Rebuild Time!

[Alf]

yeps, i think its time to rebuild my heap-o-junk

and seeing how AMD is expecting to release newer Phenoem procs within 2 weeks time. Now is a good time as ever to bring my system up to date. I Plan to get the faster (fastest?) Phenom which would be the 9850 quad - so i need some info on mobo and ram. i have everything i need for new machine.

Lets set some prices....
eh, about $300 for a motherboard (no more please)
and about $200 for ram - shootin for about 2 gigs as im still using XP

And i am set on using AMD by the way

 

[Ian]

I'm not up to speed on the latest mobos for AMDs, but I look forward to seeing how this build turns out

However, I have heard good things about the ASUS M3A32-MVP Deluxe so it might be worth a look and see what that board is like.

 

[Alf]

lol, me too Ian - im a little lost on current tech.
Ive been eyeing that mobo too - it looks like a good board, im going to check some reviews on it.

 

[floppybootstomp]

I'm not currently up to par on latest AMD chip developments but last I read AMD quads weren't particularly too good, seems Intel leave them cold.

AMD are currently doing well with dual cores though.

Well, that was the last I read, anyways.

I look forward to reading about whatever path you take Alf, good luck

 

[Alf]

Heh, i do plan on sticking to my AMD guns for now - i havent had a problem with them yet.
Although i am finding AMD motherboard review hard to come by, which is to be expected. The search continues!

 

[Abarbarian]

Sexy Bex's reviews ,

http://www.hothardware.com/News/ASUS_M3N78EMH_HDMI_Sneak_Peek/

http://www.hardwarezone.com/articles/view.php?cid=6&id=2502

http://legitreviews.com/article/676/1/

http://www.bigbruin.com/2008/asusd2x_1

http://www.motherboards.org/reviews/hardware/1757_1.html

 

[Newf]

AMD on a Budget

Heh, i do plan on sticking to my AMD guns for now - i havent had a problem with them yet.
Although i am finding AMD motherboard review hard to come by, which is to be expected. The search continues!

If you really Must go AMD now, I recommend that you wait for the new Phenoms which as of today are not released. Also, check out motherboards from Asus and Gigabyte with the 780G chipset. This is truly an excellent integrated graphics solution opportunity, especially for those on limited funds. Paired with a new Phenom, this will give excellent bang for the buck.
If you plan on using a discrete video card, then the Intel E8400 (or siblings) using 45nm cores is the only budget plan that makes sense. For quad cores, the good old Q6600 2.4GHz is now available for around $200 as well. There is no tolerable Intel based on-board graphics solution available though.
DDR2800 ram is so cheap these days. Pick whatever you find for 2GB @ $30-$40.

Gigabyte GA-MA78GM-S2H AM2+/AM2 AMD 780G HDMI Micro ATX $100+7 3/20
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813128090

ASUS M3A78-EMH HDMI AM2+/AM2 AMD 780G HDMI Micro ATX $90+7 3/20
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813131273

 

[Abarbarian]

http://www.tomshardware.com/2008/03/18/amd_phenom/

Info about the new Phenom ,

 

[psd99]

I will be watching this thread closely.

I've been a AMD fan for as long as I can remember. The realease of this Phenom CPU is great. I aim to upgrade in the Summer time.

I've never built an Intel based system for home use, always gone with AMD. I can't wait to see how good the reviews will be for this new Phenom!

 

[Alf]

I thinking of going with the Nvidias newest chipset for my build, 780i Ultra.
unless it turns out to be anouther 680i

but looking at DDR3 prices, im wondering if the memory is a make or break for me. whereas a quality DDR2 ram is easy to come by at good prices, DDR3 cheaper than $200 seems to be nonexistant. Are they worth the price premium?

 

[Abarbarian]

http://www.overclockers.co.uk/showproduct.php?prodid=MY-092-OC&groupid=701&catid=8&subcat=923

DDR 3 is coming down in price , slowly but its a start . With all the changes coming in the next few months it might be a time to wait and see . Mind you if you got an itch scratch it .

 

[Newf]

780i, the i part means Intel. Not a good match for a Phenom...
Unless you need the extra bandwidth, DDR3 will not really help you. AMD cpus only use DDR2, and Intel cpus usually clock down DDR2-800 to 533 or 667 to sync with the FSB. Some motherboards will un-sync the ram and run it at the spd speed, but this offers no real advantage. At an Intel FSB speed of 1600, DDR2-800 running at an actual speed of 400MHz matches the needed bandwidth. DDR3 can offer a (very minor) prefetch advantage, and sometimes a (very minor) latency disadvantage over DDR2. If they cost the same I would buy DDR3, but they don't.

 

[Alf]

Doh!
well, the search for a motherboard.... continues

hey Abarb, that was that same memory i was looking at here statesides - so far its the 'cheapest' memory i could find.

 

[Alf]

So so so
AMD released its latest Phenom today, which means im going to order it tomorrow!
i havent been able to jump on the internet for near a week now, so i thinking im just going to get the latest mobo from Asus - i havent had a problem with thier mobos just yet, so i have no reason to choose otherwise.

As for memory, was keen on grabbing some of Corsairs Dominator series memory - looks good and nott terrible expensive.

any help would be nice though, just in case i choose some stinkers

 

[Alf]

uh...looks like they released the newer core to OEMs only.
sooo....
i guuess i have to wait till April 7th?

 

[Alf]

welll, i have to say that finding a flagship motherboard that supports AM2+ AND SLI to be quite difficult. Onnly ones i have found use earlier chipsets and/or support only Crossfire.

 

[Alf]

Ahah!
well i finally found 1 motherboard that supports both
the MSI K9N2 SLI Platinum.

...

Only Problem is that it isnt even out yet
-____-

 

[Alf]

As for the memory, what brand has proven its self time and time again with u guys?

Any suggestions?

 

[Ian]

As for the memory, what brand has proven its self time and time again with u guys?

Any suggestions?

Crucial memory has always been good for me in the past, but recently I got some "Patriot" memory and it's been ok (it was on offer at the time ).

 

[Abarbarian]

GeIL memory is used by a few folk here and get s good reviews . I found some of their Black Dragon series at an incredible pirice a month or so back .

Was curious and just found this . Works out to about £65 what with the weak dollar and all .

http://www.memory-configurator.co.u...0-5_5_5_15-Dual_Channel_kit-2x2GB_/index.html