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(Help) I want a new CPU and motherboard

Discussion in 'Technical Discussion' started by OKei, Nov 14, 2011.

  1. OKei

    OKei

    OKeijiDragon Member
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    Hi again Sonic Retro. After reviewing what PC I have, I now want to build a better PC.

    What I'm looking for right now is a new MoBo and a CPU, and I'm a noob in that department.

    My goal is improve video playback, recording, capturing, production, and rendering. I also want a faster, more efficient computer overall. From what I understand, for that I need to replace the MoBo and CPU. With a newer, more recent MoBo I can also finally install that XFX Radeon HD 5670 PCI Express 1GB GDDR5 Graphics Card I bought in the summer. I also have replaced the PSU with a Corsair CX500.

    If I'm searching for a CPU and a MoBo, what do I look for to tell that it's better than what I have (if that makes any sense)? Where do I start?

    I'm willing to spend $100-220 on those combo deals I see at newegg.com, which these two seem to be good upgrades.
    AMD Athlon II X3 455 Rana 3.3GHz Socket AM3 95W Triple-Core Desktop Processor ADX455WFGMBOX
    AMD Phenom II X2 555 Black Edition Callisto 3.2GHz Socket AM3 80W Dual-Core Desktop Processor - C3 Revision HDZ555WFGMBOX

    For reference, here are my current PC, MotherBoard, and GPU specs.
    [​IMG]

    Any useful help I get from here will be very appreciative. Thank you for reading this request.

    -OKeijiDragon
     
  2. Since you're willing to spend $100-220 I'm just selecting combo's/making combo's from $100-220 (depending on what you want to spend);

    $115: AMD Athlon II X2 260 (3.2GHz) + GIGABYTE GA-M68MT-S2P

    Comparison (I selected the AMD Athlon II X2 265 instead of 260 because I couldn't select the 260, the 260 is a little bit slower than the 265). Difference: About the same in single threaded programs, the X3 wins in multithreaded programs (because it has an extra core). Recording, capturing etc. usually is multithreaded, so you'll benefit from having the X3.

    $140: AMD Athlon II X3 455 (3.3GHz) + MSI 760GM-E51

    Comparison. Difference: The Phenom II X4 is faster with everything. It's (a bit) better in single threaded applications and much better in multithreaded applications.

    $175: AMD Phenom II X4 955 (3.2GHz) + GIGABYTE GA-M68MT-S2P

    Comparison. Difference: The Phenom II X6 beats the X4 in pretty much everything. They are about as good in singlethreaded applications (despite the fact the X4 is clocked at 3.2GHz and the X6 at 3.0GHz), the X6 (obviously) beats it in multithreaded applications.

    $215: AMD Phenom II X6 1075T (3.0GHz) + GIGABYTE GA-M68MT-S2P

    Comparison. The i5 is the first Intel CPU I'm recommending (and it's the most expensive one, it goes a little over your budget), mainly because intel is just more expensive. I'm recommending it however since (IMO) it's a great CPU. In the comparison I included the i5 2400 instead of the i5 2300 because I couldn't select the i5 2300, so the i5 2300's slightly slower than the one shown in the comparison (not much though). In single threaded applications the i5 2300 (2400 in this case) beats the Phenom II X6 by far, multithreaded it usually beats the X6 (despite the fact the i5 2400's clocked lower (2.8GHz instead of 3.0GHz) and has less cores (4 instead of 6) it usually beats the X6 in multithreaded applications, sometimes it loses though, see comparison).

    $235: Intel Core i5 2300 (2.8GHz) + GIGABYTE GA-H61M-DS2

    These might not be the best combo's, so don't buy one directly, I suppose you'd better wait for other's opinions too. Just my 2 cents.
     
  3. Those low-price bundles like CH listed them always have a catch, in this case the chipset is old and very unperformant.

    My suggestion is to get the dual core Phenom you listed, and a good ASUS or Gigabyte motherboard with an AMD 870 or 880 chipset. Or take the bundle you listed, because while BIOSTAR does not make the best quality boards, they are okay and the one you listed even has an 870 chipset. That way you get a pretty nice and OCable CPU with the chance to unlock it to X4.

    Cheers,
    Oerg866
     
  4. OKei

    OKei

    OKeijiDragon Member
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    While you posted, I found this CPU: AMD Phenom II X4 955 Black Edition Deneb 3.2GHz Socket AM3 125W Quad-Core Processor HDZ955FBGMBOX

    Will it be right for this MotherBoard I selected?
    BIOSTAR TA870U3+ AM3 AMD 870 SATA 6Gb/s USB 3.0 ATX AMD Motherboard.
    I chose this MoBo because I need a PCI slot for my graphics card. This one has PCI Express 2.0 x16 (x16, x4).

    I'm also hoping to find an affordable MoBo with a slot for my Radeon HD 5670 PCI Express 2.1 GDDR5 card.
     
  5. AamirM

    AamirM

    Tech Member
    If you live close to a Microcenter store, you can get the Core i5-2500K + Gigabyte GA-Z68AP-D3 combo for ~$230. That is one of the best processor available right now.
     
  6. Yeah but who wants intel? *runs*

    In all seriousness though, if you run for "Bang for Buck", the Phenom II X2 combo you listed above is the way to go. X2 555 is a Deneb core with 1 or 2 either defective (unlikely) or unlockable (more likely) cores. The 555 has a high success rate of unlocking to a quadcore.

    Since the X2 555 BE is already a pretty beefy CPU, I'd go with that. If you get an X4 out of it then... hey, you have a better deal than the X4 could have ever gotten oyu.

    Cheers,
    Oerg866
     
  7. OKei

    OKei

    OKeijiDragon Member
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    Great, I'll choose the AMD Phenom II X4 955 then.

    But...

     
  8. I meant you should go with the X2 ;) and yes that board should be fine
     
  9. OKei

    OKei

    OKeijiDragon Member
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    Alright, I'm getting the AMD Phenom II X4 955 and the BIOSTAR TA870U3+ AM3 AMD 870 SATA 6Gb/s USB 3.0 ATX AMD Motherboard.

    I hope all goes well!
     
  10. Best of luck to you :)
     
  11. OKei

    OKei

    OKeijiDragon Member
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    I got my motherboard & CPU in the mail yesterday... and yet it doesn't fit into my computer tower, so now I need a new wider one. =P

    Which kind of tower do I need for the specific motherboard that I got?

    http://www.ebay.com/itm/Steel-ATX-Mid-Tower-Chassis-Computer-Case-/140632344827#ht_1653wt_1185
    I like this one, and it's affordable too.
     
  12. gummyworm

    gummyworm

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    I think you shouldn't cheap out on the case. I've done it many times before myself, and I usually end up buying a new case again soon - they wear out fast. Cable management is slim to none in those cheap-o cases too :P
     
  13. OKei

    OKei

    OKeijiDragon Member
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  14. OKei

    OKei

    OKeijiDragon Member
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    I finally build the PC I wanted, and so far I'm very satisfied with what I put together now! I want to thank everyone for the suggestions and help that you've all given.

    If you're curious, these are my current specs.
     
  15. Gregster

    Gregster

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    You may want to consider getting a 64-bit OS. 32-bit is really going to limit you. On a 32-bit OS you can never have more than 4GB of RAM. I know, you may think >4GB is overkill, but games these days are using more and more and it would be a good future proofing move.

    I run a gaming system with 8GB, and the ability to keep oodles of programs open at the same time and never have to shut them down to run a game (so long as they don't eat GPU/CPU) is pretty sweet.

    There's other benefits, too. Check this Wikipedia article out:
    http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/64-bit#Pros_and_cons
     
  16. GerbilSoft

    GerbilSoft

    RickRotate'd. Administrator
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    Even with only 4 GB, 64-bit is advantageous on Windows because non-server 32-bit editions don't support PAE*, which is required in order to use the full 4 GB. Add to that the 1 GB RAM on the video card, and you've run into address contention, so you'll probably have only ~3.0 - 3.25 GB of main memory available and less than 256 MB of VRAM available.

    I highly recommend switching to a 64-bit operating system as soon as possible in order to take advantage of the extra memory and VRAM.

    *Windows XP SP2 and later supports PAE in order to enable the NX bit, but memory access over 4 GB is disabled, supposedly because there are several broken drivers that don't properly handle addresses over 4 GB.
     
  17. Sik

    Sik

    Sik is pronounced as "seek", not as "sick". Tech Member
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    being an asshole =P
    Don't forget to mention the fact that in 64-bit mode the CPU has more registers and thereby the code can be much more optimized, resulting in faster programs (for those that are 64-bit binaries).

    Also there's the fact that more RAM = less use of virtual memory = more stuff can be kept in RAM = faster.
     
  18. Conan Kudo

    Conan Kudo

    「真実はいつも一つ!」工藤新一 Member
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    Additionally, you will find that you will eventually need more than 4GB of RAM. In fact, for the work you're doing, I'd recommend at least 8GB of RAM. In any case, you'd want a 64-bit OS because video production and rendering is typically a whole lot faster with 64-bit operating systems that are allocated large amounts of RAM. These tasks are very resource intensive and for this very reason, many professional software suites that do this are now becoming 64-bit only.