Building a new Computer. What Chipset and Processor?

[tehsucks]

Hey everyone.

It's me tehsucks , I have not been around the forums for quite some time now, I even got a nice little email telling me that. However, I am back now and request some help. I want to invest in a new computer, which I shall build from scratch (first time doing something like that). I have my heart set on the Asus M2N32-SLi Delux mother board, but I am not sure whether to get an AMD processor, or an Intel. Or whether to get an nVidia gfx card or ATI.

Now I won't actually be buying this computer for about 5 months or so, so this may turn out to be inconclusive. But none the less I want to see what the general opinion is.

[moogle]

i voted for amd + nvidia, but atm its not the best choice moneywise, so i'd say intel + nvidia. there havent been many am2 boards reviewed due to the fact that intel is on fire at the moment. id say get a good intel setup for the time being. or wait it for the phenom to arrive ;D

[jackvdbuk]

worry about it in 5 months time things change too fast.

and who voted for a pumpkin lmao nice! obviously have good taste in pc's

for now its probly intel c2d/q and a 8800 best performance imo

[DratUK]

Unless AMD Barcelona pulls something dramatic outa the hat then the Penryn/X38 chipset will be released. At this moment in time with the information that is available that would be waht I would plan to purchase.


Until some independent benchmarks are done, well we have to wait and see.

[0iD]

5 months is a long time in tecnologyland. No sooner have you comitted to buy a setup, then new revisions or better versions appear. It's a never ending cycle of upgrades, so decide just before you buy, it's the only way. Otherwise you could leave yourself continually waiting for the 'next big thing' to be released.

[Fabula]

Currently Intel (core 2) has the performance lead for CPU, and also a quad core available for around £160.
Now the drivers are more sorted, Nvidia and Ati have comparable cards performance wise, but nvidia are a bit cheaper.

So if buying now, Intel with Nvidia. But ask again nearer the time!

[tehsucks]

cool, you guys are all being really helpful, keep going!

Even if this all changes, it just puts things into perspective for me. I didn't mention it before, but I want to keep the price as close to $2000 (AUD as I live in Australia) as possible. I have been checking out two sites (as they seem to be the cheapest) being itestate.com.au and umart.com.au .

I am also very amused (although not very surprised) at how many people are voting for the pumpkin .

[moogle]

Originally Posted by 0iD

5 months is a long time in tecnologyland. No sooner have you comitted to buy a setup, then new revisions or better versions appear. It's a never ending cycle of upgrades, so decide just before you buy, it's the only way. Otherwise you could leave yourself continually waiting for the 'next big thing' to be released.

well most of the time when people say to wait it means to wait for the prices to undergo a major cut or something. ie like we knew quad core was gonna drop on july 22nd so we'd wait till that time unless we were that desperate.

[Dareos]

damn, spotted that pumpkin option just a little too late, i remember the last time i had a pumpkin only too well and the officer that shone a torch into my eyes and demanded to know what i was doing with it. I hadnt realised it was midnight already....


anyways, atm its deffo gonna be Intel and Nvidia as my choice, you only need to read the reviews on Hexus to understand why. I do have to say that I am more of an Abit fan than Asus now though, partly because of the support on these forums (Sean, Gilgamesh, Buff etc) and partly because the one i have is completely droolworthy imo (wish i had the wireless version now tho).

whats the current exchange rate for AUD to GBP and what other components are you thinking of?

[tehsucks]

The GBP to AUD ratio is about 2.68 atm

In total the computer (if I could have it right now) would be made of these parts and prices in AUD...

Case:
iCute S901-5GA with 25cm fan and see through window Black (no PSU) $99

CPU:
AMD CPU/Processor AM2 Athlon 64x2 Dual Core 6000 + 3.0GHz $209

Media Drive:
Samsung 18xDVD -/+ R/RW Dual Layer OEM Black $37

Graphics Card:
PCI -e (nV) 8800GTS 640MB Sparkle (500/1600GHz) $495

HDD:
Seagate 80BG SATA2 7200rpm 8mb cache $57
Seagate 3.5" SATA-300 320GB 16mb cache $98

Mobo:
Asus M2N32-SLi Delux nForce 590 SLi MCP DDR2 SATA2 GbeLAN $260

Monitor:
Widescreen LCD Monitor 22" AOC 210V (5ms/2000:1/DVI) Black $352

PSU:
CoolerMaster Real 650W Extreme SLi Ready $107

RAM:
Desktop DDR2 RAM 2GB (2x1024MB) PC8500 1066MHz (samsung chipset) $118

also just 'cause I saw it and it looked cool an Icemat Siberia USB 7.1 Sound Card with Multi Headset - Black $129

Half these parts come from http://www.itestate.com.au and the other half from http://www.umart.com.au

What I would like to know, however, is what I should look for in both the graphics card and CPU if they're gonna be used mainly for gaming. You see I don't actually know what half the numbers mean. What I do know is that usually the higher the number on whatever spec the better. However, it would seem that some numbers mean more for gaming purposes than others. If anyone could explain this to me so I know what to look for and can make comparisons by my self that'd be excellent.

[TMD]

If i were buying right now it would have to be Intel and nVidia...for the money they offer the best performance!

[alexmorris60]

go check what scans got
Anyway, i erecomend Core2Quad Q6600
and an Nvidia 8800GTS 640Mb

[speardane]

well last time I looked
Nvidia were less bad than ATI
The AM2s offered a better price performance (running a 6000+ with 4 Gb of memory - I don't immediately need more speed)

[dfour]

I have to agree that in 5 months time all could be changed with new chips and a graphics card revision coming up. Today it would be Intel and nvidia.

[crazy]

Intel/Nvidia here
atm those two are the best in my opinion

[clown]

I voted Intel Nvidia as thats what I would buy money no object. But I need a new PC now and I suspect it will be AMD with ATI onboard graphics as it will do what I want at a very good price.

But all may change over the 5 months.