A64 X2 4600+ vs. C2D E4300

[Towarzysz 47]

Hi,

few months back I wanted to buy a new computer.
Since you convinced me not to buy any cheap (like
celeron D or sempron) system I waited to get more
cash for something better. Well... now I can
afford something better.

I was thinking about getting cheap C2D system, but
few days ago I've read that E4300 was as good as
X2 4200+. Does it mean that X2 4600+ is faster
than E4300? I'm asking because both CPUs cost more
or less the same (X2 tend to be a little cheaper)
while motherboards for Intel systems seem to cost
more than mbs for AMD systems.

Obvious question is - what do I need this computer
for? Well... OS will be XP SP2 (no vista) and
maybe some freebsd. I'll run many apps at the same
time so good multitasking would be nice. I'm not
going to play games so integrated graphics would
be enough for me. Still I'd like a PCI-E slot in
case I changed my mind.

I was thinking about buying E4300, 1gb ddr2
800mhz, and some mb based on 965G/965Q chipset. I
considered Intel BLKDQ965GFEKR, Gigabyte
965GM-DS2, Gigabyte 965GM-S2. As for mb for AMD
system I considered Asus M2N-MX, Asus M2N-VM DH,
Asus M2NPV-VM.

I will never use vista.
I will not overclock.
I will never go SLI/Crossfire.

So should I go for E4300 or X2 4600+? Or maybe
some other cpu (if it's faster than X2 3800+ and
P4 630 it's enough)? As for motherboard - anything
with nice integrated graphics, 4 DDR2 800mhz slots
(& 4gb ram support), pci-e slot is okay. I don't
need any fancy features (like overclocking).

One more thing - would Chieftec GPS-350EB-101A be
good enough to power this system?

regards
t47

 

[kony]

I was thinking about buying E4300, 1gb ddr2
800mhz, and some mb based on 965G/965Q chipset. I
considered Intel BLKDQ965GFEKR, Gigabyte
965GM-DS2, Gigabyte 965GM-S2.

Sounds good, but see if the boards have reasonable drivers
for your alternative (non-windows) operating system(s).

One more thing - would Chieftec GPS-350EB-101A be
good enough to power this system?

Since you're using integrated video it might be sufficient
but ideally you'd want something a bit larger capacity or
single 12V rail with at least 18A or at least that 18A on
one of multiple 12V rails. Otherwise it's total 12V
capacity may be lower sustainable capacity than would be
suggested additively with the Chieftec and it's 10+15A @ 12V
ratings <> 25A

If it just happened to come with a case you want, you might
as well try it rather than having it go to waste.

 

[Towarzysz 47]

Sounds good, but see if the boards have reasonable drivers
for your alternative (non-windows) operating system(s).

Does it mean it's better than X2 4600+ system?

I've seen FreeBSD running on very "weird" and rare
hardware so I believe it'll get along with those
boards just fine. But I'll check before I buy just
to be on the safe side.

regards
t47

 

[kony]

Does it mean it's better than X2 4600+ system?

Flip a coin? The X2 4600 is a little stronger at legacy
apps and gaming, but they're pretty similar, if you seek
some benchmarks of your most demanding apps/versions it will
be a better comparison, though IIRC the X2 4600 might
produce a couple dozen watts more heat at full load

Where the E4300 really shines is overclocking, but you'd
already covered that.

 

[Mark]

Does it mean it's better than X2 4600+ system?

I've seen FreeBSD running on very "weird" and rare
hardware so I believe it'll get along with those
boards just fine. But I'll check before I buy just
to be on the safe side.

regards
t47

I'm using the Intel C2D E6320 with the Gigabyte GA-965P-DS3, running
FreeBSD 6.2-RELEASE-p3. Very easy to install and use.

Get a good quality power supply such as the Corsair CMPSU-520HX/620HX.

 

[Towarzysz 47]

Flip a coin? The X2 4600 is a little stronger at legacy
apps and gaming, but they're pretty similar, if you seek
some benchmarks of your most demanding apps/versions it will
be a better comparison, though IIRC the X2 4600 might
produce a couple dozen watts more heat at full load.

I checked again and it appears that this X2 4600+
is actually an energy efficient version (65W).
Does it mean that it produces less watts than
E4300? I hope it's performance is the same as the
standard version.

I also looked for some mb for X2 and found Asus
M2NPV-VM with NVIDIA GeForce 6150 + nForce 430
chipset. It looks great on paper and had some good
reviews so I guess it'd be ok.

And one more thing - the memory.
I don't really know anything about the timings. I
mean is Patriot much better than OCZ, will I see
the difference?
OCZ 1GB (2x512MB) PC800 CL4 Platinum 4-5-4-15
Patriot 1GB (2x512MB) PC800 CL4 LLK 4-4-4-12

regards
t47

 

[kony]

I checked again and it appears that this X2 4600+
is actually an energy efficient version (65W).
Does it mean that it produces less watts than
E4300? I hope it's performance is the same as the
standard version.

It means the two are close enough it isn't a factor.

I also looked for some mb for X2 and found Asus
M2NPV-VM with NVIDIA GeForce 6150 + nForce 430
chipset. It looks great on paper and had some good
reviews so I guess it'd be ok.

And one more thing - the memory.
I don't really know anything about the timings. I
mean is Patriot much better than OCZ, will I see
the difference?
OCZ 1GB (2x512MB) PC800 CL4 Platinum 4-5-4-15
Patriot 1GB (2x512MB) PC800 CL4 LLK 4-4-4-12

regards
t47

Many brands sell different ranked product based on capable
speed and timings. Either brand should work at the specs it
claims. Spot pricing can vary the cost but generally it is
just more expensive for the faster modules (although also an
additional overhead for certain brand names).

You won't realize much difference between these two
alternative pairs of modules.