To AMD or Intel, that is the question...

[Oakleyb]

OK, so my main computer blew up tonight (well, not exactly, more flaked out really. It's been gradually expiring for the past month ).

So I need a new mobo and CPU. I'm mainly a Linux man apart from the odd game so I'm looking to keep my existing AGP card with a view to upgrading the video card in the next year so I'll be needing a PCI-E slot as well.

Of course, I'd love a nice Core 2 Duo, but alas the Mrs holds the purse strings and she won't allow more than £100. Thing is, I'm rather keen to get a dual core.

So a low end Athlon 3600+ x2 it is (sigh). I'm not even going to consider a Netburst.

So is my DDR 400 ram going to work in an AM2 mobo? And am I going to regret not getting the Core 2 Duo when I upgrade my video card (I'm thinking I'll be upgrading from my current Nvidia 6800 to an 8600 or equivalent card later this year). I'm not afraid to overclock (which is probably why my present mobo just died )

[moogle]

those asrock dual vista boards support ddr and am2. i guess you could get those.

[jimbouk]

I got the cheapest dual core AM2 (3800+) and it's nippy enough for XP and gaming. With the AM2 you're stuck with DDR2 though. I think it's very limited getting agp and PCI-E, those Asrock boards are getting hard to find.

I got onboard 6150 graphics for gaming (fine low res UT2004, Guild Wars etc) and a PCI-E slot for upgrading when I get a newer game or two.

Budget really was my main priority, and I spent £200 on mobo, 1Gig ram, cpu, cpu cooler, DVD-RW, and wifi. Had a case + power, HDD, KB+M and monitor from an old dead computer. £200 very well spent.

[staffsMike]

AGP though..thats a stretch

can you get AGP and PCI-E on the same board?

nothing 100 notes is going to get you im sure.

AM2 wont work will DDR afaik to.

£100 will get you the CPU and very cheap mobo and 512mb of ram at a push

As moogle say asrock is the way to go mobo wise

[Dark Horse]

Asrock 4CoreDual-VSTA with an E4300 is going to be the cheapest you can get. It does ddr, ddr2, pcie and agp.

As far as I am aware there aren't any AM2 ddr motherboards.

[lanceuppercut]

Asrock 4CoreDual-VSTA with an E4300 is going to be the cheapest you can get. It does ddr, ddr2, pcie and agp.

As far as I am aware there aren't any AM2 ddr motherboards.

probably wont be in the £100 budget the OP has laid out for a e4300, at least not brand new.

[FInalD]

As far as I am aware there aren't any AM2 ddr motherboards.

That being because AM2 is DDR2 only, thats effectivly what the 2 stands for at the moment, as AM2 are still on 90nm and not 65nm, but are using DDR2, unlike skt 939 which uses DDR.

FinalD

[DecomposingStar]

If you want to upgrade from AGP to PCI, go for a chipset with integrated graphics and PCI-E, and buy a new graphics card later on...

Try stick to single platform motherboards, you'll get so much more out of them. The E4300 is a great chip, and i THINK its about £99... But that's the cheapest one you can get and that i'd recommend. You can overclock that beast a mile and a half aswell.

You might be able to pick up a board with DDR as opposed to DDR2 for cheaper now, and seeing as you aren't too bothered about performance, it won't hinder you too much.

[this_is_gav]

If you're seriously into Linux, try and head the route of nVidia. Their Linux drivers are (still) much better Intel or ATi.

[Dark Horse]

That being because AM2 is DDR2 only, thats effectivly what the 2 stands for at the moment, as AM2 are still on 90nm and not 65nm, but are using DDR2, unlike skt 939 which uses DDR.

FinalD

I understand that however some motherboard makers, like Asrock, make products that crossover between the two specifications. They don't appear to for AM2 but they do for Core 2 Duo. It is also the cheapest way to upgrade to future proof level of performance platform although as mentioned not necessarily within the OP's budget.

Another option within £100 would be to get a Presler Core Pentium D with the Asrock board and then upgrade to Core 2 Duo later in the year. Scan have a 915 for £59 so still in budget.

[FInalD]

AMD themselves made the AM2 CPUs unable to run with DDR1, but Intel made the C2Ds able to run DDR1 + DDR2 which is why Asrock make Intel boards like it and not AMD ones.

Kinda crappy of AMD really, making people buy more RAM aswell when their chips aren't the best on the market...but then I guess they don't know whilst they are in design and production stages what Intel are doing with their next chips.

FinalD

[this_is_gav]

Wouldn't say it was crappy of AMD. They were kind of forced to move to DDR2 to keep in line with Intel. Had they stayed with DDR1 the prices for that RAM would have shot up over time. Supply and demand, and AMD just don't have the clout to dictate market shifts.

[aidanjt]

AMD themselves made the AM2 CPUs unable to run with DDR1, but Intel made the C2Ds able to run DDR1 + DDR2 which is why Asrock make Intel boards like it and not AMD ones.

Kinda crappy of AMD really, making people buy more RAM aswell when their chips aren't the best on the market...but then I guess they don't know whilst they are in design and production stages what Intel are doing with their next chips.

FinalD

Yeah, I disagreed with the notion of moving the memory controller into the CPU myself, but AMD decided raw performance benchmarks were more important than proper modular engineering principles.

On the otherhand, DDR was phasing out anyway, so in a way it's not really a massive loss.

[shaithis]

Oakleyb, what do you currently have?

As others have said, the Asrock dual-VSTA board seems ideal for you to upgrade to new tech as-and-when. The board is cheap but will certainly push you over budget due to the E4300 costing £100 on its own.

Still, a damn cheap upgrade at ~£150 that lets you upgrade to PCI-E and DDR2 as you see fit, while gaining the power of Conroe now.

The other option is to check the classifieds and ebay for a bargain AGP 939 board and CPU.

[Smokey21]

Sounds like 939 would be a better option, though i don't think 939 CPU's are sold anymore?

[this_is_gav]

There's still a few CPUs around in various places (though disappearing fast) - it's the motherboards which are hard to source now.