AMD Vs. Intel

Cookeh · 21 Nov 2010 at 17:10

Hey guys,
Im stuck in a bit of a rut. In December, I'll have enough cash to buy a new PC (and suspect current PC may well be dead by then).

BUT, I don't know which route to go down.

It was going to be i3 + HD6850, but due to AM3+ and Sandybridge coming out I'm wondering if it would be a better bet to get say an Athlon II X3 (or splash out for a Phenom II X4 955) in a cheap-as-chips motherboard and a HD6850 then buy a new AM3+ board when prices get reasonable allowing me to drop a AM3 cpu in there when I feel the need.

So, my question. Which will be better, going with an i3 + HD6850 leaving me the upgrade paths of used i5's / i7's when I need them, or AM3 route + HD6850 leaving me upgrade path of AM3+ cpu's?

Uses will be schoolwork, gaming (TF2, FO:NV, BadCompany, L4D2 - so a mix of CPU intensive and graphic intensive games) and a spot of photoshop.

Thanks

cumulusjames · 21 Nov 2010 at 17:21

I suspect, as tends to be the case, it will come down to what you are using it for. It will have a bearing if you are using graphics, photo, professional music programs or play power hungry games. For general every day things I have used a mixture of all sorts of amd and intel processors, they all seem to work well for everyday computing. I think I am right in saying AMD systems tend to be cheaper than Intel, so in theory you will get more bang for your buck with AMD.

But the 2 questions you need to post here in order to get the best advice are 1) what you use you pc for currently and 2) what you may use it for in the future.

I would also recomend building one yourself, with a bit of help and advice from forums sch as this you could end up with a better system for your money.

Jony27 · 21 Nov 2010 at 17:25

for gaming an i5 now coupled with a 6870 or two is the best bang/buck system and you wont need to upgrade for quite a while, can actually skip sandy bridge.

SoildSnake · 21 Nov 2010 at 17:49

If you are going to do specific things like use certain video editing platforms be sure to check they are compatible. Avid media composer for example (a top-quality video editing software) is not fully compatible with AMD or ATI hardware

cumulusjames · 21 Nov 2010 at 17:54

SoildSnake said:
If you are going to do specific things like use certain video editing platforms be sure to check they are compatible. Avid media composer for example (a top-quality video editing software) is not fully compatible with AMD or ATI hardware

I am surprised at that given ATI cards are the darlings of the pros and so highly regarded.

Liampope · 21 Nov 2010 at 17:59

New stuff isn't suddenly going to make current stuff obselete or rubbish. So either buy a decent system now, or wait if you can. The idea of buying some cheap-as-chips stuff now with the intention of upgrading very soon afterwards when the new stuff comes out doesn't make much sense if you ask me.

Cookeh · 21 Nov 2010 at 18:06

Indeed that is true Liam, still begs the issue with upgrades in the future.

Would be used for gaming, spot of photoshop and schoolwork - I don't need help speccing parts or building it either, done plenty of specs on here and built plenty of stuff at home

The idea with cheap-as-chips mobo was not to buy some piece of trash but not to spend£80+ on it, as with AM3 that's just not necessary in most cases, then wait for prices to come down and snap up a AM3+ board and then AM3+ cpu when I feel the need.

Jony, Im aware of that, but its ~£200 out of my budget

cumulusjames · 21 Nov 2010 at 18:13

Cookeh said:
Indeed that is true Liam, still begs the issue with upgrades in the future.

Would be used for gaming, spot of photoshop and schoolwork - I don't need help speccing parts or building it either, done plenty of specs on here and built plenty of stuff at home

The idea with cheap-as-chips mobo was not to buy some piece of trash but not to spend£80+ on it, as with AM3 that's just not necessary in most cases, then wait for prices to come down and snap up a AM3+ board and then AM3+ cpu when I feel the need.

Jony, Im aware of that, but its ~£200 out of my budget

What games do you play? Buying a cheap motherboard then upgrading later does not seem so daft as you can sell it on ebay when done with it anyhow. Or buy cheap parts off ebay to make it into as half decent pc and make a profit selling it.

Cookeh · 21 Nov 2010 at 18:49

cumulusjames said:
What games do you play? Buying a cheap motherboard then upgrading later does not seem so daft as you can sell it on ebay when done with it anyhow. Or buy cheap parts off ebay to make it into as half decent pc and make a profit selling it.

Edited OP to include it

Its a mix of CPU and GPU intensive games.
I play source games (TF2, CS:S, L4D & L4D2) and then Fallout: New Vegas, Bad Company 2, COD:4 (the best

) and anything that takes my fancy.

cumulusjames · 21 Nov 2010 at 19:11

Cookeh said:
Edited OP to include it
Its a mix of CPU and GPU intensive games.
I play source games (TF2, CS:S, L4D & L4D2) and then Fallout: New Vegas, Bad Company 2, COD:4 (the best ) and anything that takes my fancy.

Well personally I would say intel.

Cookeh · 21 Nov 2010 at 19:28

cumulusjames said:
Well personally I would say intel.

Yes, thats what Im thinking.
Only thing that made me pause was AM3+ will take AM3 cpu's, whereas 1156 will be made redundant so future upgrades would have to be 2nd hand.
Well, that and the fact I can get AM3 mobo+cpu+ram+HD6850 for £399.99

Big.Wayne · 21 Nov 2010 at 19:51

Cookeh said:
I can get AM3 mobo+cpu+ram+HD6850 for £399.99

Hey Cookeh,

On the AMD® side of things this is a very compelling CPU+Mobo combo for just over a ton!

Add to that a decent 4GB DDR3 kit (£60?) and a used GPU from OcUK MM (£120?) and that's £285 spent and your on the way! :cool:

Cookeh · 21 Nov 2010 at 21:19

Yes, that was the other option I was considering. Mainly because of the upgrade routes with AM3+, and secondly because as you pointed, out it is cheaper.

I can get a 955BE, M4A79XTD Evo, 4GB XMS3 1600Mhz for around £240 - seems very tempting, but is the price saving and upgradeability worth the performance loss?

cumulusjames · 21 Nov 2010 at 21:21

Cookeh said:
Yes, that was the other option I was considering. Mainly because of the upgrade routes with AM3+, and secondly because as you pointed, out it is cheaper.

I can get a 955BE, M4A79XTD Evo, 4GB XMS3 1600Mhz for around £240 - seems very tempting, but is the price saving and upgradeability worth the performance loss?

What is this AM3+ and whats so special about it?

nicnik · 21 Nov 2010 at 21:25

I'd personally spend a little more to have usb3 and sata3. wouldnt cost allot extra over M4A79XTD Evo

cmndr_andi · 21 Nov 2010 at 21:26

cumulusjames said:
What is this AM3+ and whats so special about it?

AM3+ is the new platform for AMD next generation consumer mid/high-end CPUs ie. Bulldozer. This line of CPUs is expected to be a fair bit faster than current Phenom II chips as it uses a new architecture.

An AM3+ board will work with an AM3 CPU, however you won't be able to put an AM3+ CPU in a current AM3 board.

Liampope · 21 Nov 2010 at 21:32

Cookeh said:
Well, that and the fact I can get AM3 mobo+cpu+ram+HD6850 for £399.99

Can almost manage that with an i5 760

HIS ATI Radeon HD 6850 1024MB GDDR5 PCI-Express Graphics Card £149.99
Intel Core i5 760 2.80GHz (Lynnfield) (Socket LGA1156) - Retail £144.98
OCZ Gold 4GB (2x2GB) DDR3 PC3-12800C8 1600MHz Dual Channel Kit (OCZ3G1600LV4GK) £59.98
MSI H55M-E23 Intel H55 (Socket 1156) DDR3 Motherboard £51.69
Sub Total : £406.64

Cookeh · 21 Nov 2010 at 21:36

nicnik said:
I'd personally spend a little more to have usb3 and sata3. wouldnt cost allot extra over M4A79XTD Evo

I can't really see me using either for a very long time - and should I need to expansion cards seem to be pretty cheap.

+1 to Andi's post! And yep, hence my considering a cheap mobo then upgrading to AM3+ mobo

Cookeh · 21 Nov 2010 at 21:40

Liampope said:
Can almost manage that with an i5 760

HIS ATI Radeon HD 6850 1024MB GDDR5 PCI-Express Graphics Card £149.99
Intel Core i5 760 2.80GHz (Lynnfield) (Socket LGA1156) - Retail £144.98
OCZ Gold 4GB (2x2GB) DDR3 PC3-12800C8 1600MHz Dual Channel Kit (OCZ3G1600LV4GK) £59.98
MSI H55M-E23 Intel H55 (Socket 1156) DDR3 Motherboard £51.69
Sub Total : £406.64

As could I, but H55 chipsets tend not to like overclocks with i5's

Big.Wayne · 21 Nov 2010 at 22:02

Cookeh said:
is the price saving and upgradeability worth the performance loss?

I think your looking at this back to front actually!

The question you should be asking yourself is if the added expense your thinking of paying out can be "justified" for the extra performance it brings!

If your not gonna be running benchmarks and you won't notice the extra performance and your technical needs are met then why spend extra? :confused:

AMD® Athlon™ II X3 3.1GHz (£55)
AMD® AM3 880G (£50)
4GB DDR3 1600 (£60)
Used uBer GPU (£120)
====
£285.00 inc
====

What are you waiting for? :cool: