Advice Wanted: Buying Base Unit

[MattyB]

Hey guys! I'm looking for a little advice (and allow me to first start in advance by apologising for any obvious exposure to my complete lack of up-to-date computer market knowledge; go easy on me!) regarding buying a new computer base unit. I can't really afford to spend anything over £350 being a student, but I'm looking for a new computer that handles my work on Ableton Live and Reason a lot better, so a real fast multi-tasker would be nice.

The two options I have (with Specify your dream custom gaming PC online - Dino PC Ltd, seemingly the best bargain deals I could find) are as follows:

AMD Phenom II X4 965 Black Edition CPU (4 x 3.4GHz)
Foxconn 6100M61-PMV (6x USB2.0)
4GB DDR2 800mhz RAM
500GB S-ATAII 3.0Gb/s Hard Drive
22x DVD±RW DL S-ATA Drive
Onboard Video/Audio
No Operating System
500w Eagle PSU
Total: £329.45

OR ALTERNATIVELY

Intel Core 2 Quad Q9400 (4 x 2.66GHz)
Asus P5KPL-AM (Intel G31 chipset)
4GB DDR2 800mhz RAM
500GB S-ATAII 3.0Gb/s Hard Drive
22x DVD±RW DL S-ATA Drive
Onboard Video/Audio
No Operating System
500w Eagle PSU
Total: £331.46

So my questions to you guys are:
• Which one is a better computer for the money, the AMD or the Intel?
• Also, with the AMD I have the option to upgrade to a unit both supporting and including 4GB DDR3 rather than 4GB DDR2 memory for an extra £50, even though this would be blowing my budget would that move really be worth it?
• What are the potentials to push these processors further through overclocking? I've heard the Phenom processor in question can be safely pushed to 4x3.8ghz, would this require a better CPU cooler/PSU?

Many thanks in advance guys! And feel free to list any alternative deals. Sorry about my poor knowledge,

 

[Yami]

• Which one is a better computer for the money, the AMD or the Intel?

I believe the AMD one is faster.

Also, with the AMD I have the option to upgrade to a unit both supporting and including 4GB DDR3 rather than 4GB DDR2 memory for an extra £50, even though this would be blowing my budget would that move really be worth it?

Getting DDR3 would make future upgrades cheaper, but it would be hard to see any performance differences between the DDR2 and DDR3.

What are the potentials to push these processors further through overclocking? I've heard the Phenom processor in question can be safely pushed to 4x3.8ghz, would this require a better CPU cooler/PSU?

The CPUs themselves can be pushed very far with OCing, both can go further than 4GHz, but only if you have the right setup. A high-performance CPU cooler would be required for that, yes.
However those motherboards are very cheap, and assuming they have overclocking options (which is a 50/50 chance with cheap ones), it definitely wouldn't overclock very far.

Would you consider building your own PC? You'd get much better parts for your money, and be able to overclock it.

 

[aliasaid]

strange that it would cost so much more to go DDR3. The ram is pretty much the same price, and as for motherboard it might be a big more but not by 50 pounds!

 

[farinha]

Buy the AMD Phenom II X4 955 Black Edition and you save 20£ to go DDR3. The difference between the 965 and the 955 is the multiplier ans since the it is unlocked in the black edition there is no reason to buy the 965 instead the 955.
Why don't you build on your own and save the money to go DDR3?

 

[Yami]

Btw, just to say that if you do decide to build your own I can decide parts and such for you. You just need to order+build

 

[farinha]

I can help to

 

[MattyB]

Thanks for the help guys, didn't expect such a friendly bunch! , I've been reading up on some CPU benchmarks and with cash-money being such a critical factor here I've decided to go with the AMD.

The difference between the 965 and the 955 is the multiplier ans since the it is unlocked in the black edition there is no reason to buy the 965 instead the 955

You might have to explain that for me a little bit... Do you mean in essence the processor is the same except that the 965 is pre-set to a faster speed because of the designated clock multiplier? And this can be over-ridden through over-clocking anyway, right?

Btw, just to say that if you do decide to build your own I can decide parts and such for you. You just need to order+build

Really appreciate the offer there guys, , what I'd be looking for then would be a base unit only computer with on-board video/audio (I don't play games and all of my studio work is done through a USB audio interface) with an overclock friendly motherboard/CPU cooler/PSU, a 500GB hard-drive, a DVD±RW that comfortably writes dual layers, 4GB onboard RAM (DDR2 would be fine, from what I've read the difference to DDR3 in performance is negligible) and an AMD Phenom II x4 955/965 processor; whichever is appropriate. Or I guess an Intel Quad if the speed can match the price of the AMDs, I'll leave it to your own musing! I've got my own copy of Windows 7 and any OEM software isn't needed.

Can't stress how much I appreciate your help here lads, all the best!

 

[farinha]

What's your budget?

 

[MattyB]

£350!

 

[Trotter]

Considering your location, Matty, there should be some Tech-Forums members in your area (Birmingham, UK). One of them may be willing to give you a hand with the actual assembly.