AMD or Intel

[Jaysquirrel]

I'm not totally sure about the newer Intel chips and AMD chips so I figured someone may be able to help.

Right now I'm running an AMD X2 5000+ Black Edition (OC'd to 3Ghz), 8GB of 800Mhz DDR2 ram, ATI 4850 and a pretty crappy Asrock A-Live Xfire2 mobo. I've been looking at the new Phenom II's, mainly because of the price, but I've also been told the i7 is worth looking at.

Right now I mainly play games like, WoW, GTA 4, some FPS and that. But mainly I use my system for programs like Photoshop, After Effects and other video editing.

So what would be the best upgrade for me right now? I'm on a pretty tight budget, so I think the i7 is way out of my league, but I also need to know if I should get a new mobo too.

Keep in mind my system right now runs a little slow.

Detailed system specs as of now:
Asrock ALiveXFire-eSATA2 (Socket AM2)
OCZ 4GB (4x2GB) PC2-6400C5 Dual Channel Vista Gold Series DDR2
Asus ATI Radeon HD 4850 512MB GDDR3
Akasa Ultra Quiet 500W Paxpower Active PFC ATX2.2 Power Supply
AMD Athlon 64 X2 Dual Core 5000+ Black Edition OC'd to 3.0GHz (Socket AM2)

 

[gareth170]

could get a phenom II if your support them with a bios update.

 

[sosrandom]

http://www.asrock.com/support/Phenom2.asp

It looks like the bottom one on this page, should support even the new am3 phenom II processors

 

[Jaysquirrel]

Hmm, I'm thinking of ordering an AMD Phenom II X4 940 Black Edition since its compatible with my mobo.

 

[gareth170]

Hmm, I'm thinking of ordering an AMD Phenom II X4 940 Black Edition since its compatible with my mobo.

just beware your board only does HT 1.0 where am2+ do HT 3.0.

 

[lukeharvest]

I think that Intel's recent CPUs are very stable, good CPUs to go for if unsure.

 

[Jaysquirrel]

just beware your board only does HT 1.0 where am2+ do HT 3.0.

Well after reading up a little on it apparently I personally wouldn't notice a huge difference between HT1 and HT3, so I think I'm gonna go ahead and order the AMD Phenom II X4 940 Black Edition.

Worst case scenario is HT3 is 100x better than HT1 for my use, I'll just buy a new mobo.

 

[Trunks9486]

You should try overclocking the phenom as well. You should be able to hit 3.5GHz at least.

 

[Duke]

I think that Intel's recent CPUs are very stable, good CPUs to go for if unsure.

Umm which Intel CPUs have not been stable?

 

[JeremyW]

Umm which Intel CPUs have not been stable?

The last unstable ones I can remember were the 1.13GHz Pentium III's that Tomshardware showed were unstable (see http://www.tomshardware.com/reviews/intel-admits-problems-pentium-iii-1,235.html) This was mid 2000 though....

 

[gamesaregood]

If you have not yet purchased the CPU then consider the Phenom 2 720 X3 BE, its a Tri Core AM3 Part of the 940 and still has the unlocked multi but much cheaper, its a fab games CPU and a good clocker so great value:

http://www.overclockers.co.uk/showproduct.php?prodid=CP-238-AM

£126.49 inc VAT

 

[linktoinsanity]

@ the OP, if your motherboard supports them then I'd go for the Phenom II as it will be a relatively cheap upgrade for much improved performance. It means that you can get a way with just buying a new CPU rather than having to spend money on a new motherboard, memory and cpu aswell.

 

[Jaysquirrel]

Well I ordered the Phenom II B Edition yesterday and it should be coming tomorrow morning, thanks for the advice

 

[littlepuppy]

Mate was going to say what all the others are saying but got banned for bumping my for sale thread sorry ocuk...

Totally agree with the jist here, if you can drop a phenom II in its a no brainer, a great upgrade for you.

 

[Jaysquirrel]

Installed it within minutes

Love it, I can actually play GTA IV maxed out with around 40-50 FPS.