Hows this spec PC?

[GarethH]

After some thought, here is the PC I plan to build in July:

Case: Antec P-180
CPU: AMD Athlon 64 X2 4400+
Mobo: Asus A8N-SLi Deluxe nForce4 Sli
Memory: 1GB Corsair 3200 CAS 2
Primary HD: Western Digital Raptor SATA 74Gb
Secondary HD: Maxtor Diamond Max 10 300Gb
Graphics Card: Undecided, depending how much the new ATi or NVidia cards cost, might go for those.

Still have to choose a PSU and Heatsink for the CPU. The rest of the stuff i'm just using from my old PC.

What do you think? Is there anything thats going OTT or not enough? Any good alternatives that are better performing or I could save some cash on?

[daz_75]

if you go ATI is there any point in getting an SLI mobo?

[raymondlin]

The new Nvidia card will be about £350+vat !

[GarethH]

The new Nvidia card will be about £350+vat !

Sod that! I've got a 9800 PRO at the moment, but since its AGP I can't use it. I really don't see the point in upgrading the card but it looks like I will have to!

In terms of the mobo SLI, it doesn't mean i'd have to use the SLI. I'm only getting that mobo because its compatible with the X2's and its considered the best performance mobo on the market!

[Neil Smalley]

I would hold off on the SLi b4 you see what ATI's crossfire does.

[LouBarlow]

I couldn't be bothered with the dual-core AMD's, as performance wise, they seem only marginally more impressive than the higher-end San Diego flavour, and still not a patch on the ultimate big daddy the FX-55.

Saying that, if applications are your bag, then the X2's are worth a look, but I decided on a Athlon 64 4000+ in the end, which will give me plenty of bang for my gaming buck...it arrives tomorrow and I can't wait to slip it in :D

Will be upgrading my GFX card soon too, but might hold off for the new range of cards.

[belly]

what is the pc for. as mentioned the cpu is very expensive, and for what?

i have an athlon64 3500+, x800pro, 2gb and it will run anything. can't see it becoming that outdated (in software terms) that soon.

if you must go X2 then i would wait for the chipsets to catch up. also as mentioned, if you want to go ATi then wait for Crossfire to mature.

[GarethH]

I couldn't be bothered with the dual-core AMD's, as performance wise, they seem only marginally more impressive than the higher-end San Diego flavour, and still not a patch on the ultimate big daddy the FX-55.


I do some encoding and 3d work of which benchmarks have shown a huge increase in performance. In my opinion the X2's are more future proof...In six months we'll see updates to Adobe Photoshop etc and maybe even games that make use of multiple threads.

For me the whole multi-tasking aspect of the X2's is a great bonus. I only use one workstation at the moment (due to desk space) and the ability to run multiple applications at once with minor performance loss is hard to imagine without (especially when its on offer).

[LouBarlow]

I do some encoding and 3d work of which benchmarks have shown a huge increase in performance. In my opinion the X2's are more future proof...In six months we'll see updates to Adobe Photoshop etc and maybe even games that make use of multiple threads.

For me the whole multi-tasking aspect of the X2's is a great bonus. I only use one workstation at the moment (due to desk space) and the ability to run multiple applications at once with minor performance loss is hard to imagine without (especially when its on offer).

I presume you've seen this test here? : http://www.tomshardware.com/cpu/20050509/index.html

It of course backs up your correct statement on the improvement to encoding and windows-based applications, but when you compare the prices of the CPU's in that test, you are paying a heck of a premium!

The 4000+ cost me £320, but the equivalent 4800+ X2 weighs in at over £700!!!111 :eek:

Surely if you are paying that kind of money, then stick with Intel's new chips, which will, by all accounts, outperform the AMD in windows, yet remain cheaper to buy?