Which CPU?

[Phunky Phish]

About to build a cheap upgrade for a friend but he wants to keep his upgrade choices as open as possibe.

So the choice is
E5300
i3 530
Athlon 64 X2 7850+

Bar the i3 they are pretty close money wise but I am thinking i3 will give best long term with the ddr3 ram and socket choice?

 

[Schoieuk]

other specs would be nice

i pref the i3 and seems to be a popular choice.

 

[RJC]

What is the budget for your friend.

 

[Phunky Phish]

He wants to keep it cheap.
Can do the c2d or athlon for about £150, the i3 is a bit more, about £220, both plus VAT

 

[RavenXXX2]

Go i3 100%

 

[Big.Wayne]

• build a cheap upgrade for a friend
• wants to keep his upgrade choices as open as possibe.
• give best long term with the ddr3 ram and socket choice?

So the choice is:

1. AMD® Athlon™ II X3 435
2. AMD® Athlon™ II X4 630
3. i3 530

Click for stability . . . 18 hour "Blend"


Click for stability . . . 24 hour "Blend"

 

[SlugForAButt]

The Big.Wayne AMD machine rolls into action again.

But I think this time I've got to agree with him.

If you are looking at forward compatability at "the right" price, which I'm guessing you are, then I agree AMD is good to go.

 

[CAT-THE-FIFTH]

For video encoding use the X4 630 is actually faster than a Core i3 530 and cheaper too:

http://www.anandtech.com/bench/default.aspx?p=105&p2=118&c=1

 

[Phunky Phish]

But will AMD be sticking with DDR2 for the forseeable future?

 

[eddiew]

Well there's plenty of articles to the point that the 6-core Thuban's will be AM3 and AM2+ compatible (with BIOS updates), so DDR2 is still an option for at least 1 more generation

While I'm inclined to agree that Intel usually show the performance lead, AMD give a more user friendly upgrade path ^^

 

[Big.Wayne]

will AMD be sticking with DDR2 for the forseeable future?

Phunky Phish, sorry the AM3 processors work with either DDR2 or DDR3, just so happens I am using DDR2 (as seen in CPU-z screenies)

 

[Phunky Phish]

Cool, cheers guys.
I think I will recommend he goes for a AM3 processor is he can afford it, or the AM2+ and hope the mobo gets the BIOS updates!

Cant believe I am going to recommend an AMD. First time since the launch of the C2D!!

 

[Phunky Phish]

Oh, Should I recommend him a Athlon or the Phemon? Whats the difference?

 

[Trunks9486]

Athlons IMO.

The only Phenom that makes sense is the dual core 555, and thats if you are a gambling man and want to risk unlocking it to four cores.

The tricore is the best value.

 

[alihassan602]

AMD!
I do hate to say it though.

 

[StevieLudo]

Get a nice AM3 board if you can stretch to it, plenty of support for the future. The x6 is around the corner, and it seems to be rumoured bulldozer (I think that's what AMD's next line is called, correct me if i'm wrong) will support AM3, so plenty of upgrade choices in the future.