AMD and Intel: What to buy?

[kariokacb]

Hi there,

Sorry for the length of this post and before I move on with it I would like to apologize myself for my ignorance on this subject.

I have recently incorporated a game development company in Brazil and we are buying some of the necessary equipment for testing. During this process we faced a doubt the probably lots of inexperienced people face when buying their PCs: Which architecture to choose, if Intel or AMD. So, we decided to buy one of each and now we have to choose what to purchase.

I have read some of the articles and threads on THG and I am still undecided. Let’s consider for a moment that budget is not a problem and it is our intention to buy the best of the cutting edge technology for both AMD and Intel. Opteron and Xeon are not a choice. Also, in the beginning it is not our intention to make overclocking or any changes on factory specs and configuration such as voltage and clock.

The only limitation for both game driven configurations are: (i) all parts must be available on retail shops in the USA and websites worldwide (Amazon, PriceWatch and similar) (ii) they should be single processed (iii) run both Windows and Linux.

They must include: Motherboard, CPU, Memory, Video Card, Sound Card, HD, drives and other parts that you might found relevant such as cooling, fans, case, font and the like.

Please help me out; I will be very grateful to you.

Best regards

Kariokacb

 

[danizaken]

Gaming = AMD undoubtedly.

 

[RichPLS]

AMD64 3200 with 1 gig RAM and the ATI X800 or nVidia 6800 graphics should be a min. for Gaming rigs.

Is this for one unit or a bulk purchase to fill a gaming arcade?

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[kariokacb]

Thanks. We want to buy one complete unit of AMD and another unit of Intel for testing, just these 2.
What would be the ultimate config for both, please stress it to the limit. Regards.

 

[kariokacb]

Thanks. Could you please sugest th ULTIMATE config for AMD? Regards

 

[RichPLS]

AMD64 FX-57
<A HREF="http://www.dfi.com.tw/Product/xx_product_spec_details_r_us.jsp?PRODUCT_ID=3449&CATEGORY_TYPE=LP&SITE=US" target="_new"> DFI Lanparty N4 </A>
2-gig Corsair or Crucial or OCZ ( 2-2-2-5 ) DDR RAM
nVidia 7800 graphics card
Antec TruePower 550 watt PSU
<A HREF="http://www.plextor.com/english/products/716AL.htm" target="_new"> Plextor 716AL slot loading DVD Burner </A>


<pre><font color=red>°¤o,¸¸¸,o¤°`°¤o \\// o¤°`°¤o,¸¸¸,o¤°
And the sign says "You got to have a membership card to get inside" Huh
So I got me a pen and paper And I made up my own little sign</pre><p></font color=red>

 

[kariokacb]

Thanks again
(a) MB: Is it the DFI LanParty nF4 SLI-DR mboard AMD Socket 939?
(b) CPU: There is also a AMD X2 4800+ Dual-Core, isn't this better?
(c) RAM: The MB specs says it can take up to 4 GB of RAM, should I increase the memory from 2 Gb to 4 Gb?

Regards

 

[RichPLS]

Yes
Yes - with supported games
No

Games currently will not use more than 2 gigs RAM, and 4 gigs would actually slightly negatively affect performance if not needed.

<pre><font color=red>°¤o,¸¸¸,o¤°`°¤o \\// o¤°`°¤o,¸¸¸,o¤°
And the sign says "You got to have a membership card to get inside" Huh
So I got me a pen and paper And I made up my own little sign</pre><p></font color=red>

 

[kariokacb]

ok
ok
so, 2 x 1GB will be sufficient, right? Or should I go to 4 x 512 Mb? I saw some DDR 600, are these ok? Or do I need to make changes on the MB to use them?

 

[RichPLS]

2x1024

I thought you said you were not interested in O/Cng, DDR600 would be O/Cng... Lowest Latency DDR 400 is what you want...

<pre><font color=red>°¤o,¸¸¸,o¤°`°¤o \\// o¤°`°¤o,¸¸¸,o¤°
And the sign says "You got to have a membership card to get inside" Huh
So I got me a pen and paper And I made up my own little sign</pre><p></font color=red>

 

[theholylancer]

hmm i though that abit fata1lty are better if ya got the shatload of $$ to buy it with

 

[RichPLS]

You are so so right! Scratch that mobo, The Abit Fata1ty is one of the best boards...

<pre><font color=red>°¤o,¸¸¸,o¤°`°¤o \\// o¤°`°¤o,¸¸¸,o¤°
And the sign says "You got to have a membership card to get inside" Huh
So I got me a pen and paper And I made up my own little sign</pre><p></font color=red>

 

[kariokacb]

ok. 2 x 1024
I didn't know it would require overclocking, I am sorry for my ignorance.
Is there a need for special cooling like water cooling or similar stuff?

 

[RichPLS]

Not necessary again, unless overclocking it, stock cooling will work fine.

<pre><font color=red>°¤o,¸¸¸,o¤°`°¤o \\// o¤°`°¤o,¸¸¸,o¤°
And the sign says "You got to have a membership card to get inside" Huh
So I got me a pen and paper And I made up my own little sign</pre><p></font color=red>

 

[kariokacb]

from PriceWatch
Abit: USD 178,70
DFI: USD 217,99
W/o shipment fee.

 

[kariokacb]

ok, thanks.
Maybe one day I will try overclocking, it seems to be fun and dangerous...he he he

 

[kariokacb]

ok, so the Abit Fatal1ty AN8 SLi instead of DFI.

 

[RichPLS]

Yes, it is a better board for overclocking if you decide, and has good review.

<pre><font color=red>°¤o,¸¸¸,o¤°`°¤o \\// o¤°`°¤o,¸¸¸,o¤°
And the sign says "You got to have a membership card to get inside" Huh
So I got me a pen and paper And I made up my own little sign</pre><p></font color=red>

 

[kariokacb]

Ok, just wrapping up:

Without overclocking:

CPU: AMD 64 FX-57 or AMD X2 4800+ Dual-Core
Motherboard: DFI LanParty nF4 SLI-DR AMD Socket 939
RAM: 2Gb (2 x 1024) DDR 400 Corsair or Crucial or OCZ ( 2-2-2-5 )
Graphic Card: nVidia 7800 graphics card
Power font: Antec TruePower 550 watt PSU
DVD Burner: Plextor 716AL slot loading DVD Burner
No extra cooling required.

With overclocking

CPU: AMD 64 FX-57 or AMD X2 4800+ Dual-Core
Motherboard: Abit Fatal1ty AN8 Sli
RAM: 2Gb (2 x 1024) DDR 550 or 600 – Any specific memory or brand?
Graphic Card: nVidia 7800 graphics card
Power font: Antec TruePower 550 watt PSU – Is this enough?
DVD Burner: Plextor 716AL slot loading DVD Burner
Extra cooling required – What should be used?

 

[theholylancer]

actually the DFI is rated better at OCing for games (when succeful) and the abit is rated for more success OCs. so if ya are new to OC and have enough $$ and already got such a top of the line model go with the abit

 

[theholylancer]

BTW that specific type of dvd burner is not needed. (slot loading is not needed to see the performance of a computer.......... unless your comapny wants to burn ur own games that is....)

<P ID="edit"><FONT SIZE=-1><EM>Edited by TheHolyLancer on 08/07/05 04:15 PM.</EM></FONT></P>

 

[kariokacb]

ok, thanks a lot.

 

[kariokacb]

Ok, so the Abit is better for both Ocing and non-Ocing configuration. So, as for the Ocing, are there other parts/equipment (besides balls and money) required?

 

[theholylancer]

i'd get some nice water cooling or heck phase cooling! (no expetise in this from me though!) if ya need advice in hard ware modding ask wusy!

<P ID="edit"><FONT SIZE=-1><EM>Edited by TheHolyLancer on 08/07/05 04:13 PM.</EM></FONT></P>

 

[kariokacb]

ok.
What about the memory and power font? Any in particular?