Intel vs. AMD

Does anybody know how much you would expect to pay for an E6800 in au $'s?

 

not sure of relivance but you can get them for £620 in the uk which is around $1500(aus) at todays exchange rate.

 

http://www.shopbot.com.au/r.asp?url...M&cat=CPU&catc=0&refproduct=19723&refshop=405
$980 apparently.
We brits pay over the odds.

 

Well that sounds cheap well not cheap cheaper then I thought or maybe its me as ive been on the computer for 13 hours and counting its near 1am here LOL!.
Well at least i got an answer this time last time I asked in this thread was 9 months ago and i got suspended 5 min after so i never knew.
LOL!

 

Heh, many people have been in the same boat in this thread, me included. Anyway, let's leave that situation alone. The X6800 doesn't seem to have got that much cheaper over here, rather it's cheaper to buy everything in Australia.

 

marsey99,

As far as the bios goes, I couldn't agree with you more. However like the ones for the P5N-E the first bios (2.02) had known problems right from the start. In fact there was a lot of bios revisions for just about every MB that supported the Conroe right from the begining. Bios revision 3.07 corrected some of the known problems but created a raft of new ones! Then came 4.01 which so far seems to be the most stable. 5.05 (which so far is a beta) has been on and off Asus download list several times now. It seems for every problem from previous versions, 5.05 added a bunch of new headaches! Early complaints about memory and stuff were many. This went for all the MB manufacturers. People couldn't get some MBs to even post or if they did, boot into Windows.

I went back and looked at some of the older posts in the overclocking forums and the problems that were around then are not the same problems folks are having today. There's still memory issues to be sure but it has gotten a lot better. After a while of reading it's pretty evident that the bios issues are being sorted out, and you can pretty well tell which bios to use. For Sam's MB that would be 4.01. That's the general concensus on those forums for his MB.

I upgraded my bios in my D-940 to the latest one a few months ago and wasn't happy with the way it ran, so I reverted back to the previous bios and all's well with it now. I did a little reading and discovered that the complaints I had with the new one were being had by most folks which made switching back that much easier for me.

Even going back to the older posts in the various MB reviews at Newegg helps. As you read forward you can pretty well tell what bios version should work the best. I know there's the idiot factor to consider but after a while you can pretty much figure out which reviews to discount.

The replacement MB which was shipped yesterday, arrived this morning so I will be hard at it later today. I don't know what bios is in it yet but if it's not 4.01 I will re-flash it. Let you know later how everything works.

Happy Computering,
theone

 

I suspect we may agree on more than you thought, at least on these topics.

@ theonejrs

Any time you have a new CPU like the C2D, the changes needed to support it are going to take continued R&D to help fulfill its capabilities. Chipsets have been improved along with overall board construction. The changes now aren't as frenzied as when C2D first arrived last year. Notice how much has been happening with your 940 system. You updated the BIOS and did'nt like the looks and reverted. Not much R&D going on there or many options. I realize you like to play with your system as well as I do mine. But most of the decision about system limits was made up front when you made the decision on the board, CPU and other components to build with.

I know you like talking about what you've done and the things that went wrong which you eventually solve. It leads me to wonder, how many problems were from system flaws and how much did you cause, either from working on the system or choice of components. I'm very selective of what I build with and have refused "budget" builds where the parts were too inferior. Point being, I suffer fewer parts failures than average. On mobos, you've been through more for your personal PC over the past year than I have in 10.

I realize a poor power source, your grid is notorious, can cause problems. You could have addressed the situation with relatively inexpensive technology and then worked on your inventions and tested them when constructed. A variable power PSU and/or a UPS would solve the grid problem. Instead you've suffered system damages that could have originated from an unstable power source. You said a PSU failed, which is effected by power fluctuation. If the stability of the PSU is compromised, then what does the board recieve? With an older tech board, it's no wonder you had power management issues using a CPU known for needing a board with better power management. Add to that the problems contributed by the PSU and you have your recipe for disaster. Since the board problems you have admitted to letting the system remain less stressed. Hopefully you've done something about the power as well, besides using a better grade PSU.

 

In all honesty I'd say it wasn't the power grid to blame for ending a cheap PSU's life, it was the PSU itself. Cheap crummy PSUs need no encouragement to combust.

 

Sammorris (with one s)
I'll have to agree in part. But a weak or flawed PSU can be helped along by spikes, surges and brown outs. Plus if not stable, the PSU can cause fluctuations in output to the board and we all should know how that works out.

I'm glad you pointed out something for your friend Russ that I alluded to.

If you buy and use crap parts, you're begging for problems. theonejrs should have known better and been monitoring the system, especially since it was still a new build with different settings being tried. Two things stand out, bad parts selection and poor procedure in not monitoring the system properly. I'll have to give theonejrs a bye though. Even with most crap PSUs, they die and go away without taking the system down with them. In his case which came first, bad PSU and power management or faulty sensors?

 

Unfortunately I learned the cheap PSU argument the same way Russ did - the hard way. Difference was, I needed a PSU quickly as one of mine stopped working properly, and all the store would give me was a Qtec. I said "have you not got anything else?" they said no. So that was all I was able to lay my hands on. I didn't think to get a better one quick enough. :-(

 

I keep a decent 500w PSU around for those "just in case" situations (currently a 550w Antec on the shelf). It's overkill for some systems and a bit short for a few, but it works well for most systems. When I think inexpensive I'm thinking Antec, Thermaltake and similar well ranked brands. Like you I don't like crummy PSUs. Currently I like the OCZ and Corsiar units real well.

 

I was tied between the Thermaltake Toughpower and the OCZ GameXstream, but I don't like the fact that most OCZ PSUs don't have variable speed fans. To cool the PSU enough when it's at full load means it can't be quiet, and I don't mind noise so much when playing games, I prefer a quiet PC when working. I wasn't convinced the OCZ would suit that purpose so I bought the Thermaltake in stead.

 

Sammorris (with one s)

Not a bad choice. I don't think I'd get too upset with OCZ for the single speed fan. Apparently they're getting the job done and I've not heard of anyone waking the neighbors with the noise they make. What did you say the dB ratings were for the OCZ and Thermaltake you chose?

 

I don't know, I haven't seen any, I just went by the reviews. However, I probably would have done alright with the OCZ as my friend has an older OCZ (Powerstream 520) and it's very quiet, even though the fan speed is indeed solid. The fan in my Thermaltake is poor quality, despite being made by Yate Loon, a company well known for making good fans. The noise quality at high speed is fine, but at low speed it sounds exactly like there's a bit of paper stuck in the blades.

 

PackMan777,

I think it was more a case of buying cheap components more than anything. My Grandmother had a saying I rember as a child. "Poor people can't afford to but anything Cheap"! I've very much learned the hard way that she was right. I've also learned the difference between cheap and a good buy. I buy quality when it's on sale. Had I just done that to begin with my computer would have cost a lot less overall!

I've added a Buck/Boost transformer to my line for the computer and that alone has solved a number of voltage problems. Line stays around 110v now. No more mystery shut-downs or other wierd quirks. BTW, I also have a Cooler Master 500W PS, new and in the box, just in case. I'll be getting my APC UPS back from my sister and it should do fine as a line conditioner as well as provide power back-up in the event of a power failure.

Best Regards,
russ

 

another one similiar to that one is "poor people pay twice" meaning they can't afford to buy top quality the 1st time around and have to replace the item when it fails or wears out.

 

And in many cases, twice is more. I see cheap power supplies being sold here for £25, when a Hiper can be as little as £40.

 

funny you should mention the hiper 580 psu. newegg has it for $69.99 with promo code. regularly $99.99.

 

I'm still using the Hiper 580 Type-R, it's a really nice CPU in both build quality and performance.

 

me too and I agree. I considered buying another one for that price.