I want to update my system and could use some help

[Conti027]

k my first question is what processor should i get i only want to spend around $200 on one. Ive been looking at the AMD X2 5200 or Intel E6400 what do u think about thos? Im looking at buying want i need at Newegg

[niko084]

To be honest the Core 2's dominate the AMD X2's... AMD will catchup again in the near future I would guess. Don't know if it will be the same socket though.

If you are looking for now, get a core 2, e6300,e6400 either chip will fly especially if you overclock it.

[ex_reven]

the e6400 is a great chip, runs fairly cool too :)

excellent response both in single (games) and multi threaded applications

[Conti027]

well im not sure about overclocking now but i mite later. im a bit scared about overclocking. do u know of anything else just as good that doesnt cost as much cause i still need to get a MoBo and ram and i want to spend as less as i can but still want a good computer

[niko084]

well im not sure about overclocking now but i mite later. im a bit scared about overclocking. do u know of anything else just as good that doesnt cost as much cause i still need to get a MoBo and ram and i want to spend as less as i can but still want a good computer

I would strongly urge you to get a e6300 at least.. Price for bang its destructive in power.
Don't let yourself be fooled by the 1.86ghz it in comparison runs at 3.72ghz. It's a little more in depth than that but basic way to say it.

Other intel, a 900 series dual core, or a higher single core AMD, but honestly if you can afford the extra few $$ get a core 2.

[ex_reven]

well im not sure about overclocking now but i mite later. im a bit scared about overclocking. do u know of anything else just as good that doesnt cost as much cause i still need to get a MoBo and ram and i want to spend as less as i can but still want a good computer

you dont even need to overclock it, it runs great even at stock, overclockability is just a bonus :)

also, if you were to get an e6300 or e6400 your computer would be sufficient for many years to come.

[Conti027]

yea im looking at a new processor MoBo and only 1gigs ram as of right now. and by "Don't let yourself be fooled by the 1.86ghz it in comparison runs at 3.72ghz." at even tho it runs at 1.86ghs it seems like it runs at 3.72ghs?

[Conti027]

you dont even need to overclock it, it runs great even at stock, overclockability is just a bonus :)

also, if you were to get an e6300 or e6400 your computer would be sufficient for many years to come.

yea i plan on keeping my set up for a bit but probly adding one more gig and i have 2 gigs

[ex_reven]

add your current system specs in "user CP"

[niko084]

Ya if you can deal with the cost get a e6300 at the least!

I bought my 915 on a wind because of cost and I was in a hurry, I regret it a lot!
It's not a bad chip, but the e6300 will eat it up, and I will clock it to 3ghz+ so it would just make my chip look like a 486 66mhz in comparison.

[Conti027]

is the E6400 any better then the E5300 and caould u OC the 1.86ghs all the way to 3ghs wouldnt that be bad?

[niko084]

is the E6400 any better then the E5300 and caould u OC the 1.86ghs all the way to 3ghs wouldnt that be bad?

If you have a good mainboard its not a problem at all and the average experienced overclocker can do it. If its really a cost issue a e4300 would be an okay choice.

[Pinchy]

Well, ive got the E6400 and HAVE overclocked it (to 3Ghz)

Although my comp can run at 3Ghz all day, i leave it at stock. The reason being that I dont need the extra OC at all. If your only running standard apps (nothing like video encoding and stuff), there is NO need to OC a core 2 duo, unless you like seeing an extra 40FPS in games (which you cant notice when running at 120FPS already :p)

[Conti027]

no its not to big of a cost issue its just i spend some money on my computer so i want to limit myself this time. i ment E6300 not E5300 and yea now i know what processor ill probly be getting i need to find a good motherboard. could u help with that or do i have to go to the other thread?

[niko084]

no its not to big of a cost issue its just i spend some money on my computer so i want to limit myself this time. i ment E6300 not E5300 and yea now i know what processor ill probly be getting i need to find a good motherboard. could u help with that or do i have to go to the other thread?

No thats plenty fine, I would suggest a Asus P5B line personally, take your pick from the selection, I hear the GS3 something from Gigabyte is also a grand board.

[Conti027]

Well, ive got the E6400 and HAVE overclocked it (to 3Ghz)

Although my comp can run at 3Ghz all day, i leave it at stock. The reason being that I dont need the extra OC at all. If your only running standard apps (nothing like video encoding and stuff), there is NO need to OC a core 2 duo, unless you like seeing an extra 40FPS in games (which you cant notice when running at 120FPS already :p)

yea thats all i really do with my computer is play games :) but it nice to know i can OC when it starts getting older

[niko084]

I should add that you need to be careful in your ram selection for Intel 965 chipset boards, but its not too bad, just make sure its compatible.

[Conti027]

intel 965 chipset board is that the socket?

[niko084]

intel 965 chipset board is that the socket?

965 is the chipset its a LGA775 socket, the socket needed for a core2

[Conti027]

i was thinking like
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=N82E16820161660
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=N82E16820161029
but im not sure cause i need to learn more about ram first like i know the lower the Cas the better but i dont know may how much better

[Conti027]

965 is the chipset its a LGA775 socket, the socket needed for a core2

o okay so 775 is the socket and 965chipset is like how nforce4 is the chipset for the board i have now ?

[niko084]

My next upgrade I'm getting a Asus P5B Deluxe
and I will be using this ram-
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=N82E16820145539

I have that ram now, its FAST, price perfect, and works with the 965 chipset boards.

[niko084]

o okay so 775 is the socket and 965chipset is like how nforce4 is the chipset for the board i have now ?

Yes you got it :)

[niko084]

Here is a base level P5b-
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=N82E16813131030
If you wanted crossfire or sli at some point-
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=N82E16813131045

[Conti027]

k now what key point should i look for in a mobo and is the 965 the only chipset or the only good one?

[niko084]

k now what key point should i look for in a mobo and is the 965 the only chipset or the only good one?

Well a lot of them will work, but the 965 is known and stable, plus you can get good boards between $120-$180 with that chipset, the 975 is another getting more common one slowly but you are looking at $200+ for a good board with it. Obviously there are the Nforce chipset boards also, but I don't know much about Nvidia chipsets and don't have much experience with them so I can't recommend them. The 965 is used for the current top overclocked Core2s, in fact the Asus P5B-E and Deluxe in particular. Plus I have built a few systems with those boards, so I can strongly vouch for them myself.

[Conti027]

Here is a base level P5b-
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=N82E16813131030
If you wanted crossfire or sli at some point-
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=N82E16813131045

the bad thing is that i have 2 HDs and ones a IDE so that means i need to buy a sata cause there is only one IDE and i use my on sata for my saves like word and games and pic. etc.

[Conti027]

Well a lot of them will work, but the 965 is known and stable, plus you can get good boards between $120-$180 with that chipset, the 975 is another getting more common one slowly but you are looking at $200+ for a good board with it. Obviously there are the Nforce chipset boards also, but I don't know much about Nvidia chipsets and don't have much experience with them so I can't recommend them. The 965 is used for the current top overclocked Core2s, in fact the Asus P5B-E and Deluxe in particular. Plus I have built a few systems with those boards, so I can strongly vouch for them myself.

well the nforce are good boards . .sometimes. but i dont know if they are good for Ocers. so i think ill go for a 965 caus ei dont want to spend 200+ and a mobo now

[niko084]

the bad thing is that i have 2 HDs and ones a IDE so that means i need to buy a sata cause there is only one IDE and i use my on sata for my saves like word and games and pic. etc.

Why would you need another IDE? Unless you run 2 optical drives *cd/dvd drives* that are both IDE, you can run 2 IDE drives from a single IDE port.

[niko084]

well the nforce are good boards . .sometimes. but i dont know if they are good for Ocers. so i think ill go for a 965 caus ei dont want to spend 200+ and a mobo now

Ohh I don't doubt they are good boards, but as most boards go they have their little issues, and I don't know about the new nforce boards.

[Conti027]

Why would you need another IDE? Unless you run 2 optical drives *cd/dvd drives* that are both IDE, you can run 2 IDE drives from a single IDE port.

and i put a CD/DVD on with a HD ?

[Conti027]

Ohh I don't doubt they are good boards, but as most boards go they have their little issues, and I don't know about the new nforce boards.

whats the diff. in P965 and G965? caus ei see both of thos on newegg

[niko084]

and i put a CD/DVD on with a HD ?

Yes sir, you just get a IDE cable with 2 connectors on it, and connect one to the cd/dvd and one to the HD your good to go :)

SATA can only have 1 drive per port IDE will control 2 drives.

[Conti027]

Yes sir, you just get a IDE cable with 2 connectors on it, and connect one to the cd/dvd and one to the HD your good to go :)

SATA can only have 1 drive per port IDE will control 2 drives.

wooo i so happy now :)

[niko084]

whats the diff. in P965 and G965? caus ei see both of thos on newegg

Don't know for sure, haven't looked into it, but I have used both.

[Conti027]

Don't know for sure, haven't looked into it, but I have used both.

are they both about the same ?

[niko084]

are they both about the same ?

Yes as far as anything 99.9% of users would be concerned.

[ex_reven]

according to this:
http://indigo.intel.com/compare_cpu/showchart.aspx?mmID=22754,999999&familyID=10&culture=en-US

P965 is a performance chipset, while G is mainstream.
G965 has lower power consumption, uses a different memory controller, and has onboard graphics (P965 does not have onboard)

[Conti027]

k now i think im going to shop around but can u tell me anything about ram thats helpful?

[niko084]

according to this:
http://indigo.intel.com/compare_cpu/showchart.aspx?mmID=22754,999999&familyID=10&culture=en-US

P965 is a performance chipset, while G is mainstream.
G965 has lower power consumption, uses a different memory controller, and has onboard graphics (P965 does not have onboard)

Well that would be it then! Heh thanks for the info now I know the differences also.

[Conti027]

according to this:
http://indigo.intel.com/compare_cpu/showchart.aspx?mmID=22754,999999&familyID=10&culture=en-US

P965 is a performance chipset, while G is mainstream.
G965 has lower power consumption, uses a different memory controller, and has onboard graphics (P965 does not have onboard)

so what one would u say to go for? and i dont need onboard graphic
and i put my system up on the side thinging

[niko084]

k now i think im going to shop around but can u tell me anything about ram thats helpful?

Not too much just make sure its compatible with the chipset..
Other than that not a ton to worry about. I would strongly push that Corsair xms2 675 ram personally its fast and its not very expensive, I have clocked it at over 900mhz at 4-4-4-15 timings, which is pretty good for $80 2x512 sticks. Plus it works with the 965 chipset boards.

[niko084]

so what one would u say to go for? and i dont need onboard graphic
and i put my system up on the side thinging

I would get a P then, the G would probably be limited to mainly micro atx boards. Get yourself a full standard atx board, easier to work with, and more space for better cooling :)

[Conti027]

and what does north bridge and south do an di know the north is the 965 chipset but i dont know what they do

[Conti027]

I would get a P then, the G would probably be limited to mainly micro atx boards. Get yourself a full standard atx board, easier to work with, and more space for better cooling :)

awww i didnt think about it like that i get anal with heat lol

[niko084]

awww i didnt think about it like that i get anal with heat lol

Heh me to, just another reason I love Asus boards! They always slightly under voltage my processor, it doesn't effect performance at all, and its perfectly stable but it keeps it in my case with stock intel heat sink and fan at a cool 30-32 degrees c and a peak of around 45c

Also I have 2 120mm fans, 1 intake 1 exhaust thats it.

[Conti027]

yea well thx u guys for all the help i love this site so much now. i just use it for check out stuff but now i know it perfect for ask questions and i have any other questions ill just post them on there

[ex_reven]

yea well thx u guys for all the help i love this site so much now. i just use it for check out stuff but now i know it perfect for ask questions and i have any other questions ill just post them on there

enjoy your stay, and i hope your new system gets up to scratch without any issues :)

[Conti027]

and now i can really play with my 8800 :D

[Conti027]

i was thinking if im not going to OC the cpu should i get the E6400 and not the E6300? caus eim pretty sur ei not going to OC and i want this to last as long as it can but for i have to up again

[niko084]

i was thinking if im not going to OC the cpu should i get the E6400 and not the E6300? caus eim pretty sur ei not going to OC and i want this to last as long as it can but for i have to up again

Ya might not be a bad idea.

[Conti027]

k now to pick out ram ill probly get what u showed me but im going to see if i can learn move about it

[ex_reven]

hmm i dunno about the difference in performance between the e6300 and the e6400
that said, most of the people with the 6300 have overclocked to around 3ghz and i dont think anyone left it at stock speeds.

I dont think .3 ghz is much of a gain, and realisticly, you could overclock the e6300 to about 2.5-2.6 ghz without having to change anything but your fsb, if neccessary. Just trying to say that if you didnt want to spend the extra cash and the performance wasnt as pleasing as youd like it would only take 5-10 minutes to speed up the cpu, even for a newbie.
Theres a thread dedicated to overclocking the e6300 in this forum, maybe you should have a read about their experiences if your not sure which one to go for.

I personally havnt read it, but you may want to ask people what their e6300 was like stock there.

[Conti027]

k thats a good idea and a quick question about ram what is the number after ddr2 stand for?

[niko084]

k now to pick out ram ill probly get what u showed me but im going to see if i can learn move about it

Ram is pretty basic.. You have good ram, middle line ram, and crap ram pretty much. Ratings are stupid, timings and voltages showed are dumb and about pointless. In fact some ram like mine is actually the same physical chip they use on their ddr2 xms2 800mhz ram, different timings and a little more voltage allow it to run at 800mhz vs 675mhz. So it's a rough one unless you get into the nitty gritty of it.

Personally I love these ram companies, there are more good ones out there don't get me wrong-
Corsair, OCZ, Mushkin, Crucial

I mean there are more, but if you keep to the big better known ram names, and don't buy their "value" ram you get pretty good ram.

[ex_reven]

g.skill is another quality ram producer (im happy with mine anyway)

[niko084]

k thats a good idea and a quick question about ram what is the number after ddr2 stand for?

You have bandwidth levels thats what pc4800 or like ddr2 800 is for. Its simply the amount of bandwidth the ram has *how much data it can move*, then you have timings numbers like 4-4-4-12, well those are a little more in depth but thats how fast your ram reads/writes etc the data, or better to say how often it does. Really its fairly useless information for most users.

I believe that without over clocking your core2 your ram runs at 533mhz so anything that is DDR2 533 or above is more than sufficient guaranteed.

DDR2 is simply the name given to the ram style, pin count, etc...

[niko084]

g.skill is another quality ram producer (im happy with mine anyway)

Yes indeed, I just blew a few up to get some names going, but like I said there are a bunch Kingston HyperX is great ram also.

[Conti027]

Ram is pretty basic.. You have good ram, middle line ram, and crap ram pretty much. Ratings are stupid, timings and voltages showed are dumb and about pointless. In fact some ram like mine is actually the same physical chip they use on their ddr2 xms2 800mhz ram, different timings and a little more voltage allow it to run at 800mhz vs 675mhz. So it's a rough one unless you get into the nitty gritty of it.

Personally I love these ram companies, there are more good ones out there don't get me wrong-
Corsair, OCZ, Mushkin, Crucial

I mean there are more, but if you keep to the big better known ram names, and don't buy their "value" ram you get pretty good ram.

so the mhs is how fast they run?

[Conti027]

and i think im just going to get the E6400 and keep it at stock cause Ocing scares me lol ill do it when it becomes as easy as pushing a button and then im done

[niko084]

so the mhs is how fast they run?

MHZ but ya pretty much, its based off the front side bus of the ram, or what its capable of running at the rated timings and voltage anyways.

[ex_reven]

haha well i can say you will be extremely happy with your purchase :)

mhz is how fast the ram runs, and latency is also important as it dictates the amount of time it takes to read and write to and from the RAM. So a lower latency = lower read/write times = higher speeds

take both into account when you make a ram purchase

[Conti027]

haha well i can say you will be extremely happy with your purchase :)

mhz is how fast the ram runs, and latency is also important as it dictates the amount of time it takes to read and write to and from the RAM. So a lower latency = lower read/write times = higher speeds

take both into account when you make a ram purchase

k thx and i think i will cause im coming from a AMD 3400

[ex_reven]

i have no idea what that is lol
i dont know anything about amd's lol

intel fanboi (mainly out of fear :p)

[Conti027]

well i guess im a AMD fanboy i like them but i know intel kicks there but. and what it fsb? i looking a a mobo and a guy oc his e6300 to 440fsb

[ex_reven]

fsb is front side bus, the speed by which many of the components in your system set their speed by, i guess you could say.

The system bus connects all your hardware, so if you increase the speed of the system bus, your increasing the speed at which data is sent back and forth between hardware.

Basically when you overclock there are two main things with regards to the cpu:
The fsb
and
The multiplier

Each chip has a fixed (or in some cases it can be changed) multiplier. You dont need to know why it exists, only that the FSB x Multiplier = Ghz of your system (speed)
say for example the bloke you were talking about with a e6300 has a fsb of 440
if his fsb is 440, and his multiplier is 6, that means the speed of his cpu is 2640mhz = 2.64ghz

This is where you have to start worrying about the FSB, because as before i said that increasing FSB increases other hardware speeds, such as ram. Say i increase my FSB by 200, my RAM speed also increases, and if my ram isnt capable of that particular speed, your overclock fails and you need to revert to stock settings and start overclocking all over again.

[Conti027]

and im still think about the E6300 and overclocking it but i just dont know lol cause i could get the E6400 and overclock it if i ever want to but i could get the E6300 and not overclock it. im to picky

[DrunkenMafia]

Looking at your specs man, you have a 8800gtx paired to a S754 CPU. LOL

Get the E6400 man. One of those and that vcard you have will demolish any game/app. I am a die hard amd fan but to be honest I wouldn't buy amd atm. They have nothing new... get the conroe.

Good on ya

Ryan

[Conti027]

fsb is front side bus, the speed by which many of the components in your system set their speed by, i guess you could say.

The system bus connects all your hardware, so if you increase the speed of the system bus, your increasing the speed at which data is sent back and forth between hardware.

Basically when you overclock there are two main things with regards to the cpu:
The fsb
and
The multiplier

Each chip has a fixed (or in some cases it can be changed) multiplier. You dont need to know why it exists, only that the FSB x Multiplier = Ghz of your system (speed)
say for example the bloke you were talking about with a e6300 has a fsb of 440
if his fsb is 440, and his multiplier is 6, that means the speed of his cpu is 2640mhz = 2.64ghz

This is where you have to start worrying about the FSB, because as before i said that increasing FSB increases other hardware speeds, such as ram. Say i increase my FSB by 200, my RAM speed also increases, and if my ram isnt capable of that particular speed, your overclock fails and you need to revert to stock settings and start overclocking all over again.

o that doesnt sound that hard beside the ram part

[Conti027]

Looking at your specs man, you have a 8800gtx paired to a S754 CPU. LOL

Get the E6400 man. One of those and that vcard you have will demolish any game/app. I am a die hard amd fan but to be honest I wouldn't buy amd atm. They have nothing new... get the conroe.

Good on ya

Ryan

yea i like my 8800 but its being bottlenecked sooo bad lol and ye ai love AMD to but nothing good with them out

[ex_reven]

no its not hard at all, and the majority of time time, if you do it step by step in small incremental increases you risk little or no danger to your system at all.
The majority of the time, damaged hardware occurs from increased voltages (manually changed to help the chip remain stable when overclocking). Increasing voltages isnt always necessary to overclock successfully.

Also, keep in mind that overclocking WILL shorten component life. But you shouldnt have to worry about this. This process is called electromigration, and it occurs whether you overclock or not. Its just that overclocking speeds up the process. In reality, running your e6400 at 3ghz instead of 2.1 probably only takes 1 year off its life...and how long do processors last? 6-10 years???

[niko084]

o that doesnt sound that hard beside the ram part

It's really not bad at all, if you get quality components its really simple, in fact on like the Asus board you can go into the bois and probably just get away with a quick click of 10-20% overclock options, which auto clocks your machine up a bit, its a simple small overclock for users who don't want to learn the nitty gritty of overclocking.

[ex_reven]

o that doesnt sound that hard beside the ram part

no its not hard at all, and the majority of time time, if you do it step by step in small incremental increases you risk little or no danger to your system at all.
The majority of the time, damaged hardware occurs from increased voltages (manually changed to help the chip remain stable when overclocking). Increasing voltages isnt always necessary to overclock successfully.

Also, keep in mind that overclocking WILL shorten component life. But you shouldnt have to worry about this. This process is called electromigration, and it occurs whether you overclock or not. Its just that overclocking speeds up the process. In reality, running your e6400 at 3ghz instead of 2.1 probably only takes 1 year off its life...and how long do processors last? 6-10 years???

[niko084]

no its not hard at all, and the majority of time time, if you do it step by step in small incremental increases you risk little or no danger to your system at all.
The majority of the time, damaged hardware occurs from increased voltages (manually changed to help the chip remain stable when overclocking). Increasing voltages isnt always necessary to overclock successfully.

Also, keep in mind that overclocking WILL shorten component life. But you shouldnt have to worry about this. This process is called electromigration, and it occurs whether you overclock or not. Its just that overclocking speeds up the process. In reality, running your e6400 at 3ghz instead of 2.1 probably only takes 1 year off its life...and how long do processors last? 6-10 years???

Exactly it, its voltages that really cause things to blow up so fast, or improperly attached heat sinks and such. But watch your temps and don't crank voltages and your playing it good and safe.

[ex_reven]

:toast:

[Conti027]

It's really not bad at all, if you get quality components its really simple, in fact on like the Asus board you can go into the bois and probably just get away with a quick click of 10-20% overclock options, which auto clocks your machine up a bit, its a simple small overclock for users who don't want to learn the nitty gritty of overclocking.

kool and im going to get the ram u showed me so i hope it works if i over clock cause ill probly do it liek that

[Conti027]

k well i got what il probly buy tell me what u think.
http://www.newegg.com/product/product.asp?item=N82E16813130082
http://www.newegg.com/product/product.asp?item=N82E16819115004
http://www.newegg.com/product/product.asp?item=N82E16820145539
i pick a different mobo cause i wanted the IDE but check over it if u want and tell me want u think or what changes i should make

[ex_reven]

shiiit the prices of c2d have gone up substantially since i bought

[Pinchy]

shiiit the prices of c2d have gone up substantially since i bought

LOL! I know aye!

We bought at a good time dude :D

[BXtreme]

..I got the E6300 for 200 $$$, the prices will come down later. The retailer told me so, and when it does i'll get a free upgrade to E6400 :toast:

[ex_reven]

6300 used to be like 180

[Pinchy]

In Australia, we got the E6400 for $250, the E6300 was $198 at the time. Now, its $320 for an E6400 and $270 for an E6300!

[Conti027]

so what do u think of what i pick?

[ex_reven]

looks decent, wait for a few other replies though to get a second/34d/10th opinion

it pays off to see what other people have experienced with the board

i personally think it will live up to expectations, price isnt too bad either

[niko084]

I can't say much for MSI boards, I hear good and bad alike concerning them, never used them myself as they are not a top rated board.

The rest looks good and solid.

[Conti027]

yea ive used MSI in all my computer i dont mean to it just happened like that lol