Is there a better bang for the buck than E6300 or E6400? Upgrade old vs build new

[Nealoc187]

Is there a better bang for the buck than E6300 or E6400? Upgrade old vs build new

I'm a bang for the buck kind of guy. I've never built a system from scratch before but I want to, however budget is a priority - bang for the buck is essential. If I can get SIGNIFICANTLY better performance by spending an extra $100-200 I will, but only if the difference is something I will definately notice.

My goals consist of playable frame rates on 1024x768 or 1280x1024 with low to medium settings in games like BF2, BF2142, HL2, etc. What I'm used to is very crappy frame rates with a GeForce Fx5600 and 1 gig of slow, crappy, mismatched ram. I've never OCd but whatever I get I plan on doing a mild OC on air cooling.

So here are my options:

Option 1) Keep current system for another year by adding some components.

Currently it is:
AMD 2500+
Asus A7n8x
needs new ram ($110 for good stuff)
needs new vid card($130-150 for decent AGP)
needs new PSU ($50ish?)

I'm thinking that even with a decent vid card like an X850Pro and some decent OCZ or Corsair or whatever good ram, the Proc, even with a mild OC, will still limit my playing ability of the types of games I listed.



Option 2) Available for $250 mobo/cpu combo:
Used AMD 4200+
Used DFI NF4-AGF Nforce4 non-sli board
needs ram $110
needs vid card $100-150
needs PSU $50

Then I got to thinking about option 3)
New AMD 3800+ X2 or 4200+ X2 ($170-190)
New best bang for buck mobo - $100-120ish?
ram $110
vid card $100-150
psu $50

Finally option 4)
New E6300 or E6400 - $180-220ish
New best bang for buck mobo - $120ish?
ram 110
vid card 100-150
psu 50?

Looking for general opinions on what the best bang for the buck for me is. Like I said, I don't need to play on super resolution with maxed settings - but if such results are attainable for a reasonable amount of money like $600 or $700 I'm willing to drop that much.

 

[rainless]

Your current system sucks. I know because I had almost the exact system four months ago.

No AMD system you can currently build will be worth it because, damned what the fanboys tell you, AMD is moving towards 65nm and any board you buy now will be incompatible with future CPUs.

My Gigabyte DS3... which should be 120 bucks now I imagine... is already compatible with the quadcore kentsfield. And my E6400 already outperforms any of the other processors you named. I have plenty of room for upgradability. And as far as a cheap vid card... I got a Gigabyte 7600GS. Those should only cost about 80 bucks now and will get you 1024x768 in just about any game easy coupled with the motherboard and processor I have.

You should drop the money you save on a better powersupply. I recommend the Fortron bluestorm 500. But there's also a Sparkle 600 you can get for around the same price I think. Either way expect to pay at least 80 bucks for the power supply. Both are proven to run all the way up to a 7950GX.

 

[ronaldo]

Your current system sucks. I know because I had almost the exact system four months ago.

No AMD system you can currently build will be worth it because, damned what the fanboys tell you, AMD is moving towards 65nm and any board you buy now will be incompatible with future CPUs.

Incorrect. Am2 mobos will work with 65nm X2 and new arch k8l quad-core 65nm cpus....

I recommend you get a single core cpu now, and a better video card, because a video card will give you performance in games and not a cpu.

 

[||Console||]

Incorrect. Am2 mobos will work with 65nm X2 and new arch k8l quad-core 65nm cpus....

I recommend you get a single core cpu now, and a better video card, because a video card will give you performance in games and not a cpu.

LOL i will belive that when i see it . but if they do work it wont be the same proformence it will be like asrock runnign ddr1

 

[timtooAMD]

i have similar setup to what u describe, almost the same mobo too i think, i got 6800gt upgrade from 5600 and went up to 2gigs of 333 ram and in Bf2 i noticed a different strait away, not perfect framerates but enjoyed playing it alot more than i did on the 5600, as for BF2142 my hdd is failing, so all my games now stutter so can't say really how it functions in it. - mine was expense upgrade though around £270 for the card and extra ram at the time, but can get a lot better for that price nowadays,

 

[greenmaji]

Incorrect. Am2 mobos will work with 65nm X2 and new arch k8l quad-core 65nm cpus....

I recommend you get a single core cpu now, and a better video card, because a video card will give you performance in games and not a cpu.

We have seen reports that K8L will need a AM2+ motherboard already.

65nm? I can buy that.

better GFX.. I agree with, something more powerfull then a ~7900GS or GT to get the most out of your platform upgrade. Or just get something powerfull enough to get you by with the intention to go for more power (say DX10 games become availble and the like)

Cheap PSU? Only one I recomend is the 500W Enhance over at Ewiz for $56.
Dual 18A 12V rails 30A total. Not bad IMHO.

 

[Mr. $T$]

I really don't like telling people what to get but because you do game the money you'd spend on a fast processor would be much better spent on a good video card. In your case the 6300 is a good buy, on stock cooling you could hit 2.5GHz on little to no voltage increase. A good card for ~$130 is the 7600GT and if you can manage to spend a bit more the X1950Pro would be more capable. As for ram BF2 and 2142 love to have at least 1Gb to them selfs so I would go for 2Gb, and a solid brand i965 chipset based is fine. The Gigabyte DS3, ASUS P5B and Abit AB9 come to mind.

 

[Shelnutt2]

Save some money and get the S3, sicne your on a tight budget. I went with the Ds3/E6300..If I could do it again I'd go with a S3/E6400. Only difference between the S3 and DS3 is the solid caps. You'll love the extra multi on the E6400.

 

[greenmaji]

Save some money and get the S3, sicne your on a tight budget. I went with the Ds3/E6300..If I could do it again I'd go with a S3/E6400. Only difference between the S3 and DS3 is the solid caps. You'll love the extra multi on the E6400.

Exellent advice, more multi = less FSB pushing headaches (killer ram and or ram tweaking not nessiary)

 

[FeuerFrei]

DS3 is good, but the P5B is really great. I built two computers with each, and I saw a MAJOR difference. I second Mr.$T$ as of the GFX. With the exception of the 8800 Series, you won't be CPU limited even with a 6300, let alone OC...

As for the computer choices, it's up to you, but buying a DDR1 computer right now is kinda of pointless with the falling prices of DDR2, witch will be more future-proof anyway

psu 50$

VERY bad idea. You could go for a Fortron 450Watts, but anything under/no name would be dangerous for your computer, let alone overclocking.

 

[Vengance_01]

Save some money and get the S3, sicne your on a tight budget. I went with the Ds3/E6300..If I could do it again I'd go with a S3/E6400. Only difference between the S3 and DS3 is the solid caps. You'll love the extra multi on the E6400.

This man speaks the truth. I am running my S3/6300 combo at 430FSB 3GHZ. Not bad for a chip that only costs 180$ 100% stable.

 

[Nealoc187]

DS3 is good, but the P5B is really great. I built two computers with each, and I saw a MAJOR difference. I second Mr.$T$ as of the GFX. With the exception of the 8800 Series, you won't be CPU limited even with a 6300, let alone OC...

As for the computer choices, it's up to you, but buying a DDR1 computer right now is kinda of pointless with the falling prices of DDR2, witch will be more future-proof anyway



VERY bad idea. You could go for a Fortron 450Watts, but anything under/no name would be dangerous for your computer, let alone overclocking.

Thanks for the info guys.

Sorry bout the $50 PSU assumption - I haven't done much research on PSUs yet. I will get what is required and whatever ends up being the best bang for the buck, but I won't skimp and get something that will give me just a bang (inside my case as all my stuff fries to a crisp lol).

 

[Bageland2000]

bottom line is upgrading a system with ddr1 and agp graphix is pointless now. you want to get enough money together and go dd2 pci-e so that you can upgrade in the future. all the hardware that those guys are suggesting is great. personally id go

p5b, e6400, 7600gt, 2gb dd2. you'll be happy that you upgraded

 

[Evilsizer]

here are my thoughts for you to consider. since you are sticking with a stock hs 2.8ghz-3ghz should be no problem based on temps you get. i would consider 2.8ghz the max for stock hs. while i did some looking and tring to up the parts that need it imo. newegg lists the s3 for $114, the ab9 is on sale atm for $104(blackfriday only on ab9). other wise i suggest the tforce 965pt for $104 with the money saved and considering your willing to spend $120 for the mobo. use that extra amount towards a nice psu, sparkle/forton source fsp550-60pln @$89. now stick with the 6300 as suggested use the savings from your max you wanted to use. get the evga 7900gs at newegg for $169 then it has a $20 mir. as for the ram with it was a bit harder. not many good sticks for $110, but i came across a 1gig ddr2-800 stick for $114.

if i just look at the total amount your willing to spend is $650 for parts.
as i picked out for you the current rig would run you $660, price will be the same wiether you get tforce or ab9.

parts:
cpu $180 (use the combo deal *add basket link* for free oem of GRAW with the cpu)
http://www.newegg.com/product/Product.asp?item=N82E16819115005
mobo $104
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=N82E16813138037
(ab9 on sale)
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?item=N82E16813127005
ram $114
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?item=N82E16820231099
video card $169 (use the $20 mir to make it $149)
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?item=N82E16814130056.
psu $89
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?item=N82E16817103517

with the mir you could pocket it for something later or imo put it towards a nice aftermark hs. sidewindercomputers. com has lots on sale from thermalright.
http://www.sidewindercomputers.com/home.html

 

[batboy]

I'm not gonna address the AMD options since this is in the Intel CPU section. I'm sure you can get more AMD info in their section.

Regardless of what you do, you just about need a new CPU, motherboard, RAM, vid card and PSU. Basically, you need to upgrade CPU socket, go from DDR to DDR2, go from AGP to PCI-E, and need a better PSU with the right connectors to run all of the new stuff.

For gaming you need a really good vid card and preferably 2X1GB of RAM. For example, BF2 really makes use of 2 gig of memory. A good vid card and 2 gig of RAM will sort of blow out your budget right from the start, but let's see how close we can get.

Obviously the best system currently available on the planet is the Intel Core 2 Duo (also known as Conroe). The E6300 is the cheapest at $180. About the cheapest motherboard worth getting (as already mentioned) is the Gigabyte GA-965P-S3 for $116 at newegg. Another option is the Abit AB9, although it won't O/C as high of FSB, but it will certainly do 400 FSB no problem. Right now G. Skill has 2X1GB DDR2-800 RAM on sale at newegg for $200 (Item #: N82E16820231087). They don't have the wonderful D9 chips like everyone wants, but it's good RAM. A buddy has them and they O/C fairly well with good timings. Excellent bang for the buck. For PSU I would get something like the SPARKLE FSP550PLG-SLI 550W for $90. Newegg has a Sapphire X1800 GTO for $135 after instant savings and mail in rebate. I've seen Nvidia 7600GT cards on sale for as low as $100 and 7900GS cards for $140 to $150.

With a little shopping at Black Friday and holiday sales, you might actually get a system close to your $700 budget. The rig I described above should do 400 FSB on default voltage and stock cooling. You can always improve cooling later if you get a desire to O/C higher.

You can try using a cheaper PSU like others suggested. Another option is to get a cheaper Pentium D dual core CPU like the 915 for $120 and a slightly better vid card with the money saved. But, you'll really be ahead of the game to get a Core 2 Duo now. Also, if there is any way to scrape up a few bucks more, there are lots better vid cards available in the $200 range.

 

[Nealoc187]

Hey thanks for all the advice guys - I appreciate it. I wasn't really "setting" a budget for myself - I definately COULD spend more if the need is there, but I was sortof adding up what I figured ok/decent components would cost. I could add an extra couple hundred if a noticeable improvement would be seen.

 

[drshivas]

Welcome to the Forums, Nealoc187!

 

[greenmaji]

I could add an extra couple hundred if a noticeable improvement would be seen.

One generation or series up in GFX cards is a very noticable improvment depending on what res you play your games at.

For ease of overclocking.. I would spend the extra on the E6400 and the Asus P5B-Deluxe/non-wifi and the cheapest D9 2gig kit I could find. the rest on the best GFX card I could fit in the budget.
Then make sure you get a quality PSU to cover the power budget of the GFX.

two+ quick hard drives would be a noticable improvment in 24/7 performance as well.

 

[IKIKUINTHENUTZ]

Yea, dont buy a cheap pws. I had to learn that the hard way

Also dont forget to check the cyber deal section of these forums, occasionally people post great deals.


There is a deal at buy.com for a XFX 7600gs for $49.00 after rebate + tax and shipping
http://www.ocforums.com/showthread.php?p=4820057#post4820057

but dx10 is comming soon, so make a note of that