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Hear is the deal, I want a new system to help me out in my schooling (architecture major) and will be my home system (main rig) to compliment my school system (Dell 9200). It's not official but I could get a loan from my parents to pay back during the summer and build a computer right now but I have a few questions.

This will by my main system so it will be used for 3D rendering, lots of Photoshop, Sketchup, and light gaming. I plan on a dual core build so if I were to do it now it would be X2/opteron and I would spend around $1000 on it (I have the case/power, HD's, etc.).

My questions:

Should I wait til this summer when both manufacturers have come out with their newest products? Technically I can wait to build, but I have the itch.

One of the main concerns is the fact that I will be buying a dying memory type in DDR 1, will this be an issue 1 year down the road? 2 years? I don't want to spent alot of money and just be dissapointed that I have to upgrade alot of components instead of just a few. Ofcoarse I'm running an Athlon xp 2400 sytem right now so this upgrade will be a huge step up.

Maybe I'm being to analytical/scared but this can be a taxing decision, what do you guys think?

To be honest, I'd get a 3800+ with 2gb of Value RAM and integrated video on one of them fancy 6150 boards. That should be around $700 or so, and would do you quite nice.

$296 = 3800 x2 cpu http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.a ... 6819103562
$141 = 2gb RAM http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.a ... 6820145579
$82 = ASUS 6150 mobo http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.a ... 6813131570
total = $519

Waiting 'til the summer would save you a little, but I wouldn't worry about that too much. AM2 isn't much of a performance benefit, and probably isn't that much cheaper. Conroe is a big performance benefit, but probably wouldn't be any cheaper. Personally, if you have a use for it now, get it now. If you'd just get it to have it, then it won't hurt to wait.

Yeah, I was thinking on holding off on a video card purchase til the summer anyways because school has drowned all of my free time. If that were the case I would only be buying the CPU, MB, and memory and re-using other components (I also have XP Pro).

When is Conroe's expected release date? If it's after the beginning/middle of the summer that might make my decision easier.

As long as you plan to max out the RAM before DDR starts to become scarce (and prices rise significantly), I see nothing wrong with building a DDR system today. You've probably got a year (give or take) before this happens.

just brew it! wrote:

As long as you plan to max out the RAM before DDR starts to become scarce (and prices rise significantly), I see nothing wrong with building a DDR system today. You've probably got a year (give or take) before this happens.

I will at least get 2 gb, maybe more for help with big Photoshop files, but that can be decided later after I weigh the benifits of more.

I know this computer will be great, I just want to look at this decision from every angle.

EDIT: A couple more questions, would I be smarter to get an Opteron 165? I might overclock, but barely, given the use of the computer (rendering, photoshop, gaming) would it be better than a 3800? Would I have to get registered RAM? I am so sorry guys...

jobodaho wrote:

EDIT: A couple more questions, would I be smarter to get an Opteron 165? I might overclock, but barely, given the use of the computer (rendering, photoshop, gaming) would it be better than a 3800? Would I have to get registered RAM? I am so sorry guys...

The opteron doesn't have Cool-n-Quiet, which might make a difference to you. You don't have to get registered RAM, no. The 3800 is a 2ghz with 2x512kb chip while the 165 is a 1.8ghz with 2x1mb chip.

Registered RAM is only required if you are building a Socket 940 system. All Socket 939 mobos support -- or even require -- unregistered RAM.

Usacomp2k3 wrote:

jobodaho wrote:

EDIT: A couple more questions, would I be smarter to get an Opteron 165? I might overclock, but barely, given the use of the computer (rendering, photoshop, gaming) would it be better than a 3800? Would I have to get registered RAM? I am so sorry guys...

The opteron doesn't have Cool-n-Quiet, which might make a difference to you. You don't have to get registered RAM, no. The 3800 is a 2ghz with 2x512kb chip while the 165 is a 1.8ghz with 2x1mb chip.

Thanks USA, I don't see the Cool N Quiet being an issue as performance would be a bigger concern. I read this a while ago and shows the 165 as slower, but with alot of overclocking headroom. And those speeds on air are quite tempting.

just brew it! wrote:

Registered RAM is only required if you are building a Socket 940 system. All Socket 939 mobos support -- or even require -- unregistered RAM.

That's good, I also noticed that you might be going X2 as well JBI, how's that going?

jobodaho wrote:

That's good, I also noticed that you might be going X2 as well JBI, how's that going?

My mind is made up, I will be going with an X2.

Well no one has convinced to hold off yet, but there is still time...

AM2 is supposed to be the devil's date: 6.6.06. Conroe is supposed to be somewhere in July. I wouldn't count on those be avaiable on those dates from your favourite e-tailers/retailers though. Between waiting for new chipsets and initial teething problems to sort out, you are looking at late summer (September?) the earliest. If they have supply problems, you are easily looking at the end of the year. There is no rush for them to put out new products now that Vista has been delayed.

So, yeah, get it now, and make sure you use it, then you won't lose out much because you have already realized your investment.

Flying Fox wrote:

AM2 is supposed to be the devil's date: 6.6.06. Conroe is supposed to be somewhere in July. I wouldn't count on those be avaiable on those dates from your favourite e-tailers/retailers though. Between waiting for new chipsets and initial teething problems to sort out, you are looking at late summer (September?) the earliest. If they have supply problems, you are easily looking at the end of the year. There is no rush for them to put out new products now that Vista has been delayed.

So, yeah, get it now, and make sure you use it, then you won't lose out much because you have already realized your investment.

Good points FF, and I am leaning towards building it now. I haven't built a computer for myself in awhile (many for others) and when I did it was my first ever and sparked my interest in computers to begin with. Add to that the fact that it has been a great computer that has lasted this long and will continue to serve a purpose (HTPC) and it's hard to just "make a decision." Thanks for the help guys, if you have any more advice/disclaimers feel free to mention them.

Throw up a build with the components you have chosen and we can dissect it.

Flying Fox wrote:

Throw up a build with the components you have chosen and we can dissect it.

In due time, when I get the OK from the folks with my limit (I have to pay it back so it should be up to me, but you never know) I will start choosing parts. Until then I will keep weighing the options, though I haven't found any reasons not to do it now, and go from there. It should be a few days (or tonight) when I know for sure, and when that time comes you better believe I will have you guys critique the system.

Until then I guess if any of you have any suggestions as to why NOT build now please post them, because the "go for it" crowd has done their work.

jobodaho wrote:

I guess if any of you have any suggestions as to why NOT build now please post them, because the "go for it" crowd has done their work.

Here it is:

jobodaho wrote:

I was thinking on holding off on a video card purchase til the summer anyways because school has drowned all of my free time.

You won't have time to enjoy it right now. By the time that you do find yourself with free time, there will be slightly better/cheaper components available.

JustAnEngineer wrote:

You won't have time to enjoy it right now. By the time that you do find yourself with free time, there will be slightly better/cheaper components available.

Well that's not entirely true, I will use it for the project I'm currently working on. By the time I could get everything up and running it will be time for me to start rendering my buildings/site. When I mentioned I wouldn't have much time I guess I was referring to non work situations like gaming.

I would actually wait... not becuase of the sweet spot for value, but becuase I owe my parents a little money and its a royal pain! Seriously, my credit company is easier!

My point is that come the summer you may have something else you would like to spend you $$$ on... a holiday or such... I found that once the sun comes out the though of sitting behind a computer is not so appealing and spending time outside is ideal, and thinking of far away places normally means I end up going on vacation rather than upgrading my computer... which is why mine is almost three years old and I seriously need some new hardware!

My point is, if you dont need the computer upgrade then I am sure its worth going into debt for it!

I would actually wait... not becuase of the sweet spot for value, but becuase I owe my parents a little money and its a royal pain! Seriously, my credit company is easier!

My point is that come the summer you may have something else you would like to spend you $$$ on... a holiday or such... I found that once the sun comes out the though of sitting behind a computer is not so appealing and spending time outside is ideal, and thinking of far away places normally means I end up going on vacation rather than upgrading my computer... which is why mine is almost three years old and I seriously need some new hardware!

My point is, if you dont need the computer upgrade then I am not sure its worth going into debt for it!

duplo wrote:

I would actually wait... not becuase of the sweet spot for value, but becuase I owe my parents a little money and its a royal pain! Seriously, my credit company is easier!

My point is that come the summer you may have something else you would like to spend you $$$ on... a holiday or such... I found that once the sun comes out the though of sitting behind a computer is not so appealing and spending time outside is ideal, and thinking of far away places normally means I end up going on vacation rather than upgrading my computer... which is why mine is almost three years old and I seriously need some new hardware!

My point is, if you dont need the computer upgrade then I am not sure its worth going into debt for it!

Being in debt to my parents won't be a bad thing, I'll make up the money rather fast and they are very understanding. I would get use out of it now, but mainly for school (which is the reason I got the urge to build in the first place, dual core rendering ftw). The main reason for me not to build would be newer hardware that would be released in the beginning of the summer when I would build anyways, which doesn't sound like there will be something out by then that will change my mind.

Votes for "Wait".

Not only is there a "CPU War" over which architecture will prove superior (Conroe vs K8), there is also a "GPU War" over whose approach will win out. ATI betting on shader performance with its X1800/1900 parts and nvidia thinking there's a few good years (well, months, maybe) left in the old texture unit school.

My money is on ATI, but unfortunately, they don't have a midrange product worth a damn at the moment (the X1800GTO doesn't count, since it's nigh impossible to find, and since it gets trounced by the 7600GS in most cases anyway).

There's still not much in the way of promising reports about AM2, and Conroe is a big unknown in the equation.

If you build now, you may regret your decision in a couple months' time.

Since the Dell seems to be perfectly adequate for your needs at the moment, you should wait and make an informed decision at a later date.

Voldenuit wrote:

If you build now, you may regret your decision in a couple months' time.

It won't be a couple months. AM2 is June 6, if you want new chipsets/motherboards you probably should wait another month or two for supply and stability issues to be ironed out. Conroe is slated for July but may only be available from Dell and Alienware at start. Same argument for chipset+motherboards (not as big an unknown because the 975 chipset will work only the motherboards need the proper VRMs).

So, realistically speaking, we are talking September at the earliest. And if something goes a bit wronky then we are looking at end of the year. With Vista delayed they are not going to shift a lot of these new units anyways.

So while I would say that if you are doing it now you need to do it soon. The window of opportunity is closing the closer it is with the wait argument. Right now, IMO you are still ok.