Advice on Processors, Mother Boards & Studio Monitors

[bsteel]

Who knows about processors and which is the best? I've been looking at the AMD Phenomâ„¢ II X4 940 or 955.. but i wanna know what the best is now and when the next generation is coming supposed to hit. i want a cheap price too. i know the i core 7 is expensive.. I need a new motherboard too but I'm about to put another post up for that.

I need a new motherboard to go along with a new processor.. what do i need to look for in buying a motherboard. i like all the accessories but i need to know what to look for other than all that. I know how to line up ram and the processor so that they are compatible. just looking for inside info that i don't know.. and what's a good brand to go with.

I need a good pair of Studio Monitors. I want a flat eq sound. I don't really know much more than the basics about them so I'm looking for some advice. THX

 

[Yami]

What is your budget for all this equipment, and will you need an OS or mouse+keyboard?

I know how to line up ram and the processor so that they are compatible.

There are very few compatiblities you need worry about between RAM and CPU; the main concern in that respect would be between motherboard and RAM (the type (DDR/DDR2/DDR3), and speed (in MHz).

If you're in the US then I'm sure some other folks around here can put a build for you together on NewEgg or somesuch site; if you're in the UK then I help in that respect.

 

[Harper]

Please don't double- or triple-post; there's an edit button for a reason.

That's been sorted out at my end. I have also moved this thread over to the Building, Buying, or Upgrading High Performance PC Systems subforum as you will get a better responce here to your requests.

 

[Muffin Man]

well right now, the 940 and 955 are the best amd cpus. the difference between them is that the 940 is for an am2+ socket supporting ddr2 ram, and the 955 is for an am3 socket supporting ddr3, but ddr3 for amd is not worth the extra money right now as it won't get you a noticable performance increase. they are pretty much equal in performance though.

you should look at 790gx and 790x mobos, preferably from brands such as asus, biostar or gigabyte. something you should also consider is whether in the future you'll want to run a crossfire (2 gfx cards) setup which would require the mobo you choose to have 2 x16 pcie slots.

 

[Yami]

well right now, the 940 and 955 are the best amd cpus. the difference between them is that the 940 is for an am2+ socket supporting ddr2 ram, and the 955 is for an am3 socket supporting ddr3

Mostly right but not exactly; the 955 also works in AM2+ sockets and can use DDR2 (as can any AM3 CPU as far as I know).

you should look at 790gx and 790x mobos, preferably from brands such as asus, biostar or gigabyte. something you should also consider is whether in the future you'll want to run a crossfire (2 gfx cards) setup which would require the mobo you choose to have 2 x16 pcie slots.

+1 to all of that.

 

[Muffin Man]

ah yes, idk why i forgot about the the 955 being compatible with am2+ and ddr2, thank you for pointing that out but i dont see it being worth the extra money.

 

[Yami]

ah yes, idk why i forgot about the the 955 being compatible with am2+ and ddr2, thank you for pointing that out but i dont see it being worth the extra money.

I agree, not worth the extra money.

 

[bsteel]

what about other brands of processors.. would shelling out the extra cash for intel icore7 be worth it? or is there a cheaper processor that does the same thing as the amd? I mean another question to ask is are they quality processors are they gonna last?

 

[veg1992]

They are going to last a long time, unless you aimlessly overclock it to past its limits for no reason.

Phenom II's direct competitor is Core 2 Quad, but Core 2 Quad is a bit more expensive platform because most AMD motherboards are very cheap.

If you can step up for Core i7, it is really worth it, but just a warning, Core i5 will be coming out next month and will be the same price as Phenom II's apparently.

 

[philbar71]

^ yep, right now if your going to replace mobo and CPU soon i say wait. because lynfeild will be out soon and the i7 8x0 will priced close to the high end phenoms, not to mention it's going to slaughter them