Groovin' on over to Intel... mebbe...

[Mr. Analog]

So I've been weighing whether or not to upgrade my compy or buy a new TV this year and I'm leaning towards compy, so I started looking at motherboards, CPUs and vid cards and so far the dual core Intel seems to be the way to go right now, and then I saw this baby:

http://www.memoryexpress.com/index.php?PageTag=&page=file&memx_menu=EmbedProductDetail.php&DisplayProductID=9898&SID=

So, what do you all think of Intel's dual core processors and / or Xeon motherboards?

[Lazybones]

I see NO reason to build a Xeon based system for your primary computer, the costs are crazy in comparison.

Stick to the Core2 line of desktop processors.

[Cova]

Besides costs being way higher on the Xeon platform - the RAM it uses is also slower than regular desktop RAM.  Stay with a regular Core2 Duo/Quad.

[Tom]

I also recall that the Xeons are essentially the same chip as the c2d. The only thing that really makes them different these days, is that they are SMP capable (multi socket).

And now that there are 4GB DIMMs out (now or soon), you can load up with 16GB ram if needed. And 16GB should be plenty till you need to upgrade again.

And if you need 4 cores, wait for the c2q Unless you _really_ want 2x quad core.

[Mr. Analog]

Good to know, when I was looking at the spec sheets I thought they were a bit on the beefy side. So, what are some good Socket M motherboards out there?

[Cova]

And if you need 4 cores, wait for the c2q Unless you _really_ want 2x quad core.

The Core-2-Quad is already out, no need to wait.
http://www.memoryexpress.com/index.php?PageTag=&page=file&memx_menu=EmbedProductDetail.php&DisplayProductID=9637&SID=
Or go with one of the quad-core extreme editions.

[Tom]

Wait if you don't want to spend WAY more than is _right_.

[Mr. Analog]

Maybe I'll go Commando! haha

[Tom]

Maybe I'll go Commando! haha

TMI

[Mags]

My comp totally crapped out the other day. This is what I ended up picking up based on cost/availability/etc:

Antec Nine Hundred Ultimate Gamer Case

http://www.memoryexpress.com/index.php?PageTag=&page=file&memx_menu=EmbedProductDetail.php&DisplayProductID=9164&SID=


Corsair 2GB XMS2-6400 TWIN2X Dual Channel DDR2 Kit (2 x 1GB)

http://www.memoryexpress.com/index.php?PageTag=&page=file&memx_menu=EmbedProductDetail.php&DisplayProductID=8744&SID=

XFX nForce 680i LT SLI w/ DualDDR2 800, 7.1 Audio, Gigabit Lan, 1394, Dual PCI-E x16 SLI

http://www.memoryexpress.com/index.php?PageTag=&page=file&memx_menu=EmbedProductDetail.php&DisplayProductID=10024&SID=

SilverStone Strider ST75F 750W Modular Power Supply w/ Quad +12V, EPS 12V

http://www.memoryexpress.com/index.php?PageTag=&page=file&memx_menu=EmbedProductDetail.php&DisplayProductID=9037&SID=

Intel Core?2 Duo Processor E6420 2.13GHz w/ 4MB Cache

http://www.memoryexpress.com/index.php?PageTag=&page=file&memx_menu=EmbedProductDetail.php&DisplayProductID=10083&SID=

eVGA e-GeForce 8800 GTX 768MB PCI-E w/ Dual DVI, HDTV-Out

http://www.memoryexpress.com/index.php?PageTag=&page=file&memx_menu=EmbedProductDetail.php&DisplayProductID=9218&SID=

I already had 2:

Seagate 320GB Barracuda 7200.10 SATA II w/ NCQ, 16MB Cache

http://www.memoryexpress.com/index.php?PageTag=&page=file&memx_menu=EmbedProductDetail.php&DisplayProductID=8111&SID=

sitting around so used them for my raid.

The 680lt board is a great savings over the 680i boards, but my warning (as I learned too late) is it only has 1 isa port. So no old harddrives if you want to use as a backup drive like I did. So, again this was based on an emergency build without the finances really in place (Visa owns my ass) so there are a few places to upgrade if you want to spend more that's for sure. Also, I was planning to wait for fall when AMD introduces there new quad based processors and duel cpu mobos (mmmm 8 cores...), but that's up to you of course.

[Darren Dirt]

Maybe I'll go Commando! haha

TMI

burned.

[Cova]

I think you could have gotten away with a significantly smaller PSU there Mags.  And I also wanna note that more 12V rails in a PSU = a BAD thing.

[Mags]

I think you could have gotten away with a significantly smaller PSU there Mags.  And I also wanna note that more 12V rails in a PSU = a BAD thing.

Indeed, but if i want to add a second 8800gtx later going to need that power.

[Mr. Analog]

So, I did some reading last night and started looking at different configurations and came up with a pretty good loadout for a dream machine...

Intel Core?2 Quad Processor Q6600 2.4GHz w/ 2x4MB Cache                  $649.95
Asus Commando w/ DualDDR2 800, SupremeFX 7.1 Audio, Dual GB Lan, 1394, Dual PCI-E x16/x4   $279.95
Corsair 2GB XMS2-8500D Dominator TWIN2X Dual Channel DDR2 Kit (2 x 1GB)            $389.95
BFG GeForce 8800 GTX 768MB PCI-E w/ Dual DVI, HDTV-Out                  $729.95

Total: $2049.80 (not including new monitor), obviously this is one of the more expensive loadouts I could come up with. I am hesitant about making a Vista ready machine especially since most of the games I like that will make use of DX10 aren't even on the horizon yet. It's cheaper than buying a TV for sure, but it's not a small investment either... (assuming I go with this loadout, which is only 1 GB of dual channel DDR2).

Also, getting my tax return yesterday didn't help my decision making process...

[Lazybones]

Well everyone has different ideas on how to build a system, I always look to the $/performance ratio.
Your build is missing a PSU and case, make sure you budget for a big enough PSU.
Do you have fast SATA harddrives already?

Can't go wrong with an Asus board but I question the price tag.
Unless I plan to over clock I NEVER purchase premium performance ram, the gains at normal clock are not even measurable
Check out the benchmarks for the different 8800 video cards, the gains are supposed to be minimal for the ones with lots of RAM.

Having said all that $2049 isnt bad for a bitchen system.