AMD to Intel

[DavidQ]

This has probably been covered somewhere but I can't find it, anyway I currently have the 6000+ but I've been wanting to move to intel now for a long time. My question is it worth buying one now or are there price cuts or new processors coming out soon that I should wait for, also is it worth buying a motherboard with ddr 3 and switch to that also? I have 4gb of corsair 6400 stuff. Any and all advice is welcome

Thanks

 

[Superjeep4x4]

You have a couple options really. On one hand the new Intel digs will be out somewhat soon so you could buy a whole new setup but with this comes the price. It takes a while for new tech prices to come down and with the i7 its a new socket and unless im wrong DDR3 ram so that will be a decent chunk for each.

Really the stuff that is out now is great stuff. If you are a gamer you just can not beat the E8xxx prices and can get a motherboard for a decent price. Before I go to far into options it would be helpful to list the rest of your spec and exactly what you want to upgrade. Vid card, PSU, etc would help and also do you or will you be willing to overclock as this will play a big part in it.

 

[DavidQ]

My current setup consists of:

AMD 6000+
4GB Corsair XMS2 4-4-4-12
BFG 8800GT OC2 (very happy with this)
Creative X-FI Xtreme Music


I was thinking of a complete overhaul but I'm really happy with my graphics card and soundcard. My cooler is the Zalman 9700 which is Intel compatible(775), as far as price is concerned I'd pay up to £190 for a cpu and £130 for a motherboard, can be stretched if really necessary though.

 

[Superjeep4x4]

Do you or do you plan to overclock? While AMD is slower, frankly your system is not that bad at all. I mean if you want to make a purchase to beef your system up for a year or so then you could get into a E8xxx and a P35/P45 board easily but I do not think it will give you a big boost in performance if anything really noticeable.

If I were you and since your happy with your vid card I would stick with what ya got and just overclock that 6000+ if possible as high as ya can stable. I just do not think the performance you would get would be worth it. I would hold out until the new Intel digs come out and save up for a bigger rebuild when the prices settle.

Worst case hit the auction sites when the new stuff hits and try to maybe pick up a E8xxx/P35/P45 on the cheap and wait a year until the i7 stuff is more mainstream but I would put that cash in a saving and wait. Or buy a new monitor that way you wont be as happy with the vid card

 

[Dee!]

1: Wait for an E0 stepping E8400 or E8500 (shouldn't be too long now).
2: Buy an Asus P5Q-E board.
3: Overclock the hell out of it, then laugh at your old AMD system.
4: Sell your old stuff to compensate for the new purchases.
5: Or ignore me completely. Hey, the first four were only suggestions!

Seriously, wait for i7 to first be introduced, get all the bugs ironed out, prices settle down, and then buy. DDR3 is also expensive. Don't you just hate buying into a brand new platform only to watch prices fall to rather silly levels and then feel completely ripped off? I know I do.

Personally I'd go with the current Intel & Asus stuff and enjoy it for a year or so, then jump on the i7 bandwagon. Your current RAM, video card and sound card are all good, usable parts, so it's just a matter of spending a couple of hundred £'s, and this will be even less when/if you eBay your current board and CPU.

 

[rjk]

whilst i agree with dee's suggestion
i was using a 4800 clocked to 2.9GHz for a while
once i moved to the rig in my signature - the difference was pretty massive

for a start - my intel chip cost me £25 off the members market here and runs at 1.86GHz at stock - running it at 3GHZ is a massive overclock

im looking at an E8XXX chip soon [next time im paid]

the p5q-e is an amazing board to work with, however - unless you really need the extra features - i would stick with the basic p5q board
the bios is easy to work with and makes the bios on my old am2 gigabyte look like a joke


then perhaps get a budget chip that is known to clock well

i put out a message in the wanted section asking for an intel chip 3GHz or more
then got a load of offers

i suggest you do the same - unless you want to get a new chip etc


ram wise - i have stuck with the geil ram from my old build - however - i personally am looking at getting some dominator ram - because i want to overclock my current chip a bit more and the ram is holding me back [wont let me go past 3.2GHz]

my advise - a move from amd to intel is a good idea at the moment if you want to change platform
i think intel have a better upgrade route than amd

nehalem is coming soon - but i cant see myself affording it until mid way through next year at the very earliest.

so thats why i got the intel rig im using now

all the same parts - just swapped out mobo and cpu and cost me £125 to change over

amd rig 3dmark 06 score = 8560
intel rig 3dmark 06 score = 13300

and that is both at 3GHz

 

[DavidQ]

Thanks for the advice fellas, I'm going to go with the E8500, P5Q-E and have a go at overclocking. The new Intel stuff looks quite pricey so it should keep me going for a year or more, thanks again for the advice!

 

[Dee!]

My previous CPU was also a 4800+ (Brisbane core). I clocked it to 3.00GHz and it ran very well, but as soon as I installed this new board and the E8600 I also noticed a big difference. Everything happens faster, it's awesome. I considered the X2 @ 3.00GHz to be pretty quick, in fact I was very pleased with it, but there really is a huge difference, especially in gaming. My gfx card isn't particularly great, I'm not much of a gamer and I don't place any importance on it, but with the new CPU I noticed a big boost in frame rates. All the graphics editing programs I use work so much quicker. The upgrade was definitely worthwhile.

 

[Dee!]

Thanks for the advice fellas, I'm going to go with the E8500, P5Q-E and have a go at overclocking. The new Intel stuff looks quite pricey so it should keep me going for a year or more, thanks again for the advice!

YAY!

Best of luck mate.

 

[rjk]

good lad - nice motherboard!

 

[yeomansinc]

My current setup consists of:

AMD 6000+
4GB Corsair XMS2 4-4-4-12
BFG 8800GT OC2 (very happy with this)
Creative X-FI Xtreme Music


I was thinking of a complete overhaul but I'm really happy with my graphics card and soundcard. My cooler is the Zalman 9700 which is Intel compatible(775), as far as price is concerned I'd pay up to £190 for a cpu and £130 for a motherboard, can be stretched if really necessary though.

I have the exact same spec (even the sound card!) and I'm having the same thoughts about crossing over to Intel too. Will give the thread a proper read in a bit, but thanks for saving me a thread