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"I need a new PC!" 2010 Edition

Buggy Loop said:
What? I thought for sure that AM3 would be BD ready?
12_27_2006_notd_asus_mobo.jpg


Desktop Bulldozer Processors Will Require New Platforms - AMD.

http://www.xbitlabs.com/news/cpu/di...rocessors_Will_Require_New_Platforms_AMD.html

AMD Zambezi to Use AM3+ Platforms
[08/26/2010 10:58 PM]
by Anton Shilov

Advanced Micro Devices said that its next-generation desktop processors code-named Zambezi will use socket AM3+ platforms, which will be backwards compatible with the firm's existing AM3 products. While the latter is an advantage for the platform, it may be a disadvantage for eight-core processors based on Bulldozer micro-architecture.

"The existing G34 and C32 server infrastructure will support the new Bulldozer-based server products. In order for AMD’s desktop offering to fully leverage the capabilities of Bulldozer, an enhanced AM3+ socket will be introduced that supports Bulldozer and is backward-compatible with our existing AM3 CPU offerings," an official from AMD said in an interview with Planet3DNow web-site.

Apparently, it was possible for AMD to make Bulldozer microprocessors compatible with existing AM3 infrastructure, but in order to do that, the company would have to sacrifice certain important features of the new core.

"When we initially set out on the path to Bulldozer we were hoping for AM3 compatibility, but further along the process we realized that we had a choice to make based on some of the features that we wanted to bring with Bulldozer. We could either provide AM3 support and lose some of the capabilities of the new Bulldozer architecture or, we could choose the AM3+ socket which would allow the Bulldozer-base Zambezi to have greater performance and capability," the official said.

The compatibility with older microprocessors allows AMD to simplify transition to the new micro-architecture and process design since the new AM3+ platform will support inexpensive chips from day one. However, such compatibility also means that AMD Zambezi processors will only support dual-channel memory controller. Considering the fact that all modern high-end Intel Core i7 processors with up to six cores feature triple-channel memory controller, it is unclear how AMD plans to "feed" eight cores of Zambezi with dul-channel DDR3 without creating bottlenecks.

AMD Bulldozer-based processor code-named Zambezi will have up to eight cores along with a new TurboCore dynamic acceleration technology. Thanks to the new micro-architecture the chip promises to be faster than existing AMD products.



AMD bestätigt: „Zambezi“ ist inkompatibel zum Sockel AM3
http://www.planet3dnow.de/cgi-bin/newspub/viewnews.cgi?id=1282840508
 
Read some posts by an AMD employee who says that the info (although with no source name) is most likely correct.

It seems AM3+ CPUs (BullDozer, etc.) will not work on AM3.

Originally they were going to have it work with some limited features, but that looks like a no go today.
 
Spike said:
Guess I'll play the waiting game, then.
As long as there aren't any games you're dying to play, it's probably good to wait. I'd probably say though that even if you went ahead and built a computer today with an AM3 CPU I think you'd be pretty satisfied.
 
Toki767 said:
As long as there aren't any games you're dying to play, it's probably good to wait. I'd probably say though that even if you went ahead and built a computer today with an AM3 CPU I think you'd be pretty satisfied.

No doubt about that, but I've been out of the loop for so long, that waiting a little bit longer for the newer tech, be it Bulldozer or Sandy Bridge(?), isn't going to be much of a problem for me.
 
right, so i said i'd try to stop mucking up this thread; let it be known that i am a goddam liar.:D

GAF: what do you think of this gaming laptop/desktop replacement?

$1,049.99 (refurb - before service plan)

* Intel® Core™ i7-720QM processor
Features 1333MHz system bus, 8MB L2 cache and 1.6GHz processor speed with Turbo Boost up to 2.8GHz.
* Intel® Core™ i7 processor
Features 8-way processing for ultimate smart performance. Intel® Turbo Boost Technology delivers extra performance when you need it and increased energy efficiency when you don't.
* 6GB DDR3 memory
For multitasking power, expandable to 8GB.
* Multiformat DVD±RW/CD-RW drive with double-layer support
Records up to 8.5GB of data or 4 hours of video using compatible DVD+R DL and DVD-R DL media.
* 17.3" LED-LCD high-definition plus widescreen display
With 1600 x 900 resolution showcases movies and games in stunning clarity.
* 500GB Serial ATA hard drive (7200 rpm)
Offers spacious storage and fast read/write times.
* Facial recognition technology
Protects sensitive information.
* ATI Mobility Radeon HD 5870 graphics
With 1GB GDDR5 video memory for lush images. HDMI port for connection to an HDTV.

i expect brain_stew or someone to rightfully say it's marked up (being best buy and all), but given the 18 months 0% interest, that's the route im looking at at the moment. that said, how will it fair for:

-Steam (L4D2, possible TF2 etc)
-emulation: dolphin (RE4, WW, Killer7, Paper Mario etc), PS2 (please say i can hope for SoTC 60FPS or thereabouts? hoping for MGS3 subsistence if possible too)
-hooking up to my HDTV via HDMI to play Diablo 3, Fallout New Vegas etc in the future on high settings, if possible?

are these realistic hopes given the specs? anything i should know about refurbs or laptops in general; if i dont bang the shit out of it, can i expect it to last as long as a desktop, on average? cant find any reviews on it yet, wondering how it fares with heat.
 
IrishNinja said:
cant find any reviews on it yet, wondering how it fares with heat.
That's the Asus G73, there should be a tonne of reviews and benchmarks for it.

http://www.anandtech.com/show/3662/asus-g73jha2-affordable-xlsized-gaming
http://reviews.cnet.co.uk/laptops/asus-g73jh-review-49305357/
http://www.bit-tech.net/hardware/laptops/2010/06/02/asus-g73-gaming-laptop/1

You should be able to figure out from various benchmarks around the web whether it has sufficient gaming performance for you, but it does look pretty decent. I know I've thought about getting one in my weaker moments. The mobile 5870 is supposed to give pretty close to desktop 5770 performance to give you an idea.
 
awesome, thanks man - guess ill have to wait on a response in the dolphin thread, still not sure what runs what. glad i can now decipher a model # :lol
only thing: of your links, most refer to the model as running 2 500GB HDD for a total of 1TB, is that maybe why this model's marked down? from what im seeing, it doesnt seem to be lacking too much else.
 
I'm having a headache here. I just downloaded a Win 7 x64 ISO from my school server but I am currently running an x86 version of Vista. When I try to install the thing, an error message pops up. I guess I have to run the programme as soon as I start my PC.

But this is an ISO, not a goddamn CD x_X. Do you know how to proceed ?
 
huh, good eye. the new one ($250 more) features the same screen apparently, at least at Best Buy - i'm thinking, i can make peace with this, and go for 1920x1080 when hooked up to my plasma, if anything.

so it's a specific off-model, then? i was here thinking it might be nice if there's room for another HDD, doesn't seem to be the case from the linked page though.
 
Kenka said:
I'm having a headache here. I just downloaded a Win 7 x64 ISO from my school server but I am currently running an x86 version of Vista. When I try to install the thing, an error message pops up. I guess I have to run the programme as soon as I start my PC.

But this is an ISO, not a goddamn CD x_X. Do you know how to proceed ?

You need to burn the image file to a DVD.

Use ImgBurn.
 
·feist· said:
12_27_2006_notd_asus_mobo.jpg


Desktop Bulldozer Processors Will Require New Platforms - AMD.

http://www.xbitlabs.com/news/cpu/di...rocessors_Will_Require_New_Platforms_AMD.html

AMD Zambezi to Use AM3+ Platforms
[08/26/2010 10:58 PM]
by Anton Shilov

Advanced Micro Devices said that its next-generation desktop processors code-named Zambezi will use socket AM3+ platforms, which will be backwards compatible with the firm's existing AM3 products. While the latter is an advantage for the platform, it may be a disadvantage for eight-core processors based on Bulldozer micro-architecture.

"The existing G34 and C32 server infrastructure will support the new Bulldozer-based server products. In order for AMD’s desktop offering to fully leverage the capabilities of Bulldozer, an enhanced AM3+ socket will be introduced that supports Bulldozer and is backward-compatible with our existing AM3 CPU offerings," an official from AMD said in an interview with Planet3DNow web-site.

Apparently, it was possible for AMD to make Bulldozer microprocessors compatible with existing AM3 infrastructure, but in order to do that, the company would have to sacrifice certain important features of the new core.

"When we initially set out on the path to Bulldozer we were hoping for AM3 compatibility, but further along the process we realized that we had a choice to make based on some of the features that we wanted to bring with Bulldozer. We could either provide AM3 support and lose some of the capabilities of the new Bulldozer architecture or, we could choose the AM3+ socket which would allow the Bulldozer-base Zambezi to have greater performance and capability," the official said.

The compatibility with older microprocessors allows AMD to simplify transition to the new micro-architecture and process design since the new AM3+ platform will support inexpensive chips from day one. However, such compatibility also means that AMD Zambezi processors will only support dual-channel memory controller. Considering the fact that all modern high-end Intel Core i7 processors with up to six cores feature triple-channel memory controller, it is unclear how AMD plans to "feed" eight cores of Zambezi with dul-channel DDR3 without creating bottlenecks.

AMD Bulldozer-based processor code-named Zambezi will have up to eight cores along with a new TurboCore dynamic acceleration technology. Thanks to the new micro-architecture the chip promises to be faster than existing AMD products.



AMD bestätigt: „Zambezi“ ist inkompatibel zum Sockel AM3
http://www.planet3dnow.de/cgi-bin/newspub/viewnews.cgi?id=1282840508

hmmmmmm, i think i might switch back to intel then : [

does 1156 and am3 have about the same life expectancy then?
 
Looks like my Phenom II upgrade is going to be using a cheaper motherboard than I originally planned. I'll upgrade when Bulldozer hits, so no point in buying a super nice mobo when a planned upgrade is 6-12 months away.
 
-COOLIO- said:
hmmmmmm, i think i might switch back to intel then : [

does 1156 and am3 have about the same life expectancy then?

Looks like the next batch of CPUs from both companies will support neither AM3 or LGA1156 boards. Look forward to AM3+ and LGA1155. :)

I don't really mind having to replace the mobo on my gaming machine, i have an amd 770 board that I bought for $60, it works great but is definitely very low on features when the rest of my machine is high-end.
 
TouchMyBox said:
Looks like the next batch of CPUs from both companies will support neither AM3 or LGA1156 boards. Look forward to AM3+ and LGA1155. :)

I don't really mind having to replace the mobo on my gaming machine, i have an amd 770 board that I bought for $60, it works great but is definitely very low on features when the rest of my machine is high-end.

that's good, in my position im building a rig from the ground up so i want everything in it to be 'good' from the get go. i was going to go amd but i think ill go for

i5-760 @ $200

and

Gigabyte P55A-UD4P ATX LGA1156 P55 DDR3 2PCI-E RAID GBLAN CrossFireX SLI USB3.0 SATA3 Motherboard @ $160

but im a bit reluctant to buy a $160 board that ill probably never upgrade cpu-wise :[

at the same time, i dont have the will to resist a new computer for another 4 months.
 
IrishNinja said:
huh, good eye. the new one ($250 more) features the same screen apparently, at least at Best Buy - i'm thinking, i can make peace with this, and go for 1920x1080 when hooked up to my plasma, if anything.

so it's a specific off-model, then? i was here thinking it might be nice if there's room for another HDD, doesn't seem to be the case from the linked page though.

The lower resolution may not necessarily be a bad thing for gaming. You're going to want to play at native resolution and you might find with some games at higher settings that 1920x1080 is too much for the laptop. Since you're not really going to have a lot of upgrade options with a laptop, the lower resolution may help increase it's life as a quality gaming machine.

As for other applications, web browsing and what not, the more screen realestate the better, of course.
 
Hey guys, I wanna build a pc. Thing is I've been a console gamer my whole life that I don't know what to buy in terms of parts and shit. And would somebody that has almost no experience with messing around with the inside of computers have trouble building one(only thing I've ever done is put in a DVD drive in my desktop like 4 years ago)? Pretty much want to use for gaming.

My budget would be around 1000$, I already have mouse, monitor, keyboard. I've been doing research and stuff, but I'd rather have you guys give me a build to buy with my budget then me, being a pc noob and buying them and making mistakes.
 
is it wise to overclock my 470..?
or should i just wait for my secon 470 to come in..?
also is there a way to get the temperature down for the 470 cuz load its 90 degrees celcius
 
Oakcliff said:
Hey guys, I wanna build a pc. Thing is I've been a console gamer my whole life that I don't know what to buy in terms of parts and shit. And would somebody that has almost no experience with messing around with the inside of computers have trouble building one(only thing I've ever done is put in a DVD drive in my desktop like 4 years ago)? Pretty much want to use for gaming.

My budget would be around 1000$, I already have mouse, monitor, keyboard. I've been doing research and stuff, but I'd rather have you guys give me a build to buy with my budget then me, being a pc noob and buying them and making mistakes.

What games are you looking to play? Hazaro's build would fit in your budget. I actually have a build in my newegg shopping cart with some combo deals for a buddy of mine, whose thinking about building a machine for Starcraft 2, if your interested in that. Combo deals are constantly changing though.
 
lg-ncixus.gif

Toki767 said:
Foxtastical said:
Christ, this website refuses to work with me. I can't find any AMD CPUs for some reason on the US site. Have I just gone retarded?
All AMD CPUs on NCIXUS are part of bundle deals with motherboards usually. Go to the bundles section and you'll see them there.
Foxtastical said:
Does NCIX not sell AMD CPUs to US Customers? I can't search for individual ones on their site.
Did you look through the bundles? They have a range of Athlon and Phenom X2, X4 and X6 CPUs.


http://www.ncixus.com/search/?categoryid=0&q=amd+bundle&imagefield.x=0&imagefield.y=0
 
Felix Lighter said:
What games are you looking to play? Hazaro's build would fit in your budget. I actually have a build in my newegg shopping cart with some combo deals for a buddy of mine, whose thinking about building a machine for Starcraft 2, if your interested in that. Combo deals are constantly changing though.

Well, I guess I wanna be set for games coming out soon. I'd like to revisit older games like Crysis, etc. I have a steam account, and bought The Orange box, Stalker series(when steam had the special)and The Witcher. I guess it's hard for me to tell you what I'll be playing because I've been a console gamer my whole life. I did play stuff like The Sims and Rollercoaster tycoon, but really only casual games.
 
Oakcliff said:
Well, I guess I wanna be set for games coming out soon. I'd like to revisit older games like Crysis, etc. I have a steam account, and bought The Orange box, Stalker series(when steam had the special)and The Witcher. I guess it's hard for me to tell you what I'll be playing because I've been a console gamer my whole life. I did play stuff like The Sims and Rollercoaster tycoon, but really only casual games.

Here's the build I was looking at for a friend:
4uf8td.jpg


Like I said, it includes several combo deals. There's a $15 coupon code for the hard drive (EMCYWPZ27). The total comes to $1,008.77 but that includes StarCraft 2, so obviously if you're not interested in that, that takes another $40 off the price.

And here's Hazaro's guide:
A55hA.jpg
 
Oakcliff said:
I guess the second build would be better since I'd be playing all sorts of games right?

The first build is fantastic for any modern game. The second is more of a guide than a specific build. That's why there so many notes included. The build I created is a variant that actually follows that guide for the most part.

Personally, after hearing the news that the next generation of AMD processors isn't going to be compatible with AM3 motherboards, I would go with Intel just because the i5/i7s are currently outperforming AMD processors. That's just me though. There are still reason to go AMD, such as price and the furture potential of the 6 core AMD processors.

Edit:
I'm sure there are more posters that can give you some advice as well.
 
Quick question.. made long

I had BSOD problems once I updated my bios firmware. I figured out it was something to do with the ram. I have since used 2 identical stick sets in 2 different tests and both sets come out fine with the windows 7 memory diagnostic test. Now if I run them together it gives me problems and errors with the test.

The 2 sets are

2 G.Skill 1gig PC2-6400 5-5-5-15 1.8v - 2.0v
2 Corsair 1gig XMS2-6400 5-5-5-12 1.90v

Should I be putting the voltage in manually? Also there are 2 slots black, and 2 slots white. Being a moron do I put in the pairs next to each other or in similar colored slots?

I also have two Corsair XMS2-6400 5-5-5-18 1.90v would that be better suited to play nice with the other corsair or does brand really matter?
 
My friend has an ASUS CM5570-AP006 which is a 2.3ghz Quad and a Nvidia 8200 graphics card. I am also quite sure the PSU is only 300 watt. It has 4 gigs of ram and it is running Vista 64. She does a lot of work in Second Life and is getting tired of it slowing down to a painful halt, so I am trying to help her decide on a new video card and PSU. I know a lot of video cards will bottleneck with only a 2.3ghz, so I am not sure exactly which she should go for. She has a $500.00 price range and I talked her out of going crazy and trying to find a video card for that price. I told her she should just invest in a new PC because she also wants to play Tera when it comes out, but I am not sure if she is up for that leap yet.
 
Felix Lighter said:
The first build is fantastic for any modern game. The second is more of a guide than a specific build. That's why there so many notes included. The build I created is a variant that actually follows that guide for the most part.

Personally, after hearing the news that the next generation of AMD processors isn't going to be compatible with AM3 motherboards, I would go with Intel just because the i5/i7s are currently outperforming AMD processors. That's just me though. There are still reason to go AMD, such as price and the furture potential of the 6 core AMD processors.

Alright dude thanks. I've been waiting so long to have good pc. I'm so excited that I want to pull the trigger on a build but then I remind myself that i'm throwing 1000 bucks on this. And the fact that I know nothing about all this is frustrating but cool. :lol
 
Oakcliff said:
Alright dude thanks. I've been waiting so long to have good pc. I'm so excited that I want to pull the trigger on a build but then I remind myself that i'm throwing 1000 bucks on this. And the fact that I know nothing about all this is frustrating but cool. :lol

Yeah, it can be a little intimidating at first but there are plenty of awesome posters in this thread that will give you great advice. This is probably the best thread on NeoGAF.

Also:

brain_stew said:
$200 gets you a GTX 465 with Mafia 2 and Just Cause 2 for free and that card will play any game on the market @ 1080p with fantastic visuals, the majority with a nice amount of AA and a 60fps framerate to boot.
 
wow, umm, should I be concerned that my 8800GT is at 90 degrees while playing Half Life 2 :lol It idles at over 70 I think - bit concerned. What kind of cooling options are there?
 
Felix Lighter said:
Yeah, it can be a little intimidating at first but there are plenty of awesome posters in this thread that will give you great advice. This is probably the best thread on NeoGAF.

Also:

I might go with the first build, took off Starcraft 2. Total came up to 968.78. Still thinking about it though. :/
 
Woffls said:
wow, umm, should I be concerned that my 8800GT is at 90 degrees while playing Half Life 2 :lol It idles at over 70 I think - bit concerned. What kind of cooling options are there?

If its from the initial batch, that's normal.
 
Oakcliff said:
I might go with the first build, took off Starcraft 2. Total came up to 968.78. Still thinking about it though. :/

Before you take the plunge, does anyone see any issues with that build I put together?
4uf8td.jpg


You could go with this GPU combo and get a GTX 465, mafia 2 and Just Cause 2 for $200, instead of the GTX 460.

http://www.newegg.com/Product/ComboDealDetails.aspx?ItemList=Combo.456548

I only avoided it for my buddy because of heat, power consumption and noise, but the benefits may outweigh the negatives for you.
 
I think my Mobo and/or CPU may be toast. I built a semi-budget gaming machine in Feb 2010 consisting of a Gigabyte 770 mobo, 5770, and recently upgraded to a 1090T X6 since it was on sale for like $225. I'm debating a platform change since a) I may have to rebuld the entire thing anyways and b) I don't really get much use out the X6 and may be able to resell it and break even or make a slight profit. Mainly, the one area my PC was lacking was emulation so I was thinking of moving over to intel and pocketing whatever I save going to the H55 mobo and i3 and saving that for somewhere down the road. I have a Microcenter near me so I think I could spend around $200 while selling off the old RMA'd parts should net me around $250-275. Worth it? Wait for Bulldozer?
 
Ok, so I woke up this morning and my CPU fan wasn't working. I plugged in the stock cooler the CPU itself came with and it worked, so I assumed my CPU Cooler was gone (since it would spin and then stop).

I bought a new Cooler Master GT (wanted one anyway) and turns out the same thing is happening. It'll spin up and then stop instantly. If I plug the fan into a the port labelled FAN 2, it works just fine. Does it matter at all if I use a port labelled strictly for CPU or not? It's working fine now (using the computer as I type this).

Let me know please!
 
My PC stopped outputting a video signal. I fixed it yesterday by restarting it a bunch of times but I guess it's really over. Now. It lived 6 days. I hope I can exchange it, I don't think I'll be getting another one :(
 
Alright, screw this future technology crap, my laptop is dead and i want a desktop PC.

Im just not sure for the CPUs, ill be mostly gaming.

890FX platform with

965BE
1055T
1090T

or P55 platform with

i5 750
i5 760


I kind of like the thought of multithreading and future proofing with more cores but, i think the i5 platform would cost me less.

Any advice?

Also, which mobo for the 890FX and the P55 ? Planning on going with NV460
 
The 965BE is cheaper than the other four. That said, the 1055T is about the same price as both the 750 and the 760.

As for motherboards, I never really did much research on Intel boards, but for AMD definitely go with the Asus M4A89GTD Pro or the the Gigabyte GA-870-UD3.

Looking at Hazaro's guide though, the GA-P55A-UD3 for Intel boards probably will do if you decide on that.
 
Buggy Loop said:
Alright, screw this future technology crap, my laptop is dead and i want a desktop PC.

Im just not sure for the CPUs, ill be mostly gaming.

890FX platform with

965BE
1055T
1090T

or P55 platform with

i5 750
i5 760


I kind of like the thought of multithreading and future proofing with more cores but, i think the i5 platform would cost me less.

Any advice?

Also, which mobo for the 890FX and the P55 ? Planning on going with NV460

Why are you comparing a high-end AMD chipset to a mid-range Intel chipset and prefering the lower price of the intel set-up? You can get the MSI 870A-G54 for example for just over $100, and that has USB3 and SATA3.
 
Buggy Loop said:
Alright, screw this future technology crap, my laptop is dead and i want a desktop PC.

Im just not sure for the CPUs, ill be mostly gaming.

890FX platform with

965BE
1055T
1090T

or P55 platform with

i5 750
i5 760


I kind of like the thought of multithreading and future proofing with more cores but, i think the i5 platform would cost me less.

Any advice?

Also, which mobo for the 890FX and the P55 ? Planning on going with NV460

Neither AMD or Intel offer a CPU upgrade path, so it basically comes down to i5 for best gaming performance now, or 1055t for the possibility of games using 6 cores down the line. Or just going with 965 BE to save some cash.

The logic around here always leans towards more cores being the better means of future proofing your machine, but I honestly think you'd be happy with either the 750 or 1055t at this point. I built a 750/GTX460 machine and have been thrilled with at and have plenty of room to OC and upgrade the graphics card down the line.
 
Alrighty, it's been awhile since I rocked a PC (all macbook atm), but I pretty much fell into $700 extra and would love to build a semi-capable PC that can run Dolphin at 1920x1080 and of course the usual PC gaming suspects at decent settings, on top of light video editing, and maybe even hackintosh. I have a spare case that can rock a Micro-ATX. Also, intel or AMD?

Help GAF!
 
Thanks again for the help guys, I appreciate it.

One last question, though. Is getting the X4 II 955 really worth getting over the X4 II 635? Is the jump anything meaningful?

I mean, especially considering I might have to upgrade my motherboard/PSU in a year or two.
 
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