Been about 2-3 years...want to build a new system.

[Snowball 2]

I don't build monster machines anymore, just midrange ones that have a good tradeoff between price and performance. For example back when I made my last machine I picked up a Shuttle AN35 as opposed to other offerings because it didn't have a buttload of features that I would never use, it was solid, it still performed as well as the competition AND it was only $50. I'm looking to do that again.

My problem is that my mental Rolodex of hardware information is out of date. I don't know what qualifies for 'midrange' anymore. Here's the upgrade list and what I think about it. Ideally I want to only spend in the neighborhood of $600.

CPU - AMD or Intel? I would go either way. I like Intel's Dual Core offerings and I don't mind shelling out like $200 for one.

Mobo - I'm sure I can score something for at most $70. I don't need integrated sound or RAID or any of that stuff. Just something to plug my CPU, RAM and videocard into that isn't a flaming piece of shit.

RAM - $100 for a gig isn't a problem. Can anyone find cheaper?

Videocard - $150-200 sounds reasonable. Who's the top dog in that department? nVidia or ATI? What's the offerings?

PSU - I've had the same 300 watt Enermax PSU since 2000. It's been an excellent piece of hardware that may actually be retired before it can manage to die. With the above hardware will I need to upgrade? How much more powerful should it be? Will $60 cover it?

So with that list I could spend between $570-630. Can someone make some suggestions and get me looking in the right direction? I want to get this rolling before Xmas so I can surprise my wife.

[N0Skillz]

CPU: I'm a fan of AMD here. prolly a x2 3800+ is your best bet. socket AM2 for future proofing.

Mobos: Take someone elses advice on this, as motherboards I buy for some reason only last me like 6-8 months.

Ram: if you go AM2 or the new Intel chips you'll have to get DDR2 memory. Lots of good mems. found this on newegg.

PSUs: Your video card will be your biggest factor when decided wattage on your PSU. Enermax is my favorite, but there are a bunch of good ones as everyone will tell you.

Videocard: for a midranged computer, I like to spend about 100-200 dollars. Choose your favorite, and check the reviews before you buy.

I priced out a wishlist on newegg. Came out to about 750. more then you wanted, but you could cut some money if you already have a case and harddrive you wanna use (would cut about 200 dollars)

[Orangutan]

http://www.tomshardware.com/2006/09/...for_the_money/

http://www.tgdaily.com/2006/10/06/pr...arts_oct_2006/

http://forums.pcper.com/showthread.php?t=428609

[N0Skillz]

Oooh, good links...

[Orangutan]

Also:

http://www23.tomshardware.com/cpu.html

http://www23.tomshardware.com/graphics.html

People often denigrate Tom's, but they have a lot of useful stuff.

[Snowball 2]

Awesome that's some great information. One mantra I see repeated on this forum and even other articles is "buy dual core to future-proof...". I'm not really interested in future-proofing my system because the next time I get a chance to update I'm sure there'll be a dozen new socket types and processors to fit them. Is it a true statement to say that I could get a CPU that costs half as much as a low-end dual core processor that performs just as well? I'd be more interested in that.

You've got a good list there Orang, thanks for the linkage.

[Orangutan]

One mantra I see repeated on this forum and even other articles is "buy dual core to future-proof...". I'm not really interested in future-proofing my system because the next time I get a chance to update I'm sure there'll be a dozen new socket types and processors to fit them. Is it a true statement to say that I could get a CPU that costs half as much as a low-end dual core processor that performs just as well? I'd be more interested in that.

That's quite true. Dual-core processors are simply a waste of money at the moment, as very few things can take advantage of that extra processing power. You're better off spending your money on a single-core.

You've got a good list there Orang, thanks for the linkage.

You're welcome; just trying to help out.

[N0Skillz]

I multitask alot, so I love my dual-core. I just assume everyone loves to do a billion things at once. the socket AM2 was future proofing, lol. But to save money you can always do the socket-939 route, since you don't seem to be wanting to upgrade for a few years.

[Orangutan]

I multitask alot, so I love my dual-core. I just assume everyone loves to do a billion things at once. the socket AM2 was future proofing, lol. But to save money you can always do the socket-939 route, since you don't seem to be wanting to upgrade for a few years.

Well, it's actually cheaper to buy the current technology than the 939 stuff. Plus, you do have that chance of doing a mid-life upgrade if you so choose.

More info:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/NForce_500
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/NForce4

[N0Skillz]

damn you and your logic and information! lol

since everyone around here talks about AM2. I'm looking at replacing my possibly broken Sapphire crossfire mobo (socket-939), with a new mobo. I'm just looking for a mobo until I can afford to upgrade to AM2, single slot PCI xpress x16 would do fine.

sorry to highjack your thread.

[_dangtx_]

why dual core? cuz when ya burning a dvd or so youll be limited.i hate that,as do most of the people.for liek 50 bucks more you get a second core.thats insane.

[kbohip]

That's a really good point dan. I think dual core will be even more important in the not too distant future too. There's no way I'd go single core right now if I knew I'd have that system 2 years down the road. I guess if all Snowball uses his computer for is web surfing/e-mail, extremely light duty things like that he'll never need dual core, but I'd bet he uses it for a lot more than that.

[Snowball 2]

Honestly, my usage is fifty-fifty but none of the CPU intensive stuff I do right now really takes advantage of dual core and most software out doesn't either. Burning DVDs is all I/O and has little to do with the CPU. Dual core wouldn't do anything for that. I think my computer at work could use a multiprocessing environment because I usually have a dozen or more applications open like IDEs, email, browsers and other such crap. For the stuff I do at home I think a single core processor is plenty fine.

So with that said what's the best single core has to offer?

[N0Skillz]

AMD Althon 64 3500+ with the Orleans core i believe is the best single core.

And as far as what you said about burning DVDs, my computer slowed down considerably when i ran single core and I had 2 gigs of ram. Never had the same problem with dual core.

[TMack409]

Get the back to TLR!