AMD Equivilent to Intel C2D E6300 Conroe 1.86GHz

[korky99_04]

So am I hearing wait until the date passes that prices are supposed to fall and see what happens. I'm a little hesitant to downgrade from the C2D E6300 to the AMD X2 3600 processor. I'm on a budget, but I don't want to sacrifice speed.

BTW I'm pondering exactly the same question. See post "New Computer - New Computer Builder"

 

[Sora]

OK I own an E6300 @ 3.22ghz which is very fast but when I bought this the X2 3800 was still at $138 which was NOT worth getting.

Please understand that Athlon X2's are still plenty fast enough for gaming and you can upgrade to the new Kuma or Agena core later on which will fit the same socket.

Just get an X2 3600 and OC it to 2.6+ and it will be as fast as an E6400 stock.

 

[korky99_04]

get an X2 3600 and OC it to 2.6+ and it will be as fast as an E6400 stock

Alright, that makes sense to me.
Thanks

 

[mvpo.geo]

I just don't know if I should wait til April 22nd and see if any price drops occur. Or just go the AMD Route now. I have the money to get the C2D but it you think going the AMD route and saving myself some major cash is a better choice then why spend the money on a C2D. I got about $700 to build a PC from scratch and my major problem right now is deciding between Intel or AMD.

I've never overclocked before so overclocking either chip is going to be completely new to me. Any site where I can get good instructions to make sure my Processor is running stable and not about to fry lol.

 

[Sora]

You could wait till the 22nd and the X2 3600 may be in the 50's or something by then...and you could get one dirt cheap, overclock it, and then a few months down the road upgrade to the Kuma or Agena core which are said to be 40% faster than the current C2D chips. They will use the same AM2 socket so it would be an easy upgrade.

The X2 is not "slow" in todays standards yet and if you can get one for dirt cheap like that you might as well since C2D really isn't worth the money unless you go all out on ram...a motherboard and aftermarket HSF and then OC to like 3.0ghz+

Wait for now and see the prices and then if X2 3600 is dirt cheap like 50 bucks or something grab one and an Alpine 64 cooler and OC the **** out of it.

There are TONS of guides online for overclocking. Look for sites like overclock.net which is dedicated to it.

 

[mvpo.geo]

Should I go with

Intel:

Case - Newegg.com - COOLER MASTER Centurion 5 CAC-T05-UW Black Aluminum Bezel, SECC ATX Mid Tower Computer Case - Retail

HDD - Newegg.com - Western Digital Caviar SE16 WD3200AAKS 320GB 7200 RPM 16MB Cache SATA 3.0Gb/s Hard Drive - OEM

Graphic Card - Newegg.com - EVGA 256-P2-N550 -T2 GeForce 7600GT 256MB 128-bit GDDR3 PCI Express x16 Video Card - Retail

PSU - Newegg.com - APEVIA ATX-CW500WP4 ATX 500W Power Supply 115/230 V UL, CSA, TUV, CE - Retail

2 GB (2 x 1GB) Ram - Newegg.com - G.SKILL 2GB (2 x 1GB) 240-Pin DDR2 SDRAM DDR2 800 (PC2 6400) Dual Channel Kit Desktop Memory - Retail

Motherboard - Newegg.com - GIGABYTE GA-965P-S3 LGA 775 Intel P965 Express ATX Intel Motherboard - Retail

Intel C2D - Newegg.com - Intel Core 2 Duo E6300 Conroe 1.86GHz 2M shared L2 Cache LGA 775 Processor - Retail

or go the AMD Route:

Case - Newegg.com - COOLER MASTER Centurion 5 CAC-T05-UW Black Aluminum Bezel, SECC ATX Mid Tower Computer Case - Retail

HDD - Newegg.com - Western Digital Caviar SE16 WD3200AAKS 320GB 7200 RPM 16MB Cache SATA 3.0Gb/s Hard Drive - OEM

Graphic Card - Newegg.com - EVGA 256-P2-N550 -T2 GeForce 7600GT 256MB 128-bit GDDR3 PCI Express x16 Video Card - Retail

PSU - Newegg.com - APEVIA ATX-CW500WP4 ATX 500W Power Supply 115/230 V UL, CSA, TUV, CE - Retail

2 GB (2 x 1GB) Ram - Newegg.com - G.SKILL 2GB (2 x 1GB) 240-Pin DDR2 SDRAM DDR2 800 (PC2 6400) Dual Channel Kit Desktop Memory - Retail

AMD Processor - Newegg.com - AMD Athlon 64 X2 3600+ Brisbane 1.9GHz 2 x 512KB L2 Cache Socket AM2 Processor - OEM

Mother Board - Newegg.com - BIOSTAR TFORCE 550 Socket AM2 NVIDIA nForce 550 MCP ATX AMD Motherboard - Retail

Cooler - Newegg.com - MASSCOOL 6F688B1M3 80mm Ball CPU Cooler - Retail



Which one do you think is better? The AMD saves me about 150+ dollars I believe. I want this CPU to be good for the future and pretty upgradable.
Also is that Cooler what I need? I am completely new to building PCs and this will be my first ever. Please give me some input.

 

[Sora]

do NOT get an Apevia PSU. They are one of the most untrusted psu's out there as the rails are unstable and they have a high death rate.
For around the same Price hile not skimping on watts to bad I suggest this.

Newegg.com - XClio 450BL ATX 450W Power Supply 115/230 V UL, CUL, TUV, CB - Retail

It's much more trusted than the Apevia and I hear good things of that PSU.

Or if you want a more trusted PSU then go with this
Newegg.com - FSP Group (Fortron Source) AX450-PN, 12cm FAN, version 2.2, 2 SATA, PCI Express, 450W Power Supply - Retail

I still would go with the Xclio but thats just me as I like to live dangerous lol...not really.

Now I suggest this ram instead as I have the same stuff and its AMAZING. The NQ doesn't overclock well well being the lowest line.
Newegg.com - G.SKILL 2GB (2 x 1GB) 240-Pin DDR2 SDRAM DDR2 800 (PC2 6400) Dual Channel Kit Desktop Memory - Retail

This is the cooler I recommend for the money to get you pretty high overclock.

Newegg.com - ARCTIC COOLING ALPINE64 92mm CPU Cooler - Retail

That CPU even stock is fast and when overclocked it will be plenty fast enough. Not only fast, but EASILY upgradeable since AMD will be striking back in the near future with their new chips that will fit right inside your mobo if you want an upgrade.

Now that you've saved 105 bucks...upgrade your video card to a 7900GS or so at least heh and that will still leave you money left over to throw some more cool stuff in there.

 

[mvpo.geo]

OK So this is what I am looking at getting.

Case - Newegg.com - COOLER MASTER Centurion 5 CAC-T05-UW Black Aluminum Bezel, SECC ATX Mid Tower Computer Case - Retail

HDD - Newegg.com - Western Digital Caviar SE16 WD3200AAKS 320GB 7200 RPM 16MB Cache SATA 3.0Gb/s Hard Drive - OEM

Graphic Card - Newegg.com - EVGA 256-P2-N550 -T2 GeForce 7600GT 256MB 128-bit GDDR3 PCI Express x16 Video Card - Retail

PSU - Newegg.com - APEVIA ATX-CW500WP4 ATX 500W Power Supply 115/230 V UL, CSA, TUV, CE - Retail

2 GB (2 x 1GB) Ram - Newegg.com - G.SKILL 2GB (2 x 1GB) 240-Pin DDR2 SDRAM DDR2 800 (PC2 6400) Dual Channel Kit Desktop Memory - Retail

AMD Processor - Newegg.com - AMD Athlon 64 X2 3600+ Brisbane 1.9GHz 2 x 512KB L2 Cache Socket AM2 Processor - OEM

Mother Board - Newegg.com - BIOSTAR TFORCE 550 Socket AM2 NVIDIA nForce 550 MCP ATX AMD Motherboard - Retail

DVD/CD Burner - Newegg.com - LITE-ON Black 20X DVD+R 8X DVD+RW 8X DVD+R DL 20X DVD-R 6X DVD-RW 12X DVD-RAM 16X DVD-ROM 48X CD-R 24X CD-RW 48X CD-ROM 2MB Cache E-IDE/ATAPI DVD Burner with LightScribe Technology - OEM

Cooler - Newegg.com - ARCTIC COOLING ALPINE64 92mm CPU Cooler - Retail



Sound Good? Am gonna need to purchase anything else to get this thing up and running? Remember this is gonna be my FIRST TIME Ever building a PC. I have little to no experience attaching and putting parts in at all.

 

[Sora]

That build is fine and no you would not need anything else to get it up and running however...why are you still going that that Apevia PSU? Do you realize that your build would run on a good 350w? You do not need 500w with a build like that.

The Xclio and FSP I posted would actually be able to handle an 8800GTX if it had to...please drop the Apevia and go with a more trusted brand....the PSU is not something you want to gamble on usually. I mean go ahead but if the rails and unstable as **** and then it dies 3 months later don't say I didn't warn you.


BTW this is the exact same case except in blue and 5 bucks cheaper.

Newegg.com - COOLER MASTER Centurion 5 CAC-T05-UB Black /Blue Aluminum Bezel , SECC Chassis ATX Mid Tower Computer Case - Retail

Might as well save 5 bucks as it's the exact same thing...unless your partial to all black. Which in that case why not go with a side panel?

Newegg.com - COOLER MASTER Centurion 5 CAC-T05-WW Black/Silver Aluminum Bezel, SECC Chassis ATX Mid Tower Computer Case - Retail

It doesn't matter though really...just trying to help you out heh

 

[mvpo.geo]

My bad, I am using the power supply you suggest, just forgot to put it on there lol. Yea Im not gonna use a cheap PSU, Im gonna use that $50 one you suggested to me. Also thanks for the suggestion on the cases, I am definitly getting the one with the side panel looks cool and much better . Thanks for your help so far Sora. Once I get the parts, how long do you think the process of building my first PC will take. Also do you know of a good site with instructions for overclocking and how I can make sure my setup is completely stable?

Sora quick question, I seem to have some trouble with my current tower getting dust in it. Alot of dust. I have it sitting on the carpet and I know thats not good but I have a pretty dust free room, I don't understand where all the dust is coming from. What is a good way to prevent the dust? Also whats a good way to clean existing dust out of my tower that I will be selling?

Last Question lol. This setup is good enough to run Vista Ultimate very well correct? Cause that is the OS I'm planning on installing on it.