Norman_Chan Posted January 1, 2007 Posted January 1, 2007 If given a choice to upgrade ...which CPU will you chose ? Intel (Core 2 Dual , FSB - 1066 hz) 6300 (1.86 ghz) or Intel (Core Dual , FSB - 800 hz) 945 (3.4 ghz) or AMD A64 x 2 (AM) 4200 (2.2 ghz , FSB - 2200 hz) ......CPU + MB ...total cost less than S$400
hifi_enthusiast Posted January 2, 2007 Posted January 2, 2007 this one is very obvious. The 6300 is one of the rare processors that win in both price/performance + power consumption + overclockability. No reason not to get it except that it will be replaced soon by 6350 (but every CPU is bound to be replaced anyway....)
Doggie Howser Posted January 2, 2007 Posted January 2, 2007 Avoid the 945 :P From my own tests, A64 X2 4200+ and C2D 6300 is abt comparable in performance stock. X2s have lower power at idle, abt 10-20W lower than C2D but abt 10W more at peak (not a frequent occurence) X2s are faster with some apps, but C2D's 128bit SSE/FP is faster for some apps which take advantage of it. In terms of pricing, I would have thought the X2 4200 was cheaper than 6300.
Norman_Chan Posted January 2, 2007 Author Posted January 2, 2007 So you mean the E6300 can easily overclock to E6400 or even E6600 speed ?
Doggie Howser Posted January 2, 2007 Posted January 2, 2007 So you mean the E6300 can easily overclock to E6400 or even E6600 speed ? Clock speeds yes. But the E6600s and up have 4MB of shared L2 cache, so it is more than just a speed bump.
tsammyc Posted January 7, 2007 Posted January 7, 2007 I just put together a motherboard (Asrock) and D805 CPU for around $250. This is basically the cheapest dual-core Intel CPU combo that you can buy although it is getting hard to find an 805. The CPU overclocks to 3.4Ghz (like a 945) using old DDR333 ram and the Asrock has Conroe upgradability and a built in ATI X300 video card. It has a PCI-E slot and two DDR2 slots for future upgrading if necessary, but it already runs very fast. Good upgrade if you don't want to rebuild your system and are upgrading from old components. Having said that, I am in the market for a cheap HDMI video card so that I can play HD-DVDs with my Xbox add-on, but the current ones at $250 are too much. The 6300 is considerably faster than the 805 and runs cooler, but at the low-end, you have to ask yourself if the extra CPU speed is worth $150
wiseguy1624705816 Posted January 13, 2007 Posted January 13, 2007 The CPU overclocks to 3.4Ghz (like a 945) using old DDR333 ram and the Asrock has Conroe upgradability and a built in ATI X300 video card. absolutely true. so which motherboard did you get and how much ? if you may care to share
tsammyc Posted January 14, 2007 Posted January 14, 2007 Its called an Asrock Twins HDTV V2.0. Even has component out! Paid $100 for it somewhere in SLS. At 3.4Ghz, SiSoft Sandra says that it is about the same speed as an Athlon X2 4400+. I have gotten it up to 3.6Ghz.
Norman_Chan Posted January 15, 2007 Author Posted January 15, 2007 You referring to the below ? http://www.asrock.com/product/775Twins-HDTV%20R2.0.htm Which shop you buy huh ? Interested also leh ......
tsammyc Posted January 16, 2007 Posted January 16, 2007 Yes. That is the one. I can't remember where I bought it though. I remember looking through the hardwarezone pricelists for a $100 motherboard with Conroe support and integrated VGA and it was the only one.
Norman_Chan Posted January 21, 2007 Author Posted January 21, 2007 Cannot find this ASRock board in hardwarezone pricelist anymore ....
kardtoon Posted January 24, 2007 Posted January 24, 2007 If you only plan to use this as a HTPC, I recommend a slow and cool processor. It'll allow you to use a smaller casing and quieter fan. No point getting a super fast processor unless you plan to game on it.
tsammyc Posted February 1, 2007 Posted February 1, 2007 The recommended processors for HD-DVD and Blu-Ray are fast ones though. I suppose anyone building a HTPC today should be preparing for it. Intel (Recommended): Pentium EE 840 3.2 GHz or 955 3.4 GHz, Pentium D 945 3.4 GHz, 950 3.4 GHz or 960 3.6 GHz, Core Duo T2500 2.0 GHz, T2600 2.16 GHz or T2700 2.33 GHz, Core 2 Duo E6300 1.8 GHz, E6400 2.13 GHz, E6600 2.4 GHz, E6700 2.66 GHZ or X6800 2.93 GHz
Doggie Howser Posted February 1, 2007 Posted February 1, 2007 FWIW, I'd choose a low power system for HTPC A 65W or 35W version which will reduce the cooling requirements. (ps AMD and Intel specify processor TDP differently, so an Intel 65W TDP is abt Intel's 80+ W model) AMD introduced a new DTX form factor recently, which is optimized for low power consumption and quiet designs (based on 35W and 65W As for BluRay and HDDVD playback, a basic X2 4200+ or 3800+ should be sufficient if you can get the replacement for the RADEON X1650 range coming mid of this year. It will have full acceleration for HD/BR playback codecs, bringing CPU utlization to less than 20% vs 90+ today. From what I can tell, it will include full HDMI capability (including full HD audio passthrough), but I suspect you will need the PC to decode the HD audio to PCM. Nvidia's solution AFAIK still uses optical passthrough (so cant work with the current HD audio codecs.. all downmixed to DD/DTS first)
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