*Guide to Choosing Parts*

[kubes]

Excellent points, but I don't like the use of the word 'everyday applications'. Not only is it vague, but it implies websurfing, MSN'ing, word processing, etc., for which an Athlon/Pentium would be sufficiant.

Your probally right...This is a dangerous thread to make a statement like that. I appoglize to the community for it (I edited it out). I was trying to imply for a lot of everday bussiness type applications such as excess/ microsoft access/ it developement community apps / CAD and Modeling tools / Photo and movie editing & encoding / servers / ect.. (aka it will increase productivity in reducing complex caculations time.)

And believe me excess and access can crank on a cpu at times.

 

[BigJD]

Great thread. Thanks for starting it and most importantly, keeping it updated. Very helpful.

 

[rockyjohn]

Great stickie! Two suggestions, near the end you might post:
1. Some links to the different "stock" builds designed by reputable sights (THG, ExtremeTech, Anandtech, etc) for builder to use as a starting point
2. Strong encouragement to read a bundle of forum posts on systems similar to one they are considering before posting own for questions.
3. A short discussion of designing systems for different applications and how to target resources

 

[Proximon]

Thanks rockyjohn, all good suggestions that I'll get to in a bit.

 

[halomasterfs]

nice guide proximon, i really appreciated.

 

[bobdavid00]

Here very nice information. And thanks for this informative information because i want new parts. Next few day after i buy all this parts.

 

[Proximon]

Just a minor update to a link. Not much has changed in the last month.

 

[tecmo34]

Thanks for adding my "Recommended Builds by Usage" thread to yours. I'm starting to see a few people reference it in replies or their builds, along with a few PM's... Thanks again.

I guess our next big updates will come with the release of the Core i5/i7 in the first part of September.

 

[bujinyun]

please help me..
right now im using gigabyte ep45-extreme mobo with a radeon hd 4870 1gb. im planning on buying one more 4870 1gb to crossfire both of them.

will my mobo bottleneck the performance of my graphics card? (since it will run x8/x8, not x16/x16 like x58)

FYI, im a hardcore gamer.

 

[bujinyun]

i hope you guys can help me
right now im using gigabyte ep45-extreme mobo with a single radeon hd 4870 1gb. im planning on buying one more of it to crossfire them.

but, will my mobo bottleneck the performance of my graphic card? because i know that they will run x8/x8, not x16/x16 like x58 mobo.
my monitor res is 1680x1050.
im a hardcore gamer.

 

[Proximon]

This is not the place to ask questions. Please start your own thread. I think this question is addressed in the P45 section of the guide however.

The answer is about 4 FPS difference, depending on the game and drivers used. Not huge. You'll have to decide if 4 FPS is significant enough to upgrade your board.

 

[glasjoe]

AWESOME THREAD!

Thank you all for your contributions and thank you Proximon for writing it! It has helped me out alot!

 

[cbliss100]

Hey man -

Your guide and personal picks have helped me through 2 builds now, and neither has disappointed. IMO your ability to translate technical mumbojumbo into clear english is rare and much needed on tech forums and I thank you for it. That, and your recs are spot on...

so cheers!

 

[smithereen]

785g should be added - I'd recommend it as a well-rounded chipset that does not support Crossfire, but is highly feature-rich, and not a bad OCer. Also, perhaps a note about unlocking AMD cpus, without condoning or condemning.

 

[Proximon]

785g should be added - I'd recommend it as a well-rounded chipset that does not support Crossfire, but is highly feature-rich, and not a bad OCer. Also, perhaps a note about unlocking AMD cpus, without condoning or condemning.

Yes indeed, looks like I have some work to do.

 

[Proximon]

I am currently having difficulties editing this guide. Hopefully we'll have a solution shortly.

 

[Proximon]

I have been able to make some updates today, YAY.

P55 is looking very promising, but one has to wonder where the low end is going now. Will there be a P53?

 

[micky_lund]

i5 is good for gaming...but yeah, what about under the $150 mark? will i3 be released? is it even planned? and if it is, what socket will it be on, and what ram running?

 

[overshocks]

lack of updates in 8 days, some prices changed

 

[Proximon]

Some updates.

 

[prklts]

I would like to contribute with a correction regarding integrated graphics. The original post indicated that the... "790GX chipset has the best onboard graphics and uses AMD CPUs." However, I am not sure that is entirely true.

The 785G chipset uses Radeon HD 4200 for the IGP, while the 790GX chipset uses Radeon HD 3300. This means that the 785G could support up to DirectX 10.1 (instead of 10.0 from the 790GX), OpenGL 3.1 (instead of 2.0 from the 790GX), and UVD2 (instead of regular UVD from the 790GX). These are strong points in favor of the 785G.

One point in favor of the 790GX's IGP could be that its core clock is 700MHz instead of the 500MHz found in the 785G. However, I think that would be its only advantage.

 

[smithereen]

And it's sideport memory

 

[Proximon]

It's a good point though. Reviewers were a bit disappointed by the differences or lack thereof, but still I think the two chipsets have strengths of their own. I'll have to change that a bit.

 

[1898]

The awesomeness, thanks a lot!

 

[marraco]

It really all moves too fast for books any more.

It's even too fast for magazines, but I have found:

PC World
Maximum PC
CPU magazine

To be handy over the years.

Yes, CPU, and also Smart Computing Magazine.

Sadly, they are not in sale on my country. I just achieved to rapidyouknowwhat some older issues... 🙁