AMD Duron 1800 to Core2 E4550 ???

Can you specialists giveme some advice please. I'm in the UK.

Is the advice I've been given any good? Suggested I go from my old
slow system to a new system based on Intel. Proposed system seems
overkill. Opinions please.


REQUIREMENT:
I use my system for home use with a lot of personal office-like
activity (I'm retired).

I want to have reasonably good audio editing for good quality voice
recording of meetings. Want low system noise where possible.

Would like FEATURES (like lots of USB and on-board functions to save
buying plugins) but I don't need tons of outright POWER.


PRICE:
I can't fund expensive equipment so I try and buy for value rather
than leading edge technology. My current system was bought as middle
to trailing edge technology and has got more out of date since then!


CURRENT SYSTEM:
(a) AMD Duron cpu at 1800 MHz. Real 1800 MHz (approx sub-Athlon 2100+)
(b) Syntax mobo based on Via 266a chipset with 768 MB SD-RAM.
(c) 17 inch CRT which I will keep and re-use.
(d) four to seven hard drives (mix of SATA/PATA) using PCI adapters


PROPOSED SYSTEM (PC shop suggestion: total £450 inc VAT)
(1) Intel Core 2 Duo E4500 processor (£77)
(2) very recent Asus mobo (£89)
3 PCI, 6 SATA, 10 USB, 2 Fwire, 8ch sound, 4D chII-1066 memory
(3) 4 GB memory Crucial/Kingston (£60)
(4) graphics card (£30)
(5) sound blaster X-Fi Xtreme PCI 8ch (£33)
(6) hard drive for booting only (£30)
(7) DVD-RW £22
(8) decent case/PSU = Antec Sonata (£92)
(9) usual ancillary things: fan, webcam, KVM switch, mouse/keybd

------------

Bit fast isn't it? And probably a huge jump.

It's too expensive. Any ideas where I can trim the cost back a bit.

Was told Intel cpu's have currently stolen a lead on AMD. Also that
Intel mobos were no longer significantly more costly than AMD mobos.
True enough?

Decent mobo can provide integrated function which is more costly to
add later so I don't want to pare this back to a "skeleton" mobo.

Decent case and PSU save endless trouble but is the Antec Sonata with
PSU good value? I don't like it's glossy front flap (remove), only 2
front USB and no front fan.

Don wrote:
Can you specialists giveme some advice please. I'm in the UK.

Is the advice I've been given any good? Suggested I go from my old
slow system to a new system based on Intel. Proposed system seems
overkill. Opinions please.


REQUIREMENT:
I use my system for home use with a lot of personal office-like
activity (I'm retired).

I want to have reasonably good audio editing for good quality voice
recording of meetings. Want low system noise where possible.

Would like FEATURES (like lots of USB and on-board functions to save
buying plugins) but I don't need tons of outright POWER.


PRICE:
I can't fund expensive equipment so I try and buy for value rather
than leading edge technology. My current system was bought as middle
to trailing edge technology and has got more out of date since then!


CURRENT SYSTEM:
(a) AMD Duron cpu at 1800 MHz. Real 1800 MHz (approx sub-Athlon 2100+)
(b) Syntax mobo based on Via 266a chipset with 768 MB SD-RAM.
(c) 17 inch CRT which I will keep and re-use.
(d) four to seven hard drives (mix of SATA/PATA) using PCI adapters


PROPOSED SYSTEM (PC shop suggestion: total £450 inc VAT)
(1) Intel Core 2 Duo E4500 processor (£77)
(2) very recent Asus mobo (£89)
3 PCI, 6 SATA, 10 USB, 2 Fwire, 8ch sound, 4D chII-1066 memory
(3) 4 GB memory Crucial/Kingston (£60)
(4) graphics card (£30)
(5) sound blaster X-Fi Xtreme PCI 8ch (£33)
(6) hard drive for booting only (£30)
(7) DVD-RW £22
(8) decent case/PSU = Antec Sonata (£92)
(9) usual ancillary things: fan, webcam, KVM switch, mouse/keybd

------------

Bit fast isn't it? And probably a huge jump.

It's too expensive. Any ideas where I can trim the cost back a bit.

Was told Intel cpu's have currently stolen a lead on AMD. Also that
Intel mobos were no longer significantly more costly than AMD mobos.
True enough?

Decent mobo can provide integrated function which is more costly to
add later so I don't want to pare this back to a "skeleton" mobo.

Decent case and PSU save endless trouble but is the Antec Sonata with
PSU good value? I don't like it's glossy front flap (remove), only 2
front USB and no front fan.


OK, I'll throw one together.

Based on this chart, I'll go from Intel E4500 to AMD 5600+. $117 versus $69

http://www.xbitlabs.com/images/cpu/d...ice-perf-1.png

Motherboard Asus M3A78-EM $66
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16813131324

HDMI/DVI/VGA/DisplayPort (graphics options)
PS/2 (keyboard)
ESATA (high speed external disk)
RJ-45 (Ethernet)
6 USB (4 on backplate)
8 channel audio (six connectors)
S/PDIF (TOSLink digital audio)
1394 (Firewire - for camcorder ?)

2 PCI slots.
PCI Express x16 (future graphics upgrade)
PCI Express x1 (successor to PCI)

One con for the product - no accessories to speak of.
http://images17.newegg.com/is/image/newegg/13-131-324-S05?$S640W$

You might have to pick up some adapters for USB later, if
you want more rear USB connectors than are provided.

http://estore.asus.com/images/14-000500020.JPG

The case is the other area you could shave off a few pounds.
I'd suggest buying one without power supply. (Mainly, because
for some bargain cases, the power supply is just adding to your
local landfill.) Then, you can select a power supply separately,
picked for what you consider the loading is going to be.

The above should be a pretty low power system. If you don't
install a separate video card, use the integrated video,
even a 350W supply would be enough. The 5600+ processor is
65W, the motherboard plus RAM about 50W, so there really
isn't a lot of power consumption.

HTH,
Paul

Paul wrote:
Don wrote:

(5) sound blaster X-Fi Xtreme PCI 8ch (£33)

Oh, and you can try the onboard sound first, without buying the
Sound Blaster. If the onboard works well enough, you save another
£33.

Paul

On 02/12/2008 in message
Don wrote:

REQUIREMENT:
I use my system for home use with a lot of personal office-like
activity (I'm retired).

I want to have reasonably good audio editing for good quality voice
recording of meetings. Want low system noise where possible.

Would like FEATURES (like lots of USB and on-board functions to save
buying plugins) but I don't need tons of outright POWER.

I appreciate this is a home built group but spec yourself up a Dell Vostro
before you make a final decision, start he

http://www1.euro.dell.com/content/products/features.aspx/4x_vostro_220?c=uk&cs=ukbsdt1&l=en&s=bsd

and work the 220 up, I ended up with this:

http://configure.euro.dell.com/dellstore/config.aspx?b=&c=uk&cs=ukbsdt1&kc=D4X22001&l=en&m_ 30=138820&oc=D122209&rbc=D122209&s=bsd

£199 + VAT and shipping.

I got one as a home server and it hasn't missed a beat.


--
Jeff Gaines Damerham Hampshire UK
By the time you can make ends meet they move the ends

"Don" wrote in message
m...
Can you specialists giveme some advice please. I'm in the UK.

Is the advice I've been given any good? Suggested I go from my old
slow system to a new system based on Intel. Proposed system seems
overkill. Opinions please.


REQUIREMENT:
I use my system for home use with a lot of personal office-like
activity (I'm retired).

I want to have reasonably good audio editing for good quality voice
recording of meetings. Want low system noise where possible.

Would like FEATURES (like lots of USB and on-board functions to save
buying plugins) but I don't need tons of outright POWER.


PRICE:
I can't fund expensive equipment so I try and buy for value rather
than leading edge technology. My current system was bought as middle
to trailing edge technology and has got more out of date since then!


CURRENT SYSTEM:
(a) AMD Duron cpu at 1800 MHz. Real 1800 MHz (approx sub-Athlon 2100+)
(b) Syntax mobo based on Via 266a chipset with 768 MB SD-RAM.
(c) 17 inch CRT which I will keep and re-use.
(d) four to seven hard drives (mix of SATA/PATA) using PCI adapters


PROPOSED SYSTEM (PC shop suggestion: total £450 inc VAT)
(1) Intel Core 2 Duo E4500 processor (£77)
(2) very recent Asus mobo (£89)
3 PCI, 6 SATA, 10 USB, 2 Fwire, 8ch sound, 4D chII-1066 memory
(3) 4 GB memory Crucial/Kingston (£60)
(4) graphics card (£30)
(5) sound blaster X-Fi Xtreme PCI 8ch (£33)
(6) hard drive for booting only (£30)
(7) DVD-RW £22
(8) decent case/PSU = Antec Sonata (£92)
(9) usual ancillary things: fan, webcam, KVM switch, mouse/keybd

------------

Bit fast isn't it? And probably a huge jump.

It's too expensive. Any ideas where I can trim the cost back a bit.

Was told Intel cpu's have currently stolen a lead on AMD. Also that
Intel mobos were no longer significantly more costly than AMD mobos.
True enough?

Decent mobo can provide integrated function which is more costly to
add later so I don't want to pare this back to a "skeleton" mobo.

Decent case and PSU save endless trouble but is the Antec Sonata with
PSU good value? I don't like it's glossy front flap (remove), only 2
front USB and no front fan.


FWIW, last one I built (last week)

Intel E2200
Asus P5KPL-AM
Antec NSK 4480
OCZ 2Gb
160Gb Seagate SATA
Lite-On LH-20A1S
2x 80mm fans

£212 total

The cpu is dual core but not Core 2 Duo, add another £30 if you want one,
all parts from Ebuyer with free delivery.

On Tue, 02 Dec 2008 01:04:52 -0500, Paul wrote:

OK, I'll throw one together.

Based on this chart, I'll go from Intel E4500 to AMD 5600+. $117 versus $69


That one is certainly powerful and has an average energy consumption. But I
would rather choose a low-energy AMD 4850e, cheaper and more than
sufficient for the intended purpose.

Motherboard Asus M3A78-EM $66

I got this one some weeks ago - works very well, apart from the poor 2D
performance in some applications with windows xp.

You might have to pick up some adapters for USB later, if
you want more rear USB connectors than are provided.

I would rather get a case that offers these conncectors on the front or get
one of these Silverstone FP35
http://www.silverstonetek.com/produc...pno=FP35&area=
with the added benefit of sound connectors in the front.

fup to uk.comp.homebuilt

Andreas

In article om, Don
wrote:
Was told Intel cpu's have currently stolen a lead on AMD. Also that
Intel mobos were no longer significantly more costly than AMD mobos.
True enough?

Intel certainly have the edge in high-performance CPUs that run at low
power ... but if you don't need the performance and would like
something more frugal the AMD dual-core CPUs are very good value.

If you wanted 4 cores or blistering speed I'd say that intel was really
the only option, but as you're concerned about cost and power
consumption, and don't need insane performance, I wouldn't discount
AMD.

I'd look at one of the AMD Athlon 64 X2 CPUs in its "Energy Efficient"
incarnation -- you can get a ~2.5GHz part with a TDP of 45W for less
than £50 including VAT.

That'll go in a socket AM2 motherboard -- and at the low end of the
market I think the AM2 motherboards are better spec's and give better
value for money than anything that takes a current intel CPU. I'm very
pleased with my Asus M2NPV-VM motherboard (now discontinued, but there
are others that take its place) which has just about every peripheral
you could want on the board. No need for separate soundcard or video.
Current boards like it are below £50, so they're very good value. Take
a look at, say, the M2N-CM DVI as you're interested in audio (note: I
have no direct experience of this particular board).

These are uATX boards, though, so although they typically have 4 SATA
ports and one PATA/IDE port (my M2NPV-VM has two IDE ports, which I do
value) you will only have two PCI slots for expansion (plus a PCIe x1
and a PICe x16). If you need more than that you'll have to go to a full
ATX board, and they don't usually have onboard video. Onboard video is
good for keeping both the cost and the power consumption low.

Decent case and PSU save endless trouble but is the Antec Sonata with
PSU good value?

Antec cases and PSUs are generally good, especially the more expensive
ones. The trouble with buying a case and PSU together is that you don't
get to pick the power rating of the PSU. Most included PSUs are far
more powerful than is required by the system that ends up installed in
the case ... but you sound as though you may be planning to reuse a
large number of oldish hard drives, and they can draw quite a bit
(allow 30-40W) each when spinning up.

I don't like it's glossy front flap (remove), only 2
front USB and no front fan.

I'm not sure which Sonata you're looking at (there are several models
under the same overall name now), but I haven't seen one that has a
flap. Do you mean the Sonata III 500 which has a full case-front door?
http://www.antec.com/uk/productDetails.php?ProdID=08143

If so, that does have provision for a front fan (though one is not
supplied) and 12cm fans are only a few pounds. The PSU in that case is
500W (as the name implies) which should be more than enough even if you
fill it with drives.

2 front USB ports is fairly standard. If you want more you may be able
to fit a USB front plate in a 3.5" drive bay?

Cheers,
Daniel.

On Tue, 02 Dec 2008 04:19:18 GMT, Don wrote:

Can you specialists giveme some advice please. I'm in the UK.

Is the advice I've been given any good? Suggested I go from my old
slow system to a new system based on Intel. Proposed system seems
overkill. Opinions please.


REQUIREMENT:
I use my system for home use with a lot of personal office-like
activity (I'm retired).

I want to have reasonably good audio editing for good quality voice
recording of meetings. Want low system noise where possible.

Would like FEATURES (like lots of USB and on-board functions to save
buying plugins) but I don't need tons of outright POWER.


PRICE:
I can't fund expensive equipment so I try and buy for value rather
than leading edge technology. My current system was bought as middle
to trailing edge technology and has got more out of date since then!


CURRENT SYSTEM:
(a) AMD Duron cpu at 1800 MHz. Real 1800 MHz (approx sub-Athlon 2100+)
(b) Syntax mobo based on Via 266a chipset with 768 MB SD-RAM.
(c) 17 inch CRT which I will keep and re-use.
(d) four to seven hard drives (mix of SATA/PATA) using PCI adapters


PROPOSED SYSTEM (PC shop suggestion: total £450 inc VAT)
(1) Intel Core 2 Duo E4500 processor (£77)
Intel Pentium Dual Core E2200 Socket 775 2.2GHz 800FSB Retail Boxed
Processor BX80557E2200 £51.96

(2) very recent Asus mobo (£89)
3 PCI, 6 SATA, 10 USB, 2 Fwire, 8ch sound, 4D chII-1066 memory
Gigabyte GA-EG43M-S2H iG43 Socket 775 onboard graphics 8 channel audio
2 PCI 5 SATA 1 eSATA 6+6 USB 2 Firewire mATX Motherboard GA-EG43M-S2H
£75.69

(3) 4 GB memory Crucial/Kingston (£60)
Crucial 2GB kit (2x1GB) DDR2 800MHz/PC2-6400 Ballistix Memory Non-ECC
Unbuffered CL4 Lifetime £20.99

(4) graphics card (£30)
on motherboard

(5) sound blaster X-Fi Xtreme PCI 8ch (£33)
on motherboard

(6) hard drive for booting only (£30)
(7) DVD-RW £22
(8) decent case/PSU = Antec Sonata (£92)
Antec NSK 4480B Black ATX/MATX Mini Tower - With 380W EarthWatts PSU
£55.99

(9) usual ancillary things: fan, webcam, KVM switch, mouse/keybd

------------

Bit fast isn't it? And probably a huge jump.

It's too expensive. Any ideas where I can trim the cost back a bit.

Was told Intel cpu's have currently stolen a lead on AMD. Also that
Intel mobos were no longer significantly more costly than AMD mobos.
True enough?

Decent mobo can provide integrated function which is more costly to
add later so I don't want to pare this back to a "skeleton" mobo.

Decent case and PSU save endless trouble but is the Antec Sonata with
PSU good value? I don't like it's glossy front flap (remove), only 2
front USB and no front fan.

Motherboard Asus M3A78-EM $66

I got this one some weeks ago - works very well, apart from the poor 2D
performance in some applications with windows xp.

I would suggest M3N-H...

--
@~@ Might, Courage, Vision, SINCERITY.
/ v \ Simplicity is Beauty! May the Force and Farce be with you!
/( _ )\ (Xubuntu 8.04.1) Linux 2.6.26.8
^ ^ 17:09:01 up 21 days 5:23 4 users load average: 1.00 1.04 1.00
¤£*ɶU! ¤£¶BÄF! ¤£´©¥æ! ¤£¥´¥æ! ¤£¥´§T! ¤£¦Û±þ! ½Ð¦Ò¼{ºî´© (CSSA):
http://www.swd.gov.hk/tc/index/site_...sub_addressesa

Man-wai Chang ToDie (33.6k) wrote:
Motherboard Asus M3A78-EM $66
I got this one some weeks ago - works very well, apart from the poor 2D
performance in some applications with windows xp.

I would suggest M3N-H...


Or M3N78-EM if you need a mATX board. Nvidia's SATA performance should
be better.

--
@~@ Might, Courage, Vision, SINCERITY.
/ v \ Simplicity is Beauty! May the Force and Farce be with you!
/( _ )\ (Xubuntu 8.04.1) Linux 2.6.26.8
^ ^ 17:19:01 up 21 days 5:33 4 users load average: 1.14 1.12 1.03
¤£*ɶU! ¤£¶BÄF! ¤£´©¥æ! ¤£¥´¥æ! ¤£¥´§T! ¤£¦Û±þ! ½Ð¦Ò¼{ºî´© (CSSA):
http://www.swd.gov.hk/tc/index/site_...sub_addressesa