New Rig

[Wolfie]

I'm planning my next upgrade, as its a jump to Dual Core/Core2 it pretty much results in a whole new base unit.

So the immediate question is... Dual Core or Core2?

I've found a Dual Core CPU here

http://www.procomshop.com/product_details....ID0050000002630

And a Core2 here

http://www.procomshop.com/product_details....ID0050000002654

Similar price (at time of writing) - which of the two chips would give me more 'bang for my buck'

The next question is Graphics... i want something thats going to last a while and be as fast as possible (without paying stupid money) - its primarily a gaming machine hence the high gfx requirement

So i've found this GFX card which looks nice and not too spendy

http://www.procomshop.com/product_details....ID0220000002637

Its based of the geforce 7900GT chipset, anyone have any experience or advice on this card (or suggestions of a better card)

I dont really have a 'budget' as such, but i refuse to pay 20,000+ for a GFX card right now, whilst i dont mind spending good money on a good machine i dont want to go over board here.

[solo siam]

Core2Duo is a much faster processor than the Dual Core

For the graphics card I would go for an 8800GTS 320mb, its around 12k baht but is a powerhouse of a graphics card. Memory is also very important, look at 2 Gb's (DDR 800) if you can afford it.

[Tywais]

Core2Duo is a much faster processor than the Dual Core

For the graphics card I would go for an 8800GTS 320mb, its around 12k baht but is a powerhouse of a graphics card. Memory is also very important, look at 2 Gb's (DDR 800) if you can afford it.

Didn't have time to post a response but it was pretty much exactly what Ben just quoted. Here is some benchmarks for Intel CPUs, doesn't have the 945 exactly but D 940 D 950 will be close enough for evaluating. The E6300 is way ahead of them.

http://www.anandtech.com/printarticle.aspx?i=2795

And the 8800 > http://www.thanni.com/index.php?main_page=...roducts_id=4025

You also need to consider the mainboard and chipset you want to use. I have the parts and will be building a new system over Songkran.

[quiksilva]

Im shocked thats a very reasonable price for that type of card in Thailand - the 8800 GTX in Fortune was 25 K!!

[Tywais]

Im shocked thats a very reasonable price for that type of card in Thailand - the 8800 GTX in Fortune was 25 K!!

That's about right for a GTX version (above are GTS), but out of my price range for the moment. I understand a value line version of the 8800 is supposed to be available soon.

[britmaveric]

Core2 all the way - much faster than Dual Core.

[Jockstar]

AMD?

[quiksilva]

Im shocked thats a very reasonable price for that type of card in Thailand - the 8800 GTX in Fortune was 25 K!!

That's about right for a GTX version (above are GTS), but out of my price range for the moment. I understand a value line version of the 8800 is supposed to be available soon.

That GTS screams bargain to me, prices have come down alot in the last few months!

[Wolfie]

Im shocked thats a very reasonable price for that type of card in Thailand - the 8800 GTX in Fortune was 25 K!!

That's about right for a GTX version (above are GTS), but out of my price range for the moment. I understand a value line version of the 8800 is supposed to be available soon.

That GTS screams bargain to me, prices have come down alot in the last few months!

Yeah looks like a good card and if it can be found at around the 12k mark its a bl**dy bargain!

[Ian_B]

I'm waiting for the ATI R600 to come out as I use my PC as media centre as well as a games rig

Am interested in the R600 cos it has onboard audio, which is carried through the cards HDMI - perfect for my HDTV

[quiksilva]

Yeh I also use my PC that way I have heard alot about that new ATI card.

Hope you have a big ol case because its supposed to be HUGE and very power hungry.

Taken from Engadget

The flagship edition -- dubbed the X2900XTX and codenamed Dragons Head 2 -- will sport a 9.5-inch configuration {also heard that it was actually 12.5 inches], 1GB of GDDR4 memory, dual DVI, video in / out, and require a baffling 240-watts [edit also heard 270-watts somewhere] of energy delivered through dual onboard power connectors. The X2900XT (Cats Eye) will share most of the same design characteristics as the aforementioned card, but will tout GDDR3 RAM and a lower clock speed to boot.

I imagine that will be in the 25K+ range when it shelves here. Ok benchmarks may do a tad better than a GTS (who really cares about the difference between 300-330 FPS) but I'd rather save that cash and buy Vista Ultimate or even a high end audio card.

[bkk_mike]

Your fun will be choosing your motherboard more than choosing the processor.

Core 2 Duo is so much faster that the AMD X2s aren't really competing on performance now, just on price at the lower end.

If you are thinking you may go ATI Crossfire, that would rule out a P965 motherboard.

Otherwise, especially with the ICH8R (rather than the plain ICH8) it seems like the best option at the moment. (hardware RAID5 on the motherboard - with Intel's gimmick where you can apportion part of the drives as RAID5 (recoverable if a drive fails), and other parts as RAID0 (unrecoverable, but very fast - for swap, or temp files).).

Only issues I've heard of are because it no longer supports IDE natively, and the 3rd party IDE that's usually added can be a bit flaky. (so just ensure all hard disks are SATA - and you have no problems).

[Tywais]

Only issues I've heard of are because it no longer supports IDE natively, and the 3rd party IDE that's usually added can be a bit flaky. (so just ensure all hard disks are SATA - and you have no problems).

I will be building my system over the holidays and have an ASUS P5BE-Plus Mainboard (P965/ICH8R chipset,which has 6 SATA ports + hardware RAID and an UltraDMA IDE connector (2 IDE drives) and one external SATA connector which will house my external SATA drive. Plus 10 USB 2.0 ports, 2 IEEE1394a Firewire ports and Gigabit LAN. Will be populating it with an Intel E6600 and 2GB Corsair XMS2 memory (to start with).

It does use a 3rd party chip set - JMicron JMB368 for the IDE and external SATA, but most problems have been corrected with a current BIOS and latest drivers.

Will need at use one of the IDE ports for the CD/DVD drive unless you buy a SATA DVD drive.

[QualityTouristNumberOne]

I'm planning my next upgrade, as its a jump to Dual Core/Core2 it pretty much results in a whole new base unit.

So the immediate question is... Dual Core or Core2?

I've found a Dual Core CPU here

http://www.procomshop.com/product_details....ID0050000002630

And a Core2 here

http://www.procomshop.com/product_details....ID0050000002654

Similar price (at time of writing) - which of the two chips would give me more 'bang for my buck'

The next question is Graphics... i want something thats going to last a while and be as fast as possible (without paying stupid money) - its primarily a gaming machine hence the high gfx requirement

So i've found this GFX card which looks nice and not too spendy

http://www.procomshop.com/product_details....ID0220000002637

Its based of the geforce 7900GT chipset, anyone have any experience or advice on this card (or suggestions of a better card)

I dont really have a 'budget' as such, but i refuse to pay 20,000+ for a GFX card right now, whilst i dont mind spending good money on a good machine i dont want to go over board here.

Recommendations...

Asus p5b deluxe Mobo...about 6 or 7k baht(make sure you get the deluxe,it lets you OC a LOT more than standard).

Core 2 Duo E6600 2.4gb(4mb of L2,very important for future proofing) AROUND 15,000baht(dont quote me,I got mine a while ago),but coupled with the above Mobo people have been managing INSANE overclocks,even if you take it easy you can have it up to 3.2gbs no problem(and even at its stock freq it kicks the Pentium D's ass by double)heres a link about it... http://www.gamepc.com/labs/view_content.as...cookie%5Ftest=1

If you dont want to spend so much pretty much any of the Core 2 duo's are good,but the e6600 is the lowest priced to have 4mb's of L2...

Geforce 8800,or 7900gt/gtx,I have the 512mb 7900 gtx at the moment,and it is holding its own.

AT LEAST 2gb of 800 ram,Corsair have a lifetime warranty,they're good,I have 3gbs at the moment and it is a lifesaver coupled with an overclocked core 2 duo it is fast as <deleted>,multitasking is no problem,even with heavy cpu drainers like modern FPS's.

If you're getting a new case I'd recommend the Kandalf range from Thermaltake,

get plenty of fans in there too!

good luck with your upgrade!

Pm me if you live near Bangkok and are going to buy parts at Pantip,and I will give you a name and a shop that I have a good relationship with,and they'll give you a discount.