Intel or AMD on my next build?

Captain EBD · Apr 4, 2006, 10:00 PM

On my next computer build should i go intel based or amd?

I know amd is better for gaming which i will be doing, but i do want to take advantage of DDR2 technology.

this is what I'd get if i made an intel based machine...

Intel Pentium D 920
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16819116237
and
Patriot (2 x 1GB) 240-Pin DDR2 SDRAM Unbuffered DDR2 800 (PC2 6400)
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16820220144

is the DDR2 800 memory worth switching to intel, gaming and computer performance wise?
Should i wait for amd to support ddr2?
i plan on overclocking too.

Lowfat · Apr 4, 2006, 10:28 PM

When are you buying this computer? Conroe is 3-4 months away, and it is looking mightly powerful. There are a couple people on XS.org testing them right now, and it really looks like its going to be one amazing CPU.

DDR800 is nice, but its not really worth the price. Also not all motherboards support DDR800. My P5LD2 doesn't, and the highest divider I can run is DDR633.

Captain EBD · Apr 4, 2006, 11:50 PM

buying the computer at the end of this month or early may

whats the site for xs

the price isn't bad for ddr800, about the same for ddr400 memory sticks
does the 800mhz make up for the 4-4-4-12 timings?

this is the board i would be running it on.
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16813131547

mkk · Apr 5, 2006, 12:29 AM

Until Conroe there's little reason to go with the Intel path, and DDR2 isn't much of an advantage today. An Athlon64 X2 with bog standard DDR RAM will do games quite a bit better. If it matters they are also very overclockable with basic cooling.

AlexM105 · Apr 5, 2006, 12:32 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by mkk

Until Conroe there's little reason to go with the Intel path, and DDR2 isn't much of an advantage today. An Athlon64 X2 with bog standard DDR RAM will do games quite a bit better.

Exactly, perfectly said.

Captain EBD · Apr 5, 2006, 12:35 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by mkk

Until Conroe there's little reason to go with the Intel path, and DDR2 isn't much of an advantage today. An Athlon64 X2 with bog standard DDR RAM will do games quite a bit better. If it matters they are also very overclockable with basic cooling.

whys it not much of an advantage?

Necrosis · Apr 5, 2006, 12:45 AM

I'm going to say wait as well. September or October /w saving money till then can get you a really mean system. You have a pretty nice setup now, don't see why you want to upgrade?

mkk · Apr 5, 2006, 12:57 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Captain EBD

whys it not much of an advantage?

Because it's not much faster in real practice. Adding DDR2-800 to that PentiumD doesn't make it much better at gaming. DDR2 is the future because the memory manufacturers have decided to go that route and eventually there will be faster memory at lower cost. But so far the timings have still been holding it back, wich is probably why AMD has waited so long to support DDR2. Regular DDR has also dropped in price recently and regular is all you need for great gaming performance.

Captain EBD · Apr 5, 2006, 03:08 AM

ok so im settled on amd again.

should i go single core or dual core, are they worth it?

kingsownall · Apr 5, 2006, 03:14 AM

dual core for multitasking or multithreaded programs like photoshop.. realli there is no difference in performance when it comes to games from waht i heard.

Matth · Apr 5, 2006, 04:19 PM

With the AM2 socket, looks like AMD are going for DDR2 as well.

At the moment, DDR2 seems to offer higher clock speeds (official) but poorer timings than DDR (max official spec is DDR400 / PC3200, but "overclockers" RAM goes to DDR500 / PC4000 and more)

Only real advantage of DDR2, is when it can be run syncronously at higher speeds, such as 2x DDR2 533 to hit the 1066 FSB of an Intel Extreme.

mkk · Apr 5, 2006, 04:52 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Captain EBD

should i go single core or dual core, are they worth it?

Definitely a dual core X2 unless you want to go with the lowest cost processors, wich it seems you were not aiming for. X2's are worth it because they don't cost too much more and even games are slowly becoming able to offload a small portion of the work onto the second core. And when they don't, the second core could always cater for some other program that decides to do something while you're gaming. A factor that we will only see all the more of on a typical system. The least expensive X2 3800+ performs quite well on default speeds and has the overclockability as a potentially big bonus.

Lowfat · Apr 5, 2006, 10:03 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Matth

With the AM2 socket, looks like AMD are going for DDR2 as well.

At the moment, DDR2 seems to offer higher clock speeds (official) but poorer timings than DDR (max official spec is DDR400 / PC3200, but "overclockers" RAM goes to DDR500 / PC4000 and more)

Only real advantage of DDR2, is when it can be run syncronously at higher speeds, such as 2x DDR2 533 to hit the 1066 FSB of an Intel Extreme.

definately not true. Having ram in A-Sync for intel systems is not needed. Having a ratio works perfectly fine and does help performance. And the thing about poorer timings isn't true either, The only 'poor' timing for sure on DDR2 is Cas, it is impossible to go lower than 3, but it doesn't make as much as a difference like DDR. Have you ever seen DDR1 do 3-2-2-6 @ 400FSB? Didn't think so.

Captain EBD · Apr 6, 2006, 12:11 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by mkk

Definitely a dual core X2 unless you want to go with the lowest cost processors, wich it seems you were not aiming for. X2's are worth it because they don't cost too much more and even games are slowly becoming able to offload a small portion of the work onto the second core. And when they don't, the second core could always cater for some other program that decides to do something while you're gaming. A factor that we will only see all the more of on a typical system. The least expensive X2 3800+ performs quite well on default speeds and has the overclockability as a potentially big bonus.

the X2 3800+ is good but i dont like it only has 512kx2 L2cache.
the 4400+ seem much better but the price is so dramastic lol.

Lowfat · Apr 6, 2006, 12:17 AM

why not look at an Opteron 165. It is a 1.8GHz dual core 2X1mb l2 CPU. They are quite cheap. They sell @ NCIX for ~$315US if i remember correctly.

Captain EBD · Apr 6, 2006, 02:56 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Lowfat

why not look at an Opteron 165. It is a 1.8GHz dual core 2X1mb l2 CPU. They are quite cheap. They sell @ NCIX for ~$315US if i remember correctly.

yeah i've been looking at those. Should i go socket 939 or 940?
How well do they overclock?

Lowfat · Apr 6, 2006, 05:51 AM

S939. They tend to overclock better than X2s because they binned better.

Ferret_Style · Apr 6, 2006, 05:57 AM

Honestly i have to go Intel due to work and my companys softare requiring Intel instructions. (it is a medical device) So i am putting a 930 pentium D system with ddr2 5400. I can tell you sunday how it goes. From what i have heard from 2 of my friends with 900's they absolutly love them. Not trying to cause an intel vs amd fan boy arguement just will give straight facts

Captain EBD · Apr 7, 2006, 12:54 AM

question 2, which soundcard other than creative is good. i didn't hear too much nice things about x-fi.

this http://www.newegg.com/product/produc...82E16829156001
or
that http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16829102188

Drakon · Apr 7, 2006, 02:14 AM

You can always get an Audigy 2 ZS. Still one of the best sound cards out there: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16829102178

I would try and get the retail version instead of the OEM though

Captain EBD · Apr 7, 2006, 03:28 AM

yeah i got the aud2zs. its an ok card i guess. i just wanted to try something other than creative. plus that card has been soldout on newegg for awhile lol

Drakon · Apr 7, 2006, 05:25 AM

Oh, didn't see that you already had the a2zs.

Lowfat · Apr 7, 2006, 07:18 AM

if you have a home theatre you hook up to your computer or speakers with a digital input definately go with the X-Plosion

[hobo]eclipse · Apr 7, 2006, 07:52 AM

WOW, when i had my soundstorm and z-680's everthing in DD 5.1 was sweet, this thing can do DTS on the fly! thats awsome dolphins there! this is almost a must have

Captain EBD · Apr 7, 2006, 11:50 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Lowfat

if you have a home theatre you hook up to your computer or speakers with a digital input definately go with the X-Plosion

i got a set of 5.1 logitech z-5500 speakers which arn't bad

Captain EBD · Apr 8, 2006, 06:55 AM

what are any good laptops, ive been looking at acer books with x1400 but i hear the x700 mobile cards are better.

Whats a decient notebook with a dedicated card to run atleast games like counterstrike source.
price needs to be no more than $1,700

Lowfat · Apr 8, 2006, 03:10 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Captain EBD

i got a set of 5.1 logitech z-5500 speakers which arn't bad

definately skip on the X-Fi, it would be totally useless you bypass the DACs on the soundcard anyways with SPDIF/TOSLINK outputs. The X-Plosion would definately be the better card.

Drakon · Apr 8, 2006, 05:20 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Captain EBD

what are any good laptops, ive been looking at acer books with x1400 but i hear the x700 mobile cards are better.

Whats a decient notebook with a dedicated card to run atleast games like counterstrike source.
price needs to be no more than $1,700

Yes, the x700 is better than the x1400 in terms of peformance, although it is being replaced by the x1600. I would recommend www.notebookreview.com as a great resource for finding the perfect laptop for you. You should check out Asus' line of laptops. They're built very well and perform great too.

Here are 2 reviews of laptops that have the x700 in them, so you can get the idea of how it performs:

http://www.notebookreview.com/default.asp?newsID=2540
http://www.notebookreview.com/default.asp?newsID=2594

Captain EBD · Apr 8, 2006, 09:48 PM

cool thanks.

are the intel duo's the better cpu for notebooks now a days or are mobile amd 64 cpus still out perform?

Drakon · Apr 8, 2006, 10:04 PM

Well right now the core duo's are better than the p-m's and turions in certain respects. In respect to the DTR AMD and Intel chips, I'm not sure. Again, you might get better information from notebookreview.com

Apr 4, 2006, 10:00 PM	#1
Captain EBD i like computers. Join Date: Aug 2004 Location: Sacramento, CA Posts: 296 Rep Power: 0	Intel or AMD on my next build? On my next computer build should i go intel based or amd? I know amd is better for gaming which i will be doing, but i do want to take advantage of DDR2 technology. this is what I'd get if i made an intel based machine... Intel Pentium D 920 http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16819116237 and Patriot (2 x 1GB) 240-Pin DDR2 SDRAM Unbuffered DDR2 800 (PC2 6400) http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16820220144 is the DDR2 800 memory worth switching to intel, gaming and computer performance wise? Should i wait for amd to support ddr2? i plan on overclocking too. __________________ .......

Apr 4, 2006, 10:28 PM	#2
Lowfat Xtreme Join Date: Oct 2003 Location: Grande Prairie, AB, Can Posts: 4,254 Rep Power: 101	When are you buying this computer? Conroe is 3-4 months away, and it is looking mightly powerful. There are a couple people on XS.org testing them right now, and it really looks like its going to be one amazing CPU. DDR800 is nice, but its not really worth the price. Also not all motherboards support DDR800. My P5LD2 doesn't, and the highest divider I can run is DDR633. __________________

Apr 4, 2006, 11:50 PM	Thread Starter #3
Captain EBD i like computers. Join Date: Aug 2004 Location: Sacramento, CA Posts: 296 Rep Power: 0	buying the computer at the end of this month or early may whats the site for xs the price isn't bad for ddr800, about the same for ddr400 memory sticks does the 800mhz make up for the 4-4-4-12 timings? this is the board i would be running it on. http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16813131547 __________________ .......

Apr 5, 2006, 03:08 AM	Thread Starter #9
Captain EBD i like computers. Join Date: Aug 2004 Location: Sacramento, CA Posts: 296 Rep Power: 0	ok so im settled on amd again. should i go single core or dual core, are they worth it? __________________ .......

Apr 5, 2006, 03:14 AM	#10
kingsownall DriverHeaven Junior Member Join Date: Feb 2006 Posts: 50 Rep Power: 0	dual core for multitasking or multithreaded programs like photoshop.. realli there is no difference in performance when it comes to games from waht i heard. __________________ [color=Lime][color=Red]ComSpecs asus p4rvm 2.8GHZ Northwood corsair value select pc-3200 [/color][color=Red]Ati Radeon X850pro(540,610 on zalman fata1lty)[/color] [/color]

Apr 5, 2006, 12:29 AM	#4
mkk Cthulhu/Dagon 2012 Join Date: Oct 2003 Location: Gefle, Sweden Posts: 4,490 Rep Power: 132 System Specs	Until Conroe there's little reason to go with the Intel path, and DDR2 isn't much of an advantage today. An Athlon64 X2 with bog standard DDR RAM will do games quite a bit better. If it matters they are also very overclockable with basic cooling.

Apr 5, 2006, 12:45 AM	#7
Necrosis HardwareHeaven Extreme Member Join Date: May 2002 Location: Ohio Posts: 8,838 Rep Power: 131 System Specs	I'm going to say wait as well. September or October /w saving money till then can get you a really mean system. You have a pretty nice setup now, don't see why you want to upgrade?

Apr 5, 2006, 04:19 PM	#11
Matth Flash Banner Hater Join Date: Jun 2002 Location: UK Posts: 3,426 Rep Power: 93 System Specs	With the AM2 socket, looks like AMD are going for DDR2 as well. At the moment, DDR2 seems to offer higher clock speeds (official) but poorer timings than DDR (max official spec is DDR400 / PC3200, but "overclockers" RAM goes to DDR500 / PC4000 and more) Only real advantage of DDR2, is when it can be run syncronously at higher speeds, such as 2x DDR2 533 to hit the 1066 FSB of an Intel Extreme. __________________ Mary had a little lamb, Her father shot it dead Now Mary takes her lamb to school, Between two crusts of bread

Apr 6, 2006, 12:17 AM	#15
Lowfat Xtreme Join Date: Oct 2003 Location: Grande Prairie, AB, Can Posts: 4,254 Rep Power: 101	why not look at an Opteron 165. It is a 1.8GHz dual core 2X1mb l2 CPU. They are quite cheap. They sell @ NCIX for ~$315US if i remember correctly. __________________

Apr 6, 2006, 05:51 AM	#17
Lowfat Xtreme Join Date: Oct 2003 Location: Grande Prairie, AB, Can Posts: 4,254 Rep Power: 101	S939. They tend to overclock better than X2s because they binned better. __________________

Apr 7, 2006, 12:54 AM	Thread Starter #19
Captain EBD i like computers. Join Date: Aug 2004 Location: Sacramento, CA Posts: 296 Rep Power: 0	question 2, which soundcard other than creative is good. i didn't hear too much nice things about x-fi. this http://www.newegg.com/product/produc...82E16829156001 or that http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16829102188 __________________ .......

Apr 7, 2006, 02:14 AM	#20
Drakon DriverHeaven Extreme Member Join Date: Jun 2004 Location: Floatin'... Posts: 4,957 Rep Power: 0	You can always get an Audigy 2 ZS. Still one of the best sound cards out there: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16829102178 I would try and get the retail version instead of the OEM though

Apr 7, 2006, 03:28 AM	Thread Starter #21
Captain EBD i like computers. Join Date: Aug 2004 Location: Sacramento, CA Posts: 296 Rep Power: 0	yeah i got the aud2zs. its an ok card i guess. i just wanted to try something other than creative. plus that card has been soldout on newegg for awhile lol __________________ .......

Apr 7, 2006, 05:25 AM	#22
Drakon DriverHeaven Extreme Member Join Date: Jun 2004 Location: Floatin'... Posts: 4,957 Rep Power: 0	Oh, didn't see that you already had the a2zs.

Apr 7, 2006, 07:18 AM	#23
Lowfat Xtreme Join Date: Oct 2003 Location: Grande Prairie, AB, Can Posts: 4,254 Rep Power: 101	if you have a home theatre you hook up to your computer or speakers with a digital input definately go with the X-Plosion __________________

Apr 7, 2006, 07:52 AM	#24
[hobo]eclipse ...just bummin 'round Join Date: Oct 2004 Posts: 2,907 Rep Power: 112 System Specs	WOW, when i had my soundstorm and z-680's everthing in DD 5.1 was sweet, this thing can do DTS on the fly! thats awsome dolphins there! this is almost a must have

Apr 8, 2006, 06:55 AM	Thread Starter #26
Captain EBD i like computers. Join Date: Aug 2004 Location: Sacramento, CA Posts: 296 Rep Power: 0	what are any good laptops, ive been looking at acer books with x1400 but i hear the x700 mobile cards are better. Whats a decient notebook with a dedicated card to run atleast games like counterstrike source. price needs to be no more than $1,700 __________________ .......

Apr 8, 2006, 09:48 PM	Thread Starter #29
Captain EBD i like computers. Join Date: Aug 2004 Location: Sacramento, CA Posts: 296 Rep Power: 0	cool thanks. are the intel duo's the better cpu for notebooks now a days or are mobile amd 64 cpus still out perform? __________________ .......

Apr 8, 2006, 10:04 PM	#30
Drakon DriverHeaven Extreme Member Join Date: Jun 2004 Location: Floatin'... Posts: 4,957 Rep Power: 0	Well right now the core duo's are better than the p-m's and turions in certain respects. In respect to the DTR AMD and Intel chips, I'm not sure. Again, you might get better information from notebookreview.com