What CPU should I get?

[gozulin]

I currently have an MSI K8N neo and an socket 754 amd64 3200+ . They have served me well so far but...

I just bought a 7800GT PCI-E. I'm thinking of buying an EPoX EP-9NPA+ and complementing it with THE MYSTERY CPU

I have 1 GB of PC2700 (which I don't intend to replace as I feel memory speeds, latencies and so forth are overrated. If I'm wrong, correct me and let me know how much extra performance i'll get out of XXX memory)

I intend to have 6 HDs . 4 SATA and 2 PATA I guess ( I wish mobos had more SATA...). Advice on HDs would be appreciated (price/gb is important, storage and speed too. Nothing smaller than 200 GB however)

Well, there you have it. I was actually wondering if this was worth it at all or if I should wait before i pick a cpu.

UPDATE FOR THE LAZY

Ok, I'm seeing a lot of votes for the X2 3800+ . I know it's definitely the best CPU of the bunch. But what I'm looking for is a balanced system. No point in spending all that cash on a CPU if the GPU is going to lag behind (and vice versa). That's why I included lower cpus. Now if that's what you were thinking when you recommended it, then OK, but if not, please let me know.

You were asking me my budget. I don't really have one. I'm sure as hell not gonna spend over $350 on a cpu (which is why I didn't include anythign higher than the X2 3800+) but that doesn't mean i WANT to spend $350. I could use the money for something else of course. I'm really looking for the best price/performance ratio when taking the 7800 GT into account.

Yes, I would be likely to overclock. Buying a Thermaltake Big Typhoon and ramping up that CPU is definitely very appealing. (I'm assuming that fan is the best available)

Vanden, please tell me which boards you mean. The list of recommended boards did not include any. Thanks.

About the HDs, I love hard drives. I never have enough hard drives. I intend to use this computer as a media server as well as a gaming rig so having lots of HDs is definitely important. Plus, What's the point of having a p180 if I'm not gonna fill it with HDs?

Thanks.

 

[biostud]

It would be a bit easier if you told us a budget and what you're going to use it for. And if you're interested on overclocking. Personally I would buy the X2 3800+ and overclock it.

 

[ElTorrente]

yeah you should put your budget in there.

There is basically no reason to NOT get an X2 3800 if your budget allows you to pick any one of those. There is no downside to it, really - only price (and it really isn't all THAT much more expensive).

 

[RichUK]

Originally posted by: biostud
It would be a bit easier if you told us a budget and what you're going to use it for. And if you're interested on overclocking. Personally I would buy the X2 3800+ and overclock it.

YUP

And if you can afford it get some PC3200 CL2.5 either 1Gb or 2Gb dual channel matched pair jobies .. just get better RAM

 

[The Green Bean]

9-0 pwnde

 

[RichUK]

Originally posted by: hatim
9-0 pwnde

12-0 now

Hmm i think im starting to see a pattern here

 

[Mogadon]

15-0 now ... ... why do you want 6 HD's exactly?

 

[MDE]

X2 3800+ or 3000+ Venice and overclock it.

 

[bjc112]

20-0!

Thats how it should be..

The extra $100 is definitely worth it over a 3700+

The only other option is a 3000+ and shoot for 2.7-2.8..

 

[Icepick]

I voted before reading all the posts. It's currently unanimous with 24 votes for the X2 3800+. Well, I guess you have your answer. Have a nice day.

 

[Furen]

For the harddrives I'd recommend samsun spinpoints. They're quieter than everything out there so having 4 of them wont be too annoying.

 

[imported_Vanden]

There are plenty of nforce4 boards that have 8 sata connectors. Most have the sil 3114 controller that even has raid5. If you need alot of storage those might be worth a look.

And another vote for the x2 3800+

 

[n7]

Holy pollownage!

 

[RichUK]

OK WHO THE HELL RUINED IT!!!

there is no way you can recommend the opteron 875 **2 votes now :shocked:**

EDIT: 32 - 2

3800+ FTW

 

[gozulin]

Ok, I'm seeing a lot of votes for the X2 3800+ . I know it's definitely the best CPU of the bunch. But what I'm looking for is a balanced system. No point in spending all that cash on a CPU if the GPU is going to lag behind (and vice versa). That's why I included lower cpus. Now if that's what you were thinking when you recommended it, then OK, but if not, please let me know.

You were asking me my budget. I don't really have one. I'm sure as hell not gonna spend over $350 on a cpu (which is why I didn't include anythign higher than the X2 3800+) but that doesn't mean i WANT to spend $350. I could use the money for something else of course. I'm really looking for the best price/performance ratio when taking the 7800 GT into account.

Yes, I would be likely to overclock. Buying a Thermaltake Big Typhoon and ramping up that CPU is definitely very appealing. (I'm assuming that fan is the best available)

Vanden, please tell me which boards you mean. The list of recommended boards did not include any. Thanks.

About the HDs, I love hard drives. I never have enough hard drives. I intend to use this computer as a media server as well as a gaming rig so having lots of HDs is definitely important. Plus, What's the point of having a p180 if I'm not gonna fill it with HDs?

 

[biostud]

where all the other CPU's are just different speed single cores (except the opteron ) the pricetag of the X2 3800+ gives you an extra core to play with, which probably will give you far more longevity of the system. But an 3000+ is a great budget saver when overclocking, so that's the only two options IMHO. The 3800+ will not be faste atm in games, but when more applications start beeing optimized for dual core down the road, you don't have to think about getting a new processor. And until then you can enjoy its supperiority in multitasking and multimedia encoding/decoding.

 

[MrC4]

I personally think the 3500+ will give you the best bang for your bucks at around $190. Since you didn't mention the need to rip DVDs, while gaming, this cpu will kick butt for a good while.

 

[carlosd]

If you don't do heavy multitasking take the 3500+ and OC it, but if you do some heavy multitasking and videon encoding the X2 3800+ will be a much better chioce, you can also OC it but not as high as a venice.

 

[gozulin]

Here is the system so far:

AMD64 X2 3800+
Asus A8N SLI Premium
ThermalTake Big Typhoon
eVga 7800 GT 256Mb

At this point, I should probably throw in some good ram as well, Say 2 Gb.

and that brings me to somewhere around $700+

After further consideration, screw this. I'm selling the damn 7800 GT! I'll wait for the new ATi cards before I upgrade. A man should not have to spend more than $500 on a mobu/cpu/ram combo.

 

[RichUK]

Originally posted by: gozulin
Here is the system so far:

AMD64 X2 3800+
DFI SLI-DR
ThermalTake Big Typhoon
eVga 7800 GT 256Mb

At this point, I should probably throw in some good ram as well, Say 2 Gb.

and that brings me to somewhere around $700+

After further consideration, screw this. I'm selling the damn 7800 GT! I'll wait for the new ATi cards before I upgrade. A man should not have to spend more than $500 on a mobu/cpu/ram combo.

FIXED

this will nicely complement your new X2 3800+ to get the best results .. although i prefer the jumperless cardless SLI switch on that mobo.

deary deary more people voting for the Opteron 875 for shame

 

[Furen]

Originally posted by: gozulin
Here is the system so far:

AMD64 X2 3800+
Asus A8N SLI Premium
ThermalTake Big Typhoon
eVga 7800 GT 256Mb

Has anyone looked into how good of an overclocker EVGA's SLI mobo is? Getting a free mobo with your 7800GT would be great... I think

 

[RichUK]

Originally posted by: Furen

Originally posted by: gozulin
Here is the system so far:

AMD64 X2 3800+
Asus A8N SLI Premium
ThermalTake Big Typhoon
eVga 7800 GT 256Mb

Has anyone looked into how good of an overclocker EVGA's SLI mobo is? Getting a free mobo with your 7800GT would be great... I think

i remember the evga mobo is just a rebadged motherboard.. but i cant remember which one .. and i remember hearing that is an awfull OCer shame really

 

[Furen]

The EVGA mobo is a rebadged Jetaway which was a great overclocker according to Anandtech. I think there were some bios issues with the initial release though, but EVGA had said they'd take care of them soon.

 

[RichUK]

Originally posted by: Furen
The EVGA mobo is a rebadged Jetaway which was a great overclocker according to Anandtech. I think there were some bios issues with the initial release though, but EVGA had said they'd take care of them soon.

hmm in that case .. that could be quite the deal .. although it would not interest me if i were in the OP's position, but thats just me

 

[Sledgehamer70]

I would say the 3800 Dual core....just makes better since, I own a few 4000+ and 3200+ chips and I love them, but dual core is the new way to go....