Budget Multi-purpose Machine Specs

Budza

Budza

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What I have so far:


MB: [R885] MB-AM3NHH Asus M3N-H/Hdmi , socket AM2/AM2+/AM3 , support Hybrid SLi , fanless heatpipe design ; nVidia GeForce 8300 chipset , 4x dual channel DDR2-1066 , 6x s-ata2 with raid 0/1/0+1/5/10 , 1 x parallel ata133 , on-board HDMi or DVi VGA output ( HD DVD , Blu-ray 1080p HDCP compliant ) + ieee1394 + ALC1200 7.1 digital audio with coaxial s/pdif out + gigabit lan + NV firewall ; 2x pci-e (1x) , 3 x Pci , 1 x pci-e 2.0 (16x) , atx , 1 x PS2 only for kb

RAM: [R772.92] ME-C2GD2X10x2 Corsair TWIN2X4096-8500C7 G - XMS2 , with heatsink , 2x2Gb/2048mb kit , ddr2-1066 ( pc2-8500 ) , CL7 , 1.8v - 240pin - lifetime warranty

CPU: [784.32] CP-AAD7850B Amd socket AM2+ athlon64 x2 Dual-core 7850 Black edition , ( 2.8Ghz ) , unlocked clock multiplier , dual core ; 2 x 128k L1 + 2x512k L2 + 1x shared 2mb L3 ; 65nm , 95w , 3600mhz HT3.0 link x 1 ( 20.8gb/sec ) , with PVT - box cpu

Got HDDs, case PSU and 3870 GPU. This a decent combo? Totals ~R2,500


Mostly going to be used for Multimedia (HD movies etc, usually in 720p). Some occasional gaming and ripping/encoding.
 
Budza said:
What I have so far:


MB: [R885] MB-AM3NHH Asus M3N-H/Hdmi , socket AM2/AM2+/AM3 , support Hybrid SLi , fanless heatpipe design ; nVidia GeForce 8300 chipset , 4x dual channel DDR2-1066 , 6x s-ata2 with raid 0/1/0+1/5/10 , 1 x parallel ata133 , on-board HDMi or DVi VGA output ( HD DVD , Blu-ray 1080p HDCP compliant ) + ieee1394 + ALC1200 7.1 digital audio with coaxial s/pdif out + gigabit lan + NV firewall ; 2x pci-e (1x) , 3 x Pci , 1 x pci-e 2.0 (16x) , atx , 1 x PS2 only for kb

RAM: [R772.92] ME-C2GD2X10x2 Corsair TWIN2X4096-8500C7 G - XMS2 , with heatsink , 2x2Gb/2048mb kit , ddr2-1066 ( pc2-8500 ) , CL7 , 1.8v - 240pin - lifetime warranty

CPU: [784.32] CP-AAD7850B Amd socket AM2+ athlon64 x2 Dual-core 7850 Black edition , ( 2.8Ghz ) , unlocked clock multiplier , dual core ; 2 x 128k L1 + 2x512k L2 + 1x shared 2mb L3 ; 65nm , 95w , 3600mhz HT3.0 link x 1 ( 20.8gb/sec ) , with PVT - box cpu

Got HDDs, case PSU and 3870 GPU. This a decent combo? Totals ~R2,500


Mostly going to be used for Multimedia (HD movies etc, usually in 720p). Some occasional gaming and ripping/encoding.
Click to expand...

The only thing I'd consider is getting a quad-core CPU, but that would be another grand or so. Depends whether you think you'd use the extra cores or not.

I have an Intel dual-core which generally gets the job done, but some of the latest applications and games are coded to use more cores.

You may also want to get a board which allows for Crossfire, if you might get another 3870 on the cheap later, but generally it's best to get a whole new card when the current one is outdated.
 
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Dual BE 2.8 = R 785

Other choices are:

[R1012] Amd socket AM2+ Phenomx3 Tripple-core 8650 ( 2.3Ghz ) ; 3 x 128k L1 + 3 x 512k L2 + 1x shared 2mb L3 ; 65nm , 95w , 3600mhz HT3.0 link x 1 ( 33.1gb/sec ) , with PVT - box cpu


[R1228] Amd socket AM2+ Phenomx3 Tripple-core 8750 Black edition ( 2.4Ghz ) , unlocked clock multiplier ; 3 x 128k L1 + 3 x 512k L2 + 1x shared 2mb L3 ; 65nm , 95w , 3600mhz HT3.0 link x 1 ( 33.1gb/sec ) , with PVT - box cpu

[R1517] Amd socket AM3 ( AM2/AM2+ backward compatiable ) Phenom2 x3 , Tripple-core 710 ( 2.6Ghz ) ; 3 x 128k L1 + 3 x 512k L2 + 1x shared 6mb L3 ; 45nm, 95w , 3600mhz HT3.0 link x 1 ( 37gb/sec )

[R1823] Amd socket AM3 ( AM2/AM2+ backward compatiable ) Phenom2 x3 , Tripple-core 720 Black edition ( 2.8Ghz ) , unlocked clock multiplier ; 3 x 128k L1 + 3 x 512k L2 + 1x shared 6mb L3 ; 45nm, 95w , 3600mhz HT3.0 link x 1 ( 37gb/sec )

So the cheapest TriCore isn't much of a jump, but is it worth it?
 
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I ignored all the advice I got here and bought myself Quad core, 4GB RAM, 22" HDMI monitor and THX speakers ... to browse the net and email.

Love it though :P
 
So, overkill is best hey;)

Anyone know what the deal is with AM2+/AM3 Boards? Will I be able to upgrade to a Phenom II AM3 in a couple of years on this board?
 
That is an am2+ board. That means am2,am2+ and am3 cpus will work in it.

The phenom2 710 is an am3 cpu. Meaning it can use ddr3 if you pop it into an am3 board.

I suggest you take the 710.
 
Googled, but as this is prob a retarded question, couldn't find answer: Can I use DDR3 in the board later when I upgrade CPU? DDR2 first, the 3 later? Or is there a different pin count or something?
 
You would need to get a different board. Am3 processors work with ddr2 and ddr3. Not that you actually need ddr3...
 
OK, so now the question: Is a Triple Core running @ 2.3Ghz going to outperform a dual core @ 2.8Ghz?

Which would be the best for ~75% Multimedia and multitasking, 25% Gaming?
 
By the way, if you want to upgrade your graphics card I see Prophecy has the Force3d HD4850 for R1338 and the HD4870 for just below R2000. I dont think there has ever been a better deal than this! If you've got a crossfire board and are buying a new system you can get 2 HD4850's for R2678 and it beats a GTX280 which sells for over R5000!
 
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