View Full Version : new intel rig...please critique
s0nicp
11-27-2007, 07:37 AM
Im finally able to upgrade my rig with a minimal budget...(i just got married and am totally skint) these are my core components. Any advice or suggestions would be appreciated:
Intel E2180 CPU
Gigabyte motherboard GA-P31-DS3L
2gb Corsair 6400 twinx xms2
Nvidia 8800gt or a card that i get reasonably good frame rates on a 19" widescreen monitor. I need to spend less if at all possible..
It will be mainly used for music production and gaming!
I already have storage, a psu and case sorted
Maybe replace the motherboard with a Abit IP35-E, gigabyte GA-G33 DS3R or GA P35 DS3. All of which are good budget boards with lots of potential in overclocking.
Other then that you picked good parts.
s0nicp
11-27-2007, 08:15 AM
I was looking at the Abit and heard that it has a double reboot issue. Thanks fpr the suggestion of the GA P35 DS3 it looks good
trowakage
11-27-2007, 08:49 AM
That looks about right, although with a DS3 you might even be able to go down to a e2140, as a lot of reviews have the DS3 running at 500+ FSB.
And if you wait till about Jan the price on the 8800GT should have dropped back from the "launch" price gouging.
Ordered a DS3 and 2140 6 hours ago ;) i may post a topic about it once i recieve them. I have good hopes about it.
cloned
11-27-2007, 11:27 AM
if you are going to overclock that thing you may want to get a better HS. the stock ons for the dual cores are not as good as the core 2 duo one. they be missing a copper contact plate apparently. but then you might as well get a better CPU with the better stock cooler and leave it be
Solarfall
11-27-2007, 12:14 PM
what is you max budget ??? personally i would swap that 2180 right away and get a used e6600 they overclock really nicelly in general.
Fujimitsu
11-27-2007, 12:45 PM
what is you max budget ??? personally i would swap that 2180 right away and get a used e6600 they overclock really nicelly in general.
As do the e6300 & e4300 chips (which are even less) i can run my e6300 @ 100% OC on air... it's hot, but if you clock it down a bit it runs great. That said a lot of people are scared of used hardware, if that's you.. or if you just don't want to fuss with finding a used CPU then the one you have chosen isn't too bad.
trowakage
11-27-2007, 12:48 PM
a new e2180 is $80, you're not going to find a used e6600 at anywhere NEAR that price
s0nicp
11-27-2007, 01:07 PM
i have a tuniq tower cooler for cooling. I cant afford a 6600 my budget is super tight! i was gonna go for the e2180 as it has higher l2 cache but was looking at the e2140 as well
mykemyk2006
11-27-2007, 01:23 PM
what is your budget though?
Cpu: Pentium E2180 is fine.
Ram: Get the cheapest PC6400 2x1GB ram you can find that has lifetime warranty (though almost all of them have lifetime warranty)
Mobo: Mobo with P35 chipset is better choice. Abit IP35-E and MSI P35 Neo2-FR are good choices.
Videocard: No need for 8800GT if you have 19" widescreen. HD3850 is more than enough for that resolution.
Fujimitsu
11-27-2007, 01:46 PM
[B]Ram: Get the cheapest PC6400 2x1GB ram you can find that has
Forgot to mention this, ram speed doesn't make much difference ESPECIALLY if you're on a budget. You will be just fine buying the chepeast you can find, as long as its 2gb.
Well 667 vs 800 price difference is insignificant. Here it's like 1-2e when comparing the cheapo 1GB stick from the same manufacturer.
SNiiPE_DoGG
11-27-2007, 02:39 PM
that particular corsair is crap, use the ddr2 ramlist to find good dimms, micron is good, you wont find GKX but you can still get GMH http://ramlist.ath.cx/ddr2/
s0nicp
11-28-2007, 02:15 AM
updated spec...
E2140 or e2180 not sure yet!
Abit IP35-E
2gb Crucial 6400 - i have found some based on micron chips
ATI 3850
Tuniq tower cooler
How does this sound? I already have a power supply case and storage.
I dont think it matter what cpu you choose. Both are capable of 100% OC. But if your gonna save some money then go for the E2140.
s0nicp
11-28-2007, 03:29 AM
are there that many benefits in having a greater L2 cache on the cpu in terms of gaming and media encoding?
adamsleath
11-28-2007, 03:46 AM
2140 m0 step? $65ish
2160 $75ish
2180 - i think all these are m0 ? $85ish
http://www.mwave.com/mwave/skusearch.hmx?SCriteria=BA24206
only 20 bucks between 2140 and 2180.
quite possibly fsb limited chips so higher multi may be handy.
http://www.zipzoomfly.com/jsp/ProductDetail.jsp?ProductCode=80061-9
crucial ram cheap as chups.
very small difference for additional L2 cache.
eternaljammer
11-28-2007, 12:17 PM
are there that many benefits in having a greater L2 cache on the cpu in terms of gaming and media encoding?
I don't believe it will matter much in gaming but it sure matters in media encoding. More cache the better.
s0nicp
11-28-2007, 12:42 PM
Adamsleath I live in rip-off-britain so my budget is severley affected by serious overpricing. I think im gonna get a e2180
swolfe
11-29-2007, 02:36 PM
Anyone have a good source for the IP35-E's? Newegg had a smokin' deal but the item is now discontinued. :(
adamsleath
11-29-2007, 03:26 PM
i live in rip-off australia :(
http://www.tekheads.co.uk/s/product?product=608031 55.64 pounds.
http://www.itestate.com.au/products_detail.asp?code=PD00005050
http://www.microdirect.co.uk/ProductInfo.aspx?ProductID=18453&source=PriceGrabbercrucial ballistix (can do decent oc on the ram)58.10 quidditch
http://www.microdirect.co.uk/ProductInfo.aspx?ProductID=14777&source=PriceGrabbergeil ultra (cheaper ram; run at or near stock speed) 38.70 quid - needs more than 1.8v
...any figures for "media encoding" l2 cache difference?
http://www.digit-life.com/articles2/cpu/intel-netburst-final.html - compares e4400 with e2160[2mb vs 1mb cache respectively]....looks like about 10% performance difference for the extra l2 cache in audio enc./video enc./games....according to this article anyway.
http://www.tekheads.co.uk/s/product?product=607864 77.15 e4500...costs 38% more than e2180.
eternaljammer
11-29-2007, 03:48 PM
i live in rip-off australia :(
http://www.tekheads.co.uk/s/product?product=60803155.64 pounds.
http://www.itestate.com.au/products_detail.asp?code=PD00005050
http://www.microdirect.co.uk/ProductInfo.aspx?ProductID=18453&source=PriceGrabbercrucial ballistix (can do decent oc on the ram)58.10 quidditch
http://www.microdirect.co.uk/ProductInfo.aspx?ProductID=14777&source=PriceGrabbergeil ultra (cheaper ram; run at or near stock speed) 38.70 quidditch - needs more than 1.8v
...any figures for "media encoding" l2 cache difference?
wow that stinks.:(
swolfe
11-29-2007, 04:32 PM
Here (http://www.tomshardware.com/2007/10/24/does_cache_size_matter/) is a good article about how cache affects performance.
adamsleath
11-29-2007, 04:47 PM
^^^
If you compare the benchmark results of the 3D shooters Prey and Quake 4 with typical gaming benchmark results in our CPU Charts, the performance difference of 1 MB vs. 4 MB L2 cache roughly equals one clock speed increment. The same applies to the video transcoding benchmarks for the DivX 6.6 and XviD 1.1.2 codecs and file compression using WinRAR 3.7. The CPU-intensive benchmarks of 3DStudio Max 8, the Lame MP3 Encoder or the H.264 Encoder V2 by MainConcept don't benefit much from increasing cache sizes, though.
s0nicp
11-30-2007, 04:50 AM
I think i will get the e2140, but if the price is right a e2180.
I have found 2gb of ocz platinum xtc kit for a reasonable price which is looking pretty good and from what i can tell are based on micron chips. Im really interested in the abit P35-e but concerned that the bios does not seem super tweakable. I heard that you can only adjust the cpu in large .2v increments.