AMD Vs. Intel

[Cookeh]

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

 

[Cookeh]

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

 

[Cookeh]

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.

 

[Cookeh]

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

 

[Cookeh]

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?

 

[Cookeh]

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]

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

 

[Cookeh]

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?

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?

What's so special about the 8XX chipset over 7XX - wasn't it just for a line of chips they didn't bring out?
Would the motherboard I mentioned above be a better ideal?

Used has me worried as well

 

[Cookeh]

M4A79XTD Evo I think the board was, Wayne.
And cpu reference was just a rumour I heard - £15 extra for the above board, worth it?

And 768mb GT460 was my choice new for this budget anyway
I'd love to snatch up a Hd6850 or 1gig model with warranty for similar price though - I'll keep my eyes peeled.

 

[Cookeh]

This one?
My question to you is, what "value" does paying this extra £31 offer you . . . if your not going crossfire what "benefit" will you notice?

Yep, that one.
CrossFire certainly would be an option for me, and I can get it for £70 - more reasonable imo.
Cooling is supposed to be better, and ofc crossfire is a factor.

 

[Cookeh]

Is the i3 series a better choice than the AMD 640 guys? Looking for a mini itx to accomodate a 640.

Its a faster cpu, but has less cores - depends what you'll be using it for!

 

[Cookeh]

Alistair, I feel the time is close when you finally get a new machine to replace the socket 478 that has served you well all these years! . . .

How much money do you have to spend right now? . . . and what kit have you got to sell? . . . What screen res do you game at and what GPU do you use atm?

Yes, I've had a fair few threads over the time I keep saying I'll wait because XXXX is coming out soon and may affect prices/bring out something more suitable for me xD

By December I will have approx £350 to spend on the PC - but I don't really want to spend all of that, being a student is hard

I game at 1440x900, and use a HD3850 512mb 8x AGP graphics card.
Could sell whole of old rig when I get new one, but would need to purchse new one first as I am somewhat dependant on a PC now (one of my courses is research based for the next 3 months and nearly all PC based).

Other kit I could (and have been trying to) flog includes a Antec Sonata II case and 2x 40GB S-ATA HDD's.

 

[Cookeh]

Double post FTL

 

[Cookeh]

Awwwwwww! You guys have just thrown a spanner in the works again. Im getting as bad as a woman, cant make my mind up haha. Well, off to make another wish list again.

Although, from what i been reading, an i5 is better for gaming and amd cpu's are better for multitasking?

Half right.
i5 tends to be the best cpu bang for buck around atm.
But if you have a highly threaded application, i.e. something that uses 4 cores and beyond AMD X6 is the way to go.

 

[Cookeh]

Ah true Wayne, I've not really thought to divide it.
Sure many people are grateful for the time you put into stuff - even if you are tempting us to the Dark side

 

[Cookeh]

Wondering if anyone can clear up the whole i5 branded ram.

For example, you see stuff such as Corsair 4GB (2x2GB) PC3-12800 XMS3 i5 for a name, when one cannot see any difference between ones branded i5 and those not.

Also, I heard that AMD uses different volts for ram? Does this matter at all, or is it true etc?

 

[Cookeh]

i love that graph, it proves all along wot ive been saying, that the i5 isnt bang for buck because of the price to setup a system using it.

should show it to "Liampope" he parades around shouting his mouth off calling it bang for buck just because its a little cheaper than an i7. its so funny. he once speced a £1500 rig and called it bang for buck because it was an i5 dressed up with a sidewinder keyboard and a blueray burner. he seriously doesnt get the theory of it. he thinks that if its cheaper its bang for buck no matter wot the price is. LOL wat a cowboy.

Personal attack is not needed.
He has his own opinions, and tbh an i5+HD6850/6870 is an amazing rig for the price.
I think he claims its best bang-for-buck in a certain price range, not in general...

 

[Cookeh]

personal attack in big bold font HAHAHA why dont you just fire a flare gun out your window instead and alert the e-police.

What is your problem? Any reason for this post and the one I highlighted?
If you have nothing nice or relevant to say don't say a thing.

 

[Cookeh]

People are entitled to thier opinions and when someone starts a thrad like this it is to get other peoples opions. Freindly debate, yes, Personal attacks GROW THE **** up.

So very true.

 

[Cookeh]

yeh lets get back on topic. What were we talking about?

Price/performance set ups for budget rigs.

Alternative boards to the 880G-E41 for a similar price.

GTX460 768mb Vs. GTX460 1GB for 1440x900 gaming, possibly up to 1680x1050.