Cores.... they have been going relatively cheap... whats the deal with these? why are they so cheap?
 
YoungL said:
Thanks for the info so far... its great...

I've seen systems for sale on ebay for Pentium D Dual Cores.... they have been going relatively cheap... whats the deal with these? why are they so cheap?
Click to expand...

you're welcome...

they were made to sell against the AMD X2 line of CPU's... but with the Core 2 Duo out, and them being so cheap (the Core 2 Duo's), they reduced prices dramatically to sell off the old stock... they are in a completely different class compared to the Core 2 Duo's...
 
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