From Intel to AMD, calling for your help!

_MarcoM_ · Post by **_MarcoM_** » Fri Jul 25, 2008 1:59 pm

Hi all m8s!

I am giving my Conroe e6400 and GA-965p-DS4 motherboard for my brother-in-law, so i need new components, the lower the power consumption, the better.
wanna give a try to AMD, my first love

What i have:
- case Antec P150
- psu Zalman 600W (i will change it with a modu82+ 425W, or corsair VX)
- gfx Ati radeon 3850@256MB stock cooler
- hd Samsung HD501LJ
- dvd writer Samsung somethingwritemasterdunno PATA
- ram Corsair Twin2X 2x1GB 5400C4

This rig is low-gaming oriented, for example MAME and/or Unreal Tournament 2004.

What i need:
- new cpu. I'm thinking about AMD Athlon64 X2 4050E Brisbane 45w.
- new cpu cooler. I prefer "classic" cooler with air directed on mosfets and power regulators, low weight. I'm thinking about TRITON 75 or Scythe Shuriken.

- NEW MOTHERBOARD. The most important component, i need a robust and stable motherboard with reliable chipset, Asus or gigabyte. Conductive Polymer Capacitors are welcome

thejamppa · Post by **thejamppa** » Sat Jul 26, 2008 1:19 am

Hi, I'd recomend to get HD 4850e, price difference isn't much but 400 Mhz does sometimes quite a lot in games. ( 4050e is 2,1 Ghz and 4850e is 2,5 Ghz )

I haven't have any problems with Gigabyte GA-MA78G-DS3H. Full Atx board, all solid caps, very reliable. I've run my machine upto 2 weeks on run without crashing or issues without rebooting in the middle, which is pretty much pushing it.

Asus Triton 75 is wonderful cooler and is extremely easily instal on AM2. You probably don't need change that. Get some 1200 RPM fan on it and let Gigabyte's motherboard to the control and its very quiet. I recomend 1200 RPM Slipstream or S-Flex.

loimlo · Post by **loimlo** » Sat Jul 26, 2008 2:36 am

According to SPCR, Noctua NH-C12P seems to be an excellent top-down cooler as well. Besides, I suggest you to pay attention to fan choices such as Nexus, Scythe, Yateloon etc. Maybe you should buy a few and select the one you like best ......

http://www.silentpcreview.com/article846-page1.html

_MarcoM_ · Post by **_MarcoM_** » Sun Jul 27, 2008 2:35 am

If the power consumption difference between 4050e and 4850e is negligible, i'll go for the latest. Need the lower the power in every way

My friends, what do you think about this piece of hardware?
M3A32-MVP Deluxe

I noticed that many motherboard declare support to a particular processor from a certain revision of the bios, what means? If the card comes with old bios, the cpu+board does not work? In this case, i wonder just how can I update the bios in a system that does not start ... or simply "supported" means that is recognized properly in the name, in the cache, etc., then in that case can i actually upgrade bios?

Suosaaski · Post by **Suosaaski** » Sun Jul 27, 2008 3:06 am

_MarcoM_ wrote:
My friends, what do you think about this piece of hardware?
M3A32-MVP Deluxe

At least mine works like a charm.

_MarcoM_ · Post by **_MarcoM_** » Mon Jul 28, 2008 5:14 am

Suosaaski wrote:
_MarcoM_ wrote:
My friends, what do you think about this piece of hardware?
M3A32-MVP Deluxe
At least mine works like a charm.

Tell me more about your configuration

Suosaaski · Post by **Suosaaski** » Mon Jul 28, 2008 7:59 am

_MarcoM_ wrote:
Suosaaski wrote:
_MarcoM_ wrote:
My friends, what do you think about this piece of hardware?
M3A32-MVP Deluxe
At least mine works like a charm.
Tell me more about your configuration

AMD Phenom 9950 + Noctua NH-U12P
4 * 1GB OCZ Platinum PC2-6400 Revision 2
Radeon HD4870
Antec NeoHE 550W / Antec P182
Seagate 7200.11 500GB (SATA/AHCI)
Samsung DVD-RW (SATA)
Vista Ultimate SP1 32-bit / XP Professional SP3

Stable at 3,2GHz/1,35V for CPU, 790/1100MHz for GPU
3dmark06 / Vista: http://service.futuremark.com/compare?3dm06=7589338

No issues at all. I am very satisfied with the setup.

juamez · Post by **juamez** » Mon Jul 28, 2008 8:15 am

I'm sorry, but is that Asus motherboard an older 790FX + SB600 chipset based one? Maybe it's better to wait for the SB750 based motherboards, 790FX/GX, to arrive anytime soon normally. The SB750 with the special ability to clock a Phenom X4 a tad higher (or the same clock but at lower voltages) is always nice to have.

autoboy · Post by **autoboy** » Mon Jul 28, 2008 8:17 am

For the CPU cooler, I recommend the Arctic Cooling Alpine 7. It is only $10, copes very well with CPUs under 65W, and is very quiet and efficient at low RPMs.

I use them now on all my builds. I've even got one on my Quad Core Q6600 and it does very well under light loads. Under gaming it does ramp up a bit and is slightly audible with my headphones off, but most of the time it runs at a slow 500 RPM keeping my CPU around 45C.

Suosaaski · Post by **Suosaaski** » Mon Jul 28, 2008 8:17 am

juamez wrote:I'm sorry, but is that Asus motherboard an older 790FX + SB600 chipset based one? Maybe it's better to wait for the SB750 based motherboards, 790FX/GX, to arrive anytime soon normally. The SB750 with the special ability to clock a Phenom X4 a tad higher (or the same clock but at lower voltages) is always nice to have.

Yes, it is an older SB600 model.

juamez · Post by **juamez** » Mon Jul 28, 2008 8:42 am

Suosaaski wrote:
juamez wrote:I'm sorry, but is that Asus motherboard an older 790FX + SB600 chipset based one? Maybe it's better to wait for the SB750 based motherboards, 790FX/GX, to arrive anytime soon normally. The SB750 with the special ability to clock a Phenom X4 a tad higher (or the same clock but at lower voltages) is always nice to have.
Yes, it is an older SB600 model.

Well then very nice overclock for the given voltage! What cooling do you use? Heavy air cooling or water cooling or even phase change cooling?

Suosaaski · Post by **Suosaaski** » Mon Jul 28, 2008 8:56 am

juamez wrote: Well then very nice overclock for the given voltage! What cooling do you use? Heavy air cooling or water cooling or even phase change cooling?

Noctua NH-U12P, fan at 900-950rpm.

Currently the top compartment of the case, P182, has the two default Antec Tricools at "low" setting. Might change them for Nexus fans.

Holy-Fire · Post by **Holy-Fire** » Mon Jul 28, 2008 9:21 am

_MarcoM_ wrote:I noticed that many motherboard declare support to a particular processor from a certain revision of the bios, what means? If the card comes with old bios, the cpu+board does not work? In this case, i wonder just how can I update the bios in a system that does not start ... or simply "supported" means that is recognized properly in the name, in the cache, etc., then in that case can i actually upgrade bios?

Yes, the system will generally not boot if the BIOS does not support the CPU (though there could be exceptions). This is a known problem. Possible solutions are:
1. Making sure the item you buy already has sufficiently recent BIOS (there is a good chance that it does).
2. Getting the cheapest compatible CPU you can find to get you through the flashing process - having a spare CPU can also prove useful for other reasons (assuming, of course, you don't already have one).