New Rig Advice...

[bigenuffumbrella]

Ok guys, I need some advice...

I'm shelving my old rig and going for something more update and hopefully a little quieter.

Currently I have an AMD X2 4400 (939 not AM2), and 2 gigs of Corsair XMS DDR-400 on an ASUS A8N-SLI Deluxe board.

This will be the second chipset fan on this POS that has crapped out in 3 months (I sold my A8N-SLI Premium board for this "Deluxe" piece of crap--yes I am kicking myself) and instead of going through another 2-3 weeks without my rig or shelling out almost $200 for an A8N-SLI Premium replacement, I'm thinking about upgrading altogether.

I'm still happy with my X1900XTX, and my drives, so all I'm really looking for is advice on Mobos, CPUs and RAM combos. Maybe some "This is my rig and boy am I happy with it" stories.

I'd like to OC the system, but I'm not an expert, so I'd need something pretty straight forward and relatively easy to jack up. I like ASUS and Gigabyte boards, but I'm not married to them, I like Corsair RAM, but ditto there too...and CPU...we'll I'll go with whatever work's best for the $$. I'm sure you guys understand.

I've read alot of good things about the Core Duos but I notice a lot of guys on here are still going with AM2s or FX chips. Which would be better? I know what I would have done...or did 18 months ago...but that was years ago in CPU-time. I know what Tom's Hardware says...I give the guys in the forum more credit. I'd like to hear some real world experiences please.

Anyone care to share their advice or crow about how smokin' their rig is? Please feel free to share...

Thank you for your time.

Big E.

[Namslas90]

939 is on it's way out, your better off with AM2, the newer mobos will put that XTX to work for ya!

[SilentAces]

right at this moment id say C2D...no surprise to anyone that i would say that...but if you are not bound to getting a new rig right now, then i would at least wait to see the new line from AMD...idk the exact release dates...but they maybe worth the wait...

i hear the C2D 6420 with its 4mb l2 is going to be tough to beat...under $200 as well...The X2 3600 is around $65 but only competes with C2D by price not performance.....

as far as my rig, loven it...its hard to beat this system of mine...and for only $650 usd......it benchmarks well (beats alot of 6300's and 6400's), gets a 100% overclock, and runs cool even with stock air coolers....if you needed the fastest yet cheapest system TODAY, i would suggest mine right away...but if you can wait, new stuff is coming and if its not promising at least prices for todays cpu's will fall a little...

[bigenuffumbrella]

Originally Posted by SilentAces

right at this moment id say C2D...no surprise to anyone that i would say that...but if you are not bound to getting a new rig right now, then i would at least wait to see the new line from AMD...idk the exact release dates...but they maybe worth the wait...

i hear the C2D 6420 with its 4mb l2 is going to be tough to beat...under $200 as well...The X2 3600 is around $65 but only competes with C2D by price not performance.....

as far as my rig, loven it...its hard to beat this system of mine...and for only $650 usd......it benchmarks well (beats alot of 6300's and 6400's), gets a 100% overclock, and runs cool even with stock air coolers....if you needed the fastest yet cheapest system TODAY, i would suggest mine right away...but if you can wait, new stuff is coming and if its not promising at least prices for todays cpu's will fall a little...

Thanks Silent, but I think I'm going to stay away from H2O cooling. It just seems like too much work...and I know me...I like to tinker too much...eventually something would leak and ruin everything.

[bruins004]

How much are you looking to spend and what do you need?
Just a CPU and mobo?

[bigenuffumbrella]

Originally Posted by bruins004

How much are you looking to spend and what do you need?
Just a CPU and mobo?

Well with the new CPU I'll have to get a new mobo and RAM, so yeah Bruins...The Big Three, CPU, Mobo, RAM--that's all for now. As far as a price range let's say $500-$800 or so. Certainly no more than that. I'm just looking to get the most umph for my cha-ching. $$$

--ooo and I did forget: known-Vista compatible would be nice too.

Thanks...

[bruins004]

Well a 2GB kit of RAM (2 x 1GB modules) will run you less than $200 for a good pair. I suggest getting these G Skill ( http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16820231065 ) or these Buffalo Firestix ( http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16820150054 ). Both of these memories contain Micron D9s

As for the CPU I would wait until April 22nd when the price cuts hit since you could prob. go for an E6600 for cheap.

Mobo wise I dunno I know the one that SilentAces has is pretty good.

[bigenuffumbrella]

Originally Posted by bruins004

Well a 2GB kit of RAM (2 x 1GB modules) will run you less than $200 for a good pair. I suggest getting these G Skill ( http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16820231065 ) or these Buffalo Firestix ( http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16820150054 ). Both of these memories contain Micron D9s

As for the CPU I would wait until April 22nd when the price cuts hit since you could prob. go for an E6600 for cheap.

Mobo wise I dunno I know the one that SilentAces has is pretty good.

Prices get cut next weekend huh? Cool! Less $$$ is always more better.

[vivalv1000]

My primary rig (see specs) has performed very well, smokin! I haven’t had any experience with the AM2 only the 939. A few suggestions/comment; 1) if you want to save money you can stay with the 939 and shop around for reasonably priced components (got my FX57 for $300), maybe keep your memory and just swap the MB/CPU. Not everyone needs dual core, I mostly game and mine is just fine. 2) You could simply upgrade to the AM2and that would probably run you quit a bit (new MB, CPU, memory). 3) Wait for the new stuff to hit the street, if you want to wait that long, or not so long, what day is it anyway.

I also have a secondary rig that has performed very well: Aspire X-Navigator (w/500 watt PSU); MB, Asus A8V-Deluxe; CPU, AMD 4000+ San Diego; RAM, 2GB (4x512) Corsair XMS3200C2PRO; V- Card: BFG 6800 Ultra OC; Sound Card, Creative Labs Audigy 2ZS; F/H, Thermaltake CL-P0296; HD, Seagate 200 GB x 2, RAID 1.

Personally if I were to upgrade right now I would probably go with an ASUS M2N32 SLI-Deluxe mb, still need to do a little more research; a AM2 CPU (6000+, at least); Corsair memory (PC2 6400), again, need to do a little more research on the exact model. This may not give you the exact info you are looking for but will hopefully help a bit.

[bigenuffumbrella]

Originally Posted by vivalv1000

My primary rig (see specs) has performed very well, smokin! I haven’t had any experience with the AM2 only the 939. A few suggestions/comment; 1) if you want to save money you can stay with the 939 and shop around for reasonably priced components (got my FX57 for $300), maybe keep your memory and just swap the MB/CPU. Not everyone needs dual core, I mostly game and mine is just fine. 2) You could simply upgrade to the AM2and that would probably run you quit a bit (new MB, CPU, memory). 3) Wait for the new stuff to hit the street, if you want to wait that long, or not so long, what day is it anyway.

I also have a secondary rig that has performed very well: Aspire X-Navigator (w/500 watt PSU); MB, Asus A8V-Deluxe; CPU, AMD 4000+ San Diego; RAM, 2GB (4x512) Corsair XMS3200C2PRO; V- Card: BFG 6800 Ultra OC; Sound Card, Creative Labs Audigy 2ZS; F/H, Thermaltake CL-P0296; HD, Seagate 200 GB x 2, RAID 1.

Personally if I were to upgrade right now I would probably go with an ASUS M2N32 SLI-Deluxe mb, still need to do a little more research; a AM2 CPU (6000+, at least); Corsair memory (PC2 6400), again, need to do a little more research on the exact model. This may not give you the exact info you are looking for but will hopefully help a bit.

V...
Staying 939 just seems like sitting still, or at best going sideways. If I upgrade I'm going to do just that UPgrade. But I appreciate the 2 cents Thanks man.