Core iX or Phenom II x4?

Hello all, after not being here on the forums in a few years, I find myself back again.

I'm building a new system (my 1st build though I've been planning it for years)

and had my heart set on the AMD Phenom II x4 965 black edition.

...well I decided my best bet is to buy all the compenents for the build, leaving video card, mobo, and cpu for the last in case I change my mind...


well, now I'm changing it.

I don't wanna blow a grand on the max i7. At most, I want to drop a max of 200-250 on the processor.

So should I stick with the x4?
Or is an i3, or i5 (maybe i7?) a strong competitor? (keep in mind I want this computer future proofed for at least the next 5 years or so, give or take a video card upgrade)


I don't know if I want to do the Intel/Nvidia build, or AMD Ati.

any help, and reasons to back up the statements is greatly appreciated.

 

If budget is a concern, you definitely get more processing power for the money using an AMD/ATI build.

However, spend more and you get more with Intel/Nvidia.

For the money you're talking about spending (i.e. around $200-$250 for the CPU), AMD will kick Intel's butt.

It would help to know what you're going to use the computer for (i.e. video editing/encoding, gaming, multimedia, just internet/desktop publishing, etc.).

Also, when getting a graphics card, stay away from "cheap" manufacturers... stick to something like EVGA, MSI, etc. You'll spend a little bit more, but it's worth the quality difference.

 

I would go with AMD as well if price is a concern.

AMD wins hands down on price to performance.

ATI has better cards for the price but I like Nvidia so I'm not going to comment here.

 

Well, mainly gaming, at least until I get back into web design, photo editing etc..

but it's main purpose is gaming.

The only graphics cards I actually look at are from XFX. I'm thinking of starting with a 5770, then going crossfire with 2 of them. But ok, I think I'll still with the AMD, as it will be more backwards compatible (when x6's go down in price, as opposed to Intel doing an all new chipset in '11.)

 

I would go with one 5850 instead of CorssFire 5770

5770 is a good card tho.

 

ok, well any suggestions for mobo's?
(AM3, Crossfire, DDR3 compatible?)
Under $150

I'm trying to find something I'd like...proving to be a bit difficult.

 

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813131363

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813131631 if you really want to stay under 150 Would suggest the first one tho.

Make sure to also get a quality PSU and a case with good cooling if you plan to do crossfire. I would get around a 750W PSU for upgrades later on.

 

well I got a good psu, but it's only 650W. But that should be more than enough. According to the newegg power supply calculator, an x4 with high end mobo, 4gb ram, hdd, dvd rw, and 2 5770's, should only use around 600W.

 

What brand is it?

 

That's cutting it quite close IMHO. Add yearly capacitor degradation at a conservative 10% and you're already below specs. I read a thread where the knowledgeable folks told the poster to get a bigger PSU, this was a ThermalTake, he didn't and the thing had a BSOD incident.(Blue Smoke Of Death) Luckily for him the PSU's protection circuits kicked in on his $1000 investment and he only lost the PSU. I always add %50 for power but then that's just me.

 

well, yeah I'd like to have a bigger psu, but I'm not going 5770's out of the box. I'm just gonna go with one, which will run me roughly 550W. if I step it up to crossfire later (depends on how my games run with just one) I'll test the psu, and if it seems too close, I'll upgrade

btw it is an xfx psu

http://www.tigerdirect.com/applicat...mc=Email-_-WebletMain-_-WEBLET03SHIP-_-03ship

 

The problem with Intel (although I have had them for the last 5 years) is that you "pigeon hole" yourself with that specific from factor (e.g. I7 will only take other I7s). Therefore you have crippled up-grade potential without having to replace the mobo as well. IMHO Intel are a poor investment at the moment irrespective of "current" potential gains (2011 will see a 2011 Pin CPU again).

AMD 965BE on a decent mobo (USB 3.0/SATA3.0) allows for later upgrade to the 6 core CPUs and maybe beyond.

For a reasonable estimate on PSU to Video Card you can assess (on pg.2):

http://www.hardwaresecrets.com/article/132

http://www.hardwaresecrets.com/article/131

I built a decent "bang for buck" system last w/e for a friend and feel very confident with it's upgrade longevity (PSU may need changing if he wants high end graphics but the 5770 are quite conservative):

http://whirlpool.net.au/wiki/?tag=rmp_sg_whirlpoolpcs_gaming_configs

We built the 2nd choice but with the 965BE and some Corsair RAM from the mobo QVL, with a 24" LED/LCD it was ~$1100 AUD and better than my system for 2 days (I got frustrated and went and bought a 5850 to go with a new 24").

 

well, here is one other thing I'm down to...

my paycheck is coming next week. I'm getting my mobo, and cpu.

now I can do one of two other things...

I can go dual 5770's..

or I can do one 5770, and double my ram from 4 to 8gb (already have 4gb kit, was going to get another set of matching sticks.)

 

Here's a suggestion for future-proofing: Use the money to buy the fastest vid card you can afford, 5870 if you can manage it. Later, buy the extra memory, and then save up for a matching vid card.

Alternatively, you could temporarily use a vid card you already have on hand and buy just the memory now. Save up for the 5870 (or something even better that might be available by then), and then save up for a second one.

Bear in mind that this advice is coming from somebody who doesn't spend much time keeping up with what is the latest and greatest hardware. This gradual upgrade strategy is how I buy a better computer than I could otherwise afford. Right now, I'm saving up for a faster card than my 4870, and then I'll start saving up for a second one, now that I have a motherboard than can support 2 cards. When I have the money saved up, that's when I'll research my options, ATI or Nvidia. I'll probably opt for the fastest single-gpu card, like I did when I bought the 4870.