Rebuild Time!

[Alf]

Yet anouther Motherboard to ponder over -

Asus Crosshair II Formula

I will more than likely get this one as apposed to the MSI board. But just like the MSI board....

This aint out just yet

 

[Newf]

Let's see if I can understand this.
You want to buy an inferior cpu at a high price in order to support AMD instead of Intel.
In the U.S. an Intel Q6600 is available for $199. Blows the doors off of any Phenom.
Intel E8400/E8500 chips are also available, but scarce. For gamers though, another good option.
You also choose NVidia instead of AMD/ATI for video because of ???
Where's the loyalty?
I just don't get it...

 

[Alf]

My reasoning has no reason my freind.

I do fancy to get a AMD Phenom - why? why not? lookin to upgrade my rig, since everyone else here at pcreview has enough sense to see which way the wind blows they're smart enough to choose the obvious. Surely we've all seen the benchmarks on the Phenom (if youd call em that ) - i dont know about you but im not going to be spending my entire computing experience matching numbers. I did own a 5900 XT when they came out mind you.

Instead i want to use it from a users point of view. Will i notice a difference? Maybe. Would i notice a difference between this and a Q6600? Probly not. A freind of mine has a Q6600. I have a FX-57. Have i noticed a difference between them while loading apps or simply browsing or even multitasking? No. Only when playing games or benchmarking. And thats because he has a 8800GTX when i had a 7900GT.

So dont try to find a fault in my reasoning.... cause you'll be overwhelmed by sheer nonsense

as for the Nvidia, when it comes to graphics - i listen to reason.... and i already own em

 

[Alf]

Speaking of, The Phenom 9850 is finally out at retail.
now to find a motherboard that supports SLI

 

[Alf]

I ordered the Proc yesterday late night, along with 2 Gigs of Corsairs Dominator and a 160 GB HDD (so i can build a 'new' computer with the old parts).

should arrive in a few days time hopfullly

now all i need is a motherboard to plug everything into
i've been in contact with a hardware reviewer at Overclockers club, it looks like the mobo will be out by the end of the month - all good, i can wait.

 

[Alf]

Ah, A motherboard that supports both AMD AM2+ procs and SLI is out!
Asus M3N-HT


Shucks Howdy!
should i grab this board? or should i hold out for the Crosshair II Formula , slated to be out at the end of the month? Its rather annoying seeing a brand new processor just collect dust

but then again i dont want to jump the gun.... advice?

 

[Abarbarian]

Read , think ,read , think, and then think about thinking about deciding .

 

[floppybootstomp]

If you prefer the Crosshair II formula, then hang on otherwise in the future you'll always be regretting your decision.

 

[Alf]

Eh, its the waiting thats killing me

 

[Abarbarian]

Try installing a linux system and playing some of the linux games . That will keep you ocupied and you will really appreciate the gaming on your new system when you get it built .

 

[Alf]

I already appreciate it on my 'old' system
its sorta like a car... i have the engine and tires.... just no car

 

[Alf]

Well looks like ill be getting the ASUS M3N-HT Deluxe afterall, im tired of waiting for news one the Crosshair II
i may miss out, but at least ill have a working computer!

 

[Alf]

Final Part has finally arrived, now im in the proccess of builting my computer

ill post some benchmark scores later - mostly just 3Dmark 05 , cause thats all i got.

i dont think it'll be a huge improvement - although i would love be to false

 

[Waynos_Face]

Hope your build has gone well mate, i recently built an AMD/ATI rig, its true the intel quads do spank the phenoms on benchmark tests but otherwise there really isn't any difference (unless you're gonna count frames in crysis), plus from what i have read nothing really uses 4 cores at the moment anyway.

My rig gets an average score of about 12500 on 3dmark06.

Oh don't use AMD OVERDRIVE to overclock the phenom, it always crashes/hangs and it never saves the settings,just do it in the BIOS.
I have a stable 2.75Ghz per core on air, my mate has his at 3.12Ghz per core but has about £400 of water cooling.

 

[Alf]

Well well
after a rather bumpy start im rather pleased

had minor install issues, I/O shield has a sound proof addon that made getting the board screwed in quite a hassle. they should stuck with the ol metal plate.
Had anouther problem with Nvidia drivers not giving me the option to select SLI - eventually fixed it by reinstalling the drivers, all is well now.

So far its quite hard to find a difference in overall performance with simple apps (something i knew would happen) Then i decided to fire up Crysis... Before with the older system i was getting 12fps at 1680x1050 at high settings, not fun.
Now my system pumps out 25-36 fps, it doesnt sound like much but it feels smooth and theres no hiccups when i start throwing grenades into houses

Ive been able to OC the Phenom to about 2.79 - completely stable - and i think i may be able to hit 2.9 just fine

as for 3Dmark 06
about 13,569 marks but that was Stock, so i will rerun it.

All in all, i like and will keep u posted.
dont know what people are complaining about

 

[Waynos_Face]

Good to know that its up and running, i couldn't get over 2.8ghz, i swapped the retail heatsink for a big zalman but the Chip just got too hot, good luck though, i think it is just luck whether you get a overclockable chip or not.

 

[floppybootstomp]

Looking good Alf

 

[Alf]

Im gonna need to swap out the heatsink too, the CPU is just too hot. still looking around for one though.
Right now im crusin along at 2.83 GHz, any higher and system becomes unstable.

Getting 14k in 3dMark 06 and 18k in 3Dmark 05

but i think im having memory problems though..... will keep you posted.

 

[floppybootstomp]

Im gonna need to swap out the heatsink too, the CPU is just too hot. still looking around for one though.

One word - Noctua.

I have one of theirs keeping my AMD dualie Black Edition 3.2Ghz cool - it does a fantastic job

Best cooler I've ever used, quite simply.

Another contender, of course, is Thermalright.

And don't forget that Arctic Silver.

 

[Alf]

Looking at ThermalRight cooler right now, never had a problem with them and the coolers work well for the price.
It be a shame to forget the AC