AMD System????

[frankjg]

I'm typically an Intel biggot, however, I think I want to build my next system with an AMD CPU. I have no idea what is hot in AMD land these days. Anyone know a decent CPU and Motherboard to use? Anything special I should know.

Thanks,

[thelord68]

You want an Athlon 64 3500+ or higher or an Athlon 64 X2 (dual core). Either one in either a socket 939 or AM2 (AMD new style, supports DDR2), depends on the motherboard.

You can get the Athlon 64 3800+ AM2 Olrleans for under $150. The Dual core verison will cost at leat $300.

FYI -the Sempron is the low end version equivalent to a Celeron.

Pair this up with a ASUS M2N-SLI Deluxe (I've had very good luck with ASUS - their slightly more expensive but not much) less than $150 and is good for either the single or dual core version of the chip.

If you want to shave some money, you can go with the 3500+ version of the chip and save about $30 and go with an MSI K9N Platinum Socket AM2 motherboard (same chipset as the ASUS) and save another $40.

The AMDs are much better at power usage than the Intels, but make sure you pair this up with a decent power supply 500 watts if you can.

[RevitXman]

If you go with a AMD64 x2 4400, you can OC it to a 4800 easily..

[HumpX]

The new generation of AMD's will be coming out shortly. You may want to wait though the current chips are still amazing.

[thelord68]

First rule of thumb with buying or building a new system. DON'T keep checking prices once you've made your purchase - you will drive yourself crazy thinking what if I waited another month. There will always be faster/bigger/cheaper for sale.

[BigBuffaloFan]

First rule of thumb with buying or building a new system. DON'T keep checking prices once you've made your purchase - you will drive yourself crazy thinking what if I waited another month. There will always be faster/bigger/cheaper for sale.

Amen brother. I did that when I built my first PC. I was mother f...ing every other day. I have build many PC's all with AMD processors. Never had a problem cheaper and I think better then Intel. MoBo's cheaper too.

[BeezerBlanks]

AMD lowering prices on July 24th, I'm waiting till then. Gonna be a big drop on most cpu's so its worth waiting if you can.

[twatosneighbor]

I got the Asus A8N32-SLI and a 3800+ AMD 64 X2 Dual-Core Processor. 2 7900 GT SLI vid cards, 4 gigs of crucial mem and 2 74 gig 10,000 rpm WD Raptors RAID configured with the 16 Mb of cache If you got the money its a great investment for awesome computing and gaming. I build PC's and cases can be one of the most cheapest parts on a pc and i have bought alot of crap ones. About a year ago I ordered my first Coolermaster case and have never looked back. Whenever I build a new pc I get my customer a Coolermaster Centurion 5. They are sturdy and lots of extras.

[BeezerBlanks]

well here's the newest price listing for AMD chips
http://www.amd.com/us-en/Corporate/VirtualPressRoom/0,,51_104_609,00.html

Not sure how long before websites start changing the prices but it looks pretty good. Looks like a Athlon 64 X2 5000 for me :icon_mrgr. Not bad at all for $300. Was really hoping they'd drop prices on the 4400 and 4800 2mb cache versions but I just want a new computer, dont' wanna wait anymore.

[BeezerBlanks]

I just ordered my system. I priced it out with newegg, found monarch to be a bit cheaper oddly enough but I went to www.ibuypower.com and they today just adjusted cpu prices for the amd price drop. I ended up getting it from them because they had what I wanted and having it put together was a nice convenience. Also if anyone is looking for a computer and order it soon from there they have a $200 mail in rebate for systems over $999. With the rebate it'll end up being much cheaper = more gooder....

Heres what I ended up getting....
Case ([New !!!] Nzxt Apollo Gaming Tower Case, Orange )

Power Supply ( NZXT PRC-550 550W Power Supply [SLI-Ready] )

Processor ( [Socket-AM2] AMD Athlon™64 X2 4400+ Dual-Core CPU w/ HyperTransport Technology )

Free Software/Game ( Free Game - [Age of Empires III]

Processor Cooling ( CoolerMaster Liquid CPU Cooling Fan System Kit )

Motherboard ( GigaByte GA-M55SLI-S4 nForce4-SLI Chipset w/7.1 Audio, Gb LAN, S-ATA Raid, USB 2.0, IEEE-1394 Dual PCI-E MB )

Memory ( 1024MB [512MB X2] DDR2-800 PC6400 Memory Module Corsair-Value or Major Brand )

Video Card ( Nvidia Geforce 7900GTX 512MB w/DVI + TV Out Video )

Hard Drive ( [Special !!!] 200 GB HARD DRIVE [Serial-ATA-II, 3Gb, 7200 RPM, 8M Cache] )

CD-RW/DVD-RW Drive ( [** Special !!! ***] 16X Dual Format/Double Layer DVD±R/±RW + CD-R/RW Drive Black )

Speaker System ( 600W PMPO 3 PCS Super Bass Subwoofer Speaker System )

Network Card ( Onboard LAN Network (Gb or 10/100) )

Keyboard ( Logitech Deluxe Keyboard Black )

Mouse ( Logitech Optical Internet Mouse Black )

USB 2.0 Accessories ( Build-in USB 2.0 Ports )

Meter Display ( Thermal Temperature LCD Display Black )

Flash Media Reader/Writer ( 12-In-1 Internal Flash Media Card Reader/Writer Black )

Operation System ( None- Pre-formatted Hard Drive Only )

Case Round Cable ( Professional wiring for all cables inside the system tower )

Warranty ( Warranty Service Standard 3-Year Limited Warranty + Lifetime Technical Support )

Rush Service ( Rush Service Fee (not shipping fee) No Rush, Ship Out in 5~10 Business Days )

Including shipping it came to a bit over $1500 with shipping. Can't wait.:icon_mrgr

[WoodenPlank]

No operating system? I hope you have a copy of Windows XP handy.

[BeezerBlanks]

No operating system? I hope you have a copy of Windows XP handy.

I have my 2 HD's from my current computer I'll be using. :action-sm 200gb+80gb+80gb+250(external)gb = enough space for now... :icon_mrgr

[Deadbent]

Partition that 80gb sucker and enjoy the fruits of price-wars, beez.


Pricewars, btw, are officially on if youre in the market for a new amd proc.
I think the x2 3800 was around 160 bucks.
Thats just scrumptious.

[BeezerBlanks]

Yeah the X2 5000 is sitting around $300 if you can find it, sadfully I didnt' see it on newegg. I got a decent deal on the x2 4400 so I can't complain. I can't wait to finally start real computer gaming.

[ern]

dam, i didnt have time to build a new system and bought an out of box one at best buy. I figured I would fix the issues on the cheap, and not have to go to the comp shows and deal with the chinese.
sounds like you got a sweet deal, any known bugs with new system? I hate being a guinea pig beta tester for AMD. Those are the only chips i have ever built with.

[Fendbass22]

My friend up graded to the 4200 X2 and new Mobo and sold me his old 64 3200+ and he regrets it. He says it is slightly faster, can't really notice the multitasking abilities, and isnt worth the extra money. So basically, I got a 64 3200+, Asus K8V-X, and Sapphire 9800 g/c for $125 and he's pissed with his performance considering he blew $600 on his new setup.

Just letting you know, I just build a spare box with the used setup and it is still pretty quick. Stuff is cheap on newegg too.