Help Choosing

[drezha]

I need some help choosing a new rig. I sorted my low power rig option (the solution was under my nose all the time...I have a Duron that I was using as a media center so that can become my low power rig, underclock it a bit and drop the voltages to drop the power.)

Anyhow, it was my plan to keep my A64 rig as a server and buy a low power rig. Well that was nice but after remembering my Duron and seeing Stalker and C+C3, I want to get back into gaming.

Hence I'll need a gaming rig. Slightly easier to get I think

I had a couple of questions regrading it mind. Here's what I had in mind... (the PC will dual boot windows and linux - Windows for games, linux for everything else)

• Intel C2D E6400/6600 (whichever I can afford - AM2 X2 5400 or 5000 if I want AMD but not sure...)
• 2Gb RAM
• Mobo - not sure, Any recommendations?
• 2 x 160Gb SATA HD
• nVidia 7900 of some kind? Looking at £150 ish for a GFX card
• Antec 900 case - Swung by your guys views of it the other day ;) - Does it have the LED's in? If so I may have to reconsider as I want quiet and little to no lights as this will be on 24/7 crunching in my bedroom
• PSU I've no idea about - 450W needed?

Is there anything I'm missing?

Am I best going the C2D route or AMD? It looks like I can get a faster processor Ghz wise going AMD but as we all now, Ghz isn't everything.
Am I best off with a nVidia or ATI? Seeing as it was gonna run nix as well, I was thinking nVidia.

Any help and opinions welcome.

Oh and can anyone recommend a cheap case that's quiet that would let me run a nice server box? Got a case but dislike it at the mo.

[PoorBoy]

Personally I would get the E6600 if you go with the Core 2 Duo just to get the extra 2mb's of L2 Cache it has. The Price difference is not all that much between the E6400 & E6600, I picked up 3 of the 6600's for around $260 by doing some searching a few month's ago, they didn't have the Fan included but I didn't want the stock fan anyway so it worked for me.

I would also go with at least a 550 Watt PSU or even a 650 Watt just to be safe if it's going to be a Gaming rig, you never know you might want to go with SLI down the road & you'll need the Power then a 450 Watt might not give you.

From what I'm seeing the Core 2 Duo's don't have that much advantage at the PI Seg Project over the Higher end AMD's but they do kick butt at most of the BOINC Projects right now anyway ...

[Bender10]

You have your work cut out for you. The cpu choice will depend on crunching preferences.

I agree on a 650w or better ps. You may need a sound card also and mine needs power from the bus, like some video cards.

A motherboard choice might be a Asus M2N32-SLI Deluxe Socket AM2, or similar (for games).
If you want to sli, you can buy 2 mid level cards (7600 -7900 range) and get great response, or buy 1 8800 (gt..gtx don't remember) for the same effect. I have 2 - 7600gt sli'ed, and the computer will not run with a 450w ps. And those cards are not externally powered.

My choice for a cpu would be the best am2 chip you can afford. But you may want to go socket 1207?? cpu and mb...

Hope this helps in your thought process.

[Frederic Brillouet]

I need some help choosing a new rig. I sorted my low power rig option (the solution was under my nose all the time...I have a Duron that I was using as a media center so that can become my low power rig, underclock it a bit and drop the voltages to drop the power.)

Anyhow, it was my plan to keep my A64 rig as a server and buy a low power rig. Well that was nice but after remembering my Duron and seeing Stalker and C+C3, I want to get back into gaming.

Hence I'll need a gaming rig. Slightly easier to get I think

I had a couple of questions regrading it mind. Here's what I had in mind... (the PC will dual boot windows and linux - Windows for games, linux for everything else)

• Intel C2D E6400/6600 (whichever I can afford - AM2 X2 5400 or 5000 if I want AMD but not sure...)
• 2Gb RAM
• Mobo - not sure, Any recommendations?
• 2 x 160Gb SATA HD
• nVidia 7900 of some kind? Looking at £150 ish for a GFX card
• Antec 900 case - Swung by your guys views of it the other day ;) - Does it have the LED's in? If so I may have to reconsider as I want quiet and little to no lights as this will be on 24/7 crunching in my bedroom
• PSU I've no idea about - 450W needed?

Is there anything I'm missing?

Am I best going the C2D route or AMD? It looks like I can get a faster processor Ghz wise going AMD but as we all now, Ghz isn't everything.
Am I best off with a nVidia or ATI? Seeing as it was gonna run nix as well, I was thinking nVidia.

Any help and opinions welcome.

Oh and can anyone recommend a cheap case that's quiet that would let me run a nice server box? Got a case but dislike it at the mo.

the 900 has led lamps. a mate of mine has an antec sonata 2. it comes with a 450 watts psu. he's got a c2d e6400 @3ghz and a 7900 gto and the psu is capable enough

if you want to go socket 1207 the case is too small though. i'd go coolermaster stacker then and a nice 700 watt psu from zalman

[Brucifer]

I agree with Bender, buy based on what the largest majority of the intended use of the computer will be IRT to crunching projects. And it's a hard decision I know, I fight with it each time I look at getting another X2. However, if bucks was not problem I'd go for the $1,000 quad C2.

[drezha]

I'd never heard of a Socket 1207 (Or socket F as AMD call it according to Wikipedia)

Why should I go for an Opteron over a normal X2? They don't seem to offer any benefits. Certainly not for gaming.

Thats the Antec case out the window then, I don't want LED's all flashy and shining at me. Keeps me awake :p 700W seems a bit extreme. And costly both to buy and run. Remember, PC components seem to cost twice as much in the UK as they do in the States and Canada.

It'll mainly be folding. With some possible dips into projects elsewhere like PI earlier this month. And it looks like (with the help of fahinfo.org) that an C2D may be best. Processor was pretty fixed as it was...Budget was about £150 (possibily thinking £200 now as it is still essentially the most important part of the PC) for a CPU regardless of it being a C2D or AM2. So my choices were fairly fixed.

[Frederic Brillouet]

I'd never heard of a Socket 1207 (Or socket F as AMD call it according to Wikipedia)

Why should I go for an Opteron over a normal X2? They don't seem to offer any benefits. Certainly not for gaming.

Thats the Antec case out the window then, I don't want LED's all flashy and shining at me. Keeps me awake :p 700W seems a bit extreme. And costly both to buy and run. Remember, PC components seem to cost twice as much in the UK as they do in the States and Canada.

It'll mainly be folding. With some possible dips into projects elsewhere like PI earlier this month. And it looks like (with the help of fahinfo.org) that an C2D may be best. Processor was pretty fixed as it was...Budget was about £150 (possibily thinking £200 now as it is still essentially the most important part of the PC) for a CPU regardless of it being a C2D or AM2. So my choices were fairly fixed.

i'd go with an antec sonata 2 case then. 450 watts psu included and about 100 euros all in (holland)

[drezha]

i'd go with an antec sonata 2 case then. 450 watts psu included and about 100 euros all in (holland)

Looks good.

[Frederic Brillouet]

Looks good.

and its silent! (my 900 is a bit noisier than i expected, but still lots better than my last one)

[AMD-USR_JL]

Why should I go for an Opteron over a normal X2? They don't seem to offer any benefits. Certainly not for gaming.

I heard from someone here, it might have been the overclocking master, Mitro, who said that when AMD tests their CPUs the AM2 chips that pass every stress test become opterons, the ones that pass almost all the tests become high end X2s and so on. This makes the opterons better suited for long term crunching and overclocking.