Best bang for the buck

[Wad]

I am presently running an X64 Venice 3000 (overclocked) on an MSI K8N Neo
4. I am looking to upgrade. I have about $1000 to buy a new CPU, cooler,
mainboard, memory, case, and video card.

Of course I do like to overclock so what is the CPU/mainboard combo that
holds the best bang for the buck right now?

Regards,

Wad

 

[Cal Vanize]

I am presently running an X64 Venice 3000 (overclocked) on an MSI K8N Neo
4. I am looking to upgrade. I have about $1000 to buy a new CPU, cooler,
mainboard, memory, case, and video card.

Of course I do like to overclock so what is the CPU/mainboard combo that
holds the best bang for the buck right now?

Regards,

Wad

IMO, keep the motherboard. Make sure BIOS is upgraded to the latest
version. Consider gettin an Opteron 180, a Raptor 150 and a GF7950 with
512mb.

The 180 can be clocked to whatever you want - stock cooler is very good.
Raptor will speed i/o, 7950 will run most everything you want.
Probably looking at < $500.

Its possible to save even more by getting a slower DC Opteron (since its
expected to be o/c'ed anyway), a WD500gb drive (still very fast). That
drops the price around $100.

 

[Wad]

Intel Core 2 Quad Q6600

IMO, keep the motherboard. Make sure BIOS is upgraded to the latest
version. Consider gettin an Opteron 180, a Raptor 150 and a GF7950 with
512mb.

The 180 can be clocked to whatever you want - stock cooler is very good.
Raptor will speed i/o, 7950 will run most everything you want.
Probably looking at < $500.

Its possible to save even more by getting a slower DC Opteron (since its
expected to be o/c'ed anyway), a WD500gb drive (still very fast). That
drops the price around $100.

Thanks,

I was considering the Intel Core 2 Quad Q6600 and maybe the P5K-deluxe
Asus which will run me about $550. I would still need to buy memory
(2GB), power supply, video card,CPU cooler,and case. I was hoping to
spend no more than about $6-700 here! To be honest I really need to
replace everything except hard drives as I'm putting my older stuff into
a HTPC to run in the living room. The new computer will mostly run Linux
and on occasion boot into Windows to play the odd game. But I do a lot of
multitasking and I've read the quad cores are really fast for this
purpose.

Regards,

Wad

 

[Chinook's FURY]

CPU: E6850 Core 2 Duo approx. $270 on July 26
http://www.madshrimps.be/vbulletin/f22/intel-fsb-1333-cpus-prices-revealed-34329/
Mobo: Gigabyte GA-P35C-DS3R $160
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813128048
RAM: G. Skill 4GB (4 x 1GB) DDR2 800 $130
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820231065

Forget the Quad core unless you run apps that can use it (e.g. video
encoding). Intel prices are set to plunge on July 26. You can grab an
E6850 Core 2 Duo at that time for about $270. We're talkin' 4MB shared L2
cache, FSB 1333 and clocked to rock at 3GHz! This chip is the replacement
for the X6800 C2D that is currently selling for $975
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16819115001 .

The new Gigabyte GA-P35 uses the new Intel P35 chipset and is compatible
with the upcoming Intel Penryn chips. The Penryn Quad Core is what you are
going to eventually want to get. (Quad-core at 45nm.) But save yourself a
boat load of cash and let the industry play catch-up with multi-threaded
apps. The E6850 is a smokin' sweet chip - just look at the benchies on the
X6800 to get an idea. The E6850 is set for overclocking wet-dream.dom with a
FSB 1333 AND superior power management.

2 GB's of super sweet overclocking G. Skill DDR2 800 for $130 brings this
"upgraded" build to $560.

Now THAT'S some serious value for your dollar!

Good Luck with your build!