Intel Value Midrange
Intel owns the very top in CPU performance with their Core i7, but the Phenom II has made AMD competitive through the upper midrange. That means that midrange is an area where you can now choose Intel or AMD based on the unique features of each platform or expansion capabilities, rather than one brand dominating performance. Since Phenom II is built on a 45nm process, even overclocking capabilities are now competitive with Intel with Phenom II.
The Intel value midrange system builds around a fast Intel Core 2 Duo CPU. For most applications and gaming a faster dual-core CPU is normally a better performance choice that a slower quad-core. CPU intensive applications like video manipulation do benefit from a quad-core CPU, which should be your choice if those applications are important to you. A few recent games are finally taking advantage of quad-core as well, but those are the exception rather than the rule.
| Intel Value Midrange PC | ||
| Hardware | Component | Price |
| Processor | Intel Core 2 Duo E8400 Wolfdale 65W 45nm (3.0GHzx2, 6MB L2) | $165 |
| Cooling | Intel Retail HSF | - |
| Video | PowerColor AX4850 Radeon HD 4850 512MB (after $10 Rebate) | $120 |
| Motherboard | Gigabyte GA-EP45-UD3P (after $20 Rebate) | $115 |
| Memory | 4GB (2x2GB) DDR2-1066 Corsair Twin2X4096-8500C5 5-5-5-15 (after $20 rebate) | $39 |
| Hard Drive | Seagate Barracuda 7200.11 ST31000333AS 1TB | $90 |
| Optical Drive | LG BD/HD DVD / 16x DVD+/- RW GGC-H20LK | $99 |
| Audio | On-Board | - |
| Case | Antec Three Hundred ATX Mid Tower | $55 |
| Power Supply | BFG Tech LS Series LS-550 550W SLI/CrossFire 80 PLUS Certified | $80 |
| Base System Total | $763 | |
| Display | Acer X233Hbid 23" 5ms HDMI Full HD 1080P LCD Monitor (1920x1080) | $190 |
| Speakers | Logitech X-540 70W 5.1 Speakers - Retail | $79 |
| Input | Microsoft CA9-00001 Black PS/2 Standard Keyboard and Optical USB/PS2 Mouse - OEM | $16 |
| Operating System | Microsoft Vista Home Premium OEM | $99 |
| Complete System Bottom Line | $1147 | |
 |
The CPU choice is one of the fastest Core 2 Duo chips with 6MB of L2 cache on the market. The E8400 at 3.00GHz is just two steps below the fastest Core 2 E8600, which clocks at 3.33GHz. It also overclocks exceptionally well, reaching 4GHz and even higher with relative ease. Because of this OC ability, and the value goal of this system build, The E8400 has been matched with components that are also excellent choices for overclocking. The E8400 is plenty fast on its own, but if overclocking interests you this Intel setup will be ready for action - and ready to overclock to wherever your particular E8400 can go.
 |
The big brother to the UD3R selected in our under $800 guide is the $135 Gigabyte GA-EP45-UD3P that has a similar feature set but adds a second x16 slot (in place of a PCI slot) for dual x8 CrossFire operation. You can currently save a few bucks with a $20 mail-in rebate. The board provides an excellent overclocking platform along with great stability. If the second x16 slot is not important to you, we suggest sticking with the UD3R. This P45 chipset motherboard has earned its reputation as a sterling overclocker, while also maintaining excellent stability. It is a good match to the selected Core 2 Duo E8400 or an alternate quad-core Q8200 (2.33GHz 2x3MB L2).
The stock Intel cooler is adequate for modestly overclocking a Core 2 Duo. Better cooling is needed to push the CPU to its capabilities, or if your CPU choice is an Intel quad-core you plan to overclock. The Xigmatek HDT-D1283 120mm Rifle Cooler did very well in our cooling tests and it is a good match to the E8500. OCZ also markets a similar 120 Rifle cooler and either should work well in this system.
For this value midrange system, faster memory with more overclocking head-room was chosen. With the current Corsair rebates some of their best memory is available at truly bargain prices. The choice for the Intel system is a Corsair 4GB DDR2-1066 (PC2-8500) kit. The Corsair Twin X kit specifies fast 5-5-5 timings at DDR2-1066, which is an impressive spec even if you never overclock. Value is good at the normal $59, but with the current $20 rebate the price is a very easy-on-the-budget $39.
Facebook
Twitter
RSS
73 Comments
View All Comments
Lokinhow - Tuesday, April 7, 2009 - link
Good article, but.....a GIGABYTE GA-MA790XT-UD4P paired with Phenom II X4 940?How did you manage that?
It's impossible to put a AM2+ CPU on a AM3 motherboard.
Wesley Fink - Wednesday, April 8, 2009 - link
The AMD Performance Mid-Range has been corrected with the Phenom II 940, Foxconn 790FX AM2+/AM2 motherboard, and OCZ Reaper DDR2-1066 memory.With the 945/925 Socket AM3 upgrades due in the near future we also asked the question of whether it made sense to wait for the upgraded Phenom II processors. Performance will not likely be faster, but with all the new AMD AM3 boards appearing and DDR3 memory prices dropping fast, choosing DDR3 is no longer such an expensive option.
whatthehey - Wednesday, April 8, 2009 - link
Obviously the CPU needs to work with the motherboard, but you'd be far better off with a different mobo in my opinion. Foxconn just has a lot of problems, from questionable QA to a messed up BIOS and random incompatibilities. I think the Gigabyte GA-MA790GP-UD4H would have been the better overall choice. The Foxconn has an amazing price after the rebate ($85!?), but then I have to wonder WHY the price is so low. Seems like they might be trying to clear inventory and stop supporting the board rather than addressing remaining issues. Also, my one experience with Foxconn support was enough to make me never want to buy another one of their products. Just my two cents, though.Wesley Fink - Tuesday, April 7, 2009 - link
You are absolutely correct. We know the 945 is on the way and projected ahead. There were also a couple of motherboard changes made after the writing was complete. That combo slipped through the cracks. We will correct the AMD Performance choices.Depeche - Tuesday, April 7, 2009 - link
When are the 945/925 processors going to be in stores?Wesley Fink - Tuesday, April 7, 2009 - link
We are expecting additional Phenom II choices in about 2 weeks, but that is always open to revisions in release dates.Depeche - Tuesday, April 7, 2009 - link
Are they just releasing the 945/925 or are they releasing others?zshift - Tuesday, April 7, 2009 - link
I like how soon you published this article after the one done just a few months ago, but it shows just how much has changed in a few months. Had I been patient I might have been able to get away with the i7 system you recommended, but the system I have now is so fast I doubt I would notice a difference other than benchmarks. right now i have the following: intel core 2 quad q9300 @3.52GHz@1.38V, asus p5q-e mobo, 2x2gb mushkin pc6400 kit running 935MHz@2.1V/5-5-5-18 (best ram ive ever bought. it was recommended in the holiday memory guide and i can easily hit 1066 on these, only running in 935 due to fsb/ratio limits :/) have an asus eah4870 dk top 512 running 835MHzgpu/1085MHzmem (wish i woulda waited for better prices on 1gb version or for the 4890), wd 750gb caviar black, wd 500gb caviar, lite on 22xdvd burner sata.Also, I really like the small push for linux and no-cost operating systems. I currently have vista ult. x64 on my 750gb hdd and ubuntu 9.04 alpha x64 on my 500gb. ubuntu literally boots (with the ext4 filesystem) in under 6 seconds from posting to login. i cant imagine how fast it would be with my black edition drive or with an ssd. and drivers arent a problem because it recognized everything from my build, the only thing i needed to do was approve the download of the propietary ati driver (which ubuntu detected itself) and all was working perfectly.
garbageacc3 - Tuesday, April 7, 2009 - link
no one asked you what your specs were.your comp isn't that great, and the value gaming wise isn't that great.
why the hell are you bragging about your comp in this article anyway?
you should have spent less money on q9300 or other things and gotten the 1 gb 4870.
the q9300 is a terrible processor for overclocking, low and locked multi = always fsb bound.
i have a q6600 and 260gtx 216 that i'm sure spanks your rig at gaming(vantage gpu score = ~12300)
bill3 - Wednesday, April 8, 2009 - link
3Dmark is useless so only noobs qoute a vantage score like it means anything. Especially since with the physx portion only in Nvidia the Nvidia score is very inflated. AKA your brag of 12,300 score is stupid. In actuality his 512MB 4870 will toast your 260 in most games.That said yeah, 1GB is much better for the future.