Intel vs AMD - £750 Budget - Is AMD really better value for money?

GangsterSte

GangsterSte

GangsterSte

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Hey guys,

I roughly have £750 to spend solely on a machine (no keyboard, or monitor need, etc). Now, since I am on a budget, and a student loan I am looking for the best value for money. Here are a few aspects I am milling over:

1. AMD are in 95% of peoples mind the best bang for your buck option. However, the i7 950 seems very good value for money, and is upgradable in the future. So I am sort of looking at the 1055T at 3.8ghz vs the i7 950 at 4.0ghz in terms of value for money, and upgradability (can't upgrade the 1055T, as I can with the i7).

2. I am leaning towards the option of CrossfireX and SLI. Now SLI seems so much better from the benchmarks on metro with x2 GTX460's, vs x2 HD5830's. Moreover, in terms of value for money, I'd have to uneducated say the GTX460's are the best value for money option, and indisputably the best performs. The only problem here is that I will have to spend an extra £60-70 to upgrade to a MB with SLI, as opposed to £30-£40 with CrossfireX. Is duel GPU's really worth it, especially SLI vs CrossfireX?

In most cases AMD seems to be better value for money, but in this case I am finding it hard to justify.

Cheers,

Steve.
 
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If SLI is something you want, Intel is better suited. As far as I know, there are very very few (if any) SLI certified AMD motherboards, and SLI just wont work unless its on a certified mobo. Add to that that most socket 1366 mobo's are SLI certified, ever the cheaper ones (Gigabyte X58 UD3R springs to mind).
Crossfire works on 99% of AM3 and X58 motherboards.

What I have always been told is AMD are better value at stock clocks, but Intel chips can generally overclock further and show larger gains from overclocking.

However consider that socket 1366 is being replaced next year, though most probably towards autumn/winter, and I believe the new AMD chips will be backwards compatible with AM3 mobo's, just like some AM3 cpu's would work on AM2 boards
 
"personally" i think the decision can be made if you look at how much you can inject into your build a little down the line. being a student and this 750 is all you can afford then i think AMD will suit your "bang for buck" requirments.

On the other hand most of the students i no are constantly partying and pi55ing a hundred pound up the wall each week, so not all students are strapped for cash.

If you think you could add to the 750 in a few months then you should defo think about getting the core of an i7 build down and expanding it wen you can.

Is keyboard and monitor the only 2 things you have? wot about a mouse and case are they needed?
 
Invertigo said:
I believe the new AMD chips will be backwards compatible with AM3 mobo's, just like some AM3 cpu's would work on AM2 boards
Click to expand...

the new AMD Bulldozer chips will "not" be compatible with current AM3 boards. The new AMD cpus will require a AM3+ board to work. Although current AM3 cpus will work on the new AM3+ boards.
 
I'm saving my student loan for this system, so trying to make every single penny count lol.

Yup, I have a keyboard, sound-system, mouse, 24inch monitor (120hz), however I don't have a case, power unit, GPU, MB, hard-drive, processor, CD-ROM, and RAM.

Some good builds in your thread Problem Child, will have another look after I have posted this, cheers.

I can't see myself upgrading the CPU in the next year, but rather the next 2 years. The only thing I believe I would consider upgrading is the GPU, which is why I am leaning towards SLI/CrossfireX. With the new GPU's comping out on the 18th, I think a lot of people will be ebaying there 5850's, so might try and pick one of those up as cheap as possible. So in summary, CPU upgrade in 2 years, GPU within one year, and would probably buy another 5850 if I was to go with AMD, and GTX460 for an i7 build. Just the GTX seems better value for money with x2 cards.

Additionally, I'm sure I can get both the i7 and 1050t to 4.0ghz.
 
jakesnake said:
the new AMD Bulldozer chips will "not" be compatible with current AM3 boards. The new AMD cpus will require a AM3+ board to work. Although current AM3 cpus will work on the new AM3+ boards.
Click to expand...

Ah, my bad. Knew there was some compatability one way or another :rolleyes:
 
@Ste

after making up a basket i dont think you can go i7 with your budget m8. I think AMD or maybe even an i5 setup is on the cards. With you wanting to SLI and overclock to 4Ghz i think your gonna need a 700W psu to handle this and a decent aftermarket cooler for the cpu which will bump the price up more. The basket i made up for you is £870 and thats with only 1 460 to get you upp and running :( ill post the basket in a sec to show you and to see if any1 can get the price down, as its with components i would select and may be different to wot you or other ppl would get.



imageshack is slow atm, couldnt post a proper pict :(
 
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jakesnake said:
@Ste

after making up a basket i dont think you can go i7 with your budget m8. I think AMD or maybe even an i5 setup is on the cards. With you wanting to SLI and overclock to 4Ghz i think your gonna need a 700W psu to handle this and a decent aftermarket cooler for the cpu which will bump the price up more. The basket i made up for you is £870 and thats with only 1 460 to get you upp and running :( ill post the basket in a sec to show you and to see if any1 can get the price down, as its with components i would select and may be different to wot you or other ppl would get.



imageshack is slow atm, couldnt post a proper pict :(
Click to expand...

Any reason you went with the asus board over say the gigabyte ones overclockers use in their bundles?
 
well for overclocking the sabertooth seems to keep itself a lot cooler than other x58 boards, so seeing that Ste wants to overclock to 4Ghz i would think the better cooling will help. personally i think it looks great aswell. as i said i posted wot "i" would get, for the reasons i think are worthy of an extra £10. we are giving Ste options with some of our thoughts. he will make up his own mind in the end so feel free to post wot "you" like.:)
 
Yup, I think your right Snake, seems a bit out of my budget. Here is the build I am thinking about going for:

AMD Phenom II X6 Six Core 1055T "95W Edition" 2.80GHz (Socket AM3) - OEM (HDT55TWFK6DGR) 162.14

Overclocked at 4.0 Ghz, seems very good value, and should last a good 2-3 years.

Gigabyte GA-890GPA-UD3H AMD 890GX (Socket AM3) DDR3 Motherboard 105.99

Good board, but more importantly has the option for CrossfireX, which is something I will do within the next year.

Corsair XMS3 4GB (2x2GB) DDR3 PC3-12800C9 1600MHz Dual Channel Kit (CMX4GX3M2A1600C9) 76.36

Memory I am not so sure on, has good reviews, but might be better going for something else. Have had a positive experience with Corsair, therefore decided to go with a Corsair theme for the cooler, power supply, and memory.

HIS ATI Radeon HD 5830 1024MB GDDR5 PCI-Express Graphics Card 143.34

Decent card, all I can afford really. However, would have liked a 5850.

Corsair Hydro H70 High Performance CPU Cooler (Socket LGA775/LGA1156/LGA1366/AM2/AM3) 88.99

Gone for this in order to hit a 4.0Ghz overclock.

Antec 300 Three Hundred Ultimate Gaming Case - Black 48.99

Have seen this case first hand, it looks amazingly professional and has good reviews.

Corsair TX 650W ATX SLi Compliant Power Supply (CMPSU-650TXUK) 79.99

Enables SLI and I presume CrossfireX to, i.e. enough power for both.

Miscellaneous

Sony Optiarc AD-5260S 24x DVD±RW SATA ReWriter (Black) - OEM 15.99
Seagate Barracuda 7200.12 500GB SATA-II 16MB Cache - OEM (ST3500418AS) 35.24
Xigmatek 120mm Crystal Blue LED Fan 15.98

Totals to: £773.01

Looking for critical reviews on ways to improve this build, within the same budget of £773.01.
 
Looks like a good build that one Jake, never thought of the Quad-Core AMD processor. Guess I excluded it because I wanted to be for a better term, "more futureroof." I.e. when the games developers start utilizing 6 cores. Definitely food for thought, and I think it warrants some research, which is what I shall do tonight, cheers. :)
 
Ste, wot do you use your PC for? if you only game i think the new 970 quad black edition would be enuff for you. it also has a lot higher stock clock @3.5Ghz which will hopefully make it easier to get to the 4Ghz that you want. I think the Akasa viper would get you to 4Ghz with this cpu and board so the money saved from the H70 could go towards buffing your 5830 to a 5850. check my spec above ^^

Add: only a few games r starting to touch 4 cores ever so slightly. so a quad will do for 3years no problem i think.
 
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If you're only gaming I wouldn't bother trying for i7 or even AMD hex core to be honest. They dont game any better than i5 or Phennom II quads, so an i5 760 or 955BE build would fit the bill. As Jake says you will get 4GHz on £35 of air cooling no problem, or a H50 (not really any better performance wise than top end air - just compact if that floats your boat). Definately dont get a 5830 - it's pants value compared to a 460. Get 460 or stretch to 5850. 460 really is better value, although I'm loving my 5850 at 900/1200 at the mo :).
 
Liampope said:
If you're only gaming I wouldn't bother trying for i7 or even AMD hex core to be honest. They dont game any better than i5 or Phennom II quads, so an i5 760 or 955BE build would fit the bill. As Jake says you will get 4GHz on £35 of air cooling no problem, or a H50 (not really any better performance wise than top end air - just compact if that floats your boat). Definately dont get a 5830 - it's pants value compared to a 460. Get 460 or stretch to 5850. 460 really is better value, although I'm loving my 5850 at 900/1200 at the mo :).
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I'm with this guy, most games barely take advantage of 3 cores, never mind 6. If you've got the money for a 1055T, the i5 760 will give you better performance for less money. Use any leftover cash to get yourself a better graphics card, you'll be looking at a 5970 before the i5 is the thing holding you back games-wise.
 
Example i5 build...

HIS ATI Radeon HD 5850 iCooler V Turbo 1024MB GDDR5 PCI-Express Graphics Card *Call of Duty Modern Warfare 2 Edition* £220.89
Intel Core i5 760 2.80GHz (Lynnfield) (Socket LGA1156) - Retail £146.86
MSI P55-GD65 Intel P55 (Socket 1156) DDR3 Motherboard £105.74
OCZ ModXStream Pro 700w Silent SLI Certified Modular Power Supply £72.99
Corsair Dominator 4GB (2x2GB) DDR3 PC3-12800C9 1600MHz Dual Channel Kit (CMD4GX3M2A1600C9) £70.49
Antec 300 Three Hundred Ultimate Gaming Case - Black £48.99
Akasa AK-CCX-4002HP Venom CPU Cooler (Socket LGA775/LGA1156/LGA1366/AM2/AM3) £35.99
Samsung SpinPoint F3 500GB SATA-II 16MB Cache - OEM (HD502HJ) £31.71
Samsung SH-S222A/BEBE 22x DVD±RW IDE Rewriter (Black) - OEM £13.99
Sub Total : £636.30
Shipping cost assumes delivery to UK Mainland with:
DPD Next Day Parcel
(This can be changed during checkout) Shipping : £12.50
VAT is being charged at 17.50% VAT : £113.54
Total : £762.34
 
the i5 is a good build aswell and is certainly 1 of the 2 options i think you should be looking at.

The only downsides i can see with i5 is that you wont be able to purchase a hexcore if the need for 1 arises in say 3/4 years time. also you seem to be more towards crossfire than SLI so id like to think crossfire is more suited to AMD boards.

the rig i posted in comment number 11 includes a 5850 and is a few pounds under budget.

its up to you, goodluck :cool:

Add: the case you can obviously change to more your own style. I picked that Coolermaster case because it can hold an ATI 5970. Who knows wot the future holds ;)
 
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