[cpu] Which chip should I get?

[drothgery]

For the Core2, I am looking at the low level E6300 (1.8ghz) or E6400 (2.13 ghz). Once again, I would lean towards the former to save some money.

From what I read, even the low end Core2 E6300 (1.8ghz) beats the crap out of the AMDX2 4400 (2.2 ghz). Maybe it's because of the 2mb l2 cache per core on the Core2. I dunno. The benchmarks don't lie.

Core 2 Duo's L2 cache is shared between the cores (which is part of why it's fast), but there are lots of little things that make Core 2 Duo more efficient clock-for-clock than Athlon 64 X2; more cache doesn't make too much difference at a certain point (some hardware sites have played some games with underclocking and overclocking to illustrate this; the 2MB shared cache of the E6300/E6400 vs. 4MB on the E6600/E6700/X6800 doesn't matter much; also the 512K/core Athlon 64 X2s vs the 1MB/core Athlon 64 X2s). Faster clock per clock isn't always better -- the "Northwood" Pentium 4 was slower clock for clock than the Athlon XP, but because it was clocked so much faster (and was better at a few things, and HyperThreading really got developers to start thinking about multithreading in desktop apps), it was a lot faster -- but in this case it is.

 

[Rackhir]

From what I am reading you will probably want to hold off for a bit on purchasing the motherboard. Any serious gaming machine is going to require a SLI graphics card config and motherboards that support that for the Core 2 Duo chips are a bit hard to find. The nVidia 590 chip set MBs are what you are going to want to look for (from what I've read) and they aren't shipping just yet. Unfortunately the ATI chipset for the C2D chips which looked extremely promising (RD600 IIRC) probably won't get much in the way of a release/products since they were recently purchased by Intel's Nemesis AMD.

 

[TheLe]

From what I am reading you will probably want to hold off for a bit on purchasing the motherboard. Any serious gaming machine is going to require a SLI graphics card config and motherboards that support that for the Core 2 Duo chips are a bit hard to find. The nVidia 590 chip set MBs are what you are going to want to look for (from what I've read) and they aren't shipping just yet. Unfortunately the ATI chipset for the C2D chips which looked extremely promising (RD600 IIRC) probably won't get much in the way of a release/products since they were recently purchased by Intel's Nemesis AMD.

True, but I am not a serious gamer! lol. I am fine without SLI. I will most likely just get a Motherboard with a PCI Expressx16. And once I get that, I can start researching a video card - I'll probably only spend about $80 on a videocard, but I can figure that out later (on a new message board thread).

For now, I need to focus on the CPU.

`Le

 

[Mycanid]

So ... did you get the Athlon X2 4200?

 

[TheLe]

I have not yet, no. I am waiting weekly for a good deal from Fry's Electronics. Thanks to all your help, I have narrowed it down to 4. The pentium D is a definite No. Here are my choices, in order:

1) $232 Intel Core 2 duo e6400 (2.13 ghz) 2mb l2 cache (shared)
2) $188 Intel core 2 duo e6300 (1.86 ghz) 2mb l2 cache (shared)
3) $231 AMD X2 4400 (2.2 ghz) 1mb l2 cache (per core)
4) $187 AMD X2 4200 (2.2 ghz) 512kb l2 cache (per core)

In all the benchmarks, even the 1.86ghz Intel beats the crap out of AMD 2.2ghz. It has something to do with the Intel's 2mb l2 cache, which is shared across both cores, so that one core can use more cache if need be.

So, I am definietly looking for an Intel Core 2 duo at this point. Now it's just a matter of waiting for a good sale. Fry's often has a good deal on CPU+MotherBoard combos, so that is what I am looking at right now.

I will keep you all updated!

`LE

 

[Rackhir]

In all the benchmarks, even the 1.86ghz Intel beats the crap out of AMD 2.2ghz. It has something to do with the Intel's 2mb l2 cache, which is shared across both cores, so that one core can use more cache if need be.

No it's the architecture of the chips not the amount of the cache or how it's shared. Both cache strategies have their advantages and they have the same total amount of cache.

 

[TheLe]

Amd X2 4400+

Okey folks, I think I found something I really like. It's a nice little Bare Bones system that is already built. The other addons should be easy enough for me (video card, ram, drives, etc). Here are the stats:
-------------------------------------------------
CPU
-AMD Athlon 64 X2 4400+ Dual Core 90nm 939 Pin CPU (with fan/heatsink)

Motherboard
-Asus A8S-X Motherboard (939)
-4 DDR400 Slots (Dual Channel memory support)
-1 x PCI-E x16, 2 x PCI-E x1, 3 x PCI
–2 IDE and 2 SATA controllers
–8 USB2.0
-etc

Also Included
-450 Watt ATX Mid-Tower Case (Beige or Black)

And they put it together for me before shipping. Full details Here.
-------------------------------------------------

Sure, it's a 939, but I am fine with DDR memory. And the AMD 4400 gives me 2.2 ghz with 1mb l2 cache per core. I cannot find reviews for the motherboard, but it's ASUS, which is an excellent name brand. The 450 Watt power should be plenty too.

Thoughts?

~Le

 

[Flexor the Mighty!]

I would have went with the Core2 E6300 which is faster than the X2 4200+. And buying a 939 board is going to require a new motherboard when you upgrade later since it is really a dead end in terms of new processors.

 

[TheLe]

I would have went with the Core2 E6300 which is faster than the X2 4200+. And buying a 939 board is going to require a new motherboard when you upgrade later since it is really a dead end in terms of new processors.

I agree. I was really hoping to get a Core2 E6300 or e6400, but they are still higher in cost. And the only good Core2/motherboard combo I could find came with AGP x8.

I really wanted PciEx16.

As for the 939 motherboard, this does not concern me. This computer will be good enough for my needs for the next 3-5 years. When I am ready for a new comp, this one will go into a spare room and I will hunt for a new PC altogether.


~Le

 

[Mycanid]

It looks like a nice pc to me! Grab it!