Opinion on this rig build

[Nechen]

Looking at some parts to replace the parts in my HP Workstation xw4200, the P4 in here is too slow and loud for my liking.

Was hoping to get some opinions on this Phenom2 Dual Core, specs seem good enough for a Linux Box.

Mobo:
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813131651R

RAM:
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820231396

CPU:
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16819103887


Thanks!

 

[trents]

That combo should be fine for a Linux box. Will you be using the stock CPU cooler? Do you already have a case and a PSU and a hard drive? Are you going with the onboard video or do you already have a gfx card? What will you be using this rig to do? Instead of the Phenom II X2 550 you might consider this: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16819103904. The Athon II X2's are very overclockable and although they don't have L3 cache they have an extra dose of L2 cache. It would save you some bucks.

 

[Nechen]

Sorry I should've mentioned I already have a 450w PSU and a nice HP Workstation case with an Nvidia 8600GT (Gotta love Compiz hehe)

The Athlon IIs were my first choice, to be quite honest I'm not sure what the boost/difference would be in L3 Cache versus no L3 cache. I'll be using this box primarily for storage (going to get two 1TBs on RAID1) and probably take up some coding while I'm at it with Titanium.

 

[ssjwizard]

Should do fine, heck Im running a sempron 140 right now with the 2nd core unlocked and clocked at 3.4ghz running win 7, C# linux under virtualbox, + eclipse, firefox, and winamp running. So really anything you buy is going to be capable of doing what you want. That said the phenom II dual cores are killer CPUs and SOME of them will unlock an extra core so

 

[Nechen]

Hmm I guess it'd just be a tossup between the Athlon and the Phenom. What are the advantages of L3 cache anyway? I know there's plenty of articles I could find via the magic of Google but they seem substantial at best.

 

[trents]

With an HP work station case I would watch out for cooling issues related to poor case ventilation. HP is good for quiet and stylish but not for cool.

 

[ssjwizard]

The L3 cache adds an extra buffering layer between the CPU and stuff that needs to use the CPU. It also aids in passing information between cores. At the dual core level its not as useful as it is on 4, 6, and 8 core chips. The PHII has an unlocked multiplier and a better stock cooler than the Athlon does. The Athlons however overclock on the host clock frequency extremely well so the unlocked multiplier isnt AS important as it is with some other CPU lines. IMO Id go with the PH II Black Edition and see if it unlocks extra cores. The L3 cache may not make or break your user experience but it cant hurt to have it.

 

[Nechen]

Hmm I'll flip a coin to decide.

In regards to the case, I noticed it seemed rather cramped but it's nice and heavy tee-hee.

These Phenoms and Athlon IIs are 45nm, I can't imagine they'd get much hotter than my old E8400?